I love Grey’s Anatomy. There’s just no show like it. No other show has kept me crawling back for 7 years to start another rewatch (which I’m currently doing). Even though I know each season will undoubtedly shatter my heart into a million pieces (thanks, Shonda), I also know that each episode will stitch it right back up again.
Especially in the earlier seasons, it amazes me just how emotionally connected I feel to each character in the show, whether they’re a series regular or a one-time patient. I think the allure of Grey’s Anatomy is that each character feels like a regular person, each of whom is deeply flawed and undeniably real. They mess up, say the wrong thing, get messy, get mad, feel overwhelmed, are tired, and have bad days (which might be the understatement of the year—hello bomb in a body cavity). Alongside that, they are there for each other through good times and also through really, really bad times (again, how many bad things can happen to one group of people???). They laugh and smile with each other, fall in and out of love, break up and make up, and despite all the crazy things that happen to them, they always have each other at the end of the day.
Also, the drama! Grey’s Anatomy is the perfect mix of all my favourite parts of a romantic comedy. You can’t help but root for Meredith and Derek in the earlier seasons; in fact, you can’t help but root for each and every character in the show. That’s the thing about Grey’s—there are no bad guys or people to hate. The show demonstrates how complex every person is—how every person has a story and how there’s a reason behind every decision or reaction. No character is perfect, and that’s what makes the show so perfect.
Of course, Grey’s Anatomy uses that good ol’ rom-com magic along with some death-defying or succumbing plot lines that crush your soul and shatter your emotions (reading that back, I realize why I cry every episode). Whether it’s deeply relating to a patient whose parent is undergoing cancer treatment, or seeing the part of myself that struggles with feeling mad at people in the character April, or feeling the love in the room between the surgeons, there’s something that touches every part of me in every episode.
I distinctly remember being in grade 10 and watching the shooter episode for the first time the same morning that the March For Our Lives rally was being held in Toronto, my hometown. Like gun violence, Grey’s touches on so many issues and addresses them so well, not skipping around or sugarcoating the hurt, pain, and trauma that so many people go through. I definitely have to skip some episodes when the empathy and secondhand anxiety gets too much to handle, but for the most part, Grey’s is the type of show that fills your cup rather than draining it. Pro tip: to keep the good vibes going, don’t watch the shooter on the loose or plane crash episodes.
At the end of the day, there are very clear reasons why Grey’s Anatomy has been able to captivate audiences for 18 seasons and 20 years—and counting! It’s basic for a reason, so bring on another season.