 The majority of the supporting cast of Grey 's Anatomy have been well received as well , with the New York Post 's Rorke deeming Stevens to be " the heart and soul " of Grey 's Anatomy , whereas Eyder Peralta of the Houston Chronicle was critical of her character development , stating : " [ She 's ] the reason I don 't watch Grey 's Anatomy anymore . " Kelli Catana of The Huffington Post named Yang " the best damn character " and deemed " the Meredith / Yang relationship the most true friendship on network television . " Television Without Pity writer Lauren Shotwell claimed Yang is " the only one of these five [ residents ] that regularly acts like an actual doctor " . Analyzing Alex Karev Rachel Simon called him ' Underrated ' , she pointed out that Alex ’ s personal growth never seems to get acknowledged as " Alex has evolved , slowly and realistically , into a genuinely good person whose faults don ’ t miraculously disappear , but take a backseat to much better qualities . " Robert Bianco of USA Today said Dempsey has a " seemingly effortless way of humanizing Derek 's ' dreamy ' appeal with ego and vanity " . and his friendship with Mark Sloan has been well received Victor Balta said " they ’ ve demonstrated an easy chemistry that makes for some of the great comic relief around Seattle Grace Hospital . " While Addison Montgomery was deemed " sassy and bright and interesting . " TV Guide said of Walsh 's stint on Grey 's Anatomy : " She [ Walsh ] adds spice to an already hot show . " ortho surgeon Callie Torres after receiving mixed views earlier was praised for her bisexual storyline and critics further added that the character was anchored by stellar performance by Sara Ramirez .. Lexie Grey initially being criticized became a critics a favorite in the series Keen of The Trades wrote , " Chyler Leigh , does a fantastic job of making the progression feel seamless . Lexie steals the show as one of the best characters on the series . " With the departure of several cast members throughout the seasons , many new characters were added to the drama 's ensemble . McKidd and Capshaw were referred to as " fresh additions " to the series , by Monfette of IGN . In addition , Matt Roush of TV Guide commented : " Hunt / McKidd is the most encouraging thing to happen to Grey 's Anatomy in quite a while . " Matt Mitovich of TV Guide noted that Robbins " quickly established herself as a fan favorite " , describing her as : " a breath of fresh air in the often angsty halls of Seattle Grace . On April Kepner and Jackson Avery Courtney Morrison of TVFanatic wrote " April has grown since her character was introduced . She ’ s no longer much less annoying than she used to be , and she ’ s honest . A girl with principles is a girl you want to do well . " and described her and Avery as " a couple for whom viewers can root " . Speaking of the new cast members , in addition to the remaining original , Robert Bianco from USA Today called them the show 's " best ensemble in years " . 
