Meredith Grey has been through more than her fair share of trauma throughout Grey's Anatomy's fifteen seasons. From losing her mother, her sister, her husband, and so many others, it's understandable that having to endure such hardship would change Meredith for the worst.
Meredith is, of course, the main focus of the series and has been from the beginning, but with everything that's happened and all that she's been through, has she really changed that much? Characters like Alex Karev have gone through significant evolution and impressive character development, but Meredith still seems very much like she did at the beginning of Grey's Anatomy.
Meredith Grey has been through some horrible things but she's also done some horrible things herself. Let's take a look at 10 of the worst.
10. THE BOMB INCIDENT
Throughout the series, Meredith has struggled with troubling mental health issues such as suicidal tendencies. This was primarily relevant in the early seasons, and Meredith has come a long way since then, but some of her risky moves just can't be forgotten.
It's The End Of The World and As We Know It were two episodes that followed the storyline of a patient arriving at Seattle Grace with a bomb in his body. The two episodes were some of the highest-rated in Grey's history and were certainly an unforgettable thrill ride. As great as the episodes were, though, Meredith grabbed the bomb and showed no attempt at self-preservation, which is just insane.
9. CHOOSING DEREK
Meredith and Derek's romance is still one of the most beloved on TV and it garnered a massive fanbase. People loved these two, but when you look past Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey's magic chemistry, the way Derek treated Meredith sometimes was pretty problematic.
There were countless red flags in the early stages of their relationship that Meredith probably should have picked up on. Derek's behavior is by no means her fault, but she should have known her worth and got out of that relationship. Maybe choosing Finn the veterinarian wouldn't have been such a bad choice after all...
8. HER RELATIONSHIP WITH GEORGE
Meredith's friendship with George was questionable, to say the least. Their dynamic could have been cute and healthy, but the writers insisted on pushing the tired, cliche storyline in which George was madly in love with Meredith. If this had just gone on for a few episodes, that would have been fine.
But George's crush on Meredith soon led her to use him after one of her many break-ups with Derek, and that was simply selfish.
7. HER REJECTION OF LEXIE
Lexie Grey was introduced late in Grey's Anatomy's third season, and would later die tragically in a plane crash at the end of season 8. This means that Meredith and Lexie had around five seasons together, and some sisterly bonding should have taken place.
But Meredith rejected Lexie immediately and shut her out for several seasons. The storyline was just a shame, especially Meredith had just started to get close to Lexie right before she died.
6. SHUTTING OUT DEREK'S FAMILY
Meredith has a real issue with shutting people out. Considering her difficult early life, that's obviously justified, but Meredith takes it to the extreme far too often. Not only did she shut out Lexie, Richard, several of her friends, and Derek at times, but she also shut out the Shepherd family at the worst possible time.
Derek's sudden death was absolutely heart-wrenching and arguably the worst thing Meredith has gone through on the show. But that doesn't mean she shouldn't have informed Derek's family when he was put on life support.
5. ASKING TO BE SHOT
Out of the many slightly suicidal risks Meredith has taken, begging a mentally ill man to shoot her instead of Derek has to be one of the worst. Meredith would do anything to protect the people she loves, of course, but that doesn't mean she has to throw herself under the bus for them.
Not to mention, Meredith was in the early stages of pregnancy at the time, so she was willing to give up her life and her potential child's life for Derek.
4. SYMPATHIZING WITH A MURDERER
When Meredith sympathized and attempted to help a murderer, both Cristina and Derek became furious with her. The patient was admitted to Seattle Grace with head trauma and Derek - along with several others - wanted to make sure the man lived so that he would rightfully spend the rest of his life in jail.
But Meredith just wanted to put the guy out of his misery and trying to help a murderer was just not a smart move on her part.
3. LOSING TOUCH WITH CRISTINA
This is not something that is completely Meredith's fault. Obviously, the show could not keep Cristina on the show after Sandra Oh departed, but they did attempt to have Meredith and Alex maintain contact with her...at least, for a short while.
The end of the Meredith and Cristina friendship was one of the most heartbreaking moments on the show, the fact that the two "twisted sisters" have ultimately drifted apart makes matters even sadder.
2. SABOTAGING HERSELF
Meredith's issues with loving herself and accepting herself have been present since the very beginning of Grey's, and honestly, not much has changed, fifteen seasons later. Meredith has covered some ground and made a bit of progress with her issues, but they still rear their heads from time to time.
It seems that Meredith still wastes no time sabotaging herself when things are looking good. She has sabotaged career opportunities, relationships, and happiness countless times.
1. HER ROMANCE WITH NATHAN
It's a general consensus among the Grey's Anatomy fanbase that the show probably should have given Meredith more time to grieve Derek's passing before having her move on to new relationships. In the Grey's universe, a year had passed since Derek's death, but in real life, it had only been a few weeks.
Forcing romances with random guys was a bad move on Grey's part, and Meredith's whirlwind romance with Nathan Riggs is no exception. The two lacked chemistry, and the entire storyline made everyone look bad.