‘Grey’s Anatomy’s Biggest Villain Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight All This Time
Grey’s Anatomy, created by Shonda Rhimes, has been airing episodes on ABC since 2005, making it one of the longest-running medical drama series of all time. The fictional series follows the professional and personal lives of doctors working at Seattle Grace Hospital, later named Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. The TV show has garnered fans throughout its run and continues to grab new viewers to this day, thanks to the entire series being available on various streaming services. There have been a multitude of characters that have come and gone. From beloved sendoffs like Sandra Oh’s Cristina Yang to series-breaking introductions like Kelly McCreary’s Maggie Pierce, Grey’s Anatomy does a great job of rotating its cast out and filling their spot meaningfully.
However, one character has yet to be written out of the series, despite being one of the most frustrating characters to follow. Introduced in Season 5 of Grey’s Anatomy, Kevin McKidd’s Owen Hunt came in hot and heavy to change the dynamic at Seattle Grace Hospital with his expertise in trauma surgery. But little did the doctors at Seattle Grace Hospital realize just how much of a terrible impact he would have on their lives and careers. From being vocally, emotionally, and physically abusive to his lovers, to his terrible communication and leadership skills, Owen Hunt is one of the worst Grey’s Anatomy characters.
Owen Hunt Was a Terrible Addition to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Owen Hunt and Cristina Yang had an instant romantic spark. They’d flirt, but he became cold towards her. His past as an Army trauma surgeon haunted him and affected the way he acted towards people. Despite Yang telling him he has a lot of problems to work out, he convinces her to date him anyway. He was aware of his issues but believed that Yang would be the one to fix him, instead of maybe a therapist, for example. His resolved post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) would later be a wake-up call for their relationship.
In Grey’s Anatomy Season 5, Episode 19, “Elevator Love Letter,” Hunt has a nightmare that he’s back in Iraq. In this state, he strangles Yang while she’s sleeping next to him. This near-death experience traumatized Yang, but they would continue their relationship because of how manipulative Hunt was. Following the hospital shooting in Grey’s Anatomy Season 6, they impulsively get married. Not long after, they had an unplanned pregnancy and realized they had differing opinions about kids. Anyone who knows Yang has heard she doesn’t want children, but Hunt thought he’d be the one to change her mind. After a heated agreement, he goes with her to have an abortion. But he expresses his frustration about this to her at a party with all of their friends, saying “You killed our baby!” After this outburst, he had a one-night stand with a patient’s friend as a way to channel his rage. Needless to say, they get divorced, which would lead to Yang, one of the best Grey’s Anatomy characters, leaving the series.
Hunt’s unresolved cycle of trauma continues with his next partner, Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone). Their relationship moved quicker than how Hunt was with Yang, despite him thinking he wasn’t ready to date so soon after his divorce. After one of the saddest Grey’s Anatomy episodes, when Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) passes away, Hunt grows closer to Amelia as she processes her brother’s death. They get engaged and married immediately afterward, but Hunt once again finds out his romantic partner doesn’t want kids. Not learning anything from his relationship with Yang, he pressures Amelia to have children, causing her to live with her sister-in-law, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), to get some space.
It’s revealed that Amelia had a brain tumor that had been growing for 10 years. She’s able to get it removed, but it makes her question how much of her relationship with Hunt was caused by the tumor. Moving on instantly, he professed his love for Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) and had a romantic evening with her. To rewind, Altman is introduced as an Army surgeon that Hunt served with. They had a romantic bond, but Hunt was engaged to a woman named Beth Whitman (Laura Allen), who he would later break up with in an email (class act). When he invited Altman to work at Seattle Grace two years later, she confessed her feelings to him again, but he was with Yang during this time. He strung both of them along until Altman made the decision for him and left the hospital. Fast forwarding to his love confession, Hunt ruins it by admitting Amelia convinced him to tell Altman about his feelings and kicked him out. Since Hunt just can’t control how much he wants a child, he fosters a young boy named Leo. Amelia and Hunt rekindle as she helps him raise Leo. But when Altman tells him she’s pregnant with his child, he tries to control her despite him dating Amelia and Altman dating another doctor, Tom Koracick (Gregg Germann).
This puts a strain on his relationship with Amelia, especially when he tells her, a recovering addict, that addiction isn’t real. Hunt proves again that he’ll never be part of the best couples on Grey’s Anatomy.
Eventually, Hunt and Altman get married and raise Leo and their biological child, Alison, together. But their relationship also comes with baggage. Later in Grey’s Anatomy, Hunt does mercy killings for soldiers suffering from lung problems without initially telling Altman. She berates him for all of his lies in Grey’s Anatomy because it’ll affect their lives and careers. Right on cue, a patient threatens to reveal the secret unless Hunt gives him the medication he needs. This causes them to run away with the kids as they try to figure out a way out of Hunt’s mess. But because Hunt can’t ever feel the consequences of his actions, he manages to keep his license to practice medicine.
Owen Hunt Is Not Meant to Be a Mentor in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Along with being one of the worst fictional boyfriends, Hunt’s terrible decision-making in Grey’s Anatomy affects patients, doctors, and more people involved with the hospital. Early on in the series, Hunt saw how skilled George O’Malley (T.R. Knight) was at trauma surgery, and took him under his wing. He convinced O’Malley that he would be a great asset in the Army as a trauma surgeon. After turning in his resignation at the hospital, O’Malley spends his last day with his family. But on his way home, he jumps in front of a bus to save a woman and eventually dies from his injuries, marking the first major death in Grey’s Anatomy. If Hunt hadn’t persuaded O’Malley to join the Army, he would have lived a longer life. Seasons later, Hunt would convince another capable surgeon, April Kepner (Sarah Drew), to enlist in the Army. This decision created a divide between Kepner and her husband, Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams), and would ultimately be the catalyst for their divorce. Hunt is doing a swell job with Army recruitment.
One of Grey’s Anatomy’s most shocking moments is when a medical plane containing Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Derek Shepherd, Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), and Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) crashes, with Lexie and Mark dying. At this time, Hunt was Chief of Surgery at the hospital and signed off on a cheap airline company. The surviving doctors sue the hospital for putting them on the plane. But because the insurance company wouldn’t cover the costs, the hospital would have to cover it. This led to the hospital declaring bankruptcy and struggling to find a way to keep it running, all thanks to Hunt’s choices.
Hunt has shown that he has not added value to the other characters of Grey’s Anatomy. As an abusive romantic partner and a disastrous doctor, Owen Hunt is Grey’s Anatomy’s biggest villain. He’s controlling of women, doesn’t learn anything from his mistakes, and is a bad influence on the new generation of doctors. Characters have come and gone in this long-running series, and it’s about time for Hunt to make an exit that deserves no fanfare.
