Entertainment
12 ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Deaths & How They Compare To Derek’s Car Crash, Because This Show Has Done Way Worse
Well, it happened. After weeks of speculation and anxiety from fans, Grey's Anatomy did the unthinkable: they killed off McDreamy, in perhaps the show's gloomiest episode in years. What's even more shocking, however, is that Derek didn't die of a traumatic gunshot wound or a terrifying plane crash or any of the other catastrophes that've hit him over the years. Instead, he died because a surgeon was too busy eating dinner to help him before he went brain-dead. Lame.
Still, as upsettingly anti-climatic Derek's death was, he actually was pretty lucky to go out the way he did, considering how many of his former colleagues and friends died in much more horrifying ways. But who had it worst? Here's how Derek's death ranks among those of the (many) other Grey's stars who've perished over the course of the show's 11 seasons.
Image: ABC
12. Ellis Grey
Cause of Death: Complications from Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s is a terrible illness, but Ellis’s death from it was relatively peaceful. She’d been taken care of by watchful nurses and a loving daughter, and she even got to say a final goodbye to Meredith in in-between land when both women were hanging between life and death. Just go with it.
Image: ABC
11. Adele Webber
Cause of Death: Complications from Alzheimer’s.
Like Ellis, Adele suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, and she also had a relatively nice death, thanks to the appearance of her husband by her side.
Image: ABC
10. George O'Malley
Cause of Death: Hit by a bus.
Although he certainly didn’t deserve to die so young, George actually had one of the nicest deaths of all the Grey’s doctors. He saved a woman’s life, was surrounded by his heartbroken friends, and had his organs donated to help dozens of others. It was a worthy end for the beloved doctor.
Image: ABC
9. Mark Sloan
Cause of Death: Plane crash.
The first Mc-Doctor to die, Sloan’s passing was actually done well. He got just enough time to advise his protege and say goodbye to his family and friends before being reunited with the love of his life, Lexie, in Seattle Grace-Mercy Death heaven.
Image: ABC
8. Henry Burton
Cause of Death: Von Hippel-Lindau disease.
Dying so young, and with his relationship with Teddy just beginning, was terrible, but at least Henry had had plenty of time to prepare, due to the seriousness of his condition. Still: no death hurts like a Scott Foley death.
Image: ABC
7. Charles Percy
Cause of Death: Gunshot wound.
Getting shot by a murderer definitely sucks, but at least Percy got to die with Bailey by his side, comforting him through the process. That makes it a bit better, right?
Image: ABC
6. Reed Adamson
Cause of Death: Gunshot wound.
Sure, Reed was pretty cold, but she didn’t deserve to die the way she did, being shot in the head by a mass murderer.
Image: ABC
5. Denny Duquette
Cause of Death: Heart issues/cut LVAD wire.
Dammit, Izzie. If the desperate doctor hadn’t cut Denny’s LVAD wire, the guy might still be alive. Yes, he got to profess his love and give her a bunch of money, but Denny deserved a way better death than the pathetic one he got.
Image: ABC
4. Derek Shepherd
Cause of Death: Car accident.
Derek survived getting shot in the heart, being caught in a plane crash, and being married to the world’s unluckiest woman, and yet he died because a neurosurgeon couldn’t be bothered to leave his dinner early. So unfair, yet at least he got to go out being a hero, and with his wife by his side.
Image: ABC
3. Heather Brooks
Cause of Death: Electrocution.
Man, this one was unfair. Heather was just trying to save Dr. Webber, and instead, she slipped in a puddle and found herself electrocuted. And she hadn’t even gotten to finish her internship!
Image: ABC
2. Lexie Grey
Cause of Death: Plane crash.
Poor, poor Lexie. Dying in a plane crash was an awful way to go, and nearly getting eaten by wild animals in the days afterwards? Horrifying. The girl with the photographic memory deserved a way better ending than that.
Image: ABC
1. Susan Grey
Cause of Death: HICCUPS.
And the award for the worst Grey’s death goes to… Susan Grey, mother of Lexie and step-mother of Meredith, who suffered from a rare complication for long-lasting hiccups and died. Oof.
Image: ABC
