Part of the reason why I loved the character of Cristina Yang so much was because a lot of her most emotional scenes weren't about relationship drama so much as they were about a woman reckoning with her goals and dreams and realizing that some people were holding her back (lovers, teachers) and she had to let go of them. Cristina never lost sight of her goal of being a kickass heart surgeon - that was her driving motivation throughout the series and all her relationships took a back seat to that. And she wasn't shamed for it or painted as this weird unnatural woman! I think I'm just now realizing how meaningful that is to me. In a world where women are still expected to have nothing but marriage and children as their ultimate goals, we need characters like that.

Sandra’s acting was incredible! She did an interview saying that this scene was one of the hardest to film because she couldn’t connect to it.

No character in the history of Grey's Anatomy has ever been written better than Cristina Yang. She never sold Owen a dream, she made it clear that she didn't want to be a mother. Not that she wouldn't be an amazing mother but that's just not the life she wanted. I always loved that after Burke she never let her love life supersede her goals "Don't let what he wants, eclipse what you need. He's very dreamy, but he is not the sun. YOU are!"

Burke was- He took something from me. He took little pieces of me, little pieces over time, so small I didn't even notice, you know? He wanted me to be something I wasn't, and I made myself into what he wanted. One day I was me Cristina Yang, and then suddenly I was lying for him, and jeopardizing my career, and agreeing to be married and wearing a ring, and being a bride. Until I was standing there in a wedding dress with no eyebrows, and I wasn't Cristina Yang anymore. And even then, I would've married him. I would have. I lost myself for a long time. And now that I'm finally me again, I can't. I love you. I love you more than I loved Burke. I love you. And that scares the crap out of me because when you asked me to ignore Teddy's page, you took a piece of me, and I let you. And that will never happen again.

"I'm trying to love you, why won't you let me?" I just realized, Burke said to her the exact same thing on the second season!

THE ACTING! SHE'S OUT OF THIS WORLD!

She isn't saying that she never loved Burke. She isn't saying that what they had wasn't real or doesn't mean anything but hindsight really is 20/20 and once you have been out of a situation long enough you begin to look back and see all the cracks in the foundation you missed at the time. She slowly changed everything she was trying to be what he wanted, not because he forced her to, but because she wanted him to want her. Him letting her go was his way of showing his love. He saw what she couldn't; that she was becoming someone she didn't really want to be, and so he walked away. Honestly she and Owen wound up having the same problem in the end only he didn't have the strength to stay away so Cristina was the one who set him free. That freedom is always bittersweet because it aches and you feel so lost without them because you don't know who you are without that person anymore. She didn't trash the relationship. She was just honest about its flaws. Also love the way she mentioned the having no eyebrows.

Both Burke and Owen said "Why won't you let me love you" to Cristina and the meaning of the words were that their egos could not stand the fact that she refused to let them turn her into something she wasn't and put herself aside for them and their needs. I always liked Cristina, a strong woman who refused to play the second violin and searched and found her own way!

I hate Owen. Especially later when they divorce because of her not wanting kids. She made her goals clear. U agreed, u just thought she would change and when she didn’t you got mad

Burke: i love you. What the hell is wrong with you that you wouldn't let me? Owen: i'm trying to love you. Why you wouldn't let me? 😭😭😭

The chemistry between these two is unreal. And Sandra - she blows my mind. Her acting dexterity is limitless. Owen and Cristina are, in my opinion, the most versatile and heated, not to mention passionate couple Shonda has ever created. And she was able to do this with two amazing Actors. Grey's won't be the same, never.

I know how this feels, having someone that takes parts of you without noticing because you love them so much that you would change yourself completely to the point of not knowing who you are just because of them... And then they leave you...

I think the "taking away of pieces" went both ways in their relationship. There were many times when Cristina made Burke compromise his principles - when he made him question Sydney Heron in the OR, when he covered Cristina for erasing Bailey's name, when he allowed her to operate for him to cover his tremor, etc.

The difference between Owen and Burke was that no matter if Burke didn’t agree with cristinas decisions, he understood her, especially when she wanted to get an abortion. And he loved her enough to let her go, Burke LOVED Cristina. Edit: I also didn’t like how he forced her to talk about Burke. She should not have to talk about anything she wasn’t comfortable talking about

1:13 Owen says he'll be irrelevant in 3 years. which is what basically happened.... 😭😭😭

Sandra was brilliant i miss her so on the show

Owen's love life is soooo exhausting. Be single please.

One of my all time favorite scenes. The acting is fantastic, the music is perfect. Christina's delivery was perfect- the determined, tear-choked voice at the end, the little pauses, the slight slurring together of words - it's so clear that it's hard for her to talk about, that she just wants to be done talking about it but that she will thorough even if it hurts because she doesn't do anything half way. The almost-smile in her voice when she says "Burke?" suggests that she's handling the situation with just a hint of the dark amusement that she carries within her, that she uses later to handle Owen's betrayal after he trips in the bathroom and she can't stop laughing. Even though Owen doesn't speak for the second half of the video, his facial expressions speak volumes, especially the way his eyes continue to soften. When he hears Christina say "he took something from me" his face begins to slacken, concern replacing frustration - and perhaps regret too, realizing that he is getting what he asked for at the price of making Christina dig up painful memories. He looks almost like he wants to take it back, not only to relieve any pain of hers but as if it just occurred to him, from the thoughtful tone of her voice, that he may not want to hear this. Because she has put a lot of thought into the risk of getting hurt again - and she may still be weighing whether or not love is worth the risk. His face really shows his slow realization that Christina has just cause to be afraid of her love for him. What a scene.

The acting, 100 The dialogue, 100 The music, 100

She is a human with feelings. She isn't a robot. She loves her partners and her career but just chose her career. She is strong and nobody can change her but her

Christina should of told Owen about losing her baby with Burke here. Maybe the topic of children could've been handled alot better.

I love how Sandra consistently plays Christina as an ugly cryer.

this makes the scene where she finds out burke had left their apartment in season 3 so much more meaningful. when I saw that scene the first time I just thought she was having a emotional reaction but now I went back and realized she said "I'm free" and immediately wanted to get the jewelry and wedding dress off of her like she was really setting free from what he wanted her to be. amazing

I can relate to Christina, soooo much. She knows what it's like to have someone take something from them. You change when you're with someone and I don't think she wanted that anymore. She didn't want any of it. But she fell in love. That's what love does to us. So she lost herself and she doesn't want that. And now that she is back to herself, she loves Owen but she doesn't want what happen with Burke happen with Owen. Because you can see by her emotion it broke her, it really broke her & she really did lose herself. That is the reason why she is hard to love/pushes people away and the way she is. She's an amazing character and I hate that she left because she made the show honestly. She made it with her sexiness with her emotions and with her honesty. Sandra oh, I hope to meet you one day.

"i'm trying to love you! Why won't you let me?" oh my god ... owen and burke said almost the same thing to her!!

Owen and Cristina were really toxic. The trauma bonding angle really messed with them.

Its 2 in the morning and i am watching this because i realized today that someone is taking something from me just like Cristina and tried to remember who sad that and where and now i watching this, this is so real for a woman that loosing little pieces of yourself without noticing and you look back you cannot recognize yourself anymore, such a powerful scene

Christina is my favourite character by far!! She has always the best lines. She can seem cold harted, but actually she's very aware of her feelings, and she can be very empathetic. And she's funny too ^_^

What a great actress!!

Actually, I think she still loves Burke by saying this

what a great christina moment

nah dude some people just don't want kids and that should be ok

I love how she explained everything to him.😊

I think that every person that has fallen in love has given pieces of themselves... we let them take those little pieces without notincing it... we just lost ourselves eventually...

My heart didn’t sign up for this and yet I’m still here watching

Maybe its just my opinion but I think ppl stress too much about how people change in a relationship for each others too much...everyone of us change around people we like, we change for many reasons and many aspects in life. Yes she changed for Burke, but she also changed for Mere, she also became softer and caring because having friends required her too do so. I do know about wether Christina's change was good or bad, but I know people change not only for others but for themselves too, and this self determined part is often being neglected.

Bring Preston Burke back to the show.

@Merrylikechristmas I agree. What Burke and Christina had was real. I like her with Owen better but they don't have to trash her previous relationship. No lie though, despite what the actor said, he did a great job as Burke and I miss him on the show.

This is one of my absolute favourite scenes ever. I love this. So strong and deep, amazing. I get goosebumps. Thank you for sharing this here!

Whenever I wanna see any scene/clips/video about Cristina Yang. THIS IS PROBABLY MY FAVORITE OF HER.😁😁😁👏🏿. I love her. I miss her. ALWAYS! 😄😄

Such an intense scene. Truly heart-wrenching and incredible.

I love Christina Yang . There is a talented ambitious woman , who is scared of compromising her career because of love life in all of us. It's relatable because no one likes to pick up the shattered pieces of your own persona. Soul-work is the most difficult.

The most heartfelt crying I've ever seen!!

Its sad how the writers potrayed Cristina and Burke's relationship in this scene. And after she said she did this for him she did that for him, making her say she loved him is even more sad. Now I feel, she never loved him.

I agree. Anyone who watched Greys knows that Christina was crazy in love with Burke.The fact that the writers tried to say she didn't love him that much seems like an f *** you to Isiah Washington.

despite how tragicly beautiful this scene is, i cant help but smile when she says 'standing there in a white dress with no eyebrows' she needs to win an emmy :-)

Christina might've ended up loveing Owen mkre then Burke and stuff... but to all you who are saying Burke was bullying Christina Intl stuff and all that...like really? did you watch the show? I agree that in certain times of their relationship it would've been considered toxic (like When Christina dis his surgeries for him) but that was on both of them. they both loved eachother SO much yet they wanted different things in their relationship... even Derek had to do some pushing with Meredith because she was a little iffy with that stuff too. the difference, Derek stuck around to work it all out. and if it wasn't for the actor I wonder if Burke would've too. I actually liked Burke's character a lot, outside of Christina and his relationship. and I wish that even if that hadn't ended up together they wouldn't have fired him. But back to the point, they did love eachother, and people change people, its a good thing, not a bad thing and with love you have to sacrifice what you want sometimes... Burke should've sacrificed mkre for her I agree.. but I don't think he was "bad" for her. I think they could've easily made things work and have a fantastic relationship if they hadn't fired the actor and they chose that path. cuz I like Owen, I do, and I like their relationship, but I'll always ship her with Burke more

Wow! 10 yrs later 📺☺

The fact that I resonate so much with Christina right now... This hurts

Burke and Cristina...I miss them.

'that... will never.... happen.... again'

I recognized that line as well. I was wondering why the writers didn't incorporate the deja vu into Cristina's monologue so it was clear that the line triggered something in Cristina leading to what she told Owen.

This speech hit home for me. Despite being a strong, ambitious woman, I am a doormat in a relationship. I love people so deeply that I will do anything for them and it does feel like losing pieces of yourself. The worst part of it is that you don't notice it when it first happens and it is not the man's fault. It is so natural to want to please someone you love that it often happens naturally, to both men and women.

This is everything.

I can totally relate to giving little pieces of yourself up. I did that with my ex. And I only barely noticed. I'm glad he had enough sense to break up with me. Although the way he did it was not ok. Then 6 months later he apologized for all the wrong reasons. And I'm still healing from that relationship still finding myself, like Cristina had to.

“Im trying to love you why wont you let me.” I can still vividly remember that Burke also said this to Yang When he learned that Yang didn’t really give up her apartment

Nothing will ever top her and Burke. I wish things would have worked out

Burke also compromised on many things for Christina.. "Took pieces of me" that thing was from both sides in their relationship but unlike owen he loved her enough to set her free instead of fighting everyday for babies that she made clear in the beginning she'll never have..

That will never happen again. -There. You’ll know how painful Burke hurt her with that line.

My fav scene in GA.

I know damn well Cristina loved Owen. Believe me, telling someone that another person took small pieces of your soul and admitting that you’re rebuilding yourself is one of the hardest things you can ever admit. So for someone like Cristina Yang to do that is the epitome of vulnerability.

cristina and burke will always be my favorite

God this scene is so beautiful

@royallly What Jerry meant to say was that Cristina had taken a huge risk for her career to help Burke. And what hurt her most was when Burke got the Harper Avery Award, he did not even mention her in it. Even though it was her idea, Cristina gambled her career (something she valued more than life itself) to help the man she loved. It was probably the most noble thing she has ever done. ANd I'm not badmouthing Burke; IMO, he made Cristina grow into a much better person.

That scene still gives me the shivers! Love Tom

amazing speech..

I cried so hard when I first watched this bc I related to what Cristina said of someone taking pieces of you...

Wonderful writing beautiful scene... After Yang tells him she loves him and that she is not going to sacrifice herself for love they are both still there looking each other in the eye conforting... Very special

I love this scene

Because it was obvious. Owen mentioning Burke before saying that line makes the parallels very clear. Even if the audience doesn't remember, they can see that Cristina is struggling with the same things...

Almost 15 years.. Cristina Yang will always been an ICON. Oh God I love her so much! ❤

You know, I'm gonna get a lot of backlash but why is the man always the damn villain? He took pieces of her, but honestly, she kinda gave them freely. How many times did Burke ask Christina if she wanted to end things? How many times did she SEE what Burke was? Oh and she wanted to cover for him, it was her IDEA. Yes, Burke did shitty things, he didn't give Christina credit when he won the Harper Avery, he sometimes pushed her away when he didn't understand her, or her ideals on spirituality, veganism, or her constant need to be the best. Those are things Christina didn't give him, or atleast things she thought he wouldn't care to know. Burke, mostly took Christina as is. And in the end, he did the BEST thing for her and let her go. Owen didn't. He drug things out, he knew she didn't want kids, but tried to con her into having them. He blamed her, cheated on her. So, who really took pieces? Idk. Maybe I'm just tired of the victim mentality. Take responsibility, it takes two to make a relationship.

As a gay man, I guess I can relate to Cristina, the fear of intimacy.

This scene touched me so bad

this scene always amazed me.. but every time i watch it i cant take it seriously when she talks about having no eyebrows.. 😂

One of the best scene of cristina yang !!! great job sandra !!!

I agree with her to a point...after the whole TR thing they started writing burke a bit differently as if to make us not miss him when he left and yes then he took pieces of her...but their original relationship was more a battle of wills (refusing to talk first; that really funny one where she holds his scrub cap hostage) so i agree overall but i wish they hadnt change burke's character

got tears in my eyes. xtina rocks!

everytime i go back to this scene. sandra oh was everything in this😭

Burke and Cristina FTW.

Sandra Oh, what a brilliant actress!!!

Eu amoo Cristina Yang, Sandra Oh é extraordinária! Merece, não só um Emmy, mas um um Golden Award, perfeita! Owen é muuito Gatoo!

He pushed her way to far..In the end she lost her brows and nearly her identity too..

i literally cry everytime i watch this.. i cant :(

This is why Cristina (and Bailey) are my favorite characters!

Crhistina Yang, you queen

I just love Sandra, is totally awesome! Even more than Ellen, and I do love her either.

@Grrrstin I couldn´t agree more, she is absolutely amazing! this scene still makes me tearfull!

sandra oh is amazing in this!

I love Cristina and Burke

This is one of the most powerful scenes in all 8 seasons of Grey's Anatomy, in my opinion.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Cristiiiiii !!!! I love her so much ... She's the Best character of grey's especially in this scene !

when she cries, i cry!

Ah, finally I remember the reason I fell in love with this couple!

gracias amiga :) no sabia k te gusraba grey, jaja!

Ohhh Sandra Oh!

Sandra Oh is an extraordinary actress...

I came here after watching the last part on tiktok. 😅

When you have a "that will NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN" moment , it can scare you AND THE PERSON YOU ARE TALKING TO😡🫨