The Very Moment Grey's Anatomy Fans Began to Loathe Derek
It looks like fans started to hate the handsome surgeon quite early.
Of all the iconic characters that Shonda Rhimes' show featured, Patrick Dempsey's Dr. Derek Shepherd was definitely the most memorable, as the Hollywood heartthrob got his start thanks to the show.
Derek was a huge love interest for the show's main character, Meredith Grey, and while fans loved the adorable surgeon for the most part, his problems were really hard to overlook. After a couple of seasons, fans agreed that they really loved to hate Derek, and here's where the loathing began.
Knowing Derek, it's not hard to see that he really wants to make a strong first impression on people, so naturally, most fans started to hate him the moment they saw him. When Meredith and Derek had a one-night stand in the very first episode, Derek failed to mention that he was married, shocking both Meredith and the audience.
People were immediately turned off by his reckless behavior, calling Derek a cheater and a despicable human being. At that moment, he became quite the villain, but his questionable actions didn't stop there.
Fans really began to hate Derek when he called Meredith a prostitute for sleeping with fellow intern George, basically shaming her for her sex life while not being the most consistent example of puritanism himself. After those two incidents, fans stopped caring about Derek altogether, arguing that he would never grow into a truly lovable character. But he did.
From the end of Season 1 through Season 10, Derek went through a full redemption arc, learning how to treat others with dignity and slowly correcting his own mistakes. And Dempsey played the part perfectly, really generating support from the audience, who became much cooler with the idea of forgiving Derek for his past mistakes.
So, when Dempsey decided to leave the show to pursue his movie career, people already loved him and his character, calling Derek one of the best examples of skilled writing and acting.
Although some of the hatred for his initial performance was still there when he left, most of the fandom was able to forgive Derek for his mischievous ways, arguing that Meredith was able to fix him with her care and attention.