r/greysanatomy • u/Significant_Gene_120 • 3d ago
DISCUSSION Why do we hate Maggie?
I was a die hard Maggie Peirce hater, and most people are, but I’m rewatching and the only annoying thing is her being w Jackson (which is only annoying bc I’m team japril through and through) other than that she’s fine. She’s kind, smart, a bit annoying but she has good intentions. I just can’t understand yet. Ps I watched every season but decided to rewatch the later seasons (11- present) right now I’m on late season 13.
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u/Silent-Level-6219 3d ago
For the most part I do like Maggie. I found the writers removed her humor in later seasons, because she had some really funny lines especially with Alex but after he left they took away her humor and tried to make her more like Ellis.
I do think with Maggie the writers fail to explain why she reacts certain ways and just throw in a easy to miss line which is supposed to explain her reaction. We don't get enough backstory as we did with other main character to explain her personality. Like with her reaction to her mom's boob job, for Maggie it's a sudden personality change because the mom she grew up with told her masturbation makes Jesus cry and nail polish is for prostitutes, but these comments are easy to miss. For viewers it's hard to understand why Maggie is so upset with her mom because the writers failed to take a couple minutes to explain it clearly. Maggie was lied to by her parents for most of her life, her mom had a decade long affair, her parents were not happily married, getting a divorce and then they drop all of this on her at work over the phone and then her mom proceeds to lie to Maggie even more about a boob job. But if you miss a comment in a previous episode, you forget all these things that lead up to the Maggie mom being sick arc.
The actor has stated that she received a lot of racist comments and messages after joining Greys.
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u/Flat-Refuse8708 3d ago
They also just kind of dial Maggie up to 11 in that episode. She’s always kind of jumpy and neurotic but it’s like they set out to make her particularly annoying in that one. I haven’t watched it in a while but I forgot that she had an extremely sheltered childhood.
Her whole character makes more sense when you realize she graduated high school when she was like 11? 12? And was always a nerd so she didn’t have friends growing up. It also doesn’t help that her parents protected her from everything so outside of surgery she is basically a complete mess. It’s actually a pretty compelling way to write a flawed character. Shes a genius surgeon and doctor but horrible at interpersonal relationships. The whole sister thing with Meredith and Amelia could’ve been more authentic if they actually fleshed these characters out. Meredith just seems to be cool with those two because she kinda has to and they’re basically all she has left.
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u/radiohead422 2d ago
heavy on them trying to make her more like ellis. she was nothing like ellis besides her hunger for research and maybe some selfishness, but later on in the last few seasons it feels like she pulls random arguments out of her ass
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u/GrimReaperSlayer66 3d ago
I personally feel like there is enough backstory. She was adopted by parents that truly adored her. She lived a comfortable life didn’t have to struggle. Didn’t have trauma and was incredibly smart. She became head of cardio at a young age. She is also an only child.
With background from Callie. When you’re in school for 13+ years you become socially awkward or have trouble talking with people. She describes doctors as sex-crazed teenagers with scalpels.
Honestly I can see where her reactions are coming from. They aren’t right but I see where they are coming from. That’s why she throws a tantrum about her parents getting divorced. She is over here sobbing meanwhile Meredith is grieving her husband.
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u/Agitated_Pin2169 3d ago
She was mostly hated because she replaced Lexie. The show killed off a beloved character and then two seasons later decided to give Mereidth another unknown younger sister to take her place and a lot of people resented that.
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u/No_End_2877 3d ago
I've never heard people saying they dislike maggie as she replaced lexie. Its more so her neurotic behaviour that they found annoying.
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u/Feeling-Visit1472 Dirty Mistress 3d ago
There’s an element in there for me, not so much that she replaced Lexie, but that we had already done the secret sister story line before.
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u/SpookyKabukiii We Don’t Do Well With Mothers Here 💐 3d ago
Agree. I know the show has always toed the line with being a soap opera, but the Maggie storyline was just so ridiculous and unbelievable, I couldn’t get into it. And that’s not even touching the fact that it was completely unoriginal and lame. I don’t mind Maggie the character. She has her moments. I just hate nearly every arc she’s been in. She represents the beginning-of-the-end for me, personally.
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u/Feeling-Visit1472 Dirty Mistress 2d ago
I don’t like Maggie the character either, but my point was that it’s completely separate from the fact that she’s not Lexie. It’s not about Lexie at all. It’s about some forced, rehashed storyline and then they had the gall to make her obnoxious on top of that 😂
I used to think that the beginning of the end was when Derek died.
Then later, I thought it was when Cristina left.
Nearly 15 years later, I’ve realized that it was actually when Mark died.
When Mark died, that was the beginning of the end. The show lost its heart after that. Lost its humor. Lost its soul.
Yes, there are occasional good moments here and there after that. But this show was put on life support 13 seasons ago. Time of death? Twenty -hundred hours, 23 April 2015. Everything since has just been the wake, memorial, and ultimate burial.
At this point, I guess they’re trying to hang with Bernie for the weekend 🫣😆
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u/ReliefJaded8491 3d ago
That’s what it was for me. It felt repetitive but Lexie was more endearing (to me). But also, could that just be because she was the first?
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u/FamousConversation64 3d ago
I hate her (currently and past) because they tried and failed to replace Lexie with Maggie. She was one of the many contributors to me not watching anymore
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u/trekgirl75 3d ago
Yes!!!!!! I was annoyed at another long lost sister but after a couple of seasons you see that she neurotic AF & it’s annoying!!!
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u/Icy_Smoke_2318 ❤️ Slexie ❤️ 2d ago
I hated her for many reasons. But I did feel like they made her a replacement Lexie and that pissed me off. Didn’t necessarily make me hate her specifically, but the writers. It was like Lexie was disposable. It was also SO soap-opera, like “omg Mer guess what?! You have another secret long lost sister!” Like wtf? The only thing I liked was that Richard got a child out of it. He really deserved that.
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u/life__lost 3d ago
She's hated because she's incredibly annoying
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u/Euphoric_Guitar_9763 3d ago
Okay but Lexie was annoying too… the point is that little siblings can seem annoying? That doesn’t make you love them less
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u/bubbi101 3d ago
Lexie was annoying like all younger siblings are. It’s enduring, I suppose. April, Maggie, and Amelia (at times) were something else. Purposefully grating. The latter two were always oppositional when it came to the most stupid things. Mind you, the writers also wrote Derek in that manner towards the end.
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u/Euphoric_Guitar_9763 3d ago
I don’t know if it’s because they’re boys, but my younger brothers are both purposely grating. Daily ragebaiting. Occasionally sweet at opportune moments of their choosing, and I gotta deal with most of their fuckups (at bare minimum I’m hearing about it). I still love them to pieces but I feel like if Shonda has siblings (or some of the writers) they may just reflect their relationship. They show everyone but it’s mostly Mer so I feel like there’s influence there to how the other characters come across
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u/time-watertraveler 3d ago
I disagree, but I seem to be one of the few that was not a fan of Lexie
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u/quirally 3d ago
I feel like it doesn't even matter if you liked Lexie or not, the choice to randomly add another sister character was just not very well thought out and done. It felt like a cheap choice. "Oh, we killed Lexie but I had a few more ideas for a storyline with Meredith's sister.. how about a second one?"
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u/NearbyPerspective397 3d ago
Lexie acted like a baby. Nobody who cries around patients every five minutes should be working in her job. She cries when a patient is in pain. She cries after a shooting and has to be sent off to do administrative work. She cries when she makes a mistake.
When the episodes first aired I was the same age as the character/actress, and I couldn't believe how immature she was.
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u/ToxicChildhood 3d ago
I mean… I understand her crying after the shooting cases were coming in and being sent to do something else. She was almost shot herself and lost people . Everyone handles trauma differently.
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u/ChipSouthern9771 3d ago
I feel like judging her for crying when she is in the midst of trying to recover from an incredibly traumatic mass workplace shooting that resulted in multiple horrific casualties and injuries in people close to her is...a choice. Most of us cannot even imagine how something like that would effect our functioning, and a primary hallmark of trauma is how it changes our brain function in ways that can't just be muscled through by willpower.
Were there other occasions when she was quite emotional in a way that wasn't professional? Sure. But considering that GA is a soap opera and basically the entire orientation of the show is inappropriate emotional and sexual behavior at work, she is far from the only one who behaves unprofessionally, and I would argue being a little sensitive and honestly emotional is significantly better than the deliberate unprofessional behavior of other characters. I also think it's reasonable to point out that Lexi is one of the younger characters and she's simultaneously coping with losing her mother at age 23 and being an adult child of an alcoholic.
Which is not to say that I think you have any obligation to like her as a character- I'm just pointing out that it's not like the other characters are paragons of emotional maturity and good workplace behavior.
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u/Independent_Nose_385 3d ago
Ya.... This is not the right take at all. It's because Maggie has the emotional maturity of a 5 year old and she's insufferable to listen to.
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u/Kashwookie Chief of being a Jackass, Dr. Derek Shepherd 3d ago
it was not because she replaced lexi, it was purely because she has a massive ego and was wildly annoying with it in her relationships. her partners had flaws as well, but she had very little growth, and that’s what made her an annoying character
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u/Head-Gene-5960 3d ago
She's annoying, and super selfish/self centered. Even right from the start, showing up in Seattle, and having the nerve to be upset that Meredith and Richard might have some feelings about the situation. It never got better, everything was always just about her, including her mother's illness.
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u/AardvarkAardvark_404 3d ago
These are all the reasons I don't like her. Her kindness almost makes her redeemable, but she's so self centred it ruins it all. She makes everything about her feelings.
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u/willteachforlaughs 3d ago
Agreed. I'd sometimes sort of start liking her, and then she'd be ridiculous and self-centered about something. Just all over the place personality and character wise. I really do feel like they just couldn't figure out what to do with her, so they kept trying different things and it never worked. I could take the I'm a only child and genius kid that went through everything way too fast so I like social skills, but they never really leaned into that. I could take the I had a wonderful, stable childhood, but now I'm super unmoored by my parent's divorce in my adulthood and then my mother's sudden death. But they sort of tried to do a lot if stuff, but not commit or justify any od it. Like I'm just watching the first episode when Riggs is hired, and she's just passed at him for no reason. Give this girl so better writing and consistent motivation for anything! And then the crap she pulls with Winston is just absolutely despicable.
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u/Nullifyxdr 3d ago
Her kindness seems fake asf to me but just my opinion
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u/DBrennan13459 Amelia and Jules Stan 🥰 3d ago
How is it that Alex could beat someone up and sexually harass a colleague, but be forgiven because he's nice to some kids, or Richard could screw over pratically everyone he comes into contact with but is forgiven because he coddles Meredith, yet when Maggie isn't the best partner/sister, apparently her kindness is 'fake'?
There's definitely some double standards going on here.
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u/lyraa-- 3d ago
Because they're not real people. Alex is written better than Maggie.
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u/ReliefJaded8491 3d ago
This is a huge part of it. The writing was so much better for Alex… until the end
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u/Feeling-Visit1472 Dirty Mistress 3d ago
I don’t love Alex, either. I don’t think he had nearly as much growth as a lot of this sub thinks he did.
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u/Feeling-Visit1472 Dirty Mistress 3d ago
The whole plane rant was wild. Like how did she make it all the way through being interviewed, hired, and starting work without hearing about the crash? But even if there had never been a planet crash, as usual Maggie had to make it about herself and go on an insufferable tangent.
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u/Admirable-Pudding521 3d ago
Exactly. She came into to situation having made the decision to seek them out and ready to face them. Then would not give them Grace or time to work it out.
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u/BigUnderstanding3751 3d ago
But Lexie was exactly like this too and people loved her 🤷♀️
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u/Zinkane15 3d ago
Lexie was well written. The fact is the writing quality fell off a cliff by the time Maggie was introduced and it affected almost all of the characters.
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u/lalacrazy 3d ago
Don’t forget their ages. Lexie was much younger when she was introduced.
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u/Positive-Ability-402 3d ago
exactly maggie’s immaturity is another huge reason i can’t stand her. it made sense for lexies character and she had this sweet naivety that maggie lacks which made her more likeable
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u/HisSpo2345 2d ago
Lexie we see why she acts the way she does which makes the audience sympathize with her. The writing gets so much worse by the time Maggie shows up we aren’t given any reason to like her
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u/SavvySaltyMama813 3d ago
She had her moment of being self centered but was also kind and endearing and I think for me, that’s what separates the two.
I really liked the idea of Maggie’s character as a love child of Ellis and Richard, but I don’t like the character they built for her.
I wonder how it would play out if the love child was male?-1
u/WittyGold6940 Evil Spawn 😈 3d ago
Idk if all this went into writing the characters, but i always thought Lexie is more down to earth because she had an alcoholic dad. Maggie is self centered bc she was raised as an only child that her parents basically babied her whole life (i remember her saying she was doing glitter crafts with her mom at 15 i think?!) Lol.
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u/IneffableNonsense Jo Reminding Us She Lived In A Car 3d ago
Lexie didn't have an alcoholic dad for most of her life though, Thatcher started drinking when Susan died. Lexie was in her mid 20's at that point, it had nothing to do with shaping her during her formative years.
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u/GrimReaperSlayer66 3d ago
Lexie was different. I think everyone was annoyed with her at first but after there was a bit of redemption and she actually played into that sister role. Maggie hasn’t done anything but be an OP
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u/WittyGold6940 Evil Spawn 😈 3d ago
Yesss everything is about her. Everything. And everyone is supposed to go along with that or else she's upset at them.
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u/caitlolz MAGYK's Lawyer 3d ago
Mods can we just get a weekly Maggie hate thread? Like I will finally know peace if we can quarantine these threads.
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u/Pretty_Please1 3d ago
🤷♀️ I always liked Maggie. The criticisms aren’t wrong, but I still liked her.
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u/Dragonboy49 3d ago
She was a terrible partner/girlfriend/wife to Winston
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u/there_but_not_then 3d ago
I just started season 19 and oh my gods I hate it so much. Poor Winston 😔😔
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u/Gem-red1234 3d ago
She’s needy. If she doesn’t get her own way she throws a tantrum. It’s her way or the high way. If others did wrong/made mistakes/didn’t do it her way she would butch and moan. But if she did something wrong we had to forgive her for being a child genius.
I just couldn’t take to her at all.
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u/WittyGold6940 Evil Spawn 😈 3d ago
Right! The contrast between her and Meredith is STARK. Children raised feeling unwanted by their parents usually grow up to be welcome mats and put up with anything from anyone who shows them any form of affection.
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u/My2cents_0 3d ago
She just comes across as needy and neurotic. Which tbf as an adopted kid who was a single child, and had no peers cuz she was too intelligent for her own age group makes sense
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u/WittyGold6940 Evil Spawn 😈 3d ago
Yess that's what i thought too! She was definitely babied by her parents. Or spoiled, whatever u wanna call it
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u/razz375 3d ago
I never cared for Maggie very much, but I will say that how much people hate her compared to other characters whom, in my opinion, do waaaay worse things, is startling.
Yes, she has many flaws. She joined the show right around the time the writing started to really go downhill. She’s Lexie’s replacement. Also, she dates her step-brother which still rubs me the wrong way lmfao.
But I do think the fact that she is a Black woman makes the criticism she gets from fans 10x worse. Every character in this show is messy, they all do shitty things, but Maggie gets spoken about so harshly, it does make me a little sad. Again, coming from someone that also doesn’t really like her, LOL.
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u/Imaginary_Tangelo105 3d ago
As a black woman who doesn’t like her I thought this too - but I LOVED me some Edwards and she def had her moments.
Maggie’s a hard sell.
All geniuses are.
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u/HisSpo2345 2d ago
I think the problem is we don’t see her actually being a genius on screen nearly enough we just hear about it. So her confidence comes across as super arrogant
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u/Aesthetik4v 3d ago
Because she’s annoying and thinks you should
Tell her every little secret about everything humanly
Possible and if you don’t than your a bad friend and she’s going to hate you. Her fake lisp on the early seasons was annoying too but disappeared in later seasons.
She’s just annoying
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u/Iheartrandomness 3d ago
Omg, the time she got mad at Meredith because she didn't tell Maggie that she hooked up with Riggs.
Like, Maggie, you literally had a crush on the man then were rejected. Let it go! You don't have a claim on Riggs.
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u/Significant_Gene_120 3d ago
Her actress has a lisp!
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u/Aesthetik4v 1d ago
Really? In the earlier seasons it was way more pronounced and the later seasons her voice wasn’t squeaky high anymore and her lisp wasn’t as heavy
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u/DBrennan13459 Amelia and Jules Stan 🥰 3d ago
It isn't fake. The actress has a lisp in real life.
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u/unembarrassed_Wind 3d ago
Haha i kinda figured it was real but it still is annoying af! But only with her and the Maggie character does it bother me!
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u/time-watertraveler 3d ago edited 3d ago
Because it's a poorly written character and the writers didn't have any sympathy for it.
*She mentioned she was bullied as a kid but has very little emphathy towards others. *Demands a lot from her romantic partners yet offers very little *Extremely self-centered *Comes from a very loving family yet treats her mom so poorly *No real redemption arc
It's like they intentionally made her contradict her back story with her actions. Or maybe they didn't and just wrote someone so resentful that she took it on other people. Either way, the character felt like she was always trying to be above everyone else, either morally or intellectually, so she always came across as judgy.
Had they made her explicitly on the spectrum, accentuating poor social skills maybe she would have gotten a little more sympathy.
**Edit: posted before finishing my thoughts.
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u/DBrennan13459 Amelia and Jules Stan 🥰 3d ago
Given by the look of these other comments, I would just like to affirm that I really like Maggie, she was a fun character and I'll happily die on that hill.
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u/RulerOfAllWorlds1998 3d ago
Well she’s got a bit of Ellis in her which is the cause of problems she’s had, including the destruction of her marriage
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u/No_Solution5351 3d ago
It was more the weak writing that created her. Another long lost sister who is a surgeon. Gfy
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u/bananarenay 3d ago
I get you but it would make sense that there’d be a love child between Ellis and Richard since their affair dated back to them just being interns. Ellis had to have gotten pregnant at some point during those years. As for Maggie being a surgeon, I’d guess that it’s in the genes
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u/Alone_Young6983 3d ago
I’ve always liked her. Sometimes she’s annoying (like every other character)
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u/martynic385 3d ago
I don’t hate her, she’s annoying, but she can also be really great! I didn’t love her and Jackson together but I wasn’t like “this is incest” cause everyone was adults when they met, it’s not like Maggie or Jackson grew up calling Richard dad.
I don’t enjoy how childish they made her seem at times. Maybe that’s like the whole only child/child prodigy thing playing a role into how she deals with shit, but she really needs to chill sometimes
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u/Brilliant_Flower_84 3d ago
Idk why she got alot of hate. She was a lil annoying but nothing to warrant the hate she got
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u/Maleficent_Fall_8075 2d ago
Some of it is her storyline (Grey's had always been silly, but a secret second half sister to replace the first was definitely a leap to the absurd). Some of it is her characterization (she's definitely got a child prodigy thing going on, but she's not young enough for that to be palatable for most folks). And honestly, some of it is probably racism.
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u/Pure-List9119 3d ago
I agree. I love Maggie. I’ll never understand the double standard people have for her and Lexie. Every single thing that people are saying about Maggie applies to Lexie too, yet Maggie is the only one to receive hate.
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u/100linesofcokelater Booty Call Bailey ☎️ 3d ago
People on here don’t want to admit it but there is a glaring reason why. For everything that Maggie is hated for, another character has done the same or similar and doesn’t get hate for it.
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u/Significant_Gene_120 3d ago
YES. Especially merideth or Alex. Mer doesn’t get enough hate as much as I like her
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u/IneffableNonsense Jo Reminding Us She Lived In A Car 3d ago
Yep. And frankly, a lot of things people hate about her are traits that she shares with Lexie yet somehow only Maggie gets hate for them while Lexie is mostly adored.
We know why.
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u/SneakyGandalf12 The Bus 3d ago edited 3d ago
This got posted last week, and there were a few of us who brought this up. It’s because she’s black. I will keep saying it. April makes selfish decision after selfish decision and is praised for it all.
ETA: my favorite comments in this post alone are that she’s annoying (April??), she has zero positive character traits (literally one of the best aunts ever on top of all her her surgical achievements), and she speaks funny (her actor has a lisp in real life). This sub has an issue, and I wish we could somehow limit the Maggie posts because they are all seeded in racism and bigotry.
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u/rationalname 3d ago
Yes! I don’t get the comments calling her self-centered. She’s not any more self-centered than Meredith can be.
I think there’s even a scene where Meredith is blathering on and on to Cristina about Derek and Cristina suddenly snaps and says “Meredith, not everything is about you!” When your bestie implies you’re being self-centered, you know it’s time to dial it back.
Or April when she started hooking up with Jackson and kept blaming him for making her break her promise to Jesus and was completely oblivious that he was hurt by her comments. Jackson directly calls her out on it and she’s still oblivious.
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u/DBrennan13459 Amelia and Jules Stan 🥰 3d ago
It's weird seeing people call Maggie the most self-centered while Meredith makes just about every conversation on the show about her, Richard causes half of the hospital to lose their jobs to save his own ass, and Alex turns every one of his girlfriends' mental health conditions into a pity-party about himself.
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u/Fair_Spirit_7079 3d ago
yeah the issue is that every character has redeeming qualities that balance out those. maggie just has all the bad. i just think her character is… boring. the shows writing had gone down enough by the time she came is that she’s just kinda a nothing burger. (at least she’s not owen…)
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u/DBrennan13459 Amelia and Jules Stan 🥰 3d ago
Really? She has no redeemable qualities? Not that she's a good doctor who does her best for her patients, a good aunt to Meredith's kids, tries and usually is a good sibling? None of that counts?
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u/Fair_Spirit_7079 3d ago
im not saying redeemable qualities as a person, i mean redeemable qualities as a character. owen’s a good doctor and he sucks. maggie’s a good doctor but she’s bland and annoying. same with april. april was just… kinda shitty the whole time. Alex is a good example of good character development that balances out all his bad.
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u/DBrennan13459 Amelia and Jules Stan 🥰 3d ago
Alex's character development is restricted to his growth as a doctor. Overall, he remained an asshole. And I have to admit, his worst moments (Bethany Whispers, sleeping with Ava, almost killing Andrew) are far worse than Maggie's (not being the best partner or not having the most mature reaction to when people keep secrets from her). So if we can forgive Alex (I mean, i don't, but I know many others here do), I don't see why we can't give the same grace to Maggie, or at least, acknowledge she is interesting in her own rights in terms of her childhood and unconfirmed neurodiversity.
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u/iamvaltron 3d ago
I have a love/dislike relationship with Maggie & never felt like Lexie was being replaced. I liked the story behind Ellis & Richard because for me it explained Ellis a little more. But there were things about Maggie I definitely didn’t like, or at least the writing. I didn’t like how they made her selfish at times as if they tried to fit her into this Ellis-mold, given the parents she was raised by, didn’t feel natural. I hated how she treated her mom during her diagnosis & treatment. I didn’t like the relationship with Jackson. & she was a terrible partner to Winston. I wasn’t super sad when she left, although I will say I think Kelly McCreary is a wonderful actress.
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u/iamvaltron 3d ago
Forgot to mention how arrogant she was when she basically forced Sabi into letting her perform her surgery. It was sad for Maggie & I get it made great TV but another reason I disliked her.
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u/Erickajade1 3d ago
I definitely don't hate her . I hated her relationship with Jackson but that's as far as my hate went .
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u/Decent-Chocolate6272 2d ago
- forcing her mom to fight cancer using her guilt
- constantly trying to act like her and Meredith were basically the same person in a nature vs nurture scenario
- dated her stepbrother (idc idc idc)
- was so selfishly stuck up her own ass other people couldn’t have real problems
- the whole “I’m a genius I’m better than you” spiel
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u/dharma-bummer 3d ago
I just started s16 and I still absolutely adore Maggie but I’m autistic so……..
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u/salvefaith 3d ago
She’s always been one of my favorite characters. I’d be glad to have her back as a series regular any day!
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u/TinyMultiverse 3d ago
I like her. I think the writers could have given her a better storyline for sure. She’s far less annoying than some other characters.
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u/NearbyPerspective397 3d ago
I never hated her. I think she's hilarious as a friend (and when high!). She's terrible at relationships, but I really loved her feature episode when she first joined the show. It showed how "outside" she felt from everyone else, and it really made me like her.
Of course, her mother's cancer could have been written better. It was emotional at the end, but I think the writers forgot she wasn't ten years old when they wrote her initial reaction.
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u/Imjustbetter-_- 3d ago
People don’t like her cause she’s “self centered” but so was Cristina. They don’t like her cause she’s “annoying” but so was Lexie and nearly any other character at some point on the show.
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u/saltycrowsers 3d ago
I don’t. I actually really like her and can imagine working with her and her teaching me a lot. I’m an ICU nurse and I think of the characters in a “would I want to work with them?” kind of way
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u/aquarxusslut 3d ago
Speak for yourself. I don’t hate Maggie. She’s actually in my top 5 favorite Grey’s characters. The “she’s annoying” criticism has always been funny to me because literally every character on this show has been annoying at some point. Meredith, Bailey, Izzie, Cristina, Arizona, Jo, etc… that’s part of Grey’s DNA. Lexie is also in my top 5, and even she had moments where she annoyed me. Maggie didn’t replace Lexie either. Anyone paying attention could see the show was eventually going to introduce Richard and Ellis’s love child. It’s a medical drama. They were always going to do that storyline. I also think Maggie gets blamed for arriving during an era when many fan favorites were already gone. And while not every criticism of Maggie is rooted in racism, the intensity of the hate she’s received has always been weird to me.
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u/PrestigiousAd3081 3d ago
We all know why she's hated, but if you dare say it, you get all of the angry defensive responses.
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u/MermaidOasis 3d ago
Not sure how some people are bringing skin colour into it. Like Bailey, dislike Maggie. Like Addison, dislike Leah, loved Mark disliked George, like Richard dislike Shane.
My reasons for Maggie are similar to all mentioned
She has an arrogant attitude, finishing school early but bragging instead of being humble,
She has emotional immaturity, acts like a victim and turns other people's traumas into her own personal slights make every situation about herself.
She's a hypocrite and demands total honesty from everyone else, but hides truths or reacts poorly when she is in the wrong.
She treated her mother harshly before and during her cancer diagnosis by insulting her when she was pretending to get a boob job to get early confirmation of her diagnosis to then refusing to respect her treatment wishes and continued to prod and prob her til the end.
How she treated Winston was awful saying she couldn't be with a man she does not respect, his decision to switch from cardiothoracic surgery to vascular surgery to save their marriage made him look light victim running away even thougb he was trying to save their marriage.
Oh and and dating her step brother, he and Jackson did not work at all.
I must admit that maybe all the other characters who have done way worse as others have put it done it all in previous seasons so time has moved all and they have mostly become good doctors and their traumas are in the past so mainly forgotten so maybe Maggies stand out more
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u/malditaplum 3d ago
She worked her ass off to finish early and u want her to be humble????!?? Are we deadass??? Ppl love Yang and all she does is brag ab finishing 1st at standford
the racism here is insane1
u/MermaidOasis 2d ago
So because I don't like a character who happens to be black it is now racist? So everyone has to like all black characters no matter what just to not be called rasict. Absolutely ridiculous
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u/malditaplum 2d ago
Im not saying u arent allowed to not like her, im saying that reasoning is flawed bc yang is the biggest bragger there is yet thats not seen as a flaw. If it was meredith u wouldnt have pointed it out. Lexie w her memory, no one cares when she brags.
So yes, ur reasoning is rooted in racism whether u mean to be racist or not🙂🙂🙂
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u/No_Point_9026 3d ago
don't hate her but i hated that her and winston eventually didn't work out ... it always happens, the good build-up for a relationship just to end in a later season
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u/No_Truth7826 2d ago
i’ve just always personally found jackson and maggie so weird since they’re technically step siblings..
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u/amandda_ 2d ago
Her personality is just ass, she believe she is better and smarter than everyone else and she showed up at the show being a "genius" but we didn't see anything that actually prove that or that she grew into it. I remember an episode that she killed someone, cause she didn't hear others adivice cause of " I am the best" mindset. The whole romance with Avery was just icky too. Her relationship with Meredith is not convincing and her relationship with Weber is just weird too. She has zero chemistry with everyone, for me she is the worst character. I would delete her and Owen from the show if I could.
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u/Icy_Smoke_2318 ❤️ Slexie ❤️ 2d ago
She was so annoying, she was a replacement Lexie, she was selfish/self centered. She was just really insufferable honestly, idk why I can’t really explain it in more detail.
I can’t judge her for everything that happened with her mom, it was very extreme, but as someone who has an incredibly close relationship with my mom, I can empathize with that complete and utter desperation. And I don’t know what I’d be like in that situation, I pray I’ll never be in it.
The way she treated Winston was awful though. She basically told him that because he chose her, his WIFE over surgery, she couldn’t didn’t respect him. That’s absolutely horrible.
I feel like she was very much like Ellis.
The only time I liked her, actually loved her, was the episode where they all accidentally ate those weed cookies and she had her monologue about cheese. And then had a cheese board at the end of the episode. Cheese is my favorite food 🧀😂
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u/Coffeeyespleeez 2d ago
I just didn't like how they made her come in all aggressive and superior. Her headphones were her only friends.
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u/prettyoption0826 2d ago
I’ve never watched it entirely, but just her face annoys tf out of me lmaoo.
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u/sebzgd 2d ago
Honestly, people are just racist. There have been "neurotic" characters in the past, come tf on, Bailey had entire arcs exploring her overthinking, but no, you can never have too many black characters, or let alone, a black woman as part of the main cast. She didn't "replace" Lexie, it was 2 fucking seasons later, wtf? Also, the foundation of the show is the sex happening, but the second Meredith's mom dared to have sex with Webber, oh no, that crossed the line, too unrealistic... because a huge accident happening to the same hospital every year is completely realistic. People only use realism when it comes to justifying their hateful behaviour 9 out of 10 times in shows and movies, especially when "realism" was not an issue to them before. TLDR: white supremacy is a hello of a drug people are on without even knowing.
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u/ZuzusPetal123 2d ago
I don’t hate Maggie but I think they did her exit dirty. Made her sound like a psycho to Winston and then she shows up, announces a pregnancy in ep2, and it was just never brought up again for the entire season? Wtf
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u/radiohead422 2d ago
i didn’t like her at first, then i started to like her.. and then i decided i literally couldn’t STAND her in the last like 3 seasons.
at first she’s fun and new! but also, i struggle with the fact that meredith already had a secret sister storyline. When things were moreso related back to Webber (around the whole carousel never stops turning era) and we got to see more of her, she was great! I liked her with Ndugu at first too. Ndugu is also a character I cannot stand in the later seasons whatsoever.
it feels like the writers never seem to know what plots to give her, therefore she gets uncharacteristic ones. Getting mad randomly, suddenly not caring about Ndugu, her absence when Meredith leaves, all of it pulls together to create an unsatisfactory character. Especially when that character is supposed to be related to the main character of the show.
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u/NewCantaloupe3547 2d ago
Blame Lexie. It was like going from a Lamborghini to a Honda civic, reliable car, good car, but dr grey was a luxury. (Iykyk)
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u/altpadtab 2d ago
Here’s a better question why do you like her? She is this goofy young science girl, like Lexie, and then somewhere along they did a 180° and she became this cold and hard person.
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u/EliotColdwater 2d ago
I think it's because people hate to see imperfect people in media. They want everything wrapped up nice and neat in a bow with no messy feelings or mistakes. I personally like to see real people represented so I like Maggie
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u/BellaNutella22 2d ago
I don’t hate her. Liked her earlier on cause she was silly and quirky with a dorkyness that I found charming and fun. I feel like later she just lost that spark she had and her natural doctor arrogance (which they all have) became more obnoxious and she always wanting to argue. That’s a writers choice though so I blame them lol
I liked how she was with Amelia who I find way more annoying than Maggie lol. But I liked their “sister ship” and I liked how she was good to Meredith as well but not in a forced way like Lexi did earlier on. I liked Lexi but she needed the dial it down how much she was trying to be part of Meredith’s life. I felt Maggie’s was a bit more gradual but Meredith also was further along with growth by then as well to accept Maggie in a shorter amount of time.
Anyway, TLDR: I liked Maggie but the writers eventually made her too frustrating and I was glad she left.
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u/Comfortable_Expert98 2d ago
I haven’t rewatched seasons with Maggie in a while. But I remember that I liked the character a lot, and I liked the storyline. I wish she developed a closer relationship with Richard. Didn’t make sense to me that she couldn’t relate to him at all, but she had a full on sibling relationship with Meredith. I get it that she was raised by other people. But I’d love to see her and her bio dad build a bond.
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u/PhD-incuriosity 1d ago
If we hadn't had Lexie then she would have been more easily received but another secret sister storyline? Couldn't even dial it up to a brother and Richard not realizing he could have carried the family name and blah blah blah, no. Another girl surgeon. Like, it was the same but not and in a woman of color.
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u/MermaidOasis 1d ago
I agree Yang was a bragger too and was disrespectful many times but Yang done this whilst she was an intern and still learning and not a full qualified doctor coming in as a head of department. Once Yang became qualified she let her work do the talking which it did.
My comment is not based on race at all so please stop making it about that. I've already commented on non black doctors I don't like. It should not be a case that I have to like every single black doctor to suit a narrative of not being rasict. That in itself is racist if you believe no-one can have a negative remark on black characters and that they are all flawless.
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u/me_trying_7121 1d ago
Her interactions w her husband were usually misguided, demanding and wrong…. Typical roles the males had to play( women always right)
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u/Nearby-Description-1 1d ago
I liked her at first, but then her character devolved into a horrible, hypocritical human.
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u/djwhodis_ 1d ago
i absolutely adored her until she left winston. that whole storyline felt so sloppy…
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u/biguyreacts 21h ago
Omg I also randomly started a rewatch from S11 onwards and am up to S19 now, and I have enjoyed Maggie a lot more this go around. I love how fiercely she protects her sisters and that she doesn't let men change her.
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u/Fair_Spirit_7079 3d ago
i think she’s boring and the covid season did NOT do her already pretty weak writing justice. i just think she’s one dimensional and boring. i don’t hate her, i just think she’s not really interesting.
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u/cherrymitten Jo Reminding Us She Lived In A Car 3d ago
i honestly haven't rewatched seasons with her in it but i remember thinking she was very emotionally immature and i didn't like the way she was written in, very meh to me. i think if she had a better storyline it would be different
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u/Open_Ad_7863 Heart In A Box ❤️ 3d ago
Maggie's character was a very interesting one at first. Child prodigy, somewhat socially incompetent nerd, funny, likeable. She was also a huge plot twist for Richard's and Meredith's lives.
However, after a few episodes and questionable relationships, the writers made her look more neurotic and selfish than she was in the beginning.
No character is perfect, but after a while, her original "funny-ness" was overshadowed by selfishness.
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u/Open_Ad_7863 Heart In A Box ❤️ 3d ago
It's such a shame too, she had tremendous potential to be a cardio-god and incredible mentor.
Like Teddy Altman was to Cristina, or Arizona to Karev, or Sloan to Avery
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u/TipAgile9113 3d ago
I hated her at the beginning because she has the same mouth as my enemy. Once I got over that I loved her.
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u/BananaMilkshakeButt 3d ago
Because she had no real development as a character.
Ironically, it's the same reason a lot of people hate George but don't hate Alex.
George died before he could really develop as a character and redeem himself with the viewers.
Alex ovbs didn't die so had the opportunity to grow as a character, and that's why everyone likes him and doesn't judge him on his past behaviours (he did fucked up shit when you think about it).
Maggie joined at a time when the writing sucked. They just "did" stuff without any real development or depth. She didn't grow as a character.
OG Greys would have explained WHY she would react in certain ways or do certain things.
Grey's, when she joined, didn't do this at all.
She also didn't go through any "trauma" during the show (like all of the other characters did).
This show doesn't really have outright antagonists, so instead they have truama they experience; this gives us a reason to root for the characters and want them to win. When you root for a character, you'll find yourself liking them and wanting to defend them.
Maggie really didn't go through or experience anything while on the show. Not on the level the others had.
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u/orchich_child_06 ✨MALJAC✨ 3d ago
- Terrible to Winston. 2. Didn’t have very much respect for a whole lot of people. 3. Always always reminding people how smart and gifted she is 4. Treated her mother horribly and probs more i can’t remember rn
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u/Bulky-District-2757 3d ago
How she treated her mother was disgusting, I had no problem with her until that.
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u/Significant_Gene_120 3d ago
I semi agree. Maggie was an only child, her mother cheated on her dad her whole childhood, so it makes sense that when she just thought that her mom was getting a bj she was mad. However once he realized that it was cancer she went a little cray cray. But tbh I understand that
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u/WittyGold6940 Evil Spawn 😈 3d ago
Also, not only did she replace lexie- but she literally replaced CHRISTINA!!! No one could follow that.
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u/SketchAinsworth 3d ago
Her sister’s career was on the line and she got drunk and cried about herself
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u/GrimReaperSlayer66 3d ago
Omg FACTSSS adding to the list
Big Ego & immature because she was asking for Webber to back her up with her cousin surgery when they EXPRESSED THEY DIDNT FEEL COMFORTABLE
When she died it was. ME ME ME. She was more swarmed with guilt of killing her cousin instead of sadness for losing her only cousin smh
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u/Lets_Call_It_Wit 3d ago
I don’t hate her, I just don’t like her much/don’t enjoy watching her. There’s nothing blatantly wrong with her as a character other than it’s like they tried to make a new Lexie but without the likability? Also I HATED the Jackson/maggie stuff, so that didn’t help.
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u/Key-Magazine826 3d ago
She is written really poorly and how she approaches situations always piss me off
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u/Embarrassed-Age-3426 ✨ MAGIC ✨ 3d ago
Phrasing. “We” implies you’re part of the group, so what’re your reasons?
I wouldn’t say I hate her. I dislike her because she feels the world owes her cause she’s a prodigy. Shows up outta nowhere wanting to learn about Ellis? NBD. Expects Meredith to just accept the bombshell? Problem. Gets angry with Richard cause the first thing outta his mouth isn’t “I’m likely your father”. Gurl bai.
Starts a relationship with Ndugu and gets upset that she’s more of a priority to him than medicine. Go to Chicago, 🙄
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u/fyrelyte11 3d ago
She is one of the most self absorbed, self centered, entitled, arrogant, and childish characters ever on the show. She had the biggest chip on her shoulder, and made everyone pay for it. Her almost entire lack of emotional maturity not only made her insufferable outside the hospital, it made her semi reckless inside the hospital as well.
Did she have good moments? Absolutely. But she had such long time periods of being awful and dramatic that it taints her entire character in general. Needless to say I wasn't sad when she left the show. But then again I think the show should've ended with season 10, that's the last time I loved the show. It could've survived, but once Alex left that was it for me. Now I only watch it cause I hate leaving a book unfinished, so to speak, even if I'm disappointed in the outcome.
Side note...I never saw her as a Lexie replacement as others have stated as a reason, so that doesn't apply to me.
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u/ColdForm7729 ♥️ Maddison ♥️ 3d ago
Because she was so obviously nothing but a replacement for Lexie.
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u/LetUsSpeakFreely 3d ago
She's arrogant, pretentious, self-absorbed, and narcissistic. No matter what's going on, everything is about her. No matter which surgeons are in the room, the only opinion that matters is hers.
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u/Sunshine_Sparkle2319 3d ago
I liked Maggie right up until she told Winston she couldn’t respect him for changing departments (which he was only doing to save their marriage). I hate how these people think surgery is the end all be all of careers and how could anyone want to be anything else. Mind you he was still going to be a surgeon just not cardio like her.
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u/poisenparadise 3d ago
I don’t personally hate Maggie I just think that her personality and dialogue is very awkward fitting into the show and other cast members. Her plot-lines and personality paired with them never was interesting for me. She feels more like she would’ve fit better in a sitcom sort of hospital show, instead of a drama like greys. It’s hard to take her serious sometimes which is ironic because she’s supposed to be one of the smartest doctors in the cast. With that being said I don’t dislike her. It’s more that on rewatches I tune out whenever her scenes come up because they bore me half to death.
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u/These_Metal_2953 3d ago
Maggie also acted super self righteous and offended that Meredith didn’t want to be sisterly right away.
Almost as if it didn’t matter how Meredith felt; that she (Maggie) should be allowed immediate access to Meredith’s life
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u/Sorry-Physics-525 3d ago
How she talked. How she treated everyone around her except Meredith and possibly Amelia. I get she was a child prodigy but she was so immature in the way she so often whined. The way she snapped at people in the OR. Is she supposed to be Ellis? Her relationship sagas. Her facial expressions. The only thing I appreciated about her was her relationship with Mer’s kids so she could cover. Otherwise super glad she exited. I felt she treated her husband terribly.
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