Is Grey's Anatomy's McDreamy Still THE MAN 20 Years Later?

I was 31 years old when Grey's Anatomy came on the air. I was dating someone sensible, trying to fall in love and not succeeding. 3 weeks after the pilot episode ran, I met my McDreamy. He even looked like McDreamy. I had just bought my first apartment, was 6 months into running my own business and I was 2 years sober. I was, looking back at it now, a baby. A fresh-faced intern at life.

Last month I decided to rewatch Grey's from the beginning. I had just finished Shonda Rimes' book so I had new context. Most of the first two seasons were new to me, I really did not remember them. They started unblurring around when Denny Duquette became a patient and I quickly recalled hating the storyline the first go-around.  My feelings on that storyline did not change.

Hot damn, Shonda was ahead of the curve in her character building. Watching through an older lens, I see that now. She masterfully tackles social issues, gender issues and creates such depth to her characters that I can never see Sandra Oh as anyone but Cristina Yang.

When I refer to my closest friend as "my person" it stems from the reference to Cristina and Meredith's friendship. When I stepped back from a painful origin family dynamic I did so because Shonda has shown me through her stories that family can be created outside of those traditional norms. She has demonstrated to us that our person does not always have to be a romantic partner. 

I know I have a huge intellectual crush on Shonda and rewatching Grey's only intensified it. It also reminded me of the young woman I used to be when I first watched it. The dreams I had, the value sets and the world as it were then. Going back in time can delicious but also a bit painful. What shows are you revisiting as a guilty, or not so guilty, pleasure?

ps. Earrings are not worn in the OR. This is a continuity issue and once I catch up, I will check if the show runners catch this error.

ds. The scene that made me cry was not when a patient died. It was when Doc, McDreamy and Meredith's dog, died. Now you know.