Grey's Anatomy: Do Cristina and Owen Belong Together?

Grey's Anatomyhas torrid relationships down to a science, but when Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) finally got together, fans could breathe easy. Sure, they still had their ups and downs — the hospital shooting, her tampering with the clinical trial, his need for speed — but at least the MerDer 'shippers can rest easy that executive producer Shonda Rhimes won't — crosses fingers, just in case — ever break them up again.

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However, it's a different story for Mer's best friend Cristina (Sandra Oh), who has been in a tumultuous relationship with former Army surgeon-turned-Chief of Surgery Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) since Season 5. Throughout the ensuing years, there's been a lot of push and pull between the duo as they decided whether they could actually be together, what with his PTSD and her inability to let anyone else in. The introduction of Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), the third point in the much-despised love triangle, was a major obstacle that was finally vanquished for good with Raver's exit from the series in Season 8.

But their shotgun wedding after the shooting was really the first in a long line of missteps that lead Cristina and Owen (or C/O, as the 'shippers call them) down a windy path to divorce. She wanted an abortion; he wanted kids. He lied to her about the surgery she performed on her then-mentor Teddy's husband, which led to his death. He cheated on her. The list goes on. (And we're not saying that Cristina doesn't have her faults, but the con list for Owen is certainly a lot longer.)

Yes, we realize Owen's want for a divorce has to do with the conflict of interest in the plane crash lawsuit, but just like every joke is 50 percent based on truth, so is this divorce — Owen even said it himself! Every time they try to make a go of it, they end up getting hurt because they want different things.

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So why does Cristina, a strong and capable woman who has never relied on a man to make her happy or whole, now have to rely on Owen? One could make the argument that she's finally grown up and become comfortable in letting herself be vulnerable, but as much as Cristina has changed since she went to Minnesota, she still deserves something better than a man who cheated, wants different things, once choked her out, and screamed at her during a holiday party.

It's high time that both Cristina and Owen make a go of actually finding a relationship — not just sex friends — outside of the hospital. If then, and only then, they've both grown to actually appreciate what they could have as C/O, then we could accept them being together. But until then, C/O — despite their steamy kiss in the midseason finale — should go their separate ways. Bring on the hate mail below.

Grey's Anatomy returns Thursday, Jan. 10 at 9/8c on ABC. Do you hope Cristina and Owen get back together when the show returns?