8.1/101,482 votes#1 - Dream a Little Dream of Me (1)
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/2008
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
8.2/101,119 votes#2 - Dream a Little Dream of Me (2)
Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 9/25/2008
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
8.1/101,362 votes#3 - Here Comes the Flood
Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 10/9/2008
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
8.2/101,464 votes#4 - Brave New World
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 10/16/2008
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
8.3/101,423 votes#5 - There's No 'I' in Team
Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 10/23/2008
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
8.2/101,288 votes#6 - Life During Wartime
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 10/30/2008
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
8.3/101,432 votes#7 - Rise Up
Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 11/6/2008
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
7.8/101,481 votes#8 - These Ties That Bind
Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 11/13/2008
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
8.2/101,482 votes#9 - In the Midnight Hour
Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 11/20/2008
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
8.2/101,451 votes#10 - All by Myself
Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 12/4/2008
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
8.1/101,230 votes#11 - Wish You Were Here
Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 1/8/2009
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
8.6/101,576 votes#12 - Sympathy for the Devil
Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 1/15/2009
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
9.0/101,882 votes#13 - Stairway to Heaven
Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 1/22/2009
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
8.2/101,358 votes#14 - Beat Your Heart Out
Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 2/5/2009
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
8.1/101,222 votes#15 - Before and After
Season 5 Episode 15 - Aired 2/12/2009
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: Daniel Attias
Writer: Joan Rater, Tony Phelan
8.5/101,517 votes#16 - An Honest Mistake
Season 5 Episode 16 - Aired 2/19/2009
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
8.6/101,503 votes#17 - I Will Follow You Into the Dark
Season 5 Episode 17 - Aired 3/12/2009
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
8.8/101,613 votes#18 - Stand By Me
Season 5 Episode 18 - Aired 3/19/2009
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
8.9/101,683 votes#19 - Elevator Love Letter
Season 5 Episode 19 - Aired 3/26/2009
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
8.5/101,505 votes#20 - Sweet Surrender
Season 5 Episode 20 - Aired 4/23/2009
As she endures aggressive treatment for her cancer, Izzie throws herself into planning Derek and Meredith's wedding.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.3/101,250 votes#21 - No Good at Saying Sorry (One More Chance)
Season 5 Episode 21 - Aired 4/30/2009
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
9.1/101,999 votes#22 - What a Difference a Day Makes
Season 5 Episode 22 - Aired 5/7/2009
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
8.8/101,656 votes#23 - Here's to Future Days
Season 5 Episode 23 - Aired 5/14/2009
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.
Director: Rob Corn, Bill D'Elia
Writer: Debora Cahn, Allan Heinberg
9.5/103,161 votes#24 - Now or Never
Season 5 Episode 24 - Aired 5/14/2009
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.
Director: Rob Corn, Bill D'Elia
Writer: Debora Cahn, Allan Heinberg
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!
Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle’s Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
Genre:Drama
Network:ABC
Season 5 Ratings Summary
"Dream a Little Dream of Me (1)" is the best rated episode of "Grey's Anatomy" season 5. It scored 8.1/10 based on 1482 votes. Directed by Rob Corn and written by Shonda Rhimes, it aired on 9/25/2008. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Dream a Little Dream of Me (2)".