Owen Hunt is a highly controversial character. Despite being a part of the hit ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy for well over a decade now, he manages to draw polarizing opinions as his character takes flak for some obviously negative traits and patterns on behavior.
Owen can be gentle and loving, as he had demonstrated many times with his wife Cristina, but he can also be toxic, something that inevitably leads him to blow up all his relationships. He is a good leader, but he is also not above being jealous, or judgemental, and is generally a rather complicated character. As is typical to the series, it is his flaws that make Owen all the more real.
Worst: Twisted
Owen is one of the most twisted individuals in the Grey's universe. When he first joined Seattle Grace, he came across as a simple, uncomplicated person whose difficult past as an army surgeon had given him PTSD. However, in time Owen has been proven to be much more complicated than just that.
For instance, when Cristina was one of the victims in the horrific plane crash on season 8, Owen had apparently hoped that she was dead. He had, it seems, always been worried that Cristina would leave him eventually and he was relieved to think that her death would prevent that from happening. He admitted this entire thing to Amelia later on. Now, that is about as twisted as one can get.
Best: A Low-Profile But Good Leader
Owen is actually a good leader. He was the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace for several years and he was, in fact, a leader who kept a low-profile but worked under the radar without making a huge show of it.
Owen led the hospital through some difficult times, yet one doesn't necessarily remember him for his role as the Chief. He was less conspicuous than Derek, Richard, and now Miranda, but he got the work done.
Worst: Jealous
Owen is a jealous kind. His jealousy of Tom Koracic has been integral to the love triangle involving him, Teddy, and Tom for about a season and a half now.
Of course, Teddy cheated on Owen with Tom which was unforgivable. But Owen seemed to hate Tom even before he got together with Teddy officially. And since it was he who had made Teddy wait for an eternity, then got her pregnant and went away and for all intents and purposes started an adopted family with Amelia, he didn't really have a right to be jealous of who she chose to be with.
Best: A Good Teacher
Owen, for all his glaring flaws, is a good teacher and mentor. He has an easy camaraderie with April Kepner, who was his best man at his wedding to Amelia.
It was Owen who brought April back after having been forced to fire her when she didn't pass her attending exam, and Owen who noticed that April would make a good trauma surgeon being made of stronger stuff than she appeared to be. The way he handled April when the latter was having a panic attack before her flight to LA to attend the exam is a testament to his natural talent as a teacher.
Worst: Carries Grudges
Unfortunately, one of Owen's worst traits is that he carries grudges. He blamed Nathan Riggs for cheating on his sister, also indirectly blaming him for years for causing her to disappear. According to Owen, his sister Megan had got on the plane that disappeared without a trace only because she found out that Riggs had cheated on her. He didn't resolve the tension with Riggs for months even after the latter joined the hospital as a cardiothoracic surgeon and simply avoided him or showed his temper.
Later still, ever since Owen found out that Teddy had cheated on him with Tom, he never really had a heart-to-heart with her, but rather has been skirting around the issue for a long time now. He is unable to address his grudges which makes situations unpleasant.
Best: Supportive
Owen Hunt can be extraordinarily supportive when he wants to be. From Cristina to Amelia, he has always been there for his romantic partners when they really needed him.
For instance, Owen tried to help Cristina through her PTSD after the shocking hospital shooting incident on season 6. He was also there for her when she suffered an even more traumatic experience when her chopper went down in the middle of nowhere in season 8. Owen let Cristina take it slow and tended to her like a pillar of support. Even later, when he found out that Amelia had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, he was supportive of her, irrespective of their differences otherwise.
Worst: Irresponsible
Owen, despite having been a good Chief in general, also proved to be irresponsible at times. In fact, the entire plane crash incident might have been avoided had it not been for Owen's irresponsibility.
Owen never bothered to check out the charter company that he had given the contract for the hospital; after the chopper went down, he realized that his negligence might have had a role to play since the company had some dubious records in its past. While Owen was the only one responsible, he did have some accountability for the crash that caused the deaths of two of his doctors, Arizona Robbins lost a leg, and the pilot himself became paralyzed waist downwards.
Best: A Family Man
Owen is a good family man. He had forever wanted to start a family, although as fate would have it, he always ended up with women who decided against having kids.
At present, though, Owen has adopted a little boy called Leo, and he also has a daughter with Teddy. He seems to make a good father, or at the very least, an eager one.
Worst: Temperamental & Judgemental
Speaking of children, Owen behaves very temperamentally at times, and the one time fans would recall the most was when he appeared to have been fine with Cristina for choosing to abort their child, and then later made her feel guilty for doing so.
Not just temperamental but Owen can be highly judgemental too, and that adds to his already twisted nature. In season 16, in a highly debatable episode, Owen couldn't hide his disdain for a patient who wanted an abortion. He was projecting on the patient his own anger at Amelia for having a baby with Link instead of with him, but that was horrible.
Best: Brave
All said and done, Owen is a brave man and a hero in his own right. He served as an army surgeon in Iraq and saved many lives, while at the same time having to go through the pain of not being able to save everybody.
Although the character has changed over the years, he was first introduced as a dashing army surgeon, a risk-taker who could make use of limited resources to save lives, having been used to doing so during his stint with the army. He also inspired George O'Malley to become a military surgeon, although that never came to fruition, and managed to inspire April into joining him in Jordan.