Which Grey's Anatomy Character Are You?

The Grey's Anatomy cast, sorted

Grey's Anatomy is sold as a romance, but the engine of its first decade is rivalry. Everyone in the early cast wants to be the best, and nobody agrees on what that costs. The show's central question is how much of your life you will give to the work, and what you will give to the people who stand in the room with you when the work is done and the lights are off. This quiz uses that question to sort you.

The deepest fault line runs through Meredith and Cristina, whose friendship is the real marriage of the series. Cristina treats surgery as a vocation and treats love as a distraction that happens to be convenient. Meredith treats surgery as a place to hide and love as the thing she is most afraid of. They are each other's person because each one sees the thing the other is avoiding. Fans still argue about which of them was right.

Then there are the mentors. Bailey and Webber teach in opposite ways, one by fear and standards and the other by experience and forgiveness. Both pay for the way they lead. Bailey's firmness comes from a belief that kindness can be a form of lowered expectations. Webber's kindness comes from knowing exactly what lowered expectations cost. They are the two moral centers of the hospital, they do not always agree, and the interns learn from the gap between them.

The romantic leads are not the most interesting people on the show. Mark is a case study in a man who has built a reputation to avoid a real life, and then slowly stops. Callie begins as a supporting character and becomes one of the most self-possessed people in the cast. Arizona's brightness is a professional choice, not a personality, and the show lets it crack. Alex and Izzie are the clearest picture of how two difficult people can repair each other, until they cannot.

Fans disagree about who the show treated best and worst, and about whose story it really was. Few disagree on what it asks of you. When the pager goes off at the worst possible moment, who are you? The person who runs toward it, the one who stays with the patient, or the one who makes the call no one else will? Answer as you would on your hardest shift, not on your best day, and the quiz will do the rest.

All 10 possible results

Meredith Grey The Dark and Twisty

You are better at the work than at talking about it, and you have learned that being chosen takes practice.

Cristina Yang The Surgeon

You want to be the best in the room, and you are honest enough to say it out loud.

Derek Shepherd The Idealist

You believe in being good at the job and good to people, and you wait longer than you should.

Miranda Bailey The Standard

You hold everyone to a standard because you know exactly what it costs when they miss it.

Richard Webber The Chief

You have made mistakes you cannot undo, so you teach others to avoid them, and you forgive more than you show.

Alex Karev The Late Bloomer

You came in with a chip on your shoulder, and you turned out to be the one who sticks around.

Izzie Stevens The Caregiver

You feel everything at full volume, and you make it everyone else's business to care.

Mark Sloan The Charmer

You have the confidence and the line for every room, and you are better than the reputation you built.

Callie Torres The Fighter

You come in swinging, you say what you want and you stay in the fight for the people you love.

Arizona Robbins The Bright Light

You bring light into the worst rooms, and you do not always let anyone see you are tired.

How this quiz scores you

Each answer gives points to one to three characters, based on how they choose and behave on the show during Seasons 1 to 11. At the end the points are added up, and the character with the highest total is your result. Your later answers break any tie.

Spoilers: Discusses major deaths, departures and relationship outcomes through Season 11. Later seasons are not covered.

Sources

• Grey's Anatomy, ABC (official show page)

An unofficial fan quiz. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the makers of Grey's Anatomy.