Didn't We Almost Have It All?

"Being chief is about responsibility. Every single surgical patient in a hospital is your patient. Whether you're the one who cut them open or not. The scalpel stops with you. You need to be able to look at her family. And to tell them your team did everything they could to save someone's child. Their husband, their wife, you get caught up. Taking care about the people´s families. And responsibility... it makes you... you take care of other people's families. And you sacrifice your own."

- Richard Webber

Didn't We Almost Have It All? is the twenty-fifth and final episode of the third season and the 61st overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary
The wedding day arrives, and Cristina desperately needs something to take her mind off it, the fourth climber is found and his condition doesn't match the other climbers' stories, and Adele's condition brings a change for Richard.

Full Summary
Episode in detail.

Main Cast

 * Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
 * Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
 * Katherine Heigl as Dr. Izzie Stevens
 * Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
 * T.R. Knight as Dr. George O'Malley
 * Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
 * James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
 * Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery
 * Sara Ramírez as Dr. Callie Torres
 * Eric Dane as Dr. Mark Sloan
 * Isaiah Washington as Dr. Preston Burke
 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd

Guest Stars

 * Elizabeth Reaser as Jane Doe/Rebecca Pope/Ava
 * Jason London as Jeff Pope
 * Chyler Leigh as Dr. Lexie Grey
 * Steven W. Bailey as Joe
 * Tsai Chin as Helen Rubenstein
 * Aasha Davis as Rina
 * Kevin Rankin as Jack Vaughan
 * Brian Tee as Andy
 * Jack Yang as Walter
 * Derek Phillips as Dale Winick
 * Robin Pearson Rose as Patricia
 * Loretta Devine as Adele Webber
 * Diahann Carroll as Jane Burke

Co-Starring

 * Ajay Vidure as Intern 1
 * Candice Afia as Intern 2
 * Artie O'Daly as Intern 3
 * Joseph Williamson as Intern 4
 * Traber Burns as Andy's Lawyer

Notes and Trivia

 * This episode's title originated from the song Didn't We Almost Have It All?, originally sung by Whitney Houston.
 * This episode scored 22.57 million viewers.
 * Isaiah Washington's last appearance on the show as Dr. Preston Burke until his return in Season 10, Episode 22, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.
 * Kate Walsh's last appearance as a series regular.
 * Chyler Leigh's first credited appearance as Lexie Grey. She first appeared in the previous episode, Testing 1-2-3 as a stranger in Joe's bar talking to Derek, but she was not named and thus was uncredited.

Quotes

 * Burke: Cristina; I could promise to hold you, and to cherish you. I could promise to be there in sickness and in health. I could say 'til death do us part, but I won't. Those vows are for optimistic couples, the ones full of hope. And I do not stand here on my wedding day optimistic or full of hope. I am not optimistic, I am not. I am sure. I am steady. And I know I am a heart man, take them apart, put them back together. I hold them in my hands. I am a heart man. So this, I am sure. You are my partner, my lover, my very best friend. My heart, my heart, beats for you. And on this day, the day of our wedding, I promise you this. I promise you to lay my heart in the palm of your hands. I promise you, me.
 * Addison: I think I speak for every woman here when I say... dump her. Dump Yang and marry me.


 * (standing in the living room in Burke's apartment with Meredith)
 * Cristina: He's gone.
 * Meredith Grey: I... I don't think he's gone. His stuff is still here...
 * Cristina: No. His trumpet was here. His entire Eugene Foote collection, vinyls and CDs. (walking over to the bedroom) His grandmother's picture was by the bed. His luckiest scrub cap was hanging on the door. He's gone. I'm... I'm free. Dammit. Dammit. Dammit!
 * (Cristina breaks down.)