Destruction. Drama. Death. It’s all just another shift for the doctors of Grey’s Anatomy. And my God, have we seen so many characters killed off the show.
Just recently, it was announced two of the show’s more senior characters are leaving the show at the end of Season 14: Dr. Arizona Robbins and Dr. April Kepner (Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew, respectively). And we don’t know if our hearts can take it. Not only are we still reeling over that Season 13 finale when we had to say goodbye to Dr. Stephanie Edwards, but the past decade or so has not been as kind. (Meaning, no, we’re still not over Denny’s death.)
In memoriam, we’re taking a look back at some of the tragic deaths that have rocked our world — and it’s really starting to seem like Shonda Rhimes is trying to destroy us one gut-wrenching loss at a time.
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1. McDreamy
Let’s start things off with a bang, shall we? There’s been a ton of death on Grey’s Anatomy, but nothing shook us to the core quite like when Dr. Derek Shepherd met his maker. McDreamy was taken from us suddenly in Season 11 after he was involved in a tragic car accident, and the scene where Meredith says her final goodbye to her husband still gives us the chills.
2. Samuel Norbert Avery
Image: ABC.
It’s hard to witness the death of any character, but when a baby dies, it’s just devastating. In Season 11, Jackson and April made the hard decision to induce labor early when they learned Samuel’s rare medical condition was causing him pain in the womb — and sadly, he didn’t make it. Samuel’s death was really the beginning of the end of the Japril relationship.
3. Jimmy Evans
Image: ABC
Alex Karev’s father, Jimmy Evans, died a relatively peaceful death on the Season 10 winter premiere episode after a pretty tumultuous recurring role throughout the season. A former heroin addict and current alcoholic who beat his wife and sons when they were younger, Evans ditched Karev and his siblings early in life. As such, Karev has daddy issues, which manifested in a major way in Season 10 after his girlfriend, Jo, proved Karev’s patient was actually his father. Evans’ health went downhill after complications from his alcohol and drug abuse lead to cardiac arrest and, subsequently, a botched surgery at the hands of sleep-deprived, ego-trippin’ intern Shane. Karev forgave his dad, told him it was OK to let go and said goodbye for the last time.
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4. Heather Brooks
She may have been a bit overeager, but we liked Brooks. She was shaping up to be a real contender for favorite resident. Brooks tragically died in the Season 10 premiere after she got electrocuted in the basement trying to find Dr. Webber. Shepherd attempted surgery to save her life to no avail. Yikes.
5. Adele Webber
Chief Richard Webber’s wife, Adele Webber, suffered with Alzheimer’s through the last few seasons of her time on Grey’s Anatomy. Even though Meredith Grey tampered with her and Shepherd’s Alzheimer’s drug trial to get Adele the medicine she needed, Adele’s Alzheimer’s continued to get worse. On the way to Bailey’s wedding, Richard received a call from the hospital telling him that Adele was on the way to the hospital. Bailey and Richard headed to the hospital, where Bailey immediately began to work on Adele. They ended up working on her together, though, nearly causing Bailey to totally miss her own wedding. While the talented surgeons were able to save Adele’s life on the table, the surgery proved too stressful for her heart, and she died of a heart attack soon after.
6. McSteamy
Remember when Mark Sloan first came to Seattle Grace? Hello, Dr. McSteamy! Sure, he was a bit of a philanderer who wrecked Addison and Derek’s marriage in the beginning of the series, but his growth and benevolence later more than made up for his initial shortcomings. He really made us swoon over his love for on/off girlfriend Lexie Grey, which ultimately kind of ended up being the death of him. When he, Lexie and several other Seattle Grace doctors went down in a plane crash, Lexie got crushed beneath debris from the plane and died. Sloan confessed his undying devotion to her in her final moments, lamenting, “[We’re] supposed to end up together. We’re meant to be.” Although it appeared for a time that he’d overcome his injuries, you got the sense the fight was gone from him after he lost Lexie, and he ultimately slipped into a coma and died in the Season 9 premiere.
Next: Lexie Grey
A version of this article was originally published in February 2014.
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