Grey’s Anatomy has been around long enough to see the demise of many characters from season 1, and one fans will never forget is that of George O’Malley – but why was he killed, if he was a fan favorite? Created by Shonda Rhimes, Grey’s Anatomy made its debut on ABC in 2005 as a mid-season replacement, but it was so well received by critics and viewers that it earned its spot and has lived on for over 10 seasons.
Grey’s Anatomy follows the basic premise of medical dramas: the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they do their best to juggle their careers and relationships. The series is led by Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who started her journey as an intern along with many other characters that won the audience over but that didn’t make it far into the show. One of those was George O’Malley (T.R. Knight), who struggled a bit at first but went on to become a very skilled and talented surgeon as well as the best friend of Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl). Sadly, George died in season 6 of complications after an accident.
Just when George seemed to have found his path in medicine as a trauma surgeon, he suddenly decided to join the U.S. Army in Iraq. Richard Webber gave him the last day off so he could spend time with his family, but on his way home, he jumped in front of a bus to save a woman’s life and was left severely disfigured. Because of this, no one recognized him when he arrived at the hospital, and it wasn’t until he traced “007” (one of his many nicknames) on Meredith’s hand that they knew who the “John Doe” patient was. Derek Shepherd and the rest tried to save him, but his brain swelled during surgery and he was declared brain dead. It was a very tragic ending for one of Grey’s Anatomy’s most beloved characters, but the behind-the-scenes drama that drove Knight to leave the series might have had something to do with it.
Knight’s departure was announced in June 2009, and he revealed to EW not long after that the reason behind it was a gradual “breakdown of communication” between him and Rhimes, who he also said tried to discourage him from coming out. This led him to not ask what was going on with George anymore, and he simply asked to be released from his contract. In addition to that, Knight wasn’t comfortable with where his character was being led to and struggled with the storyline where he cheated on his wife, Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), with Izzie. Knight later said he was at peace with his decision to leave Grey’s Anatomy, saying that there “comes a time when it’s so clear that moving on is the best decision”.
Grey’s Anatomy is known for not being the best at handling the departure of its characters, with their go-to solution being killing them. However, George O’Malley’s death stands out for how abrupt and cruel it was, and while it brought a lot of drama to the series, it was also a reflection of all the behind-the-scenes issues around the character, and the way his ending was handled didn’t do justice to him.
