Mark Sloan

Storylines

Mark Sloan first appears in Season 2. He is a highly respected plastic surgeon, specializing in otorhinolaryngology and the childhood best friend of neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). In his first appearance, he flirts with Derek's girlfriend Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), and Derek punches him in the face. Derek explains that Mark had an affair with his wife, Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh), while they were living in New York, which caused Derek to leave New York. Mark travels to Seattle, intending to convince Addison to return with him to New York, but his offer is rejected, and Derek declines to renew their friendship. Mark returns during Season 3 at Addison's drunken behest, but she again rejects him once sober. Undeterred, Mark sells his successful private practice (which he previously shared with Derek) and takes over the plastics service at Seattle Grace Hospital. During Meredith's morphine rampage, Mark finds out about his nickname "McSteamy," which was given to him during his first trip to Seattle when he attempted to get Addison back and re-earn Derek's friendship. It is later revealed that Mark has slept with all of Derek's sisters. Mark has a brief fling with Addison's friend, orthopedic surgeon Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez), and develops a friendship with Meredith. It is revealed that after Derek left New York, Mark and Addison continued their relationship for two months, during which she conceived and aborted his child. Addison broke their relationship off after catching him with another woman. Just weeks after moving to Seattle, Mark quickly observes that Derek's true love is Meredith and tries to convince Addison that her marriage with Derek is over. Mark enters into a sixty-day abstinence pact with Addison, agreeing that if he can remain celibate for that time, Addison will give their relationship another chance. Addison ultimately breaks the pact by having sex with intern Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), and soon thereafter departs from Seattle to work in Los Angeles.

Mark supports Derek when Meredith comes close to dying after drowning, and the two are able to rekindle their friendship. It is eventually revealed that he and Derek grew up together and that he, having lost his mother as a child and his father emotionally neglecting him, considered Derek's mother his maternal figure. As he was an only child and Derek was the only son, they became close friends, and he was Derek's best man at the latter's wedding to Addison. He also forms a friendship with Callie and develops an attraction to cardiothoracic surgeon Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). Erica does not reciprocate his feelings, and he is supportive of Callie when she and Erica have a brief relationship. When Addison shows up at Seattle Grace for a case, Mark attempts to sleep with her again, but she refuses. The nurses later start a club called "Nurses United Against Mark Sloan". After a string of unresolved sexual tension, Mark finds himself seduced by Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), despite Derek's request that he keep their relationship platonic. They begin a sexual relationship, which Lexie halts until he publicly admits to being her partner. Mark eventually agrees and tells Derek, who attacks him. Animosity exists between them for several episodes, but they repair their friendship once more. Mark and Lexie's relationship becomes increasingly serious. He meets her father, Thatcher Grey (Jeff Perry), and at the end of Season 5, asks Lexie to move in with him. Though Lexie initially declines, he remains committed to their relationship, and she agrees early in Season 6.

Spouse and Relationships

In the episode "Yesterday", while flirting with Dr. Meredith Grey, he mentions that he was previously married but his wife had died.

While in the show he never married, throughout the series he had several notable relationships-most notably:

Addison Montgomery-Shepherd

His affair with Addison (while she was married to Dr. Derek Shepherd) is what ended Addison and Derek's marriage.

Lexie Grey

His relationship with Lexie is his most emotionally significant relationship. He deeply loved her, and they nearly got back together before both died in the season 8 plane crash.

Callie Torres

He and Callie shared a deep friendship. They both were good friends throughout the series till his death. However, he had multiple sexual encounters with Callie, one of which resulted in their child, Sofia.

Teddy Altman

They had a brief romantic involvement during season 6. Their relationship naturally dissolved without a breakup.

Julia Canner

She was an ophthalmologist in Seattle Presbyterian Hospital. He dated her later in the series but broke up with her because he still loved Lexie.

Development

Casting and creation

Dane auditioned for the role during the casting of the pilot and ultimately received it, though his character was introduced only later in the show. He initially appeared as a guest star in the Season 2 episode "Yesterday", before becoming a series regular starting with the Season 3 episode "Sometimes a Fantasy," first broadcast in October 2006. Casting director Linda Lowy provided insight into the decision: "You can't forget about McSteamy. We cast (Dane) for one episode, and I think the women across the nation went kind of crazy. Everyone was talking about him, so we decided to make him a regular."

In July 2012, TVLine announced that Dane would leave the show after the first two episodes of the Season 9. Rhimes explained that she and Dane had decided to conclude Mark's storyline after much discussion, adding: "It was something Eric had been thinking about for a while, but it felt like the right time to him." However, E! Online reported that Rhimes had been compelled by the network to reduce the cast due to budget reasons and that Dane had not asked to leave the series.

Characterization

The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) described Sloan as "charming," "confident," "smug," "smarmy," and "great with his hands". Shonda Rhimes commented on the character: "Mark, the original bad boy, is struggling with his own demons. He brings a healthy serving of mystery and potential conflict to Seattle Grace." Actress Kate Walsh noted: "He's the guy you shouldn't go out with, but you can't help yourself." Carolina Paiz, one of the series' writers, added: "He can be impertinent and evil and demeaning."

Reception

Mark Sloan's relationship with Chyler Leigh's Lexie Grey was well-received by both critics and fans, with Chris Monfette of IGN stating, "Sloan's honest relationship with Lexie helped to make both characters infinitely more interesting and mature."

Sloan's role in the Season 5 episode "In the Midnight Hour" was praised by Debbie Chang of BuddyTV, who wrote, "Mark (Eric Dane) is pretty freaking awesome in this episode. He's lascivious as all heck, but he's showing some compassion." His scenes with Shepherd were described as "fun." Victor Balta of Today included their friendship in its "TV's best bromances" list, calling them "the most exciting couple on Grey’s". He explained, "They’ve demonstrated an easy chemistry that makes for some of the great comic relief around Seattle Grace Hospital with their banter, sage wisdom on each other’s lives, and locker room-style teasing". Their bromance was also featured in lists by About.com, BuddyTV, Cosmopolitan and Wetpaint. However, after the announcement of Dane's departure from the show, Mark Perigard of the Boston Herald felt that Sloan and Derek "never clicked like you’d expect friends would. Any scene they had together ranged from uncomfortable to forced".

Sloan's bromance with Jackson Avery was also positively received. Janalen Samson of BuddyTV noted, "Eric Dane has always shown a facility for sly, deft comedy and these scenes with Jesse Williams are proving to be gems. I do love a good bromance, and these two actors are bringing the love and the funny in spades". Writing for TV Fanatic, Courtney Morrison commented, "Sloan has brought the GA comedy scale up a bit with his bromances and mentoring Jackson". The pairing was also listed in Zap2it's 25 Top Bromances of 2012. The Los Angeles Times TV columnist Carina Mackenzie described Sloan's scenes with Torres as "always perfectly sharp".

Awards

In 2006, Dane was also a part of the ensemble cast that won the Satellite Award for Best Cast – Television Series. He was also part of the ensemble cast that won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2007 for which they were also nominated in 2008.