Throughout Grey’s Anatomy, many villains, or at least antagonistic characters, help drive additional drama that keeps the show’s core premises of romantic and professional entanglements alive. Most of these villains are just doing whatever serves their own career and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) just has the misfortune of being an obstacle to that. However, some Grey’s Anatomy characters can be described as villainous for making objectively selfish decisions and acting to intentionally hurt others.
In a series that revolves around romance and sex, some villains are simply alternative love interests. A surefire way to get the audience to hate a character is for them to be a challenge to one of Grey’s Anatomy‘s best couples. However, Grey’s Anatomy covers a lot of ground concerning professional rivalries and medical malpractice, and some characters are antagonists because they are difficult co-workers or bad doctors. Some of the most memorable “villains” really are just serviceable Grey’s Anatomy characters who get too much hate, while others really should reexamine their choices.
10
Dr. Robert Stark (Peter MacNicol)
First Episode: Season 7, Episode 8, “Something’s Gotta Give”
Stark appears as a side character to oppose the residents at a point where they are all on good terms with the series’ regular attending characters. The drama of trying to live up to Bailey’s (Chandra Wilson) unrelenting standards is long gone when they have all known her for so long; the same goes for the attendings who are now all close friends and romantic partners. Stark shows up as another antagonistic superior who doesn’t do his own job well enough, framing the residents as the more caring underdogs.
His odd role in the story is why he is a memorable villain, as well as his fast turn to being a more friendly figure. Stark turns out to be very kind and supportive when Callie (Sara Ramirez) and her newborn daughter are hospitalized after a car crash. Stark isn’t the most manipulative or noteworthy villain, but most people can at least recall him.
9
Dr. Eliza Minnick (Marika Domińczyk)
First Episode: Season 13, Episode 7, “Why Try To Change Me Now”
Eliza arrives at Grey Sloan Memorial completely confident, ready to do her job of reforming the residency program. Aside from their standing loyalty to Richard (James Pickens Jr.) as the program’s director, it’s easy to see why most of the attending doctors don’t like Eliza, when she is constantly hovering, badgering them to let the residents do more. Eliza’s approach to instituting change is confrontation with a friendly facade, which prompts a lot of tension in the workplace.
Despite this, she and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) have a romantic relationship. However, the qualities that make Eliza villainous never go away and ultimately lead to her being fired. She never makes an effort to connect with or understand other members of the staff; she always opposes them. When Eliza continues to criticize Stephanie (Jerrika Hinton) after the explosion in the hospital, Bailey decides that there is no reconciling Eliza with everyone else, and fires her.
8
Dr. Lauren Boswell (Hilarie Burton Morgan)
First Episode: Season 9, Episode 22, “Do You Believe In Magic”
Everyone hates the brief guest star Boswell when Arizona and Callie’s relationship is forever ruined because of her. Granted, Arizona makes a choice to cheat on Callie, due to many problems simmering beneath the surface of their marriage since Arizona lost her leg in the plane crash. However, Boswell doesn’t come across as a likable or moral person when she happily arrives at Grey Sloan and starts flirting with Arizona, completely aware that she is married.
Boswell does not have that much interiority when she isn’t on the show long enough to explore her worldview or why this is her personality. From the perspective of the audience, she is a plot device, who comes through the show to facilitate a tear-jerking break-up. However, Boswell still acts selfishly and leaves a disaster behind her on Grey’s Anatomy, resulting in her being remembered as a villain.
7
Dr. Tom Koracick (Greg Germann)
First Episode: Season 14, Episode 3, “Go Big Or Go Home”
Koracick proved to be an explosive and divisive addition to Grey’s Anatomy, primarily because of the problems he causes in Owen (Kevin McKidd) and Teddy’s (Kim Raver) relationship. Again, the decisions of the person who cheated are their own, although Koracick’s continuously pursuing a relationship with Teddy when she has made it clear that she wants to marry Owen — and they have two kids — isn’t praiseworthy either. Koracick seems fairly regret-free about everything that happened with Teddy, eventually leaving the hospital and entering another relationship.
Koracick is also generally abrasive and sarcastic in a way that might be interpreted as rude, making him somewhat more antagonistic. However, his carefree attitude is his means to impart real help and advice, such as when he tells April (Sarah Drew) about his son’s death to help her through her crisis of faith. For a character who arrives so late in the show, Koracick manages to make a lot of waves and prompt a lot of major fights.
6
Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane)
First Episode: Season 2, Episode 18, “Yesterday”
Mark obviously became a character beloved by the Grey Sloan (Seattle Grace in his time) staff and the Grey’s Anatomy fandom, even though many of his actions before becoming a father are inherently selfish. The first one — the one which frames him as a villain when he first appears in the show — is the worst. Derek (Patrick Dempsey) is Mark’s lifelong best friend who was informally adopted by his family; Mark betraying Derek by sleeping with Addison is something that would be very difficult to forgive.
At one point, Mark even hits on Meredith while she and Derek are together, as though he has learned nothing from ruining the most important relationships in his life the first time. Additionally, the moment Derek and Meredith tell Mark not to hit on Lexi (Chyler Leigh), he begins a relationship with Lexi. At other points in the series, Mark demonstrates that he is a good friend and father, but he is a reckless person, something the other characters recognize and find a way to accept.
5
Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers)
First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1, “A Hard Day’s Night”
Alex is introduced as the mean member of the original intern group, serving as George’s (T. R. Knight) foil. Cristina’s (Sandra Oh) nickname for Alex of “evil spawn” is earned, when this is his entire character for the first couple of seasons. Alex and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) have a bigger romance in season 5, but when they first get together, Izzie treats it as only casual. He is downright cruel to her when he exposes her modeling career and mocks her for falling in love with Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).
Alex matures and becomes more compassionate later in the series, but some of his worst moments suggest that he never completely left behind being a villain. Namely, his tenure on Grey’s Anatomy concludes when he breaks up with Jo (Camilla Luddington) in a letter after leaving her for Izzie. Alex may be one of the most memorable Grey’s Anatomy villains because the audience actually liked him, making his faults that much worse.
4
Dr. Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen)
First Episode: Season 8, Episode 5, “Love, Loss And Legacy”
From her first appearance, Catherine is a formidable and controlling doctor and businesswoman. Some of her actions warrant respect, showing how she makes hard decisions for the good of her hospital and foundation, while others are just plain manipulative and only about her being in control. Her earlier appearances are mostly about her trying to direct Jackson’s (Jesse Williams) career and personal life down paths that she thinks are worthwhile. Countless other infractions have given rise to the theory that Catherine has always been the villain of Grey’s Anatomy.
Catherine’s additional attempts to control her son, her husband, and her staff have made her less sympathetic. However, she is still a complicated character that can not be called one thing or another. The many layers to Catherine’s character make her one of the most interesting from Grey’s Anatomy, whether people want to call her a villain or a ruthless anti-hero.
3
The Mercy West Doctors
First Episode: Season 6, Episode 5, “Invasion”
The Seattle Grace-Mercy West merger creates an “us vs. them” mindset for a while as all the doctors are forced to fight for their jobs. The audience is hardly inclined to try to see everyone’s side of the story when April, Jackson, Charles (Robert Baker), and Reed (Nora Zehetner) are annoying and mean to everyone except each other when they arrive. They all mellow out once everyone gets to know one another, and they recognize that the problem is their circumstances rather than the individuals.
There is a lot about the initial Mercy West conflict storyline that is wild and visceral before it ends in tragedy for some of these characters.
2
Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh)
First Episode: Season 1, Episode 9, “Who’s Zoomin’ Who?”
Addison is a villain when she arrives due to being the major obstacle to Meredith and Derek’s romance, and the reveal shortly thereafter that Derek left her because she cheated on him with his best friend. However, even in her first scene, Addison is certainly memorable: poised, clever, and glamorous from her first lines. As time goes on, it is confirmed that these attributes are key components of Addison’s personality, but she is still a sympathetic and complex person.
Addison perhaps never escapes her villain status in Grey’s Anatomy as she is always the catalyst of additional tension before she takes off for her spinoff. Yet she also became a fan-favorite character and is one of the most talented doctors in this setting. Addison’s contributions to the story are made even more impactful by her occasional guest appearances, where she makes peace with her old friends, ex-husband, and even Meredith.
1
Dr. Ellis Grey (Kate Burton/Sarah Paulson)
First Episode: Season 1, Episode 1, “A Hard Day’s Night”
Ellis Grey looms large over the story, as Meredith discovers more about her mother’s past. While Ellis was a terrible mother, Meredith has always wanted to live up to her legacy, and learns to see all the different aspects of Ellis. Ellis was a brilliant surgeon who dealt with sexism in her profession, while conservative expectations of womanhood possibly led her to become a mother when she didn’t want to be one. However, despite all she represents in the story, Ellis is horrible to her daughter and is still a villain.
Namely, Ellis has demanded only the best from Meredith all her life; the second she is lucid (instead of not knowing where she is or what year it is due to Alzheimer’s) she cruelly berates Meredith for her career decisions. Ellis also makes for a profound villain because of the complicated dynamic between her and her daughter, with their different career and life experiences shaping how they view each other. People have good reason not to like her, but she is doubtlessly one of the most important parts of Grey’s Anatomy.
