'Grey's Anatomy' memorable exits: We rank 'em

Heres what we know: In two days, Greys Anatomy fans will be forced to say goodbye to Cristina Yang. But what we dont know is exactly how her exit will play out. Will Greys pull a George and decide to kill her? Will she simply walk away from the hospital like Erica Hahn did years ago?

Although we cant answer those questions, we are preparing for Cristinas exit in other ways. And today, weve ranked some of Greys Anatomys most memorable exits. But before we start talking about what makes an exit good or bad, lets clarify something. We ranked these based on three factors: Dramatic impact to the show as a whole, the actual physical exit, and whether said exit was on par with what the character deserved.

Full disclosure: We elected not to include parents of our doctors who only appeared in a few episodes (Georges dad, etc.). And Thatcher? Well, were still waiting for the day he comes back.

Heres how they ranked:

17. Heather Brooks:Im sorry, but theres no way it gets worse than getting killed off by being an idiot. Brooks saw Richard lying on the ground electrocuted, then she saw sparks, and decided to step into a puddle? Even Brooks wasnt that dumb. Plus, dramatic impact on the show was minimal, because lets be honest, who really noticed she was gone? (Other than Shane.)

16. Erica Hahn:Hahn was a talented heart surgeon, and yet the thing that drove her away from the hospital was romance? I was not a fan of this one. After Hahns You cant be kind of a lesbian speech to Callie, she literally just walked away from everything. And dramatically, I didnt miss her much.

15. McVet: Finns exit was great for Mer-Der fans, because it was the moment that Meredith finally chose Derek, but in general, it wasnt all that exciting. We all knew Mer was going to choose McDreamy, and poor Finn had to walk away and never look back.

14. Rebecca Pope:For me, this story just went too far. I liked it when Alex pulled Jane Doe out of the ferry debris and fell in love. And I liked it when she became Ava. But having her go crazy, slit her wrists, and end up in a psych ward? Eh, you lost me. Sure, it was great for Alex, because it brought up old mom issues, but other than that, it was just OK.

13. Izzie:Originally, Izzie walked away after she thought that Alex got her fired, but she later returned to tell him about her new job and to show him she was cancer free. I will admit that it was a great moment to watch Alex stick up for himself and tell her that he deserved someone who would stay, but I hated how this show made me dislike Izzie toward the end. I liked liking Izzie! And her final comment to Mer about this not being home but just some place she worked? Harsh, and very unlike Izzie.

12. Lexie:Lexies death certainly carried an emotional punch, but aside from Marks speech, it didnt sit well with me. For starters, there wasnt much of a shock factor because we knew she was leaving the show, but even putting that aside, I thought her death was a little too violent. There are a number of ways you can kill someone via plane crash. Did she really have to be pinned down and spitting up blood when Mark confessed his love?

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'Grey's Anatomy' memorable exits: We rank 'em