ABCIn its 12 seasons on air, Grey's Anatomy has traumatized us more times than we care to count. Seriously, our insurance now just bills Shonda Rhimes direct for our therapy.
But, not all trauma is created equal. In honor of tonight's 250th episode, centered on Meredith's dinner party with the guest from hell (aka, the doctor who couldn't save Derek), let's take a look at the 10 times the good docs of Seattle Grace—excuse us, Sloan Grey Memorial—were put through the wringer outside the hospital walls.
1. Meredith & Derek's Dog Doc Has to Be Put Down (season two)
Sure, we cried our eyes out during the season two finale when Denny died, but it was a surprise we had any tears left considering how much we'd wept during the preceding episodes while watching as Mer (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek's (Patrick Dempsey) adorable pooch Doc fell ill, was diagnosed with cancer, and had to be put down. (Only upside to this heartbreak? Chris O'Donnell's hot McVet Finn!)
2. Meredith Drowns at the Ferry Accident (season three, episodes 15 & 16)
Meredith's life was tough up until this point, sure, but watching her give up after falling into icy cold water and allow herself to nearly die was horrific—and not just because it was followed by scenes with her in limbo, talking to dearly departed guest stars. (Again with the Denny tears!)
3. Burke Leaves Cristina at the Altar (season three, episode 25)
Watching Burke (Isaiah Washington) decide at the last minute that he couldn't marry Cristina (Sandra Oh) was enough to leave us wrecked. But Cristina's subsequent panic attack where she demands Meredith rip off her suffocating wedding dress? It was enough to convince us love only leads to pain. (Don't even get us started on Meredith using the failed wedding as her excuse to break up with Derek. In front of the entire wedding party. DON'T.)
4. Alex Realizes He Can't Save Ava (season four, episodes 16 & 17)
After weeks of rehabilitating the amnesiac Rebecca (guest star Elizabeth Reaser) following the ferry accident (and referring to her as Ava just so we'd never know what to call her once her identity was discovered), it was a punch to the gut watching Alex (Justin Chambers) try to care for her after learning she suffers from bipolar disorder. It sadly took a suicide attempt at home to push Alex over the edge and admit she needed more help than he could provide.
5. Meredith Witnesses an Execution (season five, episode 13)
After bonding with a death row inmate convicted of killing five women who arrived at Seattle Grace for brain surgery, Meredith attends the man's execution and is brutally shaken by what she sees. That shot of her sobbing in Derek's truck while Cristina holds her afterwards? Even more brutal.
6. Callie & Arizona's Car Accident (season seven, episode 18)
Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) had just proposed to Callie (Sara Ramirez), so of course they were struck by a car immediately afterwards, nearly killing Callie and her unborn baby. This was traumatic for two reasons. 1. It was a reminder that falling in love in Grey's Anatomy is almost certainly a death sentence. And 2. It led to the divisive (to say the least) musical episode.
7. Alex & Meredith's Ambulance Accident (season eight, episode nine)
Of course the minute Alex and Meredith's ambulance broke down en route to a neighboring hospital on that dark road as they tried to care for a baby, they were bound to be struck by a car. Have you been paying attention?
8. The Plane Crash (season eight, episode 24)
As if these doctors (and the audience) hadn't been through enough, season eight ended with Meredith, Derek, Cristina, Arizona, Mark (Eric Dane), and Lexie (Chyler Leigh) crashing in the woods while flying to Idaho to assist on a surgery. We repeat: THEY WERE IN A FREAKING PLANE CRASH. Lexie didn't survive the episode, Mark would die when the series returned for season nine, Arizona lost a leg and everyone else was seriously messed up, recalling how the wolves came for Lexie's corpse.
9. Cristina Loses the Harper Avery Award (season 10, episodes 20 & 21)
Not all trauma is life and death. Cristina's loss of the coveted Harper Avery award because of BS politics (Jackson, an Avery, sits on the board of her hospital, making her ineligible) was the straw that broke her back and drove her to leave Seattle, leave Meredith, leave us. Not cool.
10. Derek's Car Accident (season 11, episode 21)
The day McDreamy died. Was there anything more traumatic than seeing Derek witness a car crash, save everyone involved, and then get fatally struck by a car himself immediately after? Yes, there was: Meredith finding out. And no, we're not crying again. Leave us alone.
Which moment do you think is the most traumatic? And how do you think tonight's doomed dinner party will rank amongst the rest? Sound off in the comments below!
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.