Grey’s Anatomy: Is Maggie heading down a dark path?
By Meg Dowell
Grey’s Anatomy fans have been frustrated with Maggie’s lack of character growth, but that could soon change.
When it comes to character development, some characters on Grey’s Anatomy serve as perfect examples of growth. Alex Karev is often cited as one who has come the furthest from where he started way back in season 1.
Some, however, have struggled to change much since they came to the show. Maggie is probably one of the least-developed of the main cast, not because she hasn’t been around for very long in comparison but because she simply continues to lack maturity in pretty much every situation the writers put her in.
What her character has needed, for a long time, is an ongoing struggle to help her grow. If breaking up with Jackson isn’t enough, maybe something darker will be.
Maggie’s short arc in this week’s episode was a literal drunken mess, with Jackson taking her home from a bar and almost getting back together with her — physically, at least.
Even though he left before anything could happen, he also left Maggie alone to drown her sorrows, of which she currently has many.
Her father, whom she came all the way to Seattle to reconnect with, isn’t speaking to her. Why? Because she is partially responsible for his niece’s death. It technically wasn’t her fault, but she was still the doctor in charge and Richard purposely went to the funeral without her.
And regardless of what you think of Jackson and Maggie’s broken relationship (and how she’s handling it), the things she has been through in the past few seasons have been more than enough to shake her to the point of breaking.
If this past week is any indication, a dangerous spiral could be in her very near future.
Alcohol dependence is largely genetic, and Richard — whose struggles with alcoholism have been a focus of numerous storylines over the years — is her biological father. That, combined with all the stress and heartbreak she is facing, makes it almost inevitable that she will at least begin to wander down that same path.
There is a chance, of course, that the people who love her will make sure she gets help before things descend too far into chaos. But you never know.
Whether or not they go down this road really depends on what their future plans are for this character. Beyond creating more drama for Richard, it hasn’t always seemed like they’ve known exactly what to do with her.
Now is their chance to make her relatable — something they have yet to do.
This experience wouldn’t just bring Maggie and Richard closer and give them common ground to stand on. It would likely also do the same for Maggie and Amelia. Meredith, Amelia, and Maggie are a fine trio of “sisters” already, but this would be an ideal opportunity for some heartfelt Maggie-Amelia bonding.
Fans have been waiting for Maggie to grow up. And as tragic and serious as addiction may be, there’s a real opportunity there to facilitate growth, maturity, and self-acceptance. It might be time to put Maggie through something that eventually gets her to a good place mentally and emotionally.
Will the show take this sharp of a dark turn? It has certainly set itself up for it. The beginning of the season had a much more lighthearted beat to it, but Maggie’s story in particular has gotten progressively more serious with each episode.
Now that Meredith’s legal issues are resolved (or so we think), maybe it’s time to put the spotlight on Maggie’s deep-rooted issues. She clearly has some. No healthy person is this bad at maintaining long-term relationships.
dark. Next. Grey’s Anatomy: Focusing on mental health is exactly what we needed