George’s death is one of Grey’s Anatomy ’s most shocking twists, but the episode focusing on his death and funeral also includes a peculiar reaction from George’s closest friends, one that contributes to making the event memorable. The reveal that George was the John Doe who jumped in front of a bus for a stranger lets Grey’s Anatomy season 5 end tragically and chaotically, even more so as Izzie was being resuscitated against her wishes. George’s death in Grey’s Anatomy season 6 has major repercussions on everyone at Seattle Grace, and it couldn’t be more evident than in season 6’s premiere.
George’s death marks the first time a main character is killed off on Grey’s Anatomy, and a very impactful one at that for characters and audiences alike, as he is the only one of the original group of interns to die. Between his exit storyline’s delivery and George being amongst the most beloved characters, his death completely transforms Grey’s Anatomy, leaving a substantial mark on season 6 and beyond, as George’s friends and colleagues have to learn to go on without him. However, one scene of Grey’s Anatomy season 6’s premiere still feels at odds with the episode’s somber atmosphere.
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Meredith’s voiceover enumerating the stages of grief in Grey’s Anatomy season 6, episode 1 confirms its focus on George’s death and its aftermath, even as they aren’t even sure at first that he is George, not trusting Meredith’s moment with him when he wrote 007 on her hand with his finger. The episode brilliantly showcases the array of emotions felt by everyone who knew George, no matter how close to him or not, matching and even exceeding the same Amanda seemed to be feeling for John Doe, before everyone knew it was George.
The news of George’s death being delivered to Izzie, along with her having to decide which of his organs to donate after Callie asked her, being George’s person, all contributed to the heaviness of the episode, as Grey’s Anatomy’s central characters all worked through the loss differently. The mournful atmosphere of Grey’s Anatomy season 6, episode 1 was nonetheless completely dissolved by Cristina, Izzie, Alex and Meredith all laughing, unable to stop, at George’s funeral, prompted by the absurdity Izzie perceived given the priest’s eulogy and Amanda continuously crying.
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Izzie’s hysterical laughter eventually roped in also Alex, Meredith and Cristina, even prompting the latter to admit how she was “far more twisted” than she’d ever realized. While their reaction felt entirely out of place for George’s funeral, their moment in Grey’s Anatomy season 6, episode 1 was balanced by the other very heartbreaking ones. Moreover, it made sense for the remaining interns to react how they did to everything that was happening. Laughing uncontrollably in the face of adversity matched the atypical reactions the original class of interns had in Grey’s Anatomy’s saddest episodes.
It made sense for [Izzie, Meredith, Alex and Cristina] to react how they did to everything that was happening.
Indeed, in the short timespan covering Grey’s Anatomy season 5’s second half and season 6’s beginning, so many life-changing moments had involved Alex, Meredith, Izzie and Cristina, which Izzie succinctly sums up in Grey’s Anatomy season 6’s premiere. Izzie and Alex getting married ahead of Izzie’s surgery to remove her tumor was already impactful, but her almost dying right after upped the stakes. Laughing about all the unpredictable developments life threw at them, including George getting hit by a bus and dying, is the only way the interns know how to process the enormity of what was happening.
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Grey’s Anatomy season 17 ultimately gives George a chance to comment on Meredith, Izzie, Cristina and Alex all laughing at his funeral, more than a decade after his shocking death. Meredith and George acknowledge straight away the oddness of his presence, including his looking older than when he died, establishing immediately that all those Meredith saw in Grey’s Anatomy season 17 who had also died were a product of Meredith’s imagination and how she remembered them. Their exchange led to a beautiful conversation about grief, but it also reminded audiences of the rest of MAGIC laughing at George’s funeral.
Reminiscing after George admitted checking in on Meredith and her children, he acknowledges how they “were all cracking up” at his funeral. While that leads to a moment of uncertainty when Meredith tries to explain where they were coming from, George eventually admits how “it made him happy.” George’s seal of approval of their completely unexpected reaction someone justifies it, as it proves he would have understood where they were coming from, reminding audiences of how strong MAGIC’s bond in Grey’s Anatomy always was and remained so.