**WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW**
7. Mary Portman – “These Arms Of Mine” (Season 7, Episode 6)
Mary was an innocent patient in need of a routine procedure who found herself forced to play dead in her hospital bed when the murderous Gary Clark entered her room and shot Charles Percy. After surviving such a horrific encounter, she returned to Seattle Grace for her surgery but never woke up post-op. Leave it to Shonda to remind us all how cruel life can be.
6. Charles Percy – “Death and All His Friends” (Season 6, Episode 24)
Speaking of Charles…even though his character wasn’t anything too special, his death really got the tears flowing. Bailey risked her life attempting to get him to an operating room, dragging him down the hallway to the elevator – and just when it seemed like the odds might be in Charles’s favor, Bailey discovered that the elevators had been turned off for security reasons.
5. Henry Burton – “Suddenly” (Season 8, Episode 10)
Just as Teddy was starting to realize that Henry was the man for her, he had to go into open-heart surgery and die on the table. The worst part was that nobody told Christina who she was operating on, so it almost made her work seem careless.
4. Lexie Grey – “Flight” (Season 8, Episode 24)
Lexie was one of the most well-liked doctors at Seattle Grace, and despite her weird crush on George and random hookups with Alex was in a pretty consistent and perfect relationship with Mark. They were going to live happily ever after, until that fateful episode when she died IN A PLANE CRASH.
3. Mark Sloan – “Remember the Time” (Season 9, Episode 2)
McSteamy matured throughout the show from an immature playboy into a dedicated father and friend. Although it seemed as though he might pull through for a while, his injuries from the plane crash were too severe and Callie made the choice to remove his life support, while Derek sat next to him and had flashbacks of their adorable friendship. SOB. At least he is finally together with Lexie.
2. George O’Malley – “Here’s to Future Days” (Season 5, Episode 23)
Oh, George. When those elevator doors opened and fans around the world saw the loyal George O’Malley standing on the other side, hearts broke in half. It was entirely unexpected and one of the most emotional moments in the history of the show.
1. Derek Shepherd – “How to Save a Life” (Season 11, Episode 21)
SHONDA, WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US? To Meredith?! Also, no offense, but killing off Derek after he saved a little girl’s life, and to make it at the hands of incompetent doctors, is just plain wrong. R.I.P. McDreamy, and to the small part of my soul that just died.
cover photo, mary, charles, henry, lexie, mark, george, derek