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It's no secret that Grey's Anatomy has been a revolving door for characters since the beginning. At this point, there are only a handful of originals left walking the halls of Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital, and no one is ever safe from the many calamities that seem to befall the surgeons of Seattle. While that does mean we've had to say goodbye to some fan-favorites -- including, gulp, our person Cristina Yang -- a lot of the people who've come and gone have been pretty horrible. Here's who we miss the least.
Not only did her incompetence cost us one Dr. McDreamy, but Penelope Blake (Samantha Sloyan) is the reason Callie left the hospital. So, she basically cost us all two original favorites and offered very little intrigue in return, and for that, we can never forgive her.
What's the scientific term for someone who's helplessly annoying? Asking for our sickeningly perky doctor friend Sydney (Kali Rocha) here.
The flashback to Miranda Bailey's internship introduced us to this harsh doc who definitely underestimated the strength and skills of her student. Dr. Baylow (Missi Pyle) didn't know who she was messing with, that's for sure.
At first, "Ava" (Elizabeth Reaser) was a pretty sympathetic character, but over time, as her true identity was established to be Rebecca Pope, she just grated on all the nerves. It wasn't her fault that she lost her memories and fell in love with someone new, or that she suffered from borderline personality disorder that was untreated, but she was still a lot to take for a long, long time.
She might have started out nice and spritely enough, and who didn't root for her and Denny Duquette to have a hard-won forever? But Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) could be cold as ice when she wanted to, and the way she treated Alex towards the end, well, it was the straw.
Dr. Hahn (Brooke Smith) was ruthless and didn't mind who knew it. Who cares that she bumped uglies with Callie once upon a time?
Bad attitude? Check. Taking credit for others' ideas? Check. Reckless endangerment of a patient? Yep, Dr. Stark (Peter MacNicol) checked all the boxes for a bad news bear.
Preston Burke's mother (Diahann Carroll) was an unstoppable force of anxiety-induction. "Mama Burke" had some very antiquated conceptions about the world, and she made it her personal mission to torment anyone who didn't conform to them. Blech.
Remember this guy? Dr. Milton (Marty Lodge) turned the expression "left holding the bag" on its head by abandoning an EMT and Meredith Grey while the former was holding a bomb inside a body.
Mark Sloan gained a daughter, and a major headache, when Sloan Riley (Leven Rambin) showed up and started demanding things from him. She had a few redeeming moments -- chiefly, undergoing a difficult procedure to save her fetus' legs -- but overall, she was a nightmare.
Dr. Percy (Robert Baker) thought he was hot stuff when he was transferred from Mercy West, huh? His braggadocio and disrespect towards female colleagues was especially inappreciable. His death was still tragic and all, but holy moly, that guy had his moments.
The hospital definitely needed a shot in the arm, so to speak, after the big lawsuit settlement that nearly bankrupted it, but Alana Cahill (Constance Zimmer)'s methods were absurd. Shutting down the ER? Putting cameras everywhere to put everyone even further on edge? Apart from introducing Bob and ultimately resulting in the doctors taking control over the hospital themselves, she was kind of a hack.
He might've been an ambitious intern, but Dr. Ross (Gaius Charles)' willingness to step on anyone in pursuit of his interests was deadly -- as in, he literally caused Dr. Brooks' death by undermining her and sending her into a disaster area of the hospital. Being cutthroat wasn't his only flaw, either. He was also rude and arrogant and so scared of germs it was absurd. Thank goodness Cristina could tolerate him enough to take him along with her to Zurich because he needed to GO.
It might have been her job to reform the hospital and improve the intern experience, but Eliza Minnick (Marika Dominczyk)'s draconian measures were much too much. Who is so caustic that they can start a legitimate feud with Richard Webber, of all people? Seriously. She also ended up ghosting Arizona Robbins, which erased any redemption credits she may have built up.
Meredith's decision not to have one last encounter with her absentee father Thatcher (Jeff Perry) was a stroke of relief, frankly, because he added nothing to her life but grief. Sure, he went through a lot -- Ellis' deception and disdain, the unexpected passing of his second wife, and the death of his other daughter Lexie -- but he shouldered Meredith with an unfair share of the blame for his own problems, even though she desperately needed a parent to treat her kindly. She even gave him a piece of her liver for crying out loud. Not cool, Thatcher.
Who would dare walk out on a wedding with Cristina Yang, first of all? And before that even happened, Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) was all too willing to take credit for her craft to save his own reputation? Preston might've sorta made up for his misgivings by giving Yang her dream gig in Switzerland, but one right doesn't fix a kajillion wrongs.
Who would dare walk out on a wedding with Cristina Yang, first of all? And before that even happened, Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) was all too willing to take credit for her craft to save his own reputation? Preston might've sorta made up for his misgivings by giving Yang her dream gig in Switzerland, but one right doesn't fix a kajillion wrongs.
As accomplished as she was, Ellis (Kate Burton) was terrible, you guys. She was not the only one to blame for Richard's crumbling marriage to poor Estelle, so let's not go there. And it totally stinks that she suffered with such a debilitating disorder as Alzheimer's in her later life, but when she was well, she was just awful. Remember when she had a moment of lucidity and proceeded to chastise Meredith for being too ordinary to be her daughter? AWFUL. Not only was she horribly mean at any given turn, but as we later learned, she basically booted her bestie-slash-research partner from a project so that she could suck up all the glory for herself.
Jackson Avery's grandfather (Chelcie Ross) had acid in his veins, but what was worse was how he used his massive wealth and power to harass women in the workplace. Harper Avery's arc continued well after his awkward death, with the outage of his predatory history effectively dismantling the long-cherished prize made in his name. It's a shame he didn't live long enough to suffer his very overdue comeuppance of disgrace.
But of course he was the worst. Paul (Matthew Morrison) spent goodness knows how long terrorizing his wife Brooke -- who even fled to Seattle to become the Jo we know -- and continued to physically, mentally, and emotionally abuse women beyond her just because he could. He was terrible, terrible man, and he got what he deserved.