Jennifer Armstrong of '' Entertainment Weekly '' said that when O'Malley told Torres about his affair with Stevens , the scene was too " melodramatic " . Laura Burrows , also of '' IGN '' , said that the fourth-season premiere " introduced a new side of George " . Armstrong said of O'Malley and Stevens ' reconciliation : " George and Izzie are finally on the old '' Grey 's Anatomy '' road to ruin . And I admit this is a good lesson in '' Grey 's '' viewing as well as life : Sit tight if you hate something , as nothing is permanent . " Armstrong also commented that the " sparkling " friendship development between Lexie and O'Malley " won her over " . The following year , Monfette observed of O'Malley 's lack of screen time : " His growing interest in trauma surgery at the side of Owen leads to an interesting development in the finale , but the character is virtually side-lined this season . " Carina MacKenzie of the '' Los Angeles Times '' said of the character 's death : " The time-lapse episode was an interesting choice , and though we sped through six weeks of mourning in two hours , it did n't feel rushed to me . I 'm not sure the show could have held my attention for another season of crippling sadness . " '' The Huffington Post '' Michael Pascua commented that O'Malley 's funeral did not live up to his expectations , writing that it " was n't as sad as he thought it would be " . In 2006 , Knight and the other cast of '' Grey 's Anatomy '' were nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series , at the 12th Screen Actors Guild Awards . Also in 2006 , the cast won the award for Best Cast – Television Series at the 11th Satellite Awards . The cast won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 13th Screen Actors Guild Awards , and were nominated again the following year . Knight 's performance in season three earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards
12th Screen Actors Guild Awards
12th Screen Actors Guild Awards
George O'Malley