With 448 episodes to its name, Grey’s Anatomy has plenty that do little to move the story forward or inform about its protagonists’ character development, and 10 of them easily deserve to be skipped during a Grey’s Anatomy rewatch. Balancing the killing off of its main characters with its levity, Grey’s Anatomy’s best sudser qualities always included juggling its more dramatic moments with its romance and comedy. While that remains consistent throughout Grey’s Anatomy, some episodes end up feeling completely dissonant with the medical drama’s usual pace, making it easy to see why it would be better to skip them.
10. Where The Boys Are
Grey’s Anatomy Season 3, Episode 7
Grey’s Anatomy season 3, episode 7 has no character development, bar George’s certainty that there is something wrong with Burke after glimpsing his tremor once again. With most of the doctors on a fishing trip and no major medical cases at Seattle Grace, the only turning points involve George and Alex’s fight that turns physical and Callie’s ending revelation about George’s father’s hospitalization.
In Seattle, Meredith follows one of Sloan’s cases, and its focus on gender-affirming surgery generates contrasting reactions. Indeed, while Meredith and Sloan are supportive and tactful, the storyline shows the sign of the times through instances like the patient’s spouse deadnaming the patient. With little happening at Seattle Grace until the ending, skipping “Where the Boys Are” gives viewers a chance to jump sooner into meatier subjects.
9. Time After Time
Grey’s Anatomy Season 3, Episode 20
Another episode in Grey’s Anatomy season 3, “Time After Time” generally lacks action, in conjunction with partially focusing on one of the ickiest storylines involving the original interns. Indeed, with the episode focusing on a time shortly after Izzie and George’s one-night stand, its consequences are partially the focus of “Time After Time,” effectively tackling one of Grey’s Anatomy’s least liked storylines.
The storyline showed another side of Izzie, but it also proved entirely inconsequential, as Izzie’s biological daughter Hannah never returns.
Grey’s Anatomy season 3, episode 20’s focus on Izzie doesn’t stop there, with the episode also introducing the daughter she gave up for adoption when she got pregnant at 16 years old. The storyline shows another side of Izzie, but it also proves entirely inconsequential, as Izzie’s biological daughter Hannah never returns, hinting at it being a gimmick to reunite George and Izzie.
8. The Time Warp
Grey’s Anatomy Season 6, Episode 15
Grey’s Anatomy season 6, episode 15 revolving all around the hospital lecture forces “The Time Warp” to heavily feature flashbacks of Bailey, Richard and Callie Torres’s days as residents. The episode offers a window into their past, which becomes particularly interesting due to the exploration of Ellis and Richard’s relationship during Richard’s flashbacks and the focus on Bailey before she became the assertive doctor everyone knows.
With Richard and Ellis’s affair being common knowledge since season 1, Grey’s Anatomy season 6, episode 15 adds very little to their story.
Albeit interesting, “The Time Warp” doesn’t offer much more than a change of pace by focusing massively on flashbacks in the context of a new type of lecture for Seattle Grace’s residents. Indeed, what happens in the episode doesn’t influence Grey’s Anatomy season 6’s main storylines, making the episode an easy one to skip.
7. Song Beneath The Song
Grey’s Anatomy Season 7, Episode 18
“Song Beneath the Song” focusing on the premature birth of Sofia after Arizona and Callie’s car crash takes an entirely different turn due to it being the sole musical episode of Grey’s Anatomy. While the songs are all important to the medical drama’s history and are beautifully sung, they incite an atmosphere change that almost doesn’t let the episode feel like part of Grey’s Anatomy.
All episodes of Grey’s Anatomy season 21 are available to stream on Netflix from Saturday, June 14, 2025.
Indeed, with Callie effectively being between life and death for most of “Song Beneath the Song,” the songs undercut an otherwise very dramatic episode. With the story not going much further because of Callie’s delicate condition, it’s perfectly feasible to skip the episode and go from Grey’s Anatomy season 7, episode 17 to season 7, episode 19, as the first ends with the car crash and the second starts with Callie and Sofia going home from the hospital.
6. If/Then
Grey’s Anatomy Season 8, Episode 13
The alternate universe at the heart of Grey’s Anatomy season 8, episode 13 is an indirect consequence of Meredith and Derek having recently received the news that they could adopt Zola, with Meredith’s moments with Zola kickstarting Meredith’s imagination of how life would have been if she had supportive parents.
“If/Then” hilariously presents a reality where Meredith never became Cristina’s friend, instead befriending April and dating Alex. The episode works as a peculiar thought exercise that is nothing more than fun, adding nothing to the characters’ stories.
The episode is quirky due to the unbelievable alliances “If/Then” puts a spotlight on. Still, Grey’s Anatomy season 8, episode 13 overall doesn’t add anything to the story except for a confirmation that Meredith and Cristina’s friendship and Meredith and Derek’s romance were a constant in any reality, as destined to be.
5. Unbreak My Heart
Grey’s Anatomy Season 12, Episode 11
Revolving all around the signing of April and Jackson’s divorce papers, “Unbreak My Heart” includes flashbacks that retrace all the important moments of Jackson and April’s relationship. The episode is an important one for the couple referred to as Japril, but it doesn’t add more to their story, as their relationship felt like it had already ended.
The focus on the end of Jackson and April’s marriage tinges everything with sadness in Grey’s Anatomy season 12, episode 11. With the retraced steps already being among Grey’s Anatomy’s most iconic moments, it would be more worthwhile to skip this episode when rewatching season 12 and just rewatch the episodes that made Japril a beloved couple through the years.
4. Who Is He (And What Is He To You)?
Grey’s Anatomy Season 13, Episode 16
Another episode mainly featuring Jackson and April away from Seattle for a risky surgery, Grey’s Anatomy season 13, episode 16 mostly focuses on Jackson’s personal journey. “Who Is He (And What Is He to You)?” has Jackson meet his biological father and understand who he wants to be as a person, in contrast to his father’s choices.
Grey’s Anatomy season 13, episode 16 being set away from Seattle makes the episode entirely avoidable. While Jackson’s realization of who he wants to be for his daughter is a welcome development that steers his story until his departure from Seattle, the episode only focusing on that makes it greatly differ in pacing from other episodes in the season.
3. Gut Feeling
Grey’s Anatomy Season 15, Episode 3
Grey’s Anatomy season 15, episode 3’s focus on secondary characters and the lack of action to steer the main storylines forward make the choice to skip “Gut Feeling” during Grey’s Anatomy rewatches easy. While Maggie’s attempts to push her sisters towards possible romantic interests are amusing, they don’t really help progress Amelia and Meredith’s storylines.
Alex acting as chief of Grey Sloan and aggravating Bailey is also perfectly amusing, but also not fundamental to Grey’s Anatomy season 15’s overall story. Even “Gut Feeling” including the layoff of a resident doesn’t change the episode’s status to something worth rewatching, as Roy’s role was too small in Grey Sloan’s great order of things.
2. The Makings Of You
Grey’s Anatomy Season 18, Episode 12
Grey’s Anatomy season 18 establishes the seriousness of Nick and Meredith’s relationship, and that’s especially noticeable because of Meredith meeting Nick’s niece by chance in Grey’s Anatomy season 18, episode 12. The setting of “The Makings of You” being mostly outside the hospital in Minnesota nevertheless makes the episode feel detached from the rest of the season.
[Nick and Meredith’s budding relationship and Kai and Amelia’s bond growing in Grey’s Anatomy season 18, episode 12 are] easy to ignore, as the following episodes would establish the relationships just as easily.
With Grey’s Anatomy season 18 focusing greatly on Nick and Meredith’s budding relationship, their time in Nick’s cabin feels inconsequential. Kai and Amelia’s bond growing being the other focus of Grey’s Anatomy season 18, episode 12 doesn’t help the episode feel more important, with those developments being easy to ignore, as the following episodes would establish the relationships just as easily.
1. Blood, Sweat and Tears
Grey’s Anatomy Season 20, Episode 8
Although Grey’s Anatomy season 20, episode 8 shows the new interns at work at Grey Sloan Memorial, Owen and Teddy’s storyline taking place all on a hike makes it not a problem to skip rewatching this episode. “Blood, Sweat and Tears” doesn’t contain groundbreaking revelations, except for the hike giving Owen the idea to ask Catherine for discretionary funds.
Grey’s Anatomy is available to stream in its entirety on Hulu.
Still, with that story exploding later in Grey’s Anatomy season 20, the meager developments in “Blood, Sweat and Tears” can be easily overlooked. This can lead viewers straight to the consequential developments of Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s last two episodes.
