Grey's Anatomy: Season 5

2008 · 24 episodes · ★ 8.3

What Season 5 of Grey's Anatomy

Season five opens with Meredith and Derek discovering that living happily ever after isn't as easy as it seemed. At Seattle Grace Hospital, the administration receives bad news: the hospital is no longer among the country's best teaching hospitals. Chief Webber decides to step up training, which complicates life for the entire staff. The residents must train their interns while advancing their own careers. Miranda Bailey remains the figure guiding the young surgeons, and Cristina, Izzie, Alex and George feel the pressure day by day. Romantic relationships and friendships suffer, especially between Meredith and Cristina, who clash while every decision weighs on the operating room.

24episodes

Sep 25, 2008premiered

May 14, 2009latest episode

17.2 hrtotal runtime

Season 5 Episodes

5x01 Dream a Little Dream of Me (1)
Sep 25, 2008 · 43 min · ★ 8.5
As Meredith and Derek begin to find that their "happily ever after" is anything but easy, Cristina develops a crush on a military doctor who brings in a trauma patient. Meanwhile, the Chief and his staff cope with the news that Seattle Grace is no longer considered a top-tier teaching hospital.
Directed by: Rob Corn · Written by: Shonda Rhimes · Starring: Brooke Smith, Mark Saul, Cliff DeYoung, Lauren Stamile
5x02 Dream a Little Dream of Me (2)
Sep 25, 2008 · 43 min · ★ 8.4
Alex is offended when Izzie talks about how great a man Alex is to Meredith. Derek is stabbed with the scalpel in the palm of his hand by Rose, while the Chief is stunned over Mercy West's increase in the number of patients, a deadly ice storm ravages Seattle.
Directed by: Rob Corn · Written by: Shonda Rhimes · Starring: Brooke Smith, Mark Saul, Cliff DeYoung, Lauren Stamile
5x03 Here Comes the Flood
Oct 9, 2008 · 43 min · ★ 8.3
When the plumbing springs a leak, chaos breaks out at Seattle Grace as the Chief tries to put in place new teaching methods. Meanwhile, George takes his residency exam; and Derek attempts to get Meredith's roommates to move out, much to their surprise.
Directed by: Michael Pressman · Written by: Krista Vernoff · Starring: Brooke Smith, Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul, Kate Anthony
5x04 Brave New World
Oct 16, 2008 · 43 min · ★ 8.1
Meredith is sent into a state of panic when Derek finds her mother's diary in the house. Meanwhile, Callie stresses while preparing for her first date with Erica. Later, Cristina stumbles across a part of the hospital no one has ever seen before.
Directing: Eric Stoltz · Writing: Debora Cahn · Starring: Brooke Smith, Steven W. Bailey, Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul
5x05 There's No 'I' in Team
Oct 23, 2008 · 43 min · ★ 8.4
Bailey heads up a "domino procedure" in which each surgery hinges on the one preceding it. Meanwhile, Derek gets sole credit for the brain-tumor study he did with Meredith; Lexie tries to get George to notice her romantically; and Sloan counsels a desperate Callie in the ways of love.
Directed by: Randall Zisk · Written by: Jenna Bans · Starring: Brooke Smith, Steven W. Bailey, Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul
5x06 Life During Wartime
Oct 30, 2008 · 43 min · ★ 8.4
The chief gives Bailey new power and responsibility. He also gives her a very difficult surgical assignment: remove a girl's inoperable tumor. Meanwhile, new trauma chief Owen (Kevin McKidd) challenges the attendings' methods and the residents' skills.
Directing: James Frawley · Writing: Mark Wilding · Starring: Brooke Smith, Scott Haven, Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul
5x07 Rise Up
Nov 6, 2008 · 43 min · ★ 7.5
When the Chief makes an announcement that a solo surgery is up as an award, the residents are sent into a frenzy all trying to get an edge over one another. Meanwhile, Derek asks Bailey for advice after Cristina continues to interfere in his relationship with Meredith. Elsewhere, Erica uncovers a shocking connection between a resident and a patient.
Directing: Joanna Kerns · Writing: William Harper · Starring: Brooke Smith, Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
5x08 These Ties That Bind
Nov 13, 2008 · 43 min · ★ 7.8
One of Meredith's oldest friends, Sadie, becomes an intern at Seattle Grace, but Mer's friends are less-than-welcoming to her.
Directed by: Eric Stoltz · Written by: Stacy McKee · Starring: Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul, August Schellenberg, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
5x09 In the Midnight Hour
Nov 20, 2008 · 43 min · ★ 8.2
Meredith, Cristina and Bailey come to Lexie and Sadie's rescue when a routine surgery goes horribly wrong, as Owen and Derek treat a man seriously injured while sleepwalking and Mark comforts the sleepwalker's distraught daughter.
Directing: Tom Verica · Writing: Joan Rater · Starring: Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Leslie Grossman
5x10 All by Myself Mid-Season Finale
Dec 4, 2008 · 43 min · ★ 8.2
Cristina is awarded the first solo surgery among the residents, but she is forced to give it up and choose her replacement; Lexie is impressed when Mark performs a cutting-edge procedure; Callie doesn't know if Sadie is friendly or flirtatious.
Directed by: Arlene Sanford · Written by: Peter Nowalk · Starring: Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christa B. Allen
5x11 Wish You Were Here
Jan 8, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.0
Bailey teams with Seattle Grace's new pediatric surgeon, Dr. Arizona Robbins, to save the life of a young patient near and dear to her heart, as the admittance of a death row inmate at the hospital stirs anger in Derek and further erodes Meredith and Cristina's friendship; meanwhile, Callie and Sloan work as a team to fight their respective attractions to Sadie and Lexie, and Izzie tells Alex that she's seeing Denny.
Directed by: Rob Corn · Written by: Debora Cahn · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Steven W. Bailey, Robin Pearson Rose, Gloria Garayua
5x12 Sympathy for the Devil
Jan 15, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.0
Derek's mother, Carolyn, makes a surprise visit to Seattle and meets Meredith for the first time, as Mark tries to conceal his relationship with Lexie from her as well; meanwhile, death row inmate William wishes to donate his organs to Bailey and Arizona's patient, as Owen and Cristina try to go on their first date.
Directing: Jeannot Szwarc · Writing: Jenna Bans · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul, Candice Afia
5x13 Stairway to Heaven
Jan 22, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.6
Bailey grows desperate as a patient's condition becomes more and more dire. Everyone in the hospital is stepping up to try to find the boy a new organ donor, including Meredith, who considers a death row patient's wish to die before execution. Meanwhile, an injury leaves Mark in a compromising position in the OR and Cristina awkwardly avoids Owen.
Directing: Allison Liddi-Brown · Writing: Mark Wilding · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Gloria Garayua, Moe Irvin, Mark Saul
5x14 Beat Your Heart Out
Feb 5, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.2
Now that Derek has the engagement ring, he searches for the perfect way to propose to Meredith, as Lexie demands that Mark go public with their relationship, and Bailey, encouraged by her work on recent cases and by Dr. Dixon, considers a new direction for her medical career.
Directed by: Julie Anne Robinson · Written by: William Harper · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Mark Saul, Kate Anthony, Peter MacKenzie
5x15 Before and After
Feb 12, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.3
Addison, Naomi and Sam rush the ailing Archer to Seattle Grace and reunite with old friends Derek and Mark to help save his life; meanwhile, Izzie employs her fellow doctors in a medical game designed to help teach the interns, and Owen runs into a significant someone from his past
Directed by: Dan Attias · Written by: Joan Rater, Tony Phelan · Starring: Kate Walsh, Steven W. Bailey, Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul
5x16 An Honest Mistake
Feb 19, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.4
Derek's confidence is shaken like never before as he faces off with Addison over what course is best for their dying pregnant patient; Cristina calls the abilities of a renown surgeon into question after she botches a standard procedure; and Bailey, who has decided to pursue a fellowship in Pediatrics, is appalled by the Chief's less-than-stellar recommendation letter.
Directed by: Randall Zisk · Written by: Peter Nowalk · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Kate Walsh, Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul
5x17 I Will Follow You Into the Dark
Mar 12, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.3
Derek decides to quit after learning that more of his patients have died than survived; Izzie's interns make an unsettling discovery about "Patient X."
Directing: Rob Corn · Writing: Jenna Bans · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Loretta Devine, Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul
5x18 Stand By Me
Mar 19, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.7
After his fellow surgeons try and fail to bring Derek back to work, Meredith must summon the strength to convince him. Meanwhile the hospital is abuzz as Mark attempts a rare face transplant surgery. Cristina, at last awarded her first solo surgery, is more focused on the needs of her friends, and Izzie does her best to keep her medical condition a secret.
Directing: Jessica Yu · Writing: Zoanne Clack · Starring: Greta Sesheta, Mark Saul, Candice Afia, Larry Sullivan
5x19 Elevator Love Letter
Mar 26, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.5
All eyes are on Derek as he is set to perform his first surgery after his breakdown; attention is also set on Izzie, whose medical condition requires her to undergo a difficult surgery; and Owen has another PTSD episode that injures Cristina and traumatizes both of them, throwing the future of their relationship into question.
Directed by: Edward Ornelas · Written by: Stacy McKee · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Gloria Garayua, Mark Saul, Candice Afia
5x20 Sweet Surrender
Apr 23, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.2
As she endures aggressive treatment for her cancer, Izzie throws herself into planning Derek and Meredith's wedding.
Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Mac Brandt, Héctor Elizondo, Moe Irvin
5x21 No Good at Saying Sorry (One More Chance)
Apr 30, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.4
As preparations continue for Meredith and Derek's wedding, Izzie receives a surprise hospital visit from her handful-of-a-mother, Robbie. Meanwhile, a newly sober Thatcher visits his daughters, Meredith and Lexie, in order to make amends, and the Chief and Meredith bitterly fight over a controversial medical case.
Directed by: Tom Verica · Written by: Krista Vernoff · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Jeff Perry, Kellie Martin, Megan Henning
5x22 What a Difference a Day Makes
May 7, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.7
As Meredith, Derek and all of their friends prepare for the big wedding, a group of college students, injured in a car crash as they were heading to their graduation ceremony, is admitted to the ER. Meanwhile, Izzie fears the worst when she begins experiencing familiar symptoms.
Directed by: Rob Corn · Written by: Shonda Rhimes · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Mac Brandt, Mark Saul, Candice Afia
5x23 Here's to Future Days
May 14, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.6
In the first part of the two hour season finale, Izzie spends time with a fellow cancer patient and contemplates whether or not to undergo a risky surgery, as Mark is ready to take his relationship with Lexie to the next level and a patient makes Owen reassess his place at Seattle Grace.
Directing: Bill D'Elia, Rob Corn · Writing: Debora Cahn, Allan Heinberg · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Zach Gilford, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kimberly Elise
5x24 Now or Never Season Finale
May 14, 2009 · 43 min · ★ 8.9
In the second part of the two hour season finale, George delivers stunning news to Bailey, sending shockwaves throughout the hospital, and Izzie's friends anxiously await her recovery from surgery. Meanwhile Bailey is surprisingly displeased after being accepted into the pediatric fellowship program, and the victim of a near-fatal traffic accident brings the talents of Seattle Grace's doctors together. This is the second hour of a 2-hour season finale.
Directing: Bill D'Elia, Rob Corn · Writing: Debora Cahn, Allan Heinberg · Starring: Jessica Capshaw, Shannon Lucio, Brooke Blanchard, John Cappon