‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Relive Teddy Altman’s Worst-Ever Moments
A decade and a half ago, a list of Dr. Teddy Altman’s lowlights on Grey’s Anatomy would have been impressively short. At the time, the Kim Raver character was a cardio god whom Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), her best friend and former fellow flight surgeon, had enlisted to mentor Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), his girlfriend at the time. Teddy proved her mettle at the hospital then known as Seattle Grace, so much so that Cristina was willing to give up Owen to get Teddy to stay. (“Fine! Done! Take him!”)
We felt bereft when Teddy left in Season 8 and rejoiced when she returned in Season 14. And then she started wreaking havoc.
“She seemed so smart and elegant and mature when she was first brought in, and now she is a mess,” one Reddit user observed in a recent thread.
Another commenter said, “Great character, amazing actress, and clueless writers. I have no clue what these current writers are trying to do to her. She was brilliant Season 6–8, but upon her return, it just tanked.”
A third user put it more succinctly: “Teddy 1.0 is an all-time top character, and in my mind, there is no Teddy 2.0.”
Now that Teddy and Owen are about to leave Grey Sloan Memorial — in dramatic fashion, by the looks of it — we’re listing, in chronological order, our picks for her worst-ever moments.
Hiding Henry’s identity from Cristina
One of Owen’s worst moments started with one of Teddy’s. In Season 8’s “Dark Was the Night,” Teddy couldn’t operate on her own husband, Henry Burton (Scott Foley), so she told Owen to have Cristina do so blindly. “Drape his face,” she told Owen. “Don’t show her the chart. Give her a verbal history. You put a bronchoscope and a laser in her hand, she’s not gonna ask for the guy’s name and a family photo.”
Making Cristina relive Henry’s death again and again
Henry ultimately died on Cristina’s operating table, through no fault of her own. Two episodes later, in Season 8’s “This Magic Moment,” Teddy tormented Cristina by having her recount the details of the surgery over and over again. Never mind any trauma Cristina went through in that OR, right?
Not telling Owen about baby Allison’s namesake
Here’s where the real subterfuge started. Teddy gave birth to her and Owen’s baby in the Season 15 finale, “Jump Into the Fog,” and named her Allison, after her late best friend. But it wasn’t until Season 17’s “In My Life” that Teddy told Owen who Allison really was to her. (Read on…)
Having a secret affair with Allison
Season 16’s “Love of My Life” revealed Teddy’s dark secret from 20 years prior: Teddy had had a secret relationship with Allison Robin Brown (Sherri Saum), who was then in a relationship with Teddy’s colleague, Claire Williams (Rya Kihlstedt). Oh, and the three of them were all living together, too! Gross.
Cheating on Owen on their wedding day (while butt-dialing him)
In that season’s finale, “Put on a Happy Face,” Owen certainly tried to save face after he played voicemail on speakerphone in the OR and heard Teddy moaning in pleasure. An embarrassed Owen played it off, pretending Teddy was sending him a naughty message. But when he was alone, he listened to the butt-dial voicemail in full and realized that she had been cheating on him with Dr. Tom Koracick (Greg Germann) … the night before they were to be married, no less.
Stringing Tom along
Teddy may have had real feelings for Tom at some point in their clandestine relationship, but she certainly knew their romance was over before he did… yet she continued sleeping with him. She even slept with him in that Season 16 finale after he proposed they run away together. “I can’t leave with you,” she told him, between post-coital pants. “I’m marrying Owen. This was goodbye.”
Expressing concern over Leo wearing dresses
Considering Teddy is queer — or, if she doesn’t identify as such, had several same-sex romances — we’d assume a certain open-mindedness about gender expression. But when Owen’s child Leo decided to wear an Elsa dress in Season 18’s “Some Kind of Tomorrow,” Teddy couldn’t “Let It Go.” Her first instinct was that Leo should wear traditionally boyish clothing — and not, say, that she could fend off bigots who might bully the kid. Can someone page the real Dr. Teddy Altman?
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