Great Expectations (Grey's Anatomy)

"Great Expectations"
Grey's Anatomy episode
An episodic screenshot displaying Callie Torres and Cristina Yang sharing a moment of confessions before entering the operating room.
Episode no.	Season 3 Episode 13
Directed by	Michael Grossman
Written by	Eric Buchman
Featured music	"Enchantment" "Ships" "Love Show"
Original air date	January 25, 2007 (2007-01-25)
Running time	47 minutes
Guest appearances
Loretta Devine as Adele Webber Rachel Boston as Rachel Meyer Jessica Stroup as Jillian Miller Joe Holt as Steve Beck
Episode chronology
← Previous "Six Days (Part 2)" Next → "Wishin' and Hopin'"
Grey's Anatomy season 3
List of episodes

"Great Expectations" is the thirteenth episode in the third season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, and the show's 49th episode overall. Written by Eric Buchman and directed by Michael Grossman, the episode aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on January 25, 2007.

The central storyline is the competition between department chiefs Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh), and Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) to fill the position of Chief of Surgery upon Richard Webber's (James Pickens Jr.) retirement. Further storylines include George O'Malley (T. R. Knight) mourning his father, Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) trying to get financial support for a free clinic, Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) dealing with her troubled relationship with Burke.

Although the episode is set in Seattle, Washington, filming took place in Los Angeles, California. The title refers to the song, "Great Expectations", by American hard rock band Kiss.

The episode was viewed by 21.50 million Americans upon its original airing, ranking first its time-slot and garnered a 7.6 Nielsen rating in the 18–49 demographic. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from television critics, with O'Malley's storyline receiving critical acclaim.