17 of Our Favorite Doctors on Grey’s Anatomy

5. Alex Karev

Alex might be “one of the good ones,” but he’s also one of the most difficult characters to continuously root for. He’s pretty mean. Yet, he shows a lot of loyalty to his co-workers and has come a long way since the first season. He’s like everybody’s little brother. Of course, that means he needs a good verbal smackdown every now and again to stay in line.

Now, I’m not particularly fond of his relationship with Jo, because it was clear that she suffered from a lot of the same character flaws as Alex. Unfortunately, this led to Alex’s Season 12 blowup that put the Grey’s Anatomy writers in a tough spot. I don’t know why they won’t let the character just turn the page on his bad boy ways and become a mature adult. Obviously, we like Alex best when he softens up and shows his big ol’ heart.

Based on his natural ability for pediatrics and his need for waffle Sundays, Alex’s tough exterior doesn’t change how far he’d go to help a patient. He may not be the smartest, but he certainly tries the hardest. He stays up for days researching treatments and doesn’t stop until he finds a solution. Because he knows most people are turned off by his attitude, Alex secretly works to prove them all wrong every day.

And after thirteen seasons, we’re not going to be letting him go any time soon.