9/2 Primary Characters in Grey's Anatomy

 20 Fascinating Facts You Never Knew About Grey's Anatomy - Shonda Rhimes Masterclass

From the very first episode of Grey's Anatomy, it is clear that the primary cast members have one distinct common trait, competitiveness. The characters begin as interns, and on their first day, they are told that most of them will either be cut from the program or quit. They are consistently working their hardest to earn surgeries and even resort to sabotaging others at times. The environment at the hospital they work at is shown to be very cutthroat. Christina Yang is the most competitive of the characters and for most of the show, appears to be the most serious about her work and dedicated to improvement. She is constantly practicing surgical techniques on her own and is set on her specialty, cardiothoracic surgery, from day one.

The interns also share a strong respect for authority. They are ranked below the residents, attending surgeons, and chief and are always putting forward their best effort to impress them and learn from them. Alex Karev is one exception, as his rude, obnoxious behavior gets him reassigned from one resident to another very soon into the first season. 

Two primary characters, Meredith Grey and Christina Yang, also refer to themselves as "dark and twisty." Meredith tough childhood plays a strong role in her negative outlook on life, and both Meredith and Christina encounter many setbacks and relationship issues throughout the series, which they always share with one another. They are also seen attempting to drink their problems away on multiple occasions, which can make them appear unprofessional and unstable. Similarly to Meredith, Alex Karev also has a dark past and appears to put up a defensive (oftentimes rude) front whenever he encounters any conflict. 

Despite the competition and conflicts between the primary characters, they are all shown to have a lot of empathy and compassion for one another overall. Whenever one of the characters is going through a rough patch, the others are quick to intervene and lift their spirits. They also care a lot for their patients, even to the extreme of committing serious offenses such as insurance fraud and tampering with clinical trials to save them. 

Comments

  1. Daisy NohDecember 9, 2022 at 4:01 PM

    Your observation about the competitive nature of the characters in "Grey's Anatomy" was really interesting and not something I noticed to have such a significant impact on how the characters in the show interact with each other. I wonder what research there is on the competitiveness of the healthcare industry and how accurately that cut throat nature of the hospital in "Grey's Anatomy" reflects reality. Do you plan to explore this aspect in your paper?

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