Grey’s Anatomy has welcomed a variety of nuanced characters during its 21-season run, but it’s fair to say that Meredith Grey is at the center of this fictional universe. From the very first episode, fans have followed her through the highs and lows of her career, giving audiences a key anchor when the storylines get a tad too complicated. Even though she doesn’t feature as much as she used to, Meredith Grey still has an immense amount of influence in Grey Sloan.
But the key thing about Meredith is that even though she’s the main character, fans don’t always appreciate her actions. Not only can Meredith be extremely flawed at times, but fans also think that she can be very selfish. In turn, it seems that, over the years, Meredith has become a very difficult character within her own story.
Meredith Treated Her Father Very Badly
Season 15, Episode 11, “The Winner Takes It All”
Audiences are well aware that Meredith’s parents did not have a happy marriage, but a lot of fans also accuse Meredith of excusing Ellis’ behavior, while also treating her father very poorly. Thatcher Grey tried to reconcile his relationship with Meredith multiple times, but it would always go down like a lead balloon. It’s only when Thatcher’s on his deathbed in “The Winner Takes It All” that Meredith finally decides to visit her father.
This all seems very strange considering the fact that Ellis was the one who had an affair and split up the family. Not to mention, Grey is an accomplished surgeon with a ton of experience, so it seems that she would be intelligent enough to let these past traumas go. As such, a lot of fans resent Meredith because she’s prone to holding grudges, even if they no longer serve her.
She Got Derek Blacklisted by the FDA
Season 8, Episode 3, “Take the Lead”
Meredith and Derek’s whirlwind romance was a key centerpiece of Grey’s Anatomy’s success. Yet, Meredith was far from the perfect wife and even jeopardized her husband’s career, essentially just to prove a point. In “Take the Lead,” Derek discovers that he’s been blacklisted by the FDA after Meredith interfered with his Alzheimer’s research.
A lot of fans see this moment as a turning point in their relationship, mostly because it forced Derek to take another job in DC in order to gain more work in medicine. As such, audiences believe that if Derek hadn’t had to move to DC, he wouldn’t have been involved in a serious accident and would still potentially be alive today. While this is a bit of a stretch, it does highlight how Meredith’s reckless actions make her a target for bad karma.
She Lied to a Caseworker and Kidnapped Zola
Season 8, Episode 2, “She’s Gone”
It should be noted that Meredith is a great mom and doesn’t go out of her way to harm her children. But, in “She’s Gone,” fans believe she lost control and placed her very young daughter in a scary position. After a caseworker learns that Meredith and Derek’s relationship is on the rocks, she decides to run away with her daughter in the hopes that she won’t get taken away by the social worker.
Of course, this is a very viable reaction, especially from a hard-working mother. But the fact that Meredith was happy for Alex and Cristina to rope themselves into this lie highlights that she expects people to cover her, but she doesn’t always do the same for others. Again, this is just another example of how Meredith’s selfish mindset ends up harming others more than herself.
Meredith Disrespected George After They Slept Together
Season 2, Episode 19, “What Have I Done to Deserve This?”
Admittedly, George O’Malley sometimes pretends to be a fragile little boy in order to receive sympathy from his peers. However, when Meredith completely humiliates him in “What Have I Done to Deserve This?,” fans believe that George has every right to feel angry. It’s the morning after the night before, and George feels very uncomfortable about his previous sexual encounter with Meredith.
But, instead of just leaving each other alone and trying to focus on work, Meredith makes fun of George for having feelings for her and also makes fun of his previous encounters with other women. Overall, this is a really immature thing to do, especially for a surgeon who is responsible for other people’s lives. Also, it makes Meredith seem like the sort of person who likes to kiss and tell, which doesn’t always go down in an institution like Seattle Grace.
She Didn’t Tell Derek’s Family That He Was in the Hospital
Let’s face it, out of all of Grey’s Anatomy’s catastrophes, Derek’s death is still considered to be the worst. After getting involved in a very serious car accident, Shepherd is rushed to hospital, where Meredith is striving to get him a head CT. Yet, Derek didn’t receive adequate treatment in time, and he tragically passed away.
A lot of fans will never forget how Meredith reacted when she discovered that the man she loved had passed away, but some audiences argue that she should have told his family that he was in the hospital. Meredith’s excuse was that Derek wasn’t very close to his family, but fans know that’s not true because his mother and sister visited Seattle Grace plenty of times. While fans can appreciate that Meredith was under a lot of stress, the fact that she didn’t alert his loved ones still seems a bit odd.
Meredith Had a Very Toxic Relationship With Addison
Season 2, Episode 8, “Let It Be”
Because audiences view everything through the eyes of Meredith, fans assume that Addison Montgomery is the antagonist, especially during the earlier seasons. But when fans actually examine their interactions, it’s clear that while Addison was trying to repair her marriage, Meredith was just blatantly being rude to her. In the opening scene of “Let It Be,” Addison gives Meredith a polite wave while she’s trying to cover up a zit, and Meredith’s response is to just give her an awkward smile.
While the pair eventually became closer, especially after Derek’s death, it’s easy to see why fans felt frustrated with her from the beginning. Addison was just trying to remain civil and get on with her job, but Meredith was quite clearly praying for her downfall. All these interactions do is prove that Meredith is extremely immature and jealous, making her a really irritating figure within the show.
She Blamed Penny Blake Too Much for Her Husband’s Death
Season 12, Episode 5, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”
For those who are not familiar with Grey’s Anatomy’s long-standing lore, Penny Blake was one of the doctors who treated Derek after his accident and expressed that not giving him a CT was a terrible idea. In “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” Callie invites Penny to dinner at Meredith’s house, which obviously ends in a monstrous argument.
While Meredith obviously had every right to feel a bit emotional during that moment, a lot of fans can’t help but think that she was unnecessarily rude to Penny. She agreed that Derek needed a head CT and actually broke down in tears when she found out that he had died. In general, Meredith acts like she’s never lost a patient because of her own failures, proving that she hardly places herself in other people’s shoes.
She Cries at Very Inappropriate Moments
Season 8, Episode 24, “Flight”
Although fans appreciate the complexity of Meredith’s character, some fans believe that she needs to toughen up a bit. Grey has a really bad habit of crying, even when it’s not very helpful. It should be noted that crying is not necessarily a bad thing, especially in a hard-hitting drama like Grey’s Anatomy, but Meredith tends to let her emotions run away from her.
When Lexie Grey passes away in “Flight,” Meredith bursts into a hysterical fit of tears. However, the rest of the crew try to remain somewhat calm and actually take a moment to let Lexie pass away in peace. Although this comment may seem a little nitpicky, it’s easy to understand why fans can’t take Meredith seriously during these gut-wrenching moments.
She Has a Difficult Relationship With Her Sister-In-Law
Season 12, Episode 5, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”
Amelia Shepherd isn’t the most innocent character of all time, and she certainly put Derek and Meredith through the wringer, especially during the height of her addiction. Yet, her relationship with Meredith has always been a bit rocky, even when the pair were in a good place. During “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” the pair engages in a very spiteful argument about Derek’s death.
This is the first episode of Season 12 that doesn’t feature a voiceover.
Meredith claims that Amelia doesn’t have the right to feel angry about Penny’s actions because she lost a husband and a father, while Amelia just lost a brother. Of course, grief makes people do insane things, but suggesting that Derek’s death doesn’t impact Amelia is a low-blow even by Grey’s standards. All this scene proves is that Meredith is happy to push people away, even if they want to support her.
Meredith Didn’t Allow Cristina to Lead Her Own Life
Season 10, Episode 22, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”
Every Grey’s Anatomy fan knows that Cristina is Meredith’s person. While a lot of audiences deem this a term of endearment, others claim that it’s a prime example of Grey’s co-dependency. Meredith is happiest when Cristina is supporting her every step of the way, but she rarely shows the same sentiment to Yang.
At the end of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Meredith discovers that Cristina is leaving Seattle. Instead of being happy for her friend, Grey’s face drops, and she makes Cristina’s happy moment seem like a disaster. Thus, it sometimes seems that Grey’s Anatomy wants the women to appear as best friends, but in reality, Meredith very rarely puts Cristina’s feelings first.
