Grey’s Anatomy is one of modern history’s most widely known and beloved shows. It’s the magnum opus of TV powerhouse Shonda Rhimes, and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon. The show went from a pilot no network exec had faith in to the longest-running medical show in primetime TV history. Grey’s Anatomy has run for almost twenty years as a run-of-the-mill medical drama. Every episode has a new case for the characters in surgical residency, ranging from mass-casualty incidents to groundbreaking medical experiments.
But that’s not enough for Shonda Rhimes, as Grey’s balances healthcare sciences with human nature and relationship drama. One of the show’s shining aspects is its stars, with the characters’ love lives taking center stage and creating several “Mc” characters, or just men who stand out to main character Meredith Grey. There’s McVet, McDreamy, McWidow, and, of course, McSteamy, played by actor Eric Dane.
10. Mark Starts to Mature in “Desire”
Season 3, Episode 21
“Desire” is a Grey’s Anatomy episode between the second of Meredith’s many near-death experiences and the Season 3 finale. The episode deals with themes of desire and ambition, exploring how risky and painful it is to want something or someone badly. To reflect this, the characters deal with various passion-driven dramas, with the surgeons operating on the hospital’s board chairman after a candiru fish swam up into his urethra during a vacation with his mistress. Mainstay characters like George, Izzie, Alex, Callie, Cristina, and even the beloved MerDer endure relationship hurdles throughout the episode.
Unsurprisingly, Mark Sloan had his own issues in “Desire.” He was in love with Dr. Addison Montgomery and tried to earn her love from the moment he arrived in Seattle. Addison wasn’t really over Derek Shepherd, but right before “Desire,” she made a deal with Mark that she assumed he’d break immediately: no sex for 30 days. In “Desire,” Mark discovers that Addison slept with Alex Karev, breaking their pact. He’s understandably heartbroken at this, but in a surprising move, he tells Addison that he slept with someone, giving her a clean break and stepping out of the equation so she could move to California and be happy.
9. “Blink” Shows Mark Choose Himself Over Lexie
Season 6, Episode 11
The episode immediately before “Blink” showed a young blonde walking into the Seattle Grace Mercy West ER and asking for Mark Sloan. She introduces herself as Sloan Riley, his daughter, which is soon later proved by a paternity test. Mark is hesitant at first, but once it’s confirmed, he steps into the role, inviting a pregnant Sloan to move in with him and Lexie, which leads to some problems in “Blink.” Their role in the episode starts with Lexie giving Sloan an ultrasound at Mark’s request, which shows an abnormality.
Mark is fully on board with being a father, and as soon as he sees something endangering the fetus, he doesn’t hesitate to call Addison, a genius in fetal medicine, to save the day. His relationship with Lexie suffered, as, despite their 16-year age gap not causing issues for them before, Lexie wasn’t ready to get married, let alone be a stepmother and step-grandmother. She’s understandably upset by the sudden change in their lives, and Mark desperately tries to convince her that it’s a good situation, begging Lexie not to make him choose between her and Sloan. But it’s simply a deal-breaker for Lexie, who ends their relationship on the spot. It’s a turning point for Mark, as he risks his happiness to be a good dad.
8. Mark’s Greatest Romance Starts in “All By Myself”
Season 5, Episode 10
Like most Grey’s Anatomy episodes, Season 5’s “All By Myself” mainly focuses on the MAGIC residents, Meredith, Alex, George, Izzie, and Cristina. It spotlights the group trying to get Cristina to select them to perform the first solo surgery, and Cristina struggling with both that and courting Dr. Virginia Dixon. The group deals with a particularly devastating case involving two teenage girls, and Izzie’s relationship with her late fiancé, Denny, intensifies as he keeps visiting her in ghost or hallucination form.
Aside from the at-least-borderline ableism present throughout the episode, particularly with Dr. Dixon’s handling of the teenager’s case, Mark Sloan and Miranda Bailey also have a groundbreaking case in “All By Myself.” They perform larynx reconstruction surgery on a woman who lost her ability to speak, and while Lexie had been banned from the operating room, Mark allows her to be part of changing someone’s life. Their tension had been growing for a while before the episode, and the procedure let things boil over, as Lexie shows up at Mark’s apartment later that night, takes off her clothes, and says “teach me,” which starts the greatest relationship in either of their lives.
7. “Hook, Line and Sinner” Broke Mark’s Heart
Season 6, Episode 20
Shortly after “Blink,” Sloan Riley took off, intending to give the baby up for adoption once he was born, but she didn’t want to hurt Mark by telling him, so she simply took off, leaving him to find out in a heartbreaking scene while he was building a crib. Sloan didn’t come back for a few episodes, suddenly barging into Mark’s apartment in the middle of the night in labor.
Mark, Teddy Altman, Callie, and Arizona all assisted in delivering Sloan’s son at the beginning of “Hook, Line and Sinner.” The rest of the episode focuses on Sloan going back and forth. While Mark says he’s okay if she gives the baby up, he and Callie also jump at the idea of adopting him. Aside from misguided views from Mark and Callie about why someone wouldn’t want to be a mom–leading to a rough patch in Callie and Arizona’s romance– it’s clear that they both just really wanted a kid. But, at the episode’s end, Mark realizes that Sloan is his kid, and hands the newborn off to his parents, making the right decision despite it being painful.
6. Mark Becomes a Dad in “Song Beneath the Song”
Season 7, Episode 18
Season 6 proved beyond a doubt that Mark Sloan wanted little more in life than a family, and since Sloan left once again shortly after “Hook, Line and Sinner,” that desire wasn’t fulfilled. But then he and Callie became best friends with benefits after Arizona left for Africa, and the two finally got what they’d dreamed of when Callie found out she was pregnant. It was certainly an unconventional family dynamic once Arizona returned, as Callie had two co-parents, but the pregnancy didn’t last long.
Shortly after the pregnancy reveal, Callie and Arizona go on a little babymoon vacation. But while they’re driving, Arizona asks Callie to marry her, and while distracted, she crashes at full speed into a truck. Callie flies through the windshield, and even though “Song Beneath the Song” is a musical episode complete with almost every character singing, it’s a very serious situation, as the surgeons have to make decisions that could kill Callie or the baby. Not only is their baby, Sofia Robbin Sloan-Torres, born in the episode, but Mark makes it clear to Arizona that he’s not just a sperm donor, as Callie and the baby were his family, and he would fight for them until the end.
5. “Breathe” Brings Mark Back From the Dead
Season 17, Episode 10
Season 17 of Grey’s Anatomy was dedicated to the real-life catastrophes that made 2020 infamous, with the Coronavirus pandemic taking center stage. Meredith Grey contracts the virus early in the season, and her case is far from mild, as it completely wipes her out, requiring hospitalization. She falls into a comatose state, sending her consciousness into a dream-like state where she’s in her tropical happy place. Throughout the beach coma saga, Meredith reunites with several fallen loved ones, including Derek Shepherd and George O’Malley.
A few episodes after Meredith’s family starts popping up in ghost or dream form, she turns around after walking into the ocean to see her beloved little sister, Lexie, smiling at her. Soon, they have a conversation about the rules of the beach, and Mark joins them, marking the first Slexie reunion in over a decade. The few scenes they’re in are spent talking about the beach and life, with Mark mentioning how he keeps tabs on his family from the afterlife. It didn’t serve much purpose for the plot, but it was nice for fans to see McSteamy again, especially since the episode implied he and his love are happy in the afterlife.
4. McSteamy First Appears in “Yesterday”
Season 2, Episode 18
Much of the Season 2 episode, “Yesterday,” revolves around love and betrayal. In the episode, George’s feelings for Meredith reach a point where he confesses his love, which later proves disastrous for their friendship. Meredith also confronts her father after discovering that her mother was having an affair with Richard Webber, and it’s not a great interaction for her mental health. But, much earlier in the episode, Meredith, Derek, and Addison get a surprise.
The handsome stranger first approaches Meredith while she’s reading a chart at the nurse’s station, and he’s immediately charming and slightly arrogant. He flirts with her and takes an interest in their primary case of a teenager with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, or Lionitis. But their conversation is cut short when Derek throws a nasty punch and simply tells Meredith his first name, which explains everything for her. Mark’s first name had been mentioned before, with Derek revealing at the beginning of his and Meredith’s relationship that he and Mark were best friends before he caught Mark sleeping with his wife, Addison. “Yesterday” is also when Mark Sloan’s surgical prowess is introduced, as he performs post-mortem facial reconstruction on the teenager and gives himself stitches after the punching incident. It left quite the impression on the interns, with Cristina, Meredith, and Izzie picking out nicknames for Mark, eventually landing on the iconic “McSteamy.”
3.”Sanctuary” Shows Mark’s Heroic Side
Season 6, Episode 23
“Sanctuary” is the first episode in the two-part season finale of Grey’s Anatomy Season 6, and is by far the best finale episode in the show. It’s extremely intense, as it features the vengeful widow, Gary Clark, entering the hospital with a gun. He intended to kill everyone he held responsible for his wife’s death, specifically targeting Derek Shepherd, Richard Webber, April Kepner, and Lexie Grey. Gary left much more devastation in the hospital, though, as he shot just about everyone who spoke to him and seemingly targeted surgeons specifically.
About 20 minutes into the episode, Seattle Grace Mercy West went into lockdown. But most of the hospital didn’t know the reason to avoid creating a panic until more information was available. So, Mark and Lexie have a normal interaction by the nurse’s station, where she asks him to sign something, and he asks about her love life and tells her he misses her, but that’s shattered when Gary Clark turns and shoots a nurse standing right next to them. The area understandably turns chaotic, and Mark’s first instinct is to shield Lexie with his body, even cradling her head in his arms while bodychecking his way to the elevators to get her to safety. When the elevator doors open, and they see Alex Karev bleeding out, he does everything he can to save him, mainly for Lexie. Although it never made it into the episode duo, there’s also a scene where Lexie starts to break down, gets kicked off the ambulance, and Mark abandons his patient to check on Lexie. Similarly, in the episodes after, it’s clear that Mark cares about little else than Lexie’s wellbeing, with the trauma of surviving an active shooter situation seemingly falling off his shoulders to take care of her.
2. Mark Says Goodbye in “Going, Going, Gone”
Season 9, Episode 1
“Going, Going, Gone” is the premiere episode of Grey’s Anatomy Season 9. It picks up immediately after the heartbreaking Grey’s season finale. The episode focuses almost entirely on the Seattle Grace Five as they try to cope and heal from the immense trauma. Much of the episode centers around Mark Sloan’s life as the group prepares to say goodbye to him for good, with several scenes flashing back to the milestones in his life.
Mark Sloan is technically part of the Seattle Grace Five, as he made it back to Seattle alive, unlike Lexie, who came back in a partially full body bag. But he didn’t really survive the crash. “Going, Going, Gone” is Mark’s final, devastating episode in Grey’s Anatomy, with most of the episode featuring him lying unresponsive in a hospital bed. His advanced directive stated that if he remained unresponsive for 30 days, the doctors must let him go. While there’s a moment where he’s awake and smiling, it’s clear to Dr. Webber and Derek that it wouldn’t last long. Mark’s final request was for his protégé, Jackson, to grab little Sofia from the daycare, but when they got to the room, Mark was coding. He never woke back up. The final flashback scene featured Sofia’s welcome home party. He grabs the camera, turns it around, and smiles once he figures out how to take a picture, and the scene freezes on his smile before displaying his name and “1968-2012” to close out his time on the show.
1. “Flight” is Mark’s Most Memorable Episode
Season 8, Episode 24
“Flight” is the Season 8 finale and is unquestionably one of the most gutwrenching episodes in the show’s two-decade run. The prior episode ended on a cliffhanger as Meredith, Derek, Cristina, Arizona, Mark, and Lexie boarded a plane heading to Idaho to assist a Boise hospital in a conjoined twin separation operation. The final scene shows Meredith waking up dazed and looking up at the trees, revealing that the plane crashed. “Flight” shows the surgeons during the four days they spent stranded in the woods.
The group suffered injuries of varying severity, like Cristina losing her shoe, Derek’s hand being crushed, and Arizona suffering an open femur fracture. It doesn’t take long into the episode for tragedy to strike, as Mark, Cristina, and Meredith follow a clanging sound to find Lexie trapped under a large part of the plane. Mark tried to lift the debris, but Lexie’s injuries were catastrophic. Mark holds Lexie’s hand, strokes her hair, and declares his love, with the duo talking about growing old and having a family together before she dies. Mark doesn’t stop holding Lexie’s hand, even after he falls unconscious from a cardiac tamponade. The next two episodes feature Mark, with “Going, Going, Gone” killing him off, and “Remember the Time” flashing back to before his death. But, most would consider “Flight” to be his heartbreaking send-off, as he died the moment he lost the love of his life.
