When Did Fans Start Loving the Worst ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Doctor?

The Grey’s Anatomy fandom has never lacked for controversial characters. In fact, Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital seems to hire specifically for that quality. That said, I must ask: Have we ever seen a character redemption arc as pronounced as Amelia Shepherd’s (Caterina Scorsone)? Once perhaps the worst character wandering this hospital’s hallowed, absolutely uninsurable halls, she’s spent 13 seasons and counting becoming one of its most compelling.

ABC’s chief medical drama is all about stirring up our emotions and, sometimes, our angry keyboards. From the ever-complicated Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), to the lovable but rarely logical Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), to the well-meaning but absolutely toxic lover Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), Amelia’s peers have all had their less-than-stellar moments. For a while, however, everyone in the fandom seemed to hate her with a burning passion.

Maybe it was her ongoing competition with Derek that put people off, or maybe it was her short temper, but the hatred has been intense. Those who’ve been hanging out with Amelia since her time on the Grey’s spin-off Private Practice might have a deeper appreciation for her absurdly traumatic backstory. (For those who need a refresher: She watched her dad get murdered when she was just 5 years old; as an adult, she woke up one morning to find her fiancé dead from an overdose beside her; and she carried her son to term knowing he would not survive, just so that his death could become meaningful through organ donation.)

That said, some viewers simply could not stomach Amelia’s impulsivity, her horrific behavior in pretty much all of her romantic relationships, and her admittedly kinda corny superhero pose. To each their own!

But what changed? During the show’s most recent episode earlier this month, I saw multiple posts about Amelia’s “princessing.” This was where my curiosity began. Then, I dove down a deep social media rabbit hole and started watching the fan videos on YouTube. A theory began to take shape.

It should come as no surprise that a big part of Amelia’s appeal seems to come down to Scorsone’s performance. Amelia is bold and expressive, if often self-centered, and while plenty of Grey’s actors have seemingly started phoning it in over the years, Scorsone always comes ready to Act with a capital “A,” adding small flourishes to her delivery that make all of Amelia’s lines feel like Amelia-isms. It also doesn’t hurt that a lot of people simply think that Scorsone herself is pretty adorable and also cool as hell. (If only all of us could hang with Hayley Kiyoko!)

Then, there’s Amelia’s actual arc, which, when you take a step back and look at it, has also been a pretty redemptive one. She’s overcome multiple potentially devastating experiences and uses her experience managing her addiction to support colleagues like Dr. Webber when they’re struggling. Also, not for nothing, she saved Geena Davis’ life (OK, “Dr. Herman’s” life) through an impossible brain surgery that pretty much no one thought she could pull off. Later, she herself survived a brain tumor—further solidifying her resilience for any remaining haters and losers who might’ve doubted her.

Sure, Amelia’s relationship with Owen was kind of a mess, as are most of her romantic relationships. And yes, she handled that whole paternity test situation with Link (Chris Carmack) all wrong. And yes, OK, she can often struggle to take accountability during interpersonal disputes. But none of us are perfect, right? On a show like Grey’s Anatomy, especially, where everyone has their disastrous moments of disgrace, being a fuck-up is always kinda relative.

Come to think of it, maybe one of the biggest reasons for Amelia’s rise from the deepest depths of most-hated territory is that she’s actually stuck around long enough to grow on people. On a storytelling level, the massive turnover we’ve seen on Grey’s likely also plays a role here. At this point, 20 seasons in—God, does that make me feel old to type—Amelia is one of the longest-running characters we see on screen each week. Apart from Meredith, who only pops in periodically, our only remaining original characters are Chandra Wilson’s Miranda Bailey and James Pickens Jr.’s Richard Webber.

When people come and go so often, there’s some inherent comfort to seeing someone you’ve spent a lot of time with already—even if she used to annoy the hell out of you. Let’s just hope that if she really does get with Natalie Morales’ Monica Beltran, she gets out of her own way and lets us all have the ’ship we deserve.