25 of the best family feuds on TV

Meredith and Ellis Grey — Grey’s Anatomy

Meredith Grey can be completely insufferable at times. She’s selfish and unyielding, and complains about most everything. If you believe contemporary psychology, you can probably pin most of Meredith’s personality quirks on her strange relationship with her mother. Strange might be a bit of misdirect, as Ellis was neglectful, mean-spirited, and spiteful.

Meredith’s mom, Ellis, was an immovable force. She was a successful doctor and she was a  professional rockstar. This didn’t leave much time for being a mom, and consequently her relationship with Meredith was cold and completely non-nurturing. Ellis had a lot of problems, and these trickled down directly onto the young Meredith.

Instead of seeking out counseling or therapy, Meredith channeled all that disappointment and childhood trauma into her own professional ambition, but this left her an unformed human, incapable of healthy, adult relationships. Meredith always considered herself a “dark and twisty” person, and one could deduce it’s because she had to “survive” her mother.

Of course, Meredith blamed all this on her mother, and their relationship only grew more tense. This went from uncomfortable to extremely sad when Meredith’s mother succumbed to her Alzheimer’s disease. Even after her mother died, Meredith used her as motivation for her success. Ellis was like the sharpening stone against which Meredith honed (and often compared) her skills. Although Ellis never felt compelled to compete with Meredith, she was always a shadow in the young doctor’s life, both professional and personal.