Grey’s Anatomy first struck a chord with audiences when it premiered in 2005 and has since seen a ton of acclaim and success. Though the hit medical drama takes place in a world-renowned hospital, it’s the surgeons’ personal lives that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. So, from the early days of the interns up until now, fans just can’t get enough of this fast-paced and emotional procedural.
Yet, with 21 seasons under its belt, some fans are starting to get tired of the show’s main appeal: Meredith Grey. Although she’s the protagonist of the drama and everything undoubtedly revolves around her, a lot of viewers believe that she isn’t involved in any significant storylines anymore and that the other doctors view her as some kind of deity. Thus, it’s clear that the main character is holding Grey’s Anatomy back from growing into the primetime show it once was.
The Obsession With Meredith Grey Has Gone Too Far
Grey’s Anatomy centers around the trials and tribulations of Meredith Grey, a surgeon who is trying to climb up the ranks at the hospital her prolific mother once worked in. As such, it comes as no surprise that the show would delve deeper into her emotional baggage and include her in a ton of riveting storylines. But, as the show progressed, a lot of fans believed that Meredith was included in too many outlandish stories, causing the series to feel entirely unrealistic. Not only that, placing Meredith on a pedestal caused her to become slightly unlikable and detached from her peers.
Take, for example, when Meredith wins the prestigious Harper Avery Award in Season 14, Episode 7, “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.” Though this is meant to be a monumental achievement, Meredith cannot accept the award in person because she’s stuck in the OR helping victims of a roller-coaster crash. As such, she receives the news via a video call, and the camera tends to focus on everybody else’s reaction to her win. This bizarre creative decision makes it seem like Meredith Grey is an untouchable surgeon who simply cannot be faulted in any way. Yet, any long-time fan will know that Meredith Grey has made a fair share of deadly mistakes, like in Season 1, Episode 5, “Shake Your Groove Thing,” when she contaminated a patient’s surgery by popping a glove. Plus, by keeping her isolated in the OR, this episode paints the picture that Meredith is always working and never lets anything get in the way of her award-winning medical discoveries. Again, viewers know that this isn’t true because they also get an unflinching look at her personal life. Overall, this episode just feels entirely out of place and presents Meredith as something she’s not, which forces the audience to become more and more frustrated with the show.
Meredith is also included in a handful of truly emotive and well-written storylines, but because the writers refuse to let her fall from grace, they’re simply swept under the rug. In Season 9, Episode 20, “She’s Killing Me,” Miranda Bailey reveals that Meredith tested positive for a selection of Alzheimer’s genes, suggesting that she’ll experience the same mental decline as her mother. After this bombshell, many fans expected her to show some symptoms of the disease, but she just carried on as normal. Though it would be wrong to suggest that Meredith should immediately show signs of mental decline, even though she hasn’t even been properly diagnosed yet, a lot of audiences see this plot point as useless. In turn, this storyline is a prime example of how Meredith is often placed at the center of the Grey’s Anatomy universe but doesn’t actually do anything to help the show move forward. Thus, the audience is stuck watching Meredith have a bad experience, then bounce back straight away.
Even Her Departure Was Lackluster
After multiple seasons of overwhelming happiness and crushing heartbreaks, Meredith Grey finally decided that it was time to say goodbye to the hospital that stood by her side through everything. In Season 19, Episode 7, “I’ll Follow the Sun,” Grey announced that she was switching Seattle for Boston, and the vast majority of fans were happy for her. At this point, Meredith was in a good headspace and was keen to develop her work on Alzheimer’s outside her usual stomping ground. Her kids were also joining her, suggesting that the whole family felt ready to leave their past trauma behind and turn over a new leaf. This episode was teeming with tearful goodbyes and positive anecdotes, something that the character deserved after nearly 20 years of faithful service to her beloved hospital. A lot of fans also thought that Meredith’s departure would signal the conclusion of Grey’s Anatomy, something that has been debated for a number of years.
However, Grey’s departure from Grey Sloan wasn’t exactly the kind of exit fans had in mind as she returned to the show in the season finale, “Happily Ever After?”. Not to mention, her voice still appears in the opening segment of almost every episode, so it seemed that Grey was watching over the hospital when she wasn’t actually there. These voice-overs were very similar to Mary Alice from Desperate Housewives, giving the impression that Grey was now an omniscient narrator. Since then, she has made a few cameos here and there, most of which don’t really align with the show’s wider arc or canon. Overall, it’s grossly apparent that the writers just can’t see a future without Meredith Grey but just don’t know how to improve her character anymore. She has suffered countless losses and has already seen grand success in her career, so now she’s forced to make random cameo appearances in a show that is supposed to be about her life. As a result, many fans agree that the show should’ve ended with Meredith’s exit from Grey Sloan as it would have created an emotive full-circle moment.
The Show Needs to Decide Whether Meredith Grey Is the Main Character or Not
Now that Season 21 has kicked off, fans have seen a little bit more of Meredith Grey. Though she’s not running around the OR saving lives like she used to, she’s still focusing on her Alzheimer’s research. Admittedly, it’s quite nice to see this storyline extended into the latest season, but Meredith and the team are not really getting anywhere, so it can feel a tad tedious and repetitive at times. Not to mention, Meredith is unlikely to make any significant breakthroughs in this area because the show is careful not to present any misinformation, especially when it comes to a degenerative disease like Alzheimer’s. As such, Meredith is once again stuck in limbo, flying back and forth to Seattle to make a few comments and then fading back into obscurity.
Overall, this is quite sad because when Meredith was a fresh-faced intern, fans couldn’t wait to find out what she got up to. Her relationship with Derek was passionate and exciting, creating a steamy romance that audiences loved sinking their teeth into. In addition, she quickly formed strong bonds with the other interns like Alex and Cristina, but now that they’ve both gone, Grey seems to be on her own. Even when she does communicate with other characters, they tend to see her as an urban legend, again creating the assumption that she’s something of an icon in the medical world. The hit medical drama has spent too much time introducing new characters, so as soon as one leaves, another intern is dragged in. Ultimately, this has created a negative revolving door effect, which has also caused audiences to stop engaging with certain characters because they know as soon as they become attached to them, they’ll be replaced by someone new. As such, it’s clear that Grey’s Anatomy needs to make a fundamental decision: either write Meredith out completely or include her in an integral storyline.
