Goodbye (Grey's Anatomy)

"Goodbye" is the second episode of the sixth season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, and the show's 104th episode overall. It was written by Krista Vernoff and directed by Bill D'Elia. The episode was originally broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on September 24, 2009. In "Goodbye", the staff at Seattle Grace Hospital come to terms with the death of their colleague Dr. George O'Malley (T.R. Knight). Further storylines include Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens, Jr.) being engaged in a vehicular collision, Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) receiving a job as an attending physician at a neighboring hospital, and Dr. Alex Karev's (Justin Chambers) marriage with Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) taking a toll after her near-death experience.

The episode was the second part of the 2-hour season 6 premiere special, the first being "Good Mourning", and was filmed in Los Angeles, California. The special was the first premiere that Knight did not appear in, following an early release from his contract, and Jessica Capshaw (Dr. Arizona Robbins)' first premiere in which she received star-billing, having been upgraded from a recurring-star from season 5. Shannon Lucio reprised her role as a guest star, in addition to Amy Madigan, Martha Plimpton, Zack Shada, Mitch Pileggi, and Zoe Boyle. "Goodbye" opened to positive critical reviews, with Chyler Leigh's (Dr. Lexie Grey) and Ramirez's performances receiving particular praise. The episode's original broadcast ranked it at #1 for the night having been viewed by 17.03 million Americans, with a 6.7/17 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic.