- Eric Dane played Dr Mark Sloan, aka McSteamy, in Grey's Anatomy starting Season 2, Episode 18
- Mark Sloan's character evolved from a playboy to a family man through his romance with Lexie Grey
- Lexie Grey died in a plane crash in Season 8 finale, deeply affecting Mark Sloan's storyline
"God, the things we worry about. It's so pointless."
If only we knew Eric Dane's very poignant dialogue from the hugely successful medical series Grey's Anatomy would one day have such depth. Why is it that death-and death only-makes us circle back to all the insightful rhetoric a person has uttered?
Precisely what made every Grey's Anatomy fan rewind to today. Early in Season 2, Episode 18, titled Yesterday, in Shonda Rhimes's creation, Eric Dane made his entry as the undeniably charming Dr Mark Sloan, Head of Plastic Surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital.
Eric Dane as Dr Mark Sloan in Grey's Anatomy
Sure, there have been many characters in American television whose introductory scenes are etched in our memories. But Eric Dane's sobriquet as McSteamy came from his towel scene in Season 3, Episode 1, where he slo-mos into the room with nothing but a towel. While the younger ladies at work officially crowned him "McSteamy", how truly befitting it was of him was laid to rest with just that one viral scene.
Everything about his disarmingly devastating personality was erroneous. He wasn't the ideal man, and yet women on and off the show were attracted to him for all the wrong reasons (much like reality).
He was sleazy, as detached from romantic emotions as he could be, yet the vulnerable side of him, safely tucked within, is what made him a truly endearing character.
Back in 2025, the actor announced he was suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease-a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes muscle paralysis. On February 19, the 53-year-old actor died, and it is indeed a low blow for Grey's Anatomy fans, who were punched in the gut over his death in the long-running series and are so today.
February 19 also marks the 20th anniversary of his first appearance as Dr Mark Sloan in Grey's Anatomy. t's a full-circle moment indeed.
Coming In Hot
While Grey's Anatomy was mounted on the epic romance of Dr Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Ellen Pompeo (Dr Meredith Grey), Dr Mark Sloan had the audience hooked from the early days on.
He comes in as the man who cheated on his best friend (Dr Derek shepherd) with his wife (Dr Addison Montgomery played by Kate Walsh). There's an intense hate and love buoying feeling at the same time for this man, who unfortunately couldn't let loyalty be his saving grace. But his ripped physique, that know-it-all smirk, and coquettish remarks that rolled off his tongue like butter invariably made you root for him, all the betrayal eventually stopped being a deterrent.
Dr Mark Sloan and Dr Addison Montgomery in Grey's Anatomy
After all, mistakes happen, right? Eventually his bromance with Derek Shepherd also became a fan-favourite.
Dr Mark Sloan and Dr Derek Shepherd in Grey's Anatomy
The beauty of Grey's Anatomy, as it has always been, is its ridiculously good-looking men/doctors on the show. Over time, the arc of Dr Mark Sloan turning into a soft character and dialling down the macho-man persona led to massive popularity. But what truly cemented him as ideal boyfriend material is his epic love story with Lexie-a classic case of opposites attract.
"Slexie" Romance
It was the classic love story trope, to be honest. Lexie Grey, played by the animated Chyler Leigh, was Meredith Grey's little sister. The approach to brewing feelings as "casual sex" slowly turns into a slow-burning romance at the beginning of Season 5.
They get together, fall apart, and get together again, but love ends in pain.
Dr Mark Sloan and Dr Lexie Grey in Grey's Anatomy
What further pulled in Grey's Anatomy fans-rooting for a love story more than that of the central characters, Dr Derek Shepherd and Dr Meredith Grey-is how this relationship turned Mark Sloan into a man.
Correction: Man of your dreams. The notorious playboy who deep down wanted to foster a family life so intently was attracted to Lexie, who grounded him, comforted him, and loved him. He was no longer the "dirty mistress"; he was the "family man."
While Grey's Anatomy is infamous for its steamy sex scenes and all-consuming love angles and triangles, Slexie was the final destination.
Until the Season 8 finale, where Lexie Grey's death in a plane crash-and Mark Sloan's departure due to trauma and more-is till today, one of the worst deaths that the show and its fans have had to endure.
"Going, Going, Gone"
One of the most tragic plot points of Grey's Anatomy was in the Season 8 finale, titled Flight.
In a catastrophic plane crash, Lexie Grey loses her life after sustaining fatal injuries. It is at this moment that Mark Sloan knows he is about to lose the love of his life, and he makes his confession-further making it a heart-wrenching moment. The sight of him sitting by Lexie, holding her tattered hand as she lay motionless under the gigantic Boise aeroplane parts, still gives jitters.
Dr Mark Sloan and Dr Lexie Grey in Grey's Anatomy
But little did we know that his death would be even more cataclysmic than that of his lover.
In Season 9, titled Going, Going, Gone, Mark Sloan suffered cardiac tamponade (fluid surrounding the heart) in the wreckage. There's a moment of "surge", as the technical term goes, where it indicates that all is going well and he is recuperating. But it is only a transitory stage of him feeling better, until his condition worsens.
Based on the patient's directive in his will, the instructions demand that he be taken off life support after 30 days of no brain activity. And so it happens.
He leaves the hospital as unexpectedly as his arrival seven seasons ago-heralded.
What remained of his epic romance with the sprightly Lexie Grey was the hospital being renamed Grey Sloan Memorial, in honour, in legacy, in love.
His untimely death today is a reminder of why Eric Dane was such a phenomenon. He was made a series regular upon his skyrocketing popularity.
One of his most memorable dialogues was for his best friend Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), "All you can do is be brave enough to get out there. You fought. You loved. You lost. Walk tall."
Dr Mark Sloan in Grey's Anatomy
And walked tall he did, in life, in drama, and years later, when Grey's Anatomy is on its Season 22, its fans are going back to McSteamy and how he went full steam ahead. Mark Sloan always said, "When you love someone, you tell them. You say it. You say it loud", and today, seems like his fans are whispering the same out into the Universe.
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