Although Grey’s Anatomy has introduced fans to a horde of beloved characters like Miranda Bailey and Alex Karev, it has also welcomed some unfavorable ones. As a hard-hitting medical drama, the show’s antagonists also reside within Grey Sloan, making the workplace even more volatile. So, it seems that for every good character, Grey’s Anatomy adds a bundle of bad eggs to the bunch.
Owen Hunt is arguably one of the show’s most divisive characters. When he first arrived in Season 5, he quickly irritated fans with the way he treated Cristina Yang. As the years went on, he continued to ruffle feathers with his off-putting demeanor and argumentative nature. But when fans hold this character under the microscope, they will also see that he is responsible for some of the show’s most heartbreaking disasters.
Owen Hunt’s Frugal Ways Led to Two Tragic Deaths
Cristina and Callie watching intently as Major Owen Hunt and Derek Shepherd argue in Grey’s Anatomy Season 5 episode 1.
At the end of Season 8, a group of Grey Sloan doctors were involved in a pretty serious plane crash. Not only were they stranded in a barren forest, but they had no way of communicating with their friends back at the hospital. Most notably, fans will remember this episode for how it killed off Lexie Grey and left Mark Sloan with a fatal heart injury. To top it all off, Arizona Robbins lost her leg after a very gruesome injury. As soon as the group returned home, they were quick to file a lawsuit against the airline, but no compensation would be enough to replace what they lost.
Like the rest of the team, Owen Hunt was devastated to hear that his peers had been harmed. At that time, he was in a relationship with Cristina Yang, so he was obviously concerned for her safety. However, a lot of fans believe that Hunt was responsible for this accident because he made the group switch to a cheaper airline in an attempt to cut costs. Derek Shepherd also agreed with this assumption and refused to be civil with his co-worker for weeks. In Season 9, Episode 11, “The End is the Beginning is the End,” the men stand in the elevator and experience a very tense and rude encounter. Owen extends his good wishes to Derek and hopes that the lawsuit goes well. But, Shepherd is quick to shut him down and reminds him that he’s still partially to blame for the accident.
It’s important to note that fans don’t think Owen is to blame for the plane going down, but they do believe that his actions led to them being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hunt was obsessed with cutting costs so the hospital could continue running without debt. Of course, this is a very reasonable thing to do, but a lot of fans believe that Owen should have looked elsewhere. These doctors were traveling to Boise to conduct a life-saving surgery that could have changed the face of modern medicine. In turn, the least they deserve is a safe flight.
His Military Past Inspired One of the Show’s Most Impactful Deaths
Long before Owen Hunt worked at the hospital, he served in the US Army. Although he was partway through his tour of Iraq, he was honorably discharged after his entire platoon. While he doesn’t discuss his military past in detail, his experiences do influence his work as a surgeon. As such, he enjoys working under pressure and has a keen eye for trauma surgery. Throughout Season 5, he grew close to George O’Malley and enjoyed sharing stories about his life on the frontline. He was also quick to compliment O’Malley and said that he would be suitable for trauma work because he also worked well under difficult circumstances.
In Season 5, Episode 24, “Now or Never,” O’Malley announces to his peers that he has been inspired by Hunt’s previous work and is leaving his job to join the army. As expected, his co-workers are quick to talk him out of it and are convinced that he will die before he even steps foot on the battlefield. Tragically, this was true, as later on, O’Malley died after jumping in front of a bus in an attempt to save a stranger. To make matters worse, his friends couldn’t even identify his body at first. When he arrived at the hospital, his injuries were so severe that he was almost unidentifiable, making him a John Doe patient. It wasn’t until he scrawled “007” onto Meredith’s hand with a pen that she was able to identify his body.
Again, it would be wrong to blame Owen Hunt for O’Malley’s death, but it’s clear to see that he influenced it. From the very first episode, it was clear to see that George was not built for high-adrenaline environments. He killed his first patient on his first day and struggled to even make small talk with his fellow interns. So, by praising him too highly, it could be argued that Owen gave George a false sense of hope and confidence. Plus, George’s peers were quick to berate him, and, arguably, Owen didn’t do enough to support him during this problem. Overall, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Owen’s romantic stories about his army days led to
George doing something entirely reckless, which in turn killed him.
Hunt Encouraged a Beloved Character to Enjoy a Fresh Start
Season 11 was a tough one for Derek Shepherd because it surrounded his move to DC. At first, Meredith was completely against the idea and believed that he shouldn’t leave her alone with the kids for the sake of work. Even when the President asked him directly to work on an abundance of incredible brain-mapping research, Shepherd sheepishly denied the offer. Yet, everything changed in Season 11, Episode 9, “Where Do We Go From Here.” After weeks of endless fights, Meredith tells her husband to move to DC because it’s the right thing to do. She also notes that her decision was inspired by Owen since he allowed Cristina to move to Switzerland because he wanted her to follow her dreams.
As long-time fans of the show will remember, moving to DC was probably the worst thing that he could do. While he was in the city, he was involved in a major car accident and was quickly rushed to an unfamiliar hospital. The doctor couldn’t complete a head CT in time, and Shepherd tragically died from a harsh brain injury. Thus, many fans believe that if Owen had not convinced him to move to DC, he wouldn’t have been involved in the horrific accident that later killed him.
As with all of these examples, it’s evident that Hunt is not some sort of clairvoyant who can predict people’s deaths. Yet, a lot of audiences have cottoned on to the fact that he can be linked to all of them. It seems that Hunt is keen on giving his peers lots of advice, even when it’s not warranted. This may be because he feels that he has a sense of superiority, especially over weaker characters like George O’Malley. However, some audience members believe that the victims are quite gullible and are willing to consume every crumb of his wisdom because they are too insecure to think for themselves.
Regardless of why Owen Hunt is linked to these catastrophes, a lot of fans enjoy spotting these trends. Hunt doesn’t exactly have a squeaky-clean history, so it’s not as if the show places him on a pedestal. But, from the very beginning, he was seen as a bit of an outsider. He joined the hospital a lot later than his peers, and his broken marriages meant that he was often isolated from his co-workers. Thus, it wouldn’t be wrong to label Hunt as a catalyst for tragic events rather than just a bad omen. Since he has suffered so much hardship throughout his life, it would only make sense that he has quite a lot of experience and wisdom. Thus, Hunt’s interactions with all these characters suggest that he knows that life is too short to make well-planned decisions, so he encourages his friends to take the bull by the horns, and, unfortunately, that’s what led to multiple deaths.
