The American medical drama Grey’s Anatomy is known for many reasons, be it for its relatable and human characters or its make-you-sob-and-scream-like-crazy stories. The show, since the release of its pilot episode on March 27th, 2005, has managed to give a deeper insight into the lives and struggles of doctors, interns, and residents.
The was mainly based around Ellen Pompeo’s character of Meredith, but avid watchers found for themselves other favorites too. Grey’s Anatomy has become the longest-running primetime show on ABC Network with its nineteen seasons.
The show is airing its nineteenth season and is a complete emotional disaster for fans. This season, actress Ellen Pompeo decided to let go of her role in the show, making it even more passionate and meaningful for fans.
The show mainly revolved around beloved characters like Dr. Meredith, Cristina Yang, Callie Torres, Miranda Bailey, Mark Sloan, Richard Webber, and many more. And to bring some significant heartache to the audience, the makers sometimes turn the storylines in such a way that makes you want to throw your television away.
One such sick story arc was of actor Eric Dane’s character in the show, Mark Sloan. Hateful at first, Mark Sloan’s personality took time to grow on its audience. Though Eric’s character came a little late in the show, he managed to have great chemistry and bromance with his fellow doctors. Fans enjoyed his comedic timing and the wave of relief he brought to the screen with his presence.
Mark Sloan: The Character
Mark Sloan, played by Eric Dane, was introduced in the show during the second season, which must have put immense pressure on Dane’s shoulders to nail the performance. He is introduced as a friend of Derek Shepherd’s but screws their relationship up immensely when he thinks sleeping with the latter’s wife would be fine.
In season three of the show, he tries to mend his relationship with Derek. Eventually, he takes up the position of the new attending plastic surgeon at the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. It is in the hospital that he gets his very popular nickname, ‘McSteamy,’ for being so ridiculously good-looking.
His character also has a successful romance arc with the intern, Lexie Grey, played by Chyler Leigh though it does not end well for the couple. Screenplay writer and producer of the show, Shonda Rhimes, revealed that Sloan’s character in the show was supposed to give off the classic bad boy vibes, meaning that he was supposed to be a charming, funny, mysterious, confident guy who pretends to be a bad person but is a softie inside.
Mark Sloan: The Character’s Death
Sloan’s character started on the wrong foot but eventually found a place for himself in the show. His chemistry with Shepherd and Jackson Avery was a much-needed relief in the show. But just when the fans started to relax a little, letting their guards down, the makers realized it was time to write off Sloan’s character in season nine, episode one of the show, and shake us to our core.
Season eight of the show ended with pretty much the entire necessary main cast stranded somewhere in Idaho after they suffered from a plane crash. We saw Mark, Lexie, Derek, Meredith, Cristina, and Arizona on their way to Idaho to perform a special surgery on conjoined twins.
But before they can reach the place, the group gets caught in a plane crash, killing Lexie immediately on impact. Season eight ends with the entire team gathered around Lexie’s body, in Mark’s arms, as they cry and mourn over her death, stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Till the start of season nine, we did our best to ignore the possibility of anything happening to Sloan, but episode one of the season makes our worst fears come true. Season nine brings new interns to the hospital, but it is evident that nobody is over Lexie’s death just yet.
Where Mark seemed just fine at the end of season eight, we find that he actually had significant critical injuries on his chest. He seemed to have made it to the hospital but had to be put on life support. We are told that it has been thirty days since he was put on life support, and there have been no particular improvements in his condition.
A month into a coma with no sign of waking up, movement, or even any minor form of improvement in his condition, Sloan’s will forces the team of doctors at the Grey Sloan Memorial to get him off life support. They follow his will and stay by his side till he eventually passes away.
Sloan and Lexie’s death brought a shift in the hospital and was emotional for everyone, fictional or not. The hospital decided to rename itself from Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital to honor the passing of the two. Though it felt unfair for him to have gone this way, Sloan’s character got to be with the love of his life, Lexie, in her last moments, and he had the opportunity to wrap things up well with other characters on the show.
Also Read: Grey’s Anatomy Review: Is This Medical Drama Worth A Watch?
