10 Worst Things Grey’s Anatomy Has Done To Cristina Yang

One of the most beloved characters on Grey’s Anatomy, Cristina Yang, has been put through the absolute wringer throughout her time on the show.

Of all the Grey’s Anatomy characters, Cristina Yang has been dealt some of the worst cards. The long-running medical drama is known for its captivating romantic relationships, professional drama, and major catastrophes. Amid all of the unique storylines, headstrong, determined, and brilliant Cristina quickly became one of the most beloved and interesting characters on the show. It was devastating when Cristina exited Grey’s Anatomy. However, from an in-universe perspective, it was reassuring to know that she was going to follow her dreams, especially after all of the terrible things she had to endure in Seattle.

Second only to Meredith, Cristina found herself in the most horrific situations of the other characters on the show. From awful relationships to serious betrayals and everything in between, Cristina could not catch a break. At times, it felt like Grey’s Anatomy was determined to see how much this character would possibly be able to endure.

10.Cristina Nearly Dies From An Ectopic Pregnancy

Season 2, Episode 3, “Make Me Lose Control”

Despite Cristina’s clear intentions about not wanting to have a baby, she accidentally gets pregnant with Burke’s child. She is unsure about whether or not she wants to have an abortion, and in the process of deciding, she collapses from a burst fallopian tube. Cristina is rushed to the OR and is determined to be having an ectopic pregnancy. The operation almost became fatal, but luckily she survived. Given the trauma of collapsing, losing her baby, and an almost gone-wrong surgery, this was one of the saddest things to happen to Cristina. It is made especially awful by the fact that is not Cristina’s last near-death experience.

9.Cristina’s Boyfriend Is Shot In The Arm & Helps Him Cover It Up

Season 2, Episode 25, “17 Seconds”

Grey’s Anatomy season 2 was a rough one for Cristina Yang, as she not only suffered from an ectopic pregnancy but also saw her boyfriend get shot. A disgruntled employee was trying to kill his boss for firing him, and Burke got caught in the crossfire. He ended up being shot in his arm, which impacted his ability to do surgery. Cristina had to cover for him and took over his surgeries.

This was a tough situation for her to be in, as she was still early on in her career, and the pressure of taking over for her boss was massive. Cristina had to remain on edge that the truth would come out, and it ultimately drove her to turn her and Burke in. Burke shouldn’t have allowed Cristina to do this in the first place, and his anger after she revealed the truth was unfair.

8.Cristina Gets Left At The Altar

Season 3, Episode 25, “Didn’t We Almost Have It All?”

Being left at the altar would be a terrible thing to happen to any character, but it was especially heartbreaking when it happened to Cristina because of how much she opened her heart up to Burke. Cristina had her hesitations about marriage but was willing to go through with it to make Burke happy. Ultimately, that was the reason why Burke left her at the altar. He decided he didn’t want to force Cristina into anything and was tired of trying to make her the woman he wanted her to be.

Leaving Cristina on her wedding day was extremely cruel and was one of the worst things Grey’s Anatomy could have done to her. She broke out into hysterics after he left, desperate to get out of her wedding dress which served as a reminder of what she had just lost. She had worked hard to open herself up to the idea of marriage, and after such a horrific ending, it took her time to get over what had happened and be willing to find love again.

7.Cristina Is Injured By A Falling Icicle

Season 5, Episode 2, “Dream a Little Dream Of Me”

Cristina Yang was already having a bad day after trying to prove that she was a competent surgeon, only for her to mishandle a suture during surgery. To clear her head after this mistake, she goes for a walk and ends up slipping on ice. An icicle happens to fall from above and stabs Cristina right in the stomach. The pain that this caused Cristina and the fact that it could have been life-threatening was awful enough, but it was even more unfortunate that it happened at an already extremely frustrating moment for her.

6.Cristina Gets Strangled By Her Boyfriend With PTSD

Season 5, Episode 19, “Elevator Love Letter”

After mending her heart from losing Burke, Cristina finds herself falling for Owen Hunt. When Cristina is asleep one night in their bed, Owen has a PTSD episode and ends up wrapping his hands around her throat. Cristina wakes up completely terrified, with him on top of her. When he finally gets off, she runs into the bathroom and cries in fear. While Owen did not mean to hurt her and felt horrible after it happened, this was an extremely traumatic moment for Cristina.

She displays unbelievable empathy, at the moment though, and finds herself comforting Owen and reassuring him that it wasn’t his fault. Trying to balance her safety and her love for Owen was tricky for Cristina. Following the horrible ending of her last relationship, this was an unfairly tough position to put Cristina in.

5.Cristina Gets PTSD After A Hospital Shooting

Season 7, episode 7, “This Is Me Trying

A horrific shooting at the hospital during one of Grey’s Anatomy’s scariest episodes impacted nearly all of the characters, but Cristina felt it the most. After having to operate on her best friend’s husband and having a gun held to her head while doing so, Cristina was understandably left traumatized. She ended up quitting the program and becoming a bartender instead. What made this situation even more unfortunate is that the OR was always Cristina’s safe place. She worked extremely hard to become a surgeon, so to have her dream tainted by such a scary incident was cruel.

4.Cristina’s Husband Cheats On Her

Season 8, Episode 17, “Flirting With Trouble”

Unfortunately, Cristina never has much luck in the relationship department. After marrying Owen, Cristina finds herself pregnant once again. She does not want the baby, but Owen desperately does. He begs her not to have an abortion, but Cristina is firm in knowing that she does not want any children. Eventually, Owen accepts Cristina’s decision and agrees to support her. However, he grows resentful of what happened and ends up cheating on her.

Cristina realizes he did it to hurt her in the way she hurt him by having the abortion. Having her husband betray her for exercising her rights over her own body was extremely wrong. Cristina should not have been pressured to go through with her pregnancy in the first place and should not have been punished for her decision. Although cheating is not rare in Grey’s Anatomy, this was one of the worst instances.

3.Cristina Is Tricked Into Operating On Her Mentor’s Husband

Season 8, Episode 8, “Suddenly”

Grey’s Anatomy season 8 put Cristina in a terrible position when she was tricked into operating on Teddy’s husband, Henry, who had a rare heart condition. Cristina operated on him without knowing his identity, and he ultimately died during the surgery. This left Cristina guilt-ridden and devastated. She should not have been put in this position in the first place, and this was a huge betrayal from those involved.

2.Cristina Is Involved In A Plane Crash

Season 8, Episode 24, “Flight”

The plane crash was quite difficult for Cristina for several reasons. Not only did she have to endure the trauma of being in the plane when it crashed and then waiting to be rescued in the woods, but she also had to deal with the loss of her colleagues and friends. Lexie and Mark both passed away, leaving Cristina dealing with grief on top of her pain. Owen was also the person who arranged for the flight, and he picked a cheaper airline to save the hospital money. This put her in an uncomfortable position, as many of her fellow doctors blamed him for it.

1.Cristina Has A Brief Episode Of Reactive Psychosis

Season 9, Episode 2, “Remember The Time”

Given how horrendous the plane crash on Grey’s Anatomy was for everyone involved, it is no surprise that Cristina was left with a lot of trauma after it. It was revealed that she developed reactive psychosis, which left her unable to talk to anyone. When doctors came to examine her, she would become violent with them. Having to sit in the hospital, surrounded by her colleagues, when she was dealing with something so fresh and raw was a less-than-ideal situation for Cristina and one of the most terrible things to have happened to her.

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