10 Most-Watched ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Episodes So Far
The hit medical drama Grey’s Anatomy is closing in on its 400th episode, which might end up being the Season 18 finale but won’t be the series finale, thanks to ABC’s recent Season 19 order.
That 400th episode will undoubtedly be a milestone installment—with showrunner Krista Vernoff teasing a “pretty big event” in a recent TVLine interview—but it likely won’t rank among the most-watched Grey’s hours of all time.
That’s because Grey’s isn’t pulling in dozens of millions of live viewers like it did in its early years, since TV audiences have splintered in this digital age. (Grey’s is, however, still ranking in the 10 top-rated series on TV for 18-to-49-year-old adults, and it’s certainly doing well in streaming and delayed viewing.) In fact, the 10 most-watched Grey’s episodes so far all fall within the hospital show’s first three seasons. These are those superlative episodes.
Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC
10. “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” (24.01 million)
As Richard (James Pickens Jr.) and Bailey (Chandra Wilson) reel from the revelation that Burke (Isaiah Washington) has been covering up his hand tremors—with Cristina (Sandra Oh) aiding and abetting—they also have a pair of conjoined siblings to disconnect. Season 3, Episode 10
9. “Wishin’ and Hopin’” (24.18 million)
Ellis (Kate Burton) becomes lucid and is dismayed to find that daughter Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is, in her view, “no more than ordinary.” Meanwhile, the docs try to operate on a patient with toxic blood, Izzie (Katherine Heigl) opens the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic, and George (T.R. Knight) and Callie (Sara Ramirez) return from their Vegas wedding. (And yes, she’s Callie O’Malley.) Season 3, Episode 14
8. “Yesterday” (24.36 million)
Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and, making his first Grey’s appearance, Mark (Eric Dane) team up to help a teen with advanced craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, but the surgery goes south and their patient dies on the table. Elsewhere at Seattle Grace, Izzie and Addison (Kate Walsh) treat a young woman suffering from spontaneous orgasms. Season 2, Episode 18
7. “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” (24.76 million)
Awkwardness abounds as Mer and George deal with the repercussions of their failed one-night stand (with George’s voiceover marking the first episode not narrated by Meredith). Meanwhile, Addison has a poison ivy rash in a personal place, and one Callie Torres enters the picture. Season 2, Episode 19
6. “Walk on Water” (25.20 million)
The first installment of a three-episode event starts with a catastrophic ferry crash and ends with Mer falling into the water during the rescue efforts…and not rising to the surface. Season 3, Episode 15
5. “Time Has Come Today” (25.41 million)
The Season 3 opener picks up where the Season 2 finale left off, with Izzie mourning the death of patient-turned-boyfriend Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Meredith torn between “McDreamy” Derek and “McVet” Finn (Chris O’Donnell)…and Addison putting Mer’s panties in a very public lost-and-found! Season 3, Episode 1
4. “As We Know It” (25.42 million)
This episode wraps up Grey’s Anatomy’s Super Bowl storyline from the week before, with Meredith helping bomb squad guy Dylan (Kyle Chandler) extract an explosive from the chest cavity of a patient. (And just when it seems like the danger has passed…ka-boom.) Meanwhile, Bailey gives birth with George’s help. Season 2, Episode 17
3. “Drowning on Dry Land” (25.76 million)
The second episode of the ferry crash saga has Alex (Justin Chambers) treating his Jane Doe (the Elizabeth Reaser character later known as Rebecca Pope or “Ava”), Izzie drilling into a patient’s skull in the ferry’s auto bay, and Derek & Co. trying to bring a nearly drowned Meredith back to life. Season 3, Episode 16
2. “Some Kind of Miracle” (27.39 million)
As Meredith hovers between life and death in the final part of the ferry crash saga, she meets with members of Seattle Grace’s recently deceased, including Denny, bomb squad guy Dylan, and—in a cruel twist of fate—her mother. Season 3, Episode 17
1. “It’s the End of the World” (37.88 million viewers)
Grey’s boasted an XL storyline for this Super Bowl XL lead-out episode. A man arrives at the hospital with live ammo inside him after being shot by a homemade bazooka, and the only thing stopping the bomb from detonating are the hands of paramedic Hannah (Christina Ricci) and then Meredith. Season 2, Episode 16
