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The Best Episodes of Grey's Anatomy Season 5

Every episode of Grey's Anatomy Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Grey's Anatomy Season 5!

Binge this in 17h 12m•Peaking at 9.5/10

Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle's Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 24 - Now or Never
    9.5/10(3454 votes)

    S5:E24

    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.

    Directors:Bill D'Elia, Rob Corn
    Writers:Debora Cahn, Allan Heinberg

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  2. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 22 - What a Difference a Day Makes
    9.2/10(2185 votes)

    S5:E22

    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.

    Director:Rob Corn
    Writer:Shonda Rhimes

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  3. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 13 - Stairway to Heaven
    9.0/10(2073 votes)

    S5:E13

    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.

    Director:Allison Liddi-Brown
    Writer:Mark Wilding

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  4. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 19 - Elevator Love Letter
    8.9/10(1839 votes)

    S5:E19

    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.

    Director:Edward Ornelas
    Writer:Stacy McKee

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  5. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 18 - Stand By Me
    8.8/10(1773 votes)

    S5:E18

    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.

    Director:Jessica Yu
    Writer:Zoanne Clack

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  6. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 23 - Here's to Future Days
    8.8/10(1811 votes)

    S5:E23

    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.

    Directors:Bill D'Elia, Rob Corn
    Writers:Debora Cahn, Allan Heinberg

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  7. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 12 - Sympathy for the Devil
    8.6/10(1746 votes)

    S5:E12

    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.

    Director:Jeannot Szwarc
    Writer:Jenna Bans

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  8. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 16 - An Honest Mistake
    8.5/10(1681 votes)

    S5:E16

    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.

    Director:Randall Zisk
    Writer:Peter Nowalk

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  9. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 17 - I Will Follow You Into the Dark
    8.5/10(1660 votes)

    S5:E17

    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."

    Director:Rob Corn
    Writer:Jenna Bans

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  10. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 20 - Sweet Surrender
    8.5/10(1657 votes)

    S5:E20

    As she endures aggressive treatment for her cancer, Izzie throws herself into planning Derek and Meredith's wedding.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 5 - There's No 'I' in Team
    8.3/10(1585 votes)

    S5:E5

    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.

    Director:Randall Zisk
    Writer:Jenna Bans

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  12. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 7 - Rise Up
    8.3/10(1590 votes)

    S5:E7

    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.

    Director:Joanna Kerns
    Writer:William Harper

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  13. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 21 - No Good at Saying Sorry (One More Chance)
    8.3/10(1404 votes)

    S5:E21

    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.

    Director:Tom Verica
    Writer:Krista Vernoff

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  14. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 1 - Dream a Little Dream of Me (1)
    8.2/10(1653 votes)

    S5:E1

    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.

    Director:Rob Corn
    Writer:Shonda Rhimes

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  15. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 2 - Dream a Little Dream of Me (2)
    8.2/10(1285 votes)

    S5:E2

    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.

    Director:Rob Corn
    Writer:Shonda Rhimes

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  16. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 4 - Brave New World
    8.2/10(1625 votes)

    S5:E4

    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.

    Director:Eric Stoltz
    Writer:Debora Cahn

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  17. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 6 - Life During Wartime
    8.2/10(1453 votes)

    S5:E6

    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.

    Director:James Frawley
    Writer:Mark Wilding

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  18. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 9 - In the Midnight Hour
    8.2/10(1641 votes)

    S5:E9

    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.

    Director:Tom Verica
    Writer:Joan Rater

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  19. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 10 - All by Myself
    8.2/10(1605 votes)

    S5:E10

    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.

    Director:Arlene Sanford
    Writer:Peter Nowalk

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  20. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 14 - Beat Your Heart Out
    8.2/10(1516 votes)

    S5:E14

    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.

    Director:Julie Anne Robinson
    Writer:William Harper

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  21. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 3 - Here Comes the Flood
    8.1/10(1521 votes)

    S5:E3

    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.

    Director:Michael Pressman
    Writer:Krista Vernoff

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  22. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 11 - Wish You Were Here
    8.1/10(1383 votes)

    S5:E11

    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.

    Director:Rob Corn
    Writer:Debora Cahn

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  23. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 15 - Before and After
    8.1/10(1385 votes)

    S5:E15

    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

    Director:Dan Attias
    Writers:Joan Rater, Tony Phelan

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  24. Grey's Anatomy Season 5 Episode 8 - These Ties That Bind
    7.8/10(1640 votes)

    S5:E8

    One of Meredith's oldest friends, Sadie, becomes an intern at Seattle Grace, but Mer's friends are less-than-welcoming to her.

    Director:Eric Stoltz
    Writer:Stacy McKee

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Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Now or Never" is the best rated episode of "Grey's Anatomy" season 5. It scored 9.5/10 based on 3454 votes. Directed by Bill D'Elia, Rob Corn and written by Debora Cahn, Allan Heinberg, it aired on 5/14/2009. This episode is rated 0.3 points higher than the second-best, "What a Difference a Day Makes".