Sandra Oh has had many great roles in her career but perhaps her best one is that of Dr. Cristina Yang in Grey's Anatomy. However, fans of the spy thriller Killing Eve might argue that she gives a better performance as the MI5 agent Eve Polastri. Since she received several Emmy nominations for both roles, the debate is likely to go on forever.
Oh portrayed Cristina Yang for 10 seasons. Like other characters in the show, Cristina had a lot going for her. She often struggled to balance her work and her love life. This led her to excel in the former while the latter suffered. Sometimes the viewers forget that she has faced as much tragedy as Meredith has.
Her Pregnancy Struggles
Cristina was clear about not wanting a baby. This was understandable but fate seemed to interfere with her wishes all the time. When she got intimate with Preston Burke, she ended up getting pregnant. While debating whether to get an abortion or not, Cristina soon found herself rushed to the OR with an ectopic pregnancy. The operation almost went badly, but luckily she survived.
When she was with Owen, Cristina became pregnant again and eventually scheduled another abortion. This put a huge strain on their marriage as Owen later cheated on her. She may act cold but these two events did affect her deeply.
Suffering From PTSD
Even though the mass shooting at the hospital was traumatic for everyone, Cristina was one of the people who was affected the most. When Jackson Avery dropped a tray of tools in the OR, the noise triggered Cristina's PTSD as she thought another shooting was taking place.
Cristina soon began partying and drinking in order to get over the bad memories. She even struggled to concentrate while performing tasks such as fishing. There were times when she would just cry too. Not to forget how she almost botched a surgery. It would take her a long time to heal from the trauma.
Relationship With Owen
When Cristina and Owen started seeing each other, they looked like they were headed down the happily-ever-after route. But the sign of good things to come was simply a mirage.
There was never an end to their drama. Owen wanted kids and Cristina didn't. Their career goals didn't align either. Whenever one problem was solved, another would arise. Fans began wishing that the two would just break up. However, they stayed together for two years. Owen even ended up cheating on her and eventually, they had to part ways.
Selfish Streak
Towards the end of her time in the series, Cristina suddenly became all-too-selfish. Despite knowing that she had no future with Owen, she still went ahead to ruin his newfound relationship with Emma. And when Owen wanted her to stay so that they could solve their issues, she ignored his wishes and took up a job in Europe.
Cristina also tried to seduce an investor just to get him to put money into the hospital's cardio department. To top that, she almost ruined April's wedding just because the two of them never got along. She had an incredible selfish streak.
Burke Left Her At The Altar
It takes a total jerk to walk away from the altar. But before that happened, the red flags were visible. Just when they had started seeing each other, Burke was ready to sacrifice his relationship with Cristina in order to be interim Chief of Surgery. And during their dates, they realized that they had very little in common.
It's also important to note that Burke wasn't solely responsible for the decline of their relationship. Cristina did plenty of annoying things like dismissing Burke's beliefs or sleeping during sex. She even refused to wear the engagement ring that he gave her. It's accurate to conclude that they were both bad for each other.
Losing The Harper Avery Award
Despite her personal flaws, Cristina was good at her job, hence why it wasn't surprising that she was nominated for the prestigious Harper Avery award. Despite assurance by Catherine Avery that she was the front runner, Cristina lost the award. Finding out the reason for her loss made the pain even worse.
Apparently, she had all the votes required to be declared the victor but the award had to be given to someone else because the hospital had connections with the foundation. It was thus illegal for anyone working at the hospital to be given a Harper Avery Award. The loss haunted her for a while.
She Watched Her Father Die
Cristina once narrated to Owen how her biological father died after getting involved in a car accident. She had no option but to watch her father bleed out as she waited for help to arrive.
She tried all she could to save her dad's life, including closing his chest with her bare hands in order to stop the excessive bleeding. This didn't help. Her father died as she watched. This was the reason why she decided to pursue cardiothoracic surgery and save people's lives.
She Was Used By Dr. Parker
Cristina's bad luck with men continued when she began sleeping with Dr. Parker. While in Minnesota, the two got intimate a couple of times. It was all casual for both of them. Cristina was only doing it because she missed sex.
Given how much Cristina feared commitments, she was enjoying this new arrangement. Sadly, she found out that Parker was only using her as a weapon in his feud with Dr. Thomas. His plan was to use her to get him fired. As soon as Cristina found out about this, she cut ties with him.
Her Arrogance
Even though Cristina was an exceptional surgeon, she was too proud about it at times. She constantly belittled Dr. Thomas in seasons 8 and 9 because she believed his surgical skills were outdated. And despite Meredith being her "person," she told her that she wasn't as talented and competent as her.
There was also the time she brushed off everyone's congratulatory messages after she was nominated for a top award for her work. In season 4, she was referring to interns by numbers instead of their respective names. In season 9, she even named interns after the Seven Dwarfs because she didn't want to learn all their names.
The Plane Crash
When Cristina and her colleagues boarded a plane for Boise in order to assist in separating conjoined twins, it crashed into the woods. Not only did she watch Lexie die but she also had to drink her own pee and treat her colleagues, including clearing bugs out of their legs. The ordeal in the woods lasted for four days.
Cristina was deeply affected by the crash too. Her arms got dislocated, after which she went into a state of reactive psychosis. At the Boise Hospital, she began fighting doctors, forcing them to sedate her.