If you are anything like me and have grown up viewing Shonda Rhimes as a God-like figure, I think you will be able to identify with the spectrum of feelings I have for Ms. Rhimes.
From "Grey's Anatomy" to "Scandal," "How to Get Away With Murder" and everything in between, Shonda's works are true masterpieces. If you are able to watch an episode of one of her shows without laughing, crying, cursing at your screen, and staring at your screen in awe, psychological studies should be conducted on you as soon as possible.
Shonda has this nice way of making you love and hate characters simultaneously, similarly to how we feel about Shonda herself.
During commercials, my mind is constantly spinning and questioning what I just watched. It is impossible not to text your best friend in all caps ranting about how brilliant — yet cruel — Shonda is.
Whether it is a romantic Meredith and Derek scene, Olivia Pope getting kidnapped (oops — spoiler), or Annalise Keating investigating the murder of her husband, Shonda has truly put us through it all. She has a way of making her audiences feel as if they are actually in the show, experiencing life with her characters.
It’s always slightly upsetting when I realize that Mark Sloan isn’t actually my boyfriend and it was all in my head. Thanks, Shonda.
While each episode has its fair share of twists and turns, the season finales are notoriously Shonda’s best work. You will never experience a cliffhanger as extreme as in these episodes.
It takes a good 10 minutes to process the last hour of television you saw, and you most likely need the nearest person to pinch you so you understand you are not dreaming. Every episode leaves you yearning for more, and each season finale leaves you counting down the seconds until the next season begins.
Rewatching old seasons of her shows is undoubtedly a part-time job and a serious time commitment. If you do not turn down plans solely to continue watching an episode you’ve already seen five times, reconsider calling yourself a true fan.
Regardless of what episode I watch, the takeaway is always identical: If I met Shonda Rhimes, what would I say? There are some days where I want to scream at her for killing my forever-crush, and others where I want to bow down to her for so brilliantly solving an ongoing mystery.
I can rant about how mad Shonda makes me, but it's these exact reasons that make it impossible to hate her. No matter who she kills off, who she makes fall in love, and who cheats on whom, her mastermind makes every episode better than the next.
Shonda, we love to hate you!
