Grey's Anatomy introduced television watchers to an array of characters with profound backstories when it premiered in 2005. Since then, the main characters have consistently gotten the chance to show their positive and negative attributes in any storyline thrown their way.
No character on Grey's is without their flaws, which makes them more compelling to watch. The relationships formed between them highlights their good and bad traits as both strengths and weaknesses, and the show would be boring without having well-balanced humans at the forefront.
Mark Sloan - Best: Charming/ Worst: Lack of Loyalty
Mark Sloan became 'McSteamy' upon arrival at Seattle Grace in Season 2. He was ridiculously charming, flirting with anything and everything in his path. His eventual relationship with Lexie made him all the more irresistible, proving that he could settle down and be a committed partner.
Unfortunately, a lot of Mark's relationships came about because he was betraying his best friend, Derek. He had an affair with Derek's wife, Addison and pursued Lexie, despite it being against Derek's wishes. Mark was a charming romantic, but not always a very good friend.
Miranda Bailey: Best: Leadership/ Worst: Stubborn
Bailey was the best resident that Meredith, Cristina, George, Izzie, and Alex could have had as interns. She always put her foot down and knew when to call them out on their childish behavior. She was great at lifting them up and inspiring them to be better doctors and people.
However, she had a hard time itting when she was wrong. Her stubborn can-do-all attitude contributed to the end of her first marriage and resulted in problems during her second. An independent thinker, Bailey often refused to ask for help, even when she needed it most.
Lexie Grey - Best: Empathy/ Worst: Immature
Lexie Grey's kind heart and connection with repeat-intern George O'Malley made her warm viewers' hearts in season 4. Her bedside manner was incredible, and she took everything that happened to her patients to heart. Quite the opposite of her older sister, Lexie was a feeler and let her emotions become her.
However, Lexie's youth and naivety made her rather immature from time to time. Whether that was going ahead and doing an appendectomy on another intern, lashing out at her father's much younger girlfriend, or going too hard in a game of softball to get revenge on her ex, Lexie was a little childish at heart. She had a lot of growing up to do. It's just a shame fans never got to see it happen.
George O'Malley - Best: Kindness/ Worst: Spontaneity
George O'Malley's wide-eyed grin and dorky smile made him instantly loveable by fans and his fellow interns alike (minus Alex). George was kind to everyone he met, an excellent confidant and birth coach, and an incredible friend. No one else loved quite as unconditionally as George.
George made a lot of mistakes anytime he decided to be spontaneous. He married Callie on a whim (which ended in divorce), started a chemistry-less relationship with his best friend Izzie after one drunken night, and of course, jumped in front of a bus for a stranger that led to his untimely demise.
Izzie Stevens - Best: Positivity/ Worst: Intuition
Izzie Stevens never let any of life obstacles get in her way. She ed herself through medical school and continually encouraged her interns despite their hostility toward her. She was a ray of light among her gloomy coworkers, always looking for the gold at the end of the rainbow.
Though Izzie's heart was always in the right place, her intuition failed her on more than one occasion. Cutting Denny's L-VAD wire resulted in more consequences than rewards, and she ditched Seattle Grace the second she thought Alex tried to get her fired. She never thought things all the way through and ended up hurting herself and others because of it.
Richard Webber - Best: Dedication / Worst: Favoritism
Chief Webber continuously inspired and led his surgeons at Grey-Sloan to be the best that they could be. He was dedicated to his practice and his employees, holding them able and always having their backs.
Richard's biggest flaw was his tendency to favor certain surgeons over others. Because of his romantic history with Ellis Grey, he consistently favored Meredith over others and sometimes offered her preferential treatment. Ultimately, this came at a cost due to the fact that it also affected his and Meredith's relationships with their colleagues.
Derek Shepherd - Best: Caring/ Worst: Egotistical
As a neurosurgeon, Derek being super dedicated to his work was one of his biggest strengths. He drew tumors on the wall of his bedroom, saved accident victims on the side of the road, and went back to work rather quickly after being shot. Derek cared about his job and his patients and made sure that everybody knew it.
Derek's ego sometimes made him difficult to like. He took complete credit for the medical trial that he and Meredith both worked on and came up with. He believed he was a much better neurosurgeon than Amelia, and not to forget the argument where he claimed his career was more important than Meredith's. Derek was incredibly gifted, but his knowledge of his talent would sometimes make him condescending and unkind.
Alex Karev - Best: Confidence/ Worst: Mean-Spirited
Alex Karev entered Seattle Grace as an intern acting like he was the boss. He had a way about him that said, 'I know exactly what I'm doing,' even when he didn't. He stood up to those who questioned his intelligence and refused to let anyone undermine him. Confidence is a great trait in a doctor and allows the patient to feel safe.
However, Alex's confidence in turn made him a little mean. He bullied George relentlessly early on and made fun of Izzie for her modeling past. He masked his insecurities by hurling insults at people he should have tried befriending instead.
Cristina Yang - Best: Ambition/ Worst: Selfish
Cristina Yang lived and breathed surgery. She was brilliant and even described by her mentors as a 'Cardio God.' She was ambitious in every sense during her time at Grey-Sloan. She would stop at nothing to prove she was the best at what she did.
But with ambition can come selfishness, something Cristina definitely had a lot of. She worked so she alone could get ahead, and tended to isolate her co-workers and romantic partners with her single-minded work ethic.
Meredith Grey - Best: Logical/ Worst: Pessimism
Meredith Grey had enough trauma in her life to make her a logical decision-maker. She knew what to expect in tough situations and was able to make choices most people wouldn't be able to make. She trusted her gut and always had her guard up, which was a good thing because a lot of bad things unfortunately came her way.
Meredith was self-described as 'dark and twisty,' something that only worsened over time the more tragedy she endured. Losing your mother, stepmother, sister, father, and husband in the span of ten years would probably make anyone a pessimist, but it can be difficult at times to watch the star of the show always so glum.
