‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Should’ve Given This Couple More Screen Time

One of the biggest plot twists in Grey’s Anatomy’s run happened early on in the series — in the Season 1 finale to be specific. For the entirety of the season, we followed Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek’s (Patrick Dempsey) love story. It’s frowned upon by many given that he’s her boss, but fans loved them and were rooting for them every step of the way. Things were going well for them up until the Season 1 finale, when a major bomb is dropped on Meredith and the audience. Derek is married, and his wife is in town. Oh, and she knows that Meredith has been sleeping with her husband. Addison’s (Kate Walsh) shocking arrival set the stage for Season 2 as she planned to fight for her marriage, and Meredith desperately tried to hang on to Derek. But as the season went on, we learned why Derek and Addison split in the first place; she cheated on him with his best friend Mark (Eric Dane). Working things out was never going to be smooth sailing, especially not when Mark Sloan moved back to Seattle. But one of the most surprising things to come about with the storyline was the steamy chemistry Addison and Mark shared. Cheating is unforgivable, but there was something about Addison and Mark that was so endearing you couldn’t help but want to see them interact. And look, I’m just going to say it… they should’ve gotten more screen time.

It’s Hard Not To Root For Mark and Addison

Like I said, cheating is bad, it’s unforgivable, and Addison and Mark were completely in the wrong for doing what they did. But it’s hard to ignore the intense chemistry the pair had. When Addison arrived in Seattle she was determined to win Derek back, despite knowing his heart now belonged to Meredith. When Mark arrived in Seattle he just wanted Addison. He makes his feelings for her known and reveals to us that after Derek left, Addison stayed with Mark for a while afterward, pursuing a relationship with him. Eventually, Derek and Mark make up, as do he and Addison, and the three of them are able to move on and be friends again. Derek and Meredith get back together, and Mark and Addison keep up a flirtatious banter throughout the series, and even in her spin-off series. It’s why it’s so hard not to root for them; they have such a rich history together, filled with both good and bad moments, and because of that you can feel the connection between them.

Mark is a perpetual playboy, we learn it when we first meet him, so the fact that he was so head over heels for Addison meant something. The only other person we saw him feel that way towards was Lexie (Chyler Leigh). And honestly, had it not been for the whole Addison situation and mini-relationship they had, I don’t think Mark would have been able to commit to Lexie and would have just been an eternal bachelor. Lexie gets a lot of rightful credit for making Mark a better and more honest man, but Addison doesn’t get nearly enough recognition for doing the same. She was the first woman he tried settling down for, and until Lexie, was the only one he could see himself doing so with. One of the most pivotal moments between them was in Season 3, Episode 17. After Meredith wakes up from her coma after drowning, Addison watches her and Derek, and says to Mark that Derek “never felt that way about me.” Which is a tough pill to swallow on its own. And then, after a pause, Mark tells her “I did.” He goes on to tell her that it was never a game with her, and it’s hard not to swoon. There’s just something about the playboy having a soft spot for that one special person, and that was Mark and Addison summed up.

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Should’ve Explored a Mark and Addison Relationship

There are a few times that Grey’s Anatomy played around with Mark and Addison as a couple, but every time they tried, nothing really came of it, which is such a missed opportunity. Addison did eventually leave for her own spin-off series, Private Practice, where she got her long-deserved happy ending, but even then audiences were still teased by the prospect of a Mark and Addison coupling. He stops by Los Angeles to visit her at one point, which results in the pair sleeping together multiple times, and Addison asks him if he wants to stay with her. It seems like it’s finally their time, but then Mark says he’s in love with Lexie, and just as quickly as our hopes were raised, they were devastatingly crushed yet again. Both Mark and Addison did find their soulmate eventually, but it’s hard not to look at them as a “right person, wrong time” kind of situation. The chemistry was always there, but something or someone always squandered the possibility of a relationship.

That’s not to say that Mark and Addison had to be endgame, but it would’ve been nice to see them be explored. With how often it was teased, it’s shocking to look back and realize we never actually saw them give things a go. Any proper relationship they had was done pre-series when they were living in New York. Though I love Mark and Lexie together, and also love Addison with her eventual partner Jake (Benjamin Bratt), I can’t help but look back on Addison and Mark and think of what could’ve been. Their chemistry was severely wasted.

Mark and Addison Had a Great Friendship

Though we never got to see them pursue a romantic relationship, Mark and Addison did have a really sweet friendship that had some shining moments. He understood her in a way that a lot of people didn’t. He knew how good she was at her job, he knew how powerful she was, and he wasn’t intimidated by it. He gave her her moments to shine and hyped her up the entire time. He admired her for her talents and trusted her judgment. After Callie (Sara Ramirez) got into her car accident while pregnant with Sophia, Addison was the one Mark called to come help because he trusted that she would do everything she possibly could. When his daughter Sloan (Levin Rambin) discovered there were complications in her pregnancy, he flew Addison in to get her opinion, and ended up having her operate and fix the problem. She was his go-to for a lot of things, professional and personal, and the same was true for her. Which is why it was so hard to see her grieve Mark in Private Practice. Mark was one of her closest friends, and as hard as it was to watch, putting that scene in the series and giving Addison a chance to feel and react to his death, was a really poignant part of the series.

Addison and Mark’s history was so long, and their love for one another ran deep, you could feel it in every scene they shared. Watching their scenes back it’s baffling that the showrunners never gave them a proper relationship. The chemistry was there, the history was there, and it was teased so much that it wouldn’t exactly have been surprising to see it happen. Mark and Addison will always be one of those “what if?” couples, but had they been given the proper screen time they very well could’ve been one of the best couples on the show.