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Goodbye, 'Grey's Anatomy' Doc Cristina Yang: A Look Back at Sandra Oh's 10 Best Moments
By now, long-time fans of Grey's Anatomy have gotten used to the show's revolving door of cast members. Over the course of ten seasons, dozens of doctors have left Seattle Grace/Mercy West/Grey Sloan Memorial, with some of the losses (George! Lexie!) hurting more than others (Burke... for now). Yet when the news broke that Sandra Oh was leaving Grey's after this season, even the most prepared fans were shocked. Cristina Yang has been an integral part of the series ever since it began, and even now, months after the announcement, picturing a Grey's without her is impossible.
With only a few episodes to go until the finale, however, it's time we got used to the idea of a Cristina-less Grey's, no matter how sad it makes us. The show can (and will) go on without her, even if it'll be without Oh's dry wit and lovable coldness. Before we're forced to say goodbye, though, let's look back on the 10 most memorable Cristina moments of the series.
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Performing an Emergency Heart Surgery on Derek (Season 6)
Ah, the famous shooter-in-the-hospital episode. The entire Season 6 finale was filled with memorable moments, but none gave viewers as much anxiety as when Cristina, gun to her head, was ordered to stop performing life-saving heart surgery on Derek. Most people would’ve freaked under the pressure, but quick-thinking Cristina pretended to let Derek die by turning off the monitors, yet immediately continued the surgery the moment the gunman left the room. Oh, and she did this all while Owen was possibly dying ten feet away. No biggie.
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Freeing Herself of Burke After He Left Her at the Alter (Season 3)
After Isaiah Washington got kicked off the show — we mean, after Burke moved out of Seattle after leaving Cristina at the alter — Cristina headed back to their apartment and stood there, shocked, until Meredith walked in. “He’s gone,” Cristina told her best friend. “I’m free.” Hyperventilating, she ordered Meredith to help her cut off her wedding dress, and collapsed into Mer’s arms. It was a feat of acting for Oh, and a painfully vulnerable moment for the usually composed Cristina.
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Failing to Find Her Shoe After the Plane Crash (Season 9)
After their plane crashed in the woods, most of of the doctors focused on tending to their wounds and looking for help. Cristina, meanwhile, wandered around searching for her missing shoe, shouting to anyone who’d listen that she was missing a sneaker. Sample exchange: “Where’s Lexie?!” - Meredith. “I don’t know, I ONLY HAVE ONE SHOE!” - Cristina.
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Getting Impaled By an Icicle (Season 5)
It takes a lot to impress Cristina Yang, and performing an emergency tracheotomy with a pen definitely makes the cut. Owen Hunt’s entrance into Grey’s was certainly memorable, but it was later in the episode, when he saved Cristina after she was impaled by a falling icicle (only on Grey’s, guys), that left the biggest impression. That passionate kiss didn’t hurt, either.
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Losing Her Baby After An Ectopic Pregnancy (Season 2)
Cristina had been planning on getting an abortion after finding out she was pregnant with then-boyfriend Burke’s child, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t heartbroken when her Fallopian tube burst and the baby was lost during the required emergency surgery. Although she told everyone she was fine, the extent of what had happened didn’t hit Cristina until Burke walked in, and she collapsed, crying, into his arms.
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Getting an Abortion (Season 8)
Cristina’s second time getting pregnant was just as unwelcome as the first, and she had no hesitation about scheduling an abortion. Yet although Cristina had always made it clear that she didn’t want children, Owen, the baby’s father, felt differently. The couple argued for episodes after what to do, until eventually, Cristina went through with the abortion (a rarity for network TV), and Owen sat by her side. Still, the duo’s clashing feelings about kids would be their downfall for seasons to come.
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Going Fishing with Derek (Season 7)
While suffering from PTSD as a result of the hospital shooting, Cristina derailed, quitting her job, staying at home, and taking up a (thankfully short-lived) gig as a waitress. Despite attempts from Meredith and Owen, the only person to help Cristina out of her funk is Derek, who takes her on a fishing trip. One would not think Cristina Yang, control freak and nature hater, would take well to the sea, but the trip was exactly what was needed to get her back on track. Shonda Rhimes has said that the photo of a crying Cristina holding a fish is framed on her desk.
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Seeing Her Alternate Reality (Season 10)
Grey’s is no stranger to alternate realities (remember Meredith’s “happy childhood” delusion in Season 8?) but it was a surprise when just a few episodes ago, the series chose that route again when Cristina mulled over her future with Owen. The wonderfully-done episode showed two paths Cristina could take, neither of them good; either she’d end up unhappy, married, and with kids she didn’t want, or she’d end up single, lonely, and career-obsessed. Thankfully, neither of those scenarios are likely to happen, but the episode showed a perfect “what if” — not to mention a powerful performance by Oh.
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Kissing Owen in the Hot Vents (Season 5)
This isn’t one moment, but several, as Owen and Cristina routinely got it on in the hospital’s vents. Hooking up above hot air was apparently a major turn on for the couple, who went there so often that Cristina once complained to Meredith about getting “vent marks” in, uh, unfortunate places. The scenes showed off Owen and Cristina’s amazing chemistry, as well as gave a place for several of the doctors to share secret moments — including Izzie, who chose that location to tell Cristina about her cancer.
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Becoming Meredith's 'Person' (Season 2)
Of course, no Cristina Yang retrospective could be complete without mentioning “her person,” Meredith Grey. The women’s friendship has been the strongest relationship on Grey’s since the show’s inception, surviving heartbreaks, betrayals, and, most recently, episodes-long fights. As hard as it will be for us to see Cristina go in a few weeks time, we all know it’ll be harder on Meredith. Twisted sisters forever.
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