The Best Episodes of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Published: March 31, 2024 by Angie Menjivar

You might think that it would get a bit repetitive for a show that centers around a hospital in Seattle with an emergency always around the corner. But it’s not just the goings on in the hospital that keep you on your toes. The character arcs in “Grey’s Anatomy” keep you engaged as you watch the humanity of each character emerge. They face all-too-relatable personal struggles. You laugh with them, root for them, and boy, do you cry with them.

If you’ve kept up with the show in real-time, you know what it’s like to sit with the many lingering questions after a particularly shocking episode. You’ve learned to have patience until the next episode is released, and, if you binge the show, you know what it’s like to break your bedtime routine for just one more episode. But it’s never just one, is it?

From the devastating plane crash episode in Season 8 to the resiliency of Dr. Herman’s spirit in Season 11, you embark on an emotional journey throughout the show. In earlier seasons, you gain an understanding of the hierarchy in the hospital and how difficult it is for rebellious characters to abide by it. You also learn about each character’s relationship with the others, which sets the tone for how they interact in future episodes.

You process grief as if the characters were your long-time friends, you gain an intimate understanding of mental illness, and you boil with anger when there’s injustice. In a way, you grow up with them. That’s the beauty of the show — you forget it’s fictional and you dive right in, untethered, while listening to Meredith Grey’s soothing and ever-insightful narration. (If you can’t get enough of medical TV shows, check out this list of the most popular TV doctors of all time.)

To determine the best episodes of the long-running “Grey’s Anatomy,” 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on audience reception from IMDb. Episodes were ranked based on average IMDb user rating as of March 2024. In the case of a tie, the episode with the greater number of audience ratings was ranked higher.

25. Flight (Season 8, Episode 24)

Flight (Season 8, Episode 24) | Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh, and Ellen Pompeo in Grey's Anatomy (2005) — Source: Courtesy of American Broadcasting Company

IMDb user rating: 8.8/10
IMDb user reviews: 2,134

24. My Shot (Season 16, Episode 8)

Source: Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 06: Actress Ellen Pompeo accepts Favorite Network TV Drama for Greys Anatomy onstage during the Peoples Choice Awards 2016 at Microsoft Theater on January 6, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)