Another Top 10 Saddest Grey's Anatomy Moments

It’s never easy saying goodbye to a friend, whether or not they are fictional. Throughout the episode, we’re waiting to finally say goodbye to Cristina after ten seasons. The final surgery and some of the farewells are certainly upsetting, but the biggest moment that made us choke up was her final goodbye to Meredith. At first, it’s a little light-hearted, like watching a mother give his or her child a list of chores. Don’t let Owen get all dark and twisty, mock Alex at least once daily, the usual. Then, things get serious as Cristina says a few things that hit too close to home for us. At least we got to see the two dance it out one last time.

Working in a hospital can be a traumatic experience. So, it’s hard to imagine being in Meredith’s shoes when she’s suddenly attacked by one of her patients and bedridden for weeks due to a loss of hearing. The hardest part about this comes after a troubling experience with her children, which causes a panic attack and some difficultly breathing. It’s truly heart-breaking to see someone’s kids say they don’t want to see their own parents. We can’t ignore what happens later though, when Meredith meets her attacker. After a few words from him (and not much else from Mer), we experience a poignant moment between the two when she reaches for the man’s arm, showing he’s forgiven.

What could be more heartbreaking than finding out your significant other wants to file a divorce? So, before the famous fortune cookie argument make-out session, the episode immediately hits us with a divorce signing before we see the history between the two. April asks Jackson if he’s sure about the divorce, but the silence is more than enough. There’s not even a moment of hesitation about his decision, leaving April to believe the marriage was a total failure. Even while the remainder of the episode shows us how these two worked, the haunting image of the divorce papers, coupled with a few disagreements, tells us otherwise.

As Meredith puts it, a “true mom would rather give her baby up than have it ripped in two. But what happens when there are two true mothers?” Callie almost died giving birth, but tried making Arizona out to be the bad guy. Arizona, however, was better for Sofia’s well-being. Seeing these two butt heads was just as sad as April and Jackson’s divorce. While many were rooting for Callie, the tears came flooding in when we found out Arizona won the case. Take whichever side you want, but we can all agree that at the end of a custody battle, nobody truly wins.

Damn, Season 12 was a rough one. When Penny shows up to dinner at Amelia’s house, the tension gets high, and Meredith does not do a good job at hiding it. It isn’t until the dinner begins that it really hits the fan as Amelia figures out Penny is the same doctor who treated her brother before his death. Seeing all the details, from Derek’s condition to Penny admitting her failure as his doctor, being unloaded on Amelia is hard for us to watch without shedding a tear. It was too much for Amelia to bear, and results in Penny being told to leave.

Along with being one of the saddest, this was also one of the most intense moments across the entire series. When a speeding bus loses control during a rough storm, the doctors rush outside to assist. Upon hearing a little girl is trapped inside, Jackson rushes back in the flames to save her. It’s a race against time before a fuel leak ignites, and then…boom. It’s agonizing to see April’s horrified face, to see Jackson go inside an exploding bus, and then possibly his death. Yes, we said possibly. Thankfully, we see Jackson emerge with the girl in his arms, but that moment was all too shocking for us. Please, “Grey’s Anatomy”, never pull that stunt again!

When a massive train accident leaves passengers in critical condition, a woman and a man named Bonnie and Tom are bound together in surgery from being impaled by a metal pole. While comforting her, Bonnie asks Tom if he believes in Heaven and while Tom’s yes is resounding, Bonnie’s answer is less than relaxing. Tom even tells the doctors to save the younger Bonnie’s life at the expense of his. The entire episode has us bawling our eyes out and especially so when we find out that Bonnie is a lost cause, and things end in her death.

In an attempt to save a woman’s life, a mysterious man is hit by a bus and brought in to Seattle Grace Hospital, dubbed none other than a John Doe. When Meredith goes to check on him, the patient grabs her hand and keeps tracing numbers with his finger. It’s at this particular scene where we finally figure out – through our tears - who the patient is; the surgical resident with a licence to kill, George O’Malley. Despite the best efforts from his peers, it was the last time we got to see George before he hit the flat lines. What’s sadder was that George was about to join the US Army.

Didn’t think we were going to forget about this one, did you? The final moments of intern Charles Percy were not easy for fans to sit through. Due to a police lockdown, Dr. Bailey finds the elevators are inaccessible with no other way to the OR, and she must accept that her colleague is dying. So that he does not die alone, Dr. Bailey and patient Mary stay with him until he takes his last breath. Touching, horrifying, and depressing, this moment destroyed all hope for us that Percy would make it. Yes, our tears began hitting the floor right when the song started playing.

Before we get to our saddest pick, here are a few Honorable Mentions:

Amelia with Peter, the Boy Who Accidentally Pulled the Trigger

Callie & Arizona's Shower

Stephanie Loses Kyle

Oof! This one just hit us too hard. The death of a newborn is never easy to digest, and this was heart wrenching for everybody. Appropriately named “All I Could Do Was Cry”, the eleventh episode of the eleventh season showed April and Jackson spending their first few and last moments with their child. The birth and death of Samuel Norbert Avery happened too quickly for us to comprehend that the moment feels all too mournful. The writers just like to use April & Jackson to make us cry, don’t they?

Do you agree with our list? Which moments were the biggest tearjerkers for you? For more moving Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to MsMojo!