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Grey’s Anatomy: 10 Things About Izzie That Have Aged Poorly

Katherine Heigl’s Izzie Stevens has always been a controversial figure in Grey’s Anatomy. So what aspects of the character won’t fly today with fans?

Izzie Stevens is a controversial character from Grey’s Anatomy because of the turnaround in her personality. Having started out as the nice one of the interns, her later storylines made her much darker before actor Katherine Heigl’s issues with the showrunners led to Izzie’s departure.

Since then, many elements of Izzie’s personality, decisions, and storylines have been seen in a different light. Now that the show is almost two decades old, there’s a fresh fan base with a different mindset from that of viewers who watched when Izzie’s stories were new. Older fans who return to earlier episodes are also likely to find things problematic about her, so it’s worth taking a recap of the things about Izzie that won’t fly today.

Izzie’s Love Affair With George

This angle was negatively received even at the time of its airing, but it’s still aged terribly because the affair is now seen as the turn for the worst for Izzie and George. Izzie never really got back to being a fan favorite after this story, which has made fans dislike it even more.

As it happened, Izzie convinced herself she was in love with George, going so far as to have an affair with him while he was married to Callie. Even after George got divorced, their pairing never made any sense, and the characters simply broke up to pretend as they never dated.

This event serves as evidence that Izzie wasn’t a good doctor in Grey’s Anatomy, since she broke the law and denied another person a heart. When the episode aired, fans were touched by her feelings for Denny to go so far, but viewers of today might place more value on accountability.

Izzie cutting Denny’s LVAD wire so he could get the heart over someone else is now seen as a selfish move by many. It’s also aged badly because viewers are aware that Izzie’s attempts were for naught since Denny died soon after anyway, so she committed a crime for no reason.

Izzie’s Decision To Hide Her Illness

Fans were unsure what to think when it was revealed that Izzie was suffering from cancer, which made many give her a pass for her nonsensical decision to hide the illness. It’s now known that nothing came out of it and that Izzie was actually helped by Cristina when the latter revealed the truth to everyone else.

Rater than any dislike for the story, many find it confusing what the purpose of the whole angle was, which is why it doesn’t show on most people’s favorite plot points. Viewers of today are more likely to skip through this part of the arc during rewatches.

Izzie’s Sudden Escape From Seattle

As with many other storylines, viewers assumed that Izzie’s leave from Seattle was just part of a slow-burner plot that would have a resolution. However, she left and reappeared with no real reason other than that she was angry at Alex, and it was a wholly unsatisfactory resolution.

Looking back, Izzie comes across as hurtful and vindictive toward Alex, who was left distraught when his wife left him without even telling him face to face. Today’s viewers don’t take kindly to characters running away from responsibility and that’s exactly what Izzie did.

The Manner Of Izzie’s Reconciliation With Alex

To be fair, quite a lot of the fanbase didn’t like how Izzie and Alex got back together in the end even when the episode first aired. However, the time that’s passed since has only made it appear worse and Grey’s Anatomy viewers generally find Izzie’s actions shameful, seeing as she stole Jo’s husband.

Alex reconciled with Izzie after he learned she’d used their embryos to have their children five years prior, and left his as a result. Some fans who’d wanted the pair to get back together were glad at the time, but even a certain portion of those viewers also don’t like what Izzie did in retrospect.

Izzie’s Romance With Her Imagination

Most didn’t know what to make of Ghost Denny’s appearance to make love to Izzie, as the series had played with the idea of an afterlife earlier when Meredith was in limbo. However, it later transpired that Izzie had imagined all her amorous activities with Denny due to her illness.

With that in mind, it’s now a rather uncomfortable fact that Izzie was essentially romancing her own imagination. The idea of hallucinating because of an illness is valid, but many are put off by the fact that the show chose to showcase a sexual aspect to this when it could have been avoided.

Izzie’s Attempt To Fight Callie

Among the Grey’s Anatomy stories about Izzie that made no sense were when she tried to physically fight for George. Izzie learned that Callie found out about her affair with George and decided to engage in an actual fight in the hospital to duke it out.

Callie simply pointed out how pathetic Izzie was and walked away, leaving the matter looking even sillier. Fans today don’t see violence as something to laugh at, which the show was trying to go for by putting a comedic spin on things. Viewers will be inclined to see Izzie as acting completely immature nowadays, especially for someone responsible for saving lives.

The Long Time When Izzie’s Whereabouts Were Unknown

Grey’s Anatomy fans waited 10 years to learn of Izzie’s whereabouts after her disappearance in the sixth season. This aspect started aging badly mainly because the show kept bringing Izzie up without ever really detailing what became of her.

The long gap is now seen in a negative light since the payoff was for her and Alex to get back together, making her long absence immaterial as it wasn’t exactly a creative resolution. Some are inclined to feel that revealing Izzie’s whereabouts straightaway would have been the better choice.

Izzie’s Indecisiveness With Her Romantic Feelings

Being a hopeless romantic at times was among Izzie’s worst traits in Grey’s Anatomy, with the character shown constantly dilly-dallying over her feelings for Alex, Denny, and George. Today’s viewers don’t find it charming for characters to be in love with the idea of falling in love, so Izzie’s confusion comes across as off-putting.

Fans of the current TV landscape also like to see people take initiative instead of making messes that can be solved by confronting their issues, all of which were things that Izzie kept avoiding. She instead chose to dive into romances and then became dissatisfied over one thing or another.

The Sentiment Behind Izzie And Alex’s Wedding

Quite a lot of fans considered the wedding of Alex and Izzie as the crowning achievement in terms of romantic potential for Grey’s Anatomy. It was a sweet gesture since she was extremely ill and was given a happy wedding to overcome the severity of her situation.

However, the sentiment behind it hasn’t aged well since fans know that Alex and Izzie’s relationship heavily deteriorated since then. Watching the scene now doesn’t have the same heartwarming impact because viewers are aware that Izzie will break Alex’s heart in a few months and disappear for over a decade, making the wedding a moment that was worth watching only when it first aired.