5 Reasons why Meredith Grey is the strongest character in “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Grey’s Anatomy is probably one of the most recognizable medical TV series ever made. Created by Shonda Rhymes the show’s primary focus is a life of surgical interns, residents, and attendings in “Seattle Grace hospital.” Even though the action takes place in Seattle, the majority of the scenes take place in Los Angeles. The title comes from “Gray’s Anatomy” which is an anatomy textbook written by Henry Gray. The first episode was aired March 27th, 2005 on the American Broadcasting Company and from that time a total of 317 episodes were made into 14 seasons. The next season will be launched on 2nd September 2018, and the creator says it will not be the last one. Because the show was first made 13 years ago, a majority of the actors were replaced, and only a couple of original characters remain. This contributes to the drama being very emotional since every season leads to more deaths of characters which were with the show from the beginning.  As the show goes by, we get to know both the professional and private life of young doctors, their dramas, relationships, and romances. The series develops with personal growth of every character, and we get to see the way their careers paths develop. 

The official poster for season 13

Meredith Grey is one of the main characters of the show. Her mother, Ellis Grey, was one of the best surgeons of the era and spent her entire career in the same hospital Meredith started work in. For her entire residency, she lives in a shadow of her mother’s achievements and has to fight to prove her independence. Meredith has spent almost her entire childhood in the hospital watching her mother performing surgeries and struggling to get her mother’s attention. Ellis Grey has an early onset of Alzheimer's disease, which breaks Meredith’s heart even more. She tries to maintain a good relationship with her colleagues and co-workers which is hard because her boss is her mother's ex-lover and the whole hospital looks at her through a prism of their relationship with her famous mother. Through the entire series, Meredith suffered a great loss of most of the important people to her, and despite that, she never gave up. Meredith Grey has the ability to turn the pain and the suffering into a drive for helping people, which makes her the best character in the entire show.

1. She is a survivor

Through 13 seasons she lived through a series of heartbreaking events. She was dumped by the love of her life, Derek Shepherd, twice and when she finally made a family with him, she was a witness to him getting shot. She wanted to give her life for him, offering herself instead of him to a crazy shooter in the hospital. He made it out without a scratch, and when they both forgot about the trauma, they were in a plane crash with a group of their closest friends. They managed to survive, but her best friend had severe PTSD after. Once someone planted the bomb in the hospital and she almost died during the explosion. She also died once when she fell into the river during a rescue action. She got hypothermia and thanks to that she did not suffer any brain damaged. It took a few hours to bring her back to life, but she made it. She survived so many things that it is hard to believe that it all happened to one person. Even with such a traumatic past, she is one of the most optimistic characters in the show. It may seem like life is never easy on her but I think that that is what shaped her. 

Meredith's friends waiting outside the OR where she is fighting for life

2. She lost more than most people ever will

A few days after a plane crash, she was on the edge of losing the love of her life, Derek, again when she let him go across a country to research her mother's disease- Alzheimer's. Derek started to fall in love with a young intern he was mentoring during research. When he realized that Meredith was his most significant and truest love and decided to come back to her, he had a car accident. Nothing happened to him, but a lot of people were hurt. Derek was so focused on helping others that he didn't notice the truck going in his direction and got hit. As a result, he suffered brain damage as a result of medical mistakes made during his surgery. Meredith was the one that had to pull out the plug and lost him one last time. She also lost her sister in the plane crash, even though they met only a couple of years before it. Her mother died on her eyes, the same as her stepmother. Her friend nearly died of cancer, and her best friend left her to work in Zurich. Despite all of the losses she suffered, she is raising three children on her own and is never doubtful of life.

Meredith's best friend suffering from PTSD after a plane crash 

3.    She is a full-time general surgeon and raises three children on her own.

At first, Meredith did not want to have children at all. When her friend Alex Karev organized a pro bono action for children from Africa, she and Derek fell in love with a little girl- Zola. She was a patient who needed constant care. For this reason, Meredith and Derek decided to adopt Zola because they believed that there won't be any better family than two surgeons. For the first two years, it was hard for both of them. As surgeons, they were hardly ever at home yet Meredith managed to be a perfect mother for her daughter. When they were in the plane crash, and Meredith lost her sister, she turned her pain and loss into motivation for doing better in life. She did not want her daughter to feel the way she felt because of her mother. After Derek’s death, Meredith was left alone with adopted daughter Zola, her newborn son Bailey, and another daughter on the way. Despite all the odds she managed to keep her life together. Her sister in law moved in with her to help her with kids. She is not only a single mother with three children but she is also a fantastic surgeon, and she manages to connect these two things on a daily basis.

Meredith, Derek, and Zola

4. For her family and friends, she can sacrifice her well-being.

After the plane crash, flying became Meredith’s greatest fear. When she had to fly for meetings or conferences, she could not go onto the plane and often ended up standing in front of the terminal because of her overwhelming fear. However, when her best friend needed her, she never hesitated and went straight into the plane. Her father was an alcoholic and hurt her a lot, yet when he needed a new liver, she wanted to be a donor straight away. She was in the middle of an important research and liver transplant would mean a month without getting out of bed. Not being able to work is a surgeon worst nightmare and despite that she decided to help her father.  Meredith also never stopped visiting her mother, even though all Ellis was doing was insulting her and calling her ordinary for not being like her. She spent several years visiting her mother who did not even recognized her. She wanted to be there in case Ellis remembers something or will need support. It was humiliating and painful for Meredith to listen to all things her mother was saying about her but she knew that her feelings were not the most important at the moment.

Meredith's friend to her

5. She fights for what she wants

It does not matter if it is a research grant or life with Derek, Meredith never hesitated when she had to fight for something. After a couple of months in a relationship with Derek his wife, which whom he was separated, came back. She only came to Seattle to sign the divorce papers but when they met, the feeling between Derek and his wife came back. Derek decided to leave Meredith and try to repair mistakes he made in his marriage. Despite this Meredith never gave up. She was able to sacrifice her good and career to be with him because she knew that she would never find anyone like him. If she didn’t try she would probably never ended up married to Derek. Another time, when she had an idea for research, she fought tooth and nail to get the grant she needed or an element that is crucial for the project. She needed a polymer who was patented by her aunt. It came out that her aunt and mother were working together 20 years before and Meredith’s mother have stolen the idea from Meredith’s aunt. She knew that in order to win the polymer she had to expose her mother’s crime. Even if it meant that she had to manipulate her mother’s legacy to succeed she never gave up because she knew it was her time to shine.

Meredith asks Derek to choose her over his wife

6. She is loyal to her friends and family

After Derek's death, Meredith stayed loyal to him. She knows that her “happily ever after” has already happened and she does not want to start anything new with anyone. What she had with Derek was both the most beautiful and scary thing that happened to her. Of course, every relationship has its ups and downs, but it doesn’t always mean almost dying a couple of times and being a witness to your spouse nearly being killed. They both did so much for their family and sacrificed so much for it that Meredith feels that she shouldn’t just let anyone new in it. Even though Meredith had some relationships after her husband passed away, she always said that it won’t ever be the same and it will not be loyal to Derek. When it comes to her friends, she always stays by their side, even when what they did was not exactly correct. She knows that her friends are her only family left and she has to support them whenever they need. Her best friends have Meredith’s support at every time of day and night. No matter what happens, she is always willing to let someone sleep on the sofa or dance out all problem while drinking tequila. 

Meredith's Best Friend about her friendship with her

To conclude, Meredith Grey is definitely the strongest character on the show and probably one of the most influential women characters in whole cinematography. She does not only prove that women can be amazing surgeons while having a personal life but she is also an excellent example that no matter how many loss and suffering we have in life we can live through it. Through the series, we were able to see her growth and how her priorities changed for the better. I think that the character of Meredith is also the most complexed character in the show which makes her more real. Because of her life experienced and how she struggled to overcome her problems it is easier actually to identify with her. Not many creators are able to picture feelings and struggles, so cleary and Shonda Rhymes did a fantastic job on the show

Meredith talking about the foundation, which was about to decide whether to give her a research grant or not