'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (2024)

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Meredith and Derek hooking up for the first time (Season 1, Episode 1)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (1)

The very first time we met Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), she was waking up next to Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) in her living room. It was the morning she was supposed to start working at Seattle Grace. At this point, Meredith just wanted to wrap up her one-night stand and head to work, but Derek had other plans: He tried—and failed—to get to know her while he got dressed, and spent the whole awkward time flashing his irresistible smile. From then on, Derek wasn't going anywhere—whether Meredith liked it or not. —Ariana Bacle

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"It's not the chase" (Season 1, Episode 3)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (2)

Meredith accused Derek of asking her out only because he loves the chase, which led to a quintessential McDreamy moment when Derek found Meredith in the intern locker room to tell her, "It's not the thrill of the chase. It's not a game. It's your tiny, ineffectual fists and your hair." (It smells good.) He continued, "And, you're very, very bossy. Keeps me alive." Looking at her with a smirk on his face, she still refused to go out with him. But, as he put it, "You say that now." So yeah, McDreamy's got game. —Samantha Highfill

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"I was drowning and you saved me" (Season 2, Episode 1; Season 11, Episode 20)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (3)

After the arrival of Addison (Kate Walsh), Meredith asked Derek what she was to him. He told her, "You were like coming up for fresh air. It's like I was drowning and you saved me." Nine seasons later, he would once again bring up that conversation to tell Meredith that nothing had changed: A marriage and two kids later, and she was still saving him. —S.H.

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Derek telling Addison the truth (Season 2, Episode 12)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (4)

It was Christmas in Seattle, which made Derek want to be with the people he loved. And, when he said that to Addison, it was clear he didn't mean her. As he told his wife, "I'm not saying this to hurt you, or because I want to leave you. Because I don't. Meredith wasn't a fling. She wasn't revenge. I fell in love with her. That doesn't go away because I decided to stay with you." Yet, he would stay with Addison, because McDreamy knew he had to do the noble thing and give his marriage another shot. —S.H.

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Heroic tendencies (Season 2, Episode 17; Season 6, Episode 23)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (5)

Instead of fleeing the hospital to avoid getting blown up by a bomb, Derek stayed to save Bailey's (Chandra Wilson) husband's life. And, instead of obeying the lockdown to avoid getting shot by a gunman, Derek wandered the hospital to make sure everyone else was okay. These might not have been the wisest decisions, safety-wise, but they showed how brave Derek could be—and how much he would risk for the people in his life. —A.B.

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Remembering his last kiss with Meredith (Season 2, Episode 17)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (6)

After the hospital's encounter with a bomb—inside a patient!—Derek stopped by Meredith's house. "You almost died today," he greeted her. They shared seconds' worth of meaningful looks before Meredith admitted she couldn't remember their last kiss. He almost left, but ducked back in to recount the kiss down to every detail. "You kissed me, soft. It was quick. Kind of like a habit. You know, like we'd do it every day for the rest of our lives." Swoon. —A.B.

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Derek punching Mark (Season 2, Episode 18)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (7)

What do you do if you see your hunky ex-best friend flirting with the love of your life? If you're Derek, you blindside him with a punch to the face. Sure, it wasn't Derek's most rational moment—but it was dreamy to see him literally fight for Meredith. —A.B.

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The Great God of Neurosurgery (Season 2, Episode 26; Season 5, Episode 9; Season 5, Episode 15)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (8)

Operating is hard enough. Operating on someone you know and care about adds a whole new layer of pressure—but Derek handled that pressure with grace when he saved Burke's (Isaiah Washington) hand, and removed Izzie's (Katherine Heigl) tumor and Addison's brother's cysts. His sister called him the Great God of Neurosurgery sarcastically, but there's no need for that sarcasm—Derek was an OR god. —A.B.

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Prom (Season 2, Episode 27)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (9)

After an entire season of trying to make things work with Addison, Derek finally gave in to his unrelenting feelings for Meredith. But, before Derek gave his great speech—about how he knew that he should have been thinking about his wife, but all he could think about was Finn's (Chris O'Donnell) hands on Meredith—he gave her a look across the dance floor that said it all (and so much more). In that moment, Meredith couldn't fight it any longer. Can you blame her? —S.H.

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The first "I love you" (Season 3, Episode 1)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (10)

At the end of the first hour of the show's third season, Derek and Meredith finally found some time to talk about what their sleeping together meant. Derek told Meredith that it meant she had a choice. Stumbling over his words as he looked at her in the way only he could, he told her, "I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you forever." And, to top it off, he asked her to take her time making her choice between him and Finn...because, "When I had a choice to make, I chose wrong." —S.H.

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Derek telling Meredith to pick Finn (Season 3, Episode 4)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (11)

You know a man really loves you when he can put your happiness before his own, and that's exactly what Derek did when, after weeks of competing with Finn, he realized that Finn was "the better guy." He told Meredith that she deserved someone who wouldn't complicate her life, who wouldn't hurt her. So, even though it broke his heart, he walked away. (Of course, it didn't last long because even though Finn was the better guy, he wasn't "the one.") —S.H.

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"I'm always gonna show up" (Season 3, Episode 13)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (12)

After Derek and Meredith got into a fight at the hospital, she left for home without him. By the time he showed up in her doorway, he was quick to apologize. But, when Meredith was surprised to see him, he explained that this is how relationships work. People fight and then someone apologizes. He then told her, "From now on, you can expect that I'm going to show up. Even if I yell, even if you yell, I'm always gonna show up. Okay?" Okay. —S.H.

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Derek saving Meredith from drowning (Season 3, Episode 16)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (13)

Most of Derek's best moments feature the neurosurgeon looking, well, dreamy—but, when he carried a blue (literally, blue) Meredith out of the water, his face was anything but. He wore a look of pure anguish, a look that we rarely—if ever—got to see from the usually calm Derek. Once he got her to an ambulance, he immediately started frantically performing CPR. At that moment, we got to see how desperately Derek loved Meredith—and a hint of the pain he would feel if he lost her. —A.B.

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Burke and Cristina's wedding (Season 3, Episode 25)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (14)

Meredith and Derek's relationship was on the rocks when he told her he had met another woman. As a result, Meredith told him to end things if he didn't love her anymore. But, as he told her, "I can't. Meredith, I do love you. Don't you see? Don't you understand? You're the love of my life. I can't leave you. But you're constantly leaving me." He then asked her to end it if she didn't see a future for them, because he couldn't. He was in it. —S.H.

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Dancing it out (Season 5, Episode 11)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (15)

After fighting with Cristina (Sandra Oh), Meredith missed a very important part of her life: dancing it out. So, after a bad day at the hospital, Derek stepped up to fill that void. Removing his jacket, Derek did what he had to do to put a smile on Meredith's face, even if it meant proving exactly why he doesn't dance in public. —S.H.

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The proposal (Season 5, Episode 19)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (16)

The elevator opened, and there Derek stood—clad in a suit, smiling, surrounded by brain scans. "I'm not going to get down on one knee. I'm not going to ask a question," Derek said to Meredith after walking her through the surgeries they worked on together. "I love you, Meredith Grey. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you." It's McDreamy at his romantic, confident best. —A.B.

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The Post-it note wedding (Season 5, Episode 24)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (17)

Scheduling issues prevented Meredith and Derek from going to City Hall and getting officially married, so Derek proposed a solution: write down their vows on a piece of paper in the locker room while they had a free minute. All Meredith had was a Post-it note, so Derek scrawled their promises to each other on the blue square—including, "We'll take care of each other even when we're old and smelly and senile"—before asking Meredith to sign her name and seal the deal. —A.B.

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Derek shielding Amelia from pain (Season 7, Episode 3)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (18)

Big brother Derek Shepherd wasn't someone we got to see very often, but, when Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) came to the hospital after Derek was shot, we saw exactly what kind of brother he was. Recalling the night their father was murdered, Derek told Amelia that he wanted her to stay "little and quiet and safe," but, instead, she was "loud and fearless, and it scares the crap out of me." As for why he didn't tell her about the shooting? "How am I supposed to call you up and tell you that I've been shot? I can't tell you about my pain. I don't want you to know that pain exists." In other words, a McDreamy big brother. —S.H.

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Derek taking Cristina fishing (Season 7, Episode 10)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (19)

Fishing solves everything—or at least that's what Derek was thinking when he took Cristina, who left work after the hospital shooting, out on the boat in an attempt to help her out. Cristina wasn't his person; she was Meredith's. But, his willingness to be there for her showed his compassionate side, and, even better, his plan worked: Cristina finished the day with a big fish in her hands and tears streaming down her face. —A.B.

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Derek sitting with Mark (Season 9, Episode 1)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (20)

Derek and Mark (Eric Dane) didn't get off to the best start on the show—what with Mark sleeping with Addison and everything—but, once they were finally able to move past that, they proved exactly why they had been best friends for so many years. So, when Mark was on his deathbed, Derek took his place next to his friend, and made sure that Mark died in the company of people who love him. —S.H.

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Derek's return from D.C. (Season 11, Episode 17)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (21)

Leaving for Washington D.C. was one of the worst decisions Derek ever made. But, when he realized his mistake, he finally seemed to be back in McDreamy mode when he told Meredith, "I thought that D.C. was everything, and I was wrong. You. You. You're everything. I love you. And I'm not going to stop loving you. Meredith, I can't live without you. I don't want to live without you and I'm going to do everything in my power to prove it." Any questions? —S.H.

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Derek doesn't let people die (Season 11, Episode 21)

'Grey's Anatomy': 22 moments that made Derek 'McDreamy' (22)

In Derek's final hour, he once again proved that he was both a hero and a romantic—and, as always, so very dreamy. After one of the car accident victims told Derek that she was going to die, he responded in the most reassuring—and badass—way possible: "Stop saying that. It's insulting. I don't let people die." Then, just as his young patient started to talk about her crappy first kiss, he snapped into full McDreamy mode, telling her that "every kiss before the right kiss doesn't count anyway." He then told the group about his first kiss with Meredith. You know, because he couldn't get any dreamier. —S.H.