Grey's Anatomy has said goodbye to many characters over its two decades on the air, but the real-life death of Eric Dane has shaken up longtime fans and cast members. The actor passed away from a battle with ALS at the age of just 53 in February, and former co-stars like Patrick Dempsey, James Pickens Jr., and Sarah Drew all shared tributes to him. It felt all but guaranteed that the first new episode of Grey's Anatomy in the 2026 TV schedule after Dane's death would honor him in some way, but the show went above and beyond what I even imagined.
The first episode in the wake of Eric Dane's death aired on February 26, and I expected that it would either open or end on a simple "In Memoriam" card on screen for a few seconds. Instead, the episode ended with enough time left for a minute-long video showing some of the greatest hits of Dane's years as Dr. Mark Sloan, all set to one of the songs that Grey's Anatomy fans will know well: "Chasing Cars." Take a look:
In loving memory of Eric Dane. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ly5158927sFebruary 27, 2026
Kudos to whoever edited the tribute, because a lot of emotional moments were packed into the one minute of footage. The callbacks to Mark being "dirty mistresses" alongside Meredith and going all-in on the "Plastics Posse" name (to Jackson's dismay) put a smile on my face, and I'm glad that there was time dedicated to his romance with Lexi and his journey to becoming a dad with Callie.
I personally loved the snippets of his iconic speech to Jackson about always telling somebody that you love them even if it "will burn your life to the ground," and the whole tribute really reminded me of how Mark Sloan could have been such a sleazy, unlikable character if Eric Dane didn't bring enough charisma and heart to keep the character around for well over a hundred episodes. His last appearance on the show came in Season 17, years after Mark died.
As for the song choice, "Chasing Cars" has a long history on Grey's Anatomy, going back to one of the very first massive heartbreaks of the entire series. Viewers first heard in the Season 2 finale, with the original Snow Patrol version playing when Izzy was sobbing over Denny after his sudden death in the hospital. Versions of it were used throughout the series, memorably including the cover by The Wind and the Wave in late Season 11 following the death of Derek. The version used in the Eric Dane tribute was a cover from Tommee Profitt x Fleurie.
All in all, it was a wonderful but emotional surprise at the end of the latest episode on ABC to see just how much of a tribute Eric Dane was going to get from his longtime show. It certainly beats the quick In Memoriam that I was expecting. You can find the full episode streaming with a Hulu subscription if you want to see everything that happened prior to the tribute.
After a week filled with news about what Dane was going through in his final months (with some help from Johnny Depp), a GoFundMe being launched for his family, and even Patrick Dempsey sharing how he thinks Dane would feel about all the support, seeing Grey's Anatomy give Eric Dane his due added some sweet to the bitterness.
If you're now in the mood to revisit some of the Mark Sloan years of the show, you can find Grey's Anatomy streaming with a Netflix subscription as well as on Hulu. New episodes continue airing on Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
