The WORST episodes of Grey's Anatomy

Every episode of Grey's Anatomy ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Grey's Anatomy!

A drama centered on the personal and professional lives of five surgical interns and their supervisors.

Last Updated: 11/26/2024Network: ABC (US)Status: Continuing
In My Life
star
6.61
750 votes

#1 - In My Life

Season 17 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/25/2021

After a heart-wrenching loss, Teddy struggles to cope and it triggers memories of her past; Amelia tries to help the situation by encouraging Owen to accept and forgive Teddy.

Directors: Kevin McKidd
Leave a Light On
star
7.06
921 votes

#2 - Leave a Light On

Season 16 - Episode 16 - Aired 3/5/2020

Bailey and Ben face a huge, life-altering decision, while Meredith, Jo and Bailey reflect on their past.

Directors: Debbie Allen
The Room Where It Happens
star
7.09
2692 votes

#3 - The Room Where It Happens

Season 13 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/10/2016

A difficult surgery brings back pivotal memories for Meredith, Richard, Owen and Stephanie, as they work together to save a life.

Directors: Debbie Allen
Writer: Meg Marines
Watch Now:Apple TV
Love Don't Cost a Thing
star
7.13
401 votes

#4 - Love Don't Cost a Thing

Season 19 - Episode 9 - Aired 3/9/2023

Simone is met with a life-changing decision upon the return of someone from her past. Blue shadows Maggie on a risky procedure, while Jo and Link tend to a pregnant woman. At the intern house, Lucas and Mika throw a party filled with surprises.

Directors: Kevin McKidd
Watch Now:Apple TV
Unbreak My Heart
star
7.17
1697 votes

#5 - Unbreak My Heart

Season 12 - Episode 11 - Aired 2/25/2016

The evolution of April and Jackson's relationship is revealed through a series of flashbacks dating back to when they first met. Simultaneously, we follow the years-long progress of one of Jackson's patients.

Directors: Rob Corn
The Makings of You
star
7.17
535 votes

#6 - The Makings of You

Season 18 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/17/2022

Nick whisks Meredith away to his Minnesota cabin for a romantic weekend, leaving Winston and Maggie to care for Meredith’s children. Meanwhile, Amelia and Kai grow closer.

Directors: Debbie Allen
Watch Now:Apple TV
Song Beneath the Song
star
7.20
3471 votes

#7 - Song Beneath the Song

Season 7 - Episode 18 - Aired 3/31/2011

A cataclysmic event leaves the doctors shaken; Callie, on the verge of a life-changing moment, starts imagining about the hospital and her friends.

Directors: Tony Phelan
Watch Now:Apple TV
If/Then
star
7.23
3048 votes

#8 - If/Then

Season 8 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/2/2012

As Meredith puts Zola to bed and falls asleep, she begins to wonder -- what if her mother had never had Alzheimer's and she'd had loving, supportive parents? The reverberations of a happy Meredith Grey change the world of Seattle Grace as we know it. What if she had never met Derek in that bar and he had never separated from Addison? What if Callie and Owen had become a couple long before she met Arizona? And what if Bailey never evolved from the meek intern she once was?

Directors: Jeannot Szwarc
Watch Now:Apple TV
Sign o' the Times
star
7.24
668 votes

#9 - Sign o' the Times

Season 17 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/15/2021

Maggie is preoccupied with Winston while trying to treat a patient wounded in the Seattle protests. Meanwhile, Levi is tested by an emergency, and the doctors struggle to treat a patient who doesn't believe in COVID.

Directors: Michael Medico
All Star
star
7.24
402 votes

#10 - All Star

Season 19 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/2/2023

Teddy makes a challenging decision. Meanwhile, Maggie and Winston aren’t on speaking terms, and Link leans on Jo for emotional support as he preps for a surgery on a well-known athlete. Simone and Lucas are surprised by an unlikely visitor.

Watch Now:Apple TV
Look Up Child
star
7.25
639 votes

#11 - Look Up Child

Season 17 - Episode 14 - Aired 5/6/2021

Jackson pays a visit to his father that helps set him on the right path.

Directors: Debbie Allen
Danger Zone
star
7.26
2245 votes

#12 - Danger Zone

Season 14 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/26/2017

In a flashback to Iraq in 2007, the events leading up to Megan’s kidnapping are revealed. In present day, Owen and Megan hash out old wounds.

Directors: Cecilie A. Mosli
Watch Now:Apple TV
One Flight Down
star
7.26
1572 votes

#13 - One Flight Down

Season 11 - Episode 20 - Aired 4/16/2015

A small plane crash in Seattle causes multiple casualties and brings back horrible memories for the doctors, especially Meredith and Arizona. Meanwhile, friction between Owen and Amelia makes for an uncomfortable working situation for Stephanie.

Directors: David Greenspan
Watch Now:Apple TV
Blood, Sweat and Tears
star
7.27
303 votes

#14 - Blood, Sweat and Tears

Season 20 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/16/2024

Owen and Teddy have the day off but encounter an injured civilian. Monica enlists Amelia’s help with an operation on a young patient. The interns complete their procedure logs, allowing them back into the OR.

Directors: Chandra Wilson
Watch Now:Apple TV
Shadow of Your Love
star
7.27
381 votes

#15 - Shadow of Your Love

Season 19 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/13/2023

It’s Maggie’s last day. Amelia’s relationship with Kai is tested, and Ben worries as Bailey’s doxing intensifies.

Writer: Beto Skubs
Watch Now:Apple TV
Where the Wild Things Are
star
7.28
1396 votes

#16 - Where the Wild Things Are

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/24/2008

Time has passed but not much has changed. Sexual angst still runs rampant in the halls of Seattle Grace. Derek and Rose have been dating and Meredith has noticed the activities of her current off-again ex-boyfriend. The doctor's are in the midst of a competition.

Directors: Rob Corn
Writer: Zoanne Clack
Watch Now:Apple TV
I'll Follow the Sun
star
7.29
441 votes

#17 - I'll Follow the Sun

Season 19 - Episode 7 - Aired 2/23/2023

It’s Meredith’s last day at Grey Sloan Memorial and the doctors plan a goodbye surprise, while Nick confronts her about the future of their relationship. Elsewhere, the interns compete to scrub in on Maggie and Winston’s groundbreaking partial heart transplant procedure, and Richard asks Teddy an important question.

Directors: Debbie Allen
Watch Now:Apple TV
Here Comes the Sun (2)
star
7.29
645 votes

#18 - Here Comes the Sun (2)

Season 18 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/30/2021

As the city of Seattle revels at the Phoenix Fair celebrating the city’s rebirth post-COVID, the Grey Sloan doctors treat a patient who encounters illegal fireworks. Meanwhile, Bailey has her sights set on hiring new doctors, but she’s having trouble finding viable options. Owen and Teddy attempt to take the next step in their engagement, and Meredith has a surprising opportunity when she meets a dynamic doctor from her mother‘s past. The crossover starts on Station 19 S05E01 Phoenix from the Flame.

Directors: Debbie Allen
Writer: Meg Marinis
Watch Now:Apple TV
If Only You Were Lonely
star
7.29
3199 votes

#19 - If Only You Were Lonely

Season 8 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/23/2012

As Adele's condition continues to deteriorate, Richard considers altering their living situation; an explosion at a local coffee shop results in a busy day in the ER for the doctors; Callie takes Meredith under her wing by helping her study for her boards; Lexie joins Arizona and Alex in peds, as they continue to care for intern Morgan's premature son; and when Jackson snaps at a patient, Mark encourages him to find ways to relieve his stress. Meanwhile, Cristina lets her suspicions get the best of her.

Directors: Susan Vaill
Writer: Matt Byrne
Watch Now:Apple TV
Sympathy for the Parents
star
7.29
3100 votes

#20 - Sympathy for the Parents

Season 6 - Episode 19 - Aired 4/1/2010

When Alex's younger brother, Aaron, shows up at Seattle Grace-Mercy West with a hernia, it's up to Alex to get Bailey's approval for his pro bono surgery. Matters are further complicated when Aaron discloses that his family has not heard from Alex since he arrived in Seattle, and parts of Alex's past long kept secret are revealed to his friends and fellow doctors.

Directors: Debbie Allen
Watch Now:Apple TV
How Insensitive
star
7.31
3230 votes

#21 - How Insensitive

Season 6 - Episode 21 - Aired 5/6/2010

Bailey preps the team with mandatory sensitivity training prior to admitting a 700-pound patient with compounded medical issues, and the case proves to be challenging in every sense of the word. Meanwhile Derek has to come face to face with a former patient's husband in a wrongful death deposition, and spending time with a heart patient's daughter opens up some old wounds for Cristina.

Directors: Tom Verica
Watch Now:Apple TV
Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves
star
7.31
385 votes

#22 - Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves

Season 19 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/16/2023

Catherine returns to Grey Sloan for a surgical case that makes Lucas and Blue queasy. Amelia treats a possible cancer patient with a family that’s a little too supportive. Owen takes his medical future into his own hands, much to Teddy’s surprise.

Directors: Linda Klein
Watch Now:Apple TV
Do You Know?
star
7.31
1766 votes

#23 - Do You Know?

Season 10 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/27/2014

Cristina imagines the two routes her life can take based on one decision she makes. Meanwhile one of the hospital’s patients decides whether or not to live.

Directors: Chandra Wilson
Writer: Stacy McKee
Watch Now:Apple TV
The Other Side of This Life (1)
star
7.32
1331 votes

#24 - The Other Side of This Life (1)

Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/3/2007

Meredith works on her relationship with Susan and Thatcher. Cristina has to deal with her mother and Burke's. Alex continues to tend to Jane Doe/Ava. Meredith and Derek's relationship has a problem that needs resolution quick. Addison sees her god-daughter which leads to a job offer outside of Seattle. Derek has to perform surgery. Burke has a reservation about marrying Cristina. Many new people guest star in the course of Addison's road trip to California. Addison considers moving to be closer to her old med school friends until she discovers that drama she wishes to leave behind isn't exclusive to Seattle. Her friends who she thought had it all, are divorced. A pregnant woman must discover who the father of her child is. This two-part episode serves as a backdoor pilot for Private Practice.

Directors: Michael Grossman
Watch Now:Apple TV
Take Me to Church
star
7.32
243 votes

#25 - Take Me to Church

Season 21 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/3/2024

Meredith and Catherine continue to disagree, and Meredith confides in Bailey for support. Richard, Winston and Lucas spend the day outside of the hospital, and Blue deals with a relationship from his past. Levi meets the new hospital chaplain.

Directors: Kevin McKidd