Denny Duquette
Encyclopedia
Dennison Duquette, Jr., more commonly known as Denny Duquette, is a fictional character
on the ABC
television series Grey's Anatomy
. The character is portrayed by actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan
, and was created by Shonda Rhimes
. He first appeared in the second season episode "Begin the Begin
" as a patient of Seattle Grace, and returned later in "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," when he started a relationship with the intern Izzie Stevens
; the two became engaged in second-season finale, "Losing My Religion
," but Denny died later in the episode.
He appeared again in the third-season episode "Some Kind of Miracle," when Meredith encountered his spirit in her near-death state. He also returned in the fifth-season episode "Rise Up," appearing to Izzie over a seven-episode arc that led to a monumental revelation regarding Stevens' character in "Stairway to Heaven."
, a fellow intern at Seattle Grace Hospital, and when she says she is not, he gives her reasons to go out with him, instead of Alex. When Denny leaves the hospital, Izzie looks back at him and the look conveys her feelings for Denny.
Denny returns to the hospital a few episodes later, causing Izzie to break up with her now boyfriend, Alex. As Denny is in the hospital, he and Izzie get much closer as each day goes on. Izzie spends the majority of her time with Denny, on and off duty. Later on in Season 2, an opportunity arises where Denny has the chance to get a heart from another hospital, Mercy West. However, there are two claims to the heart and Preston Burke
, head of cardiothoracic surgery at Seattle Grace, finds out that Denny is 17 seconds behind the other person on the donor list.
In an attempt to ensure that Denny gets the heart, Izzie cuts his LVAD
wire hoping that Denny's condition worsens to the point that Denny gets the heart, but Burke is shot on his way back to check on Denny. Denny proposes to Izzie and Izzie agrees to marry him. Denny gets the heart when he is moved up to 1A status due to his condition worsening after his LVAD is broken. After his strength returns, Izzie offers him a chance to take back the proposal, because "you thought you were dying, and I was the one saving you, so..." but Denny tells her that his possible death wasn't why he proposed. He said that he finally had a choice, and he chose Izzie to be his wife because he was in love with her.
However, Denny dies of a stroke shortly after Izzie accepts his proposal. Sometime later, Denny's father arrives to question Izzie, telling her that both he and Denny's mother believed Denny to be long dead. He questions Izzie's quitting the surgical program after agreeing to marry Denny. He insinuates that Izzie was nothing more than a gold digger, looking to get rich off of Denny. When Izzie finally explains the situation, she discovers that Denny has left her $8.7 million and that shortly before his death, he contacted his parents for the first time in years, leaving a message on their machine asking them "get on the next plane down here and meet my girl... the wonderful, talented, and incredibly stubborn Dr. Isobel Stevens, who's getting me a new heart and has agreed to marry me." After a long debate on what to do with the money, Izzie uses it to start the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic in honor of her dead fiancé.
In the fifth season, Denny returns as a ghost that only Izzie can see. At first, Izzie believes she is going crazy and he is no more than a hallucination. However, she eventually accepts that he's real, sharing a kiss and ultimately having sex. However, Izzie was in the midst of patching things up with Alex and continues to do so, making Denny incredibly jealous, sparking several arguments. In a final argument, Izzie realizes that Denny has returned for her because she is sick and dying. Unable to accept this epiphany, Izzie demands that Denny leave (supposedly to return to Heaven
) and they share a final kiss before he vanishes.
Izzie later discovers that she has metastatic melanoma
and believes Denny to be a hallucination
caused by the cancer
.
Season 5, Episode 22. "What a difference a day makes", Denny is present after Izzie and Alex's wedding. They talk for a brief moment and then Izzie tells him to leave so she can be alone with her husband. A clearly upset Denny leaves soon after.
In the season five finale episode, Izzie again has another hallucination of Denny. This time the two of them are on a beach talking about Izzie's future life with Alex.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
. The character is portrayed by actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is an American actor, best known to television and movie audiences as Denny Duquette on Grey's Anatomy, patriarch John Winchester on Supernatural, and as The Comedian in the 2009 superhero film Watchmen....
, and was created by Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes is an American screenwriter, director and producer. Rhimes is best known as the creator, head writer, and executive producer of acclaimed television series Grey's Anatomy and its spin-off Private Practice. In May 2007, Rhimes was named one of Time magazine's 100 Time 100 people who...
. He first appeared in the second season episode "Begin the Begin
Begin the Begin (Grey's Anatomy)
"Begin the Begin" is the 13th episode of the second season of the ABC series, Grey's Anatomy. The episode was written by Kip Koenig and was directed by Jessica Yu. It originally aired on January 15, 2006, running for 43:05 min.-Starring:...
" as a patient of Seattle Grace, and returned later in "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," when he started a relationship with the intern Izzie Stevens
Izzie Stevens
Isobel 'Izzie' Katherine Stevens is a fictional character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which airs on ABC in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, and was portrayed by actress Katherine Heigl from 2005 to 2010...
; the two became engaged in second-season finale, "Losing My Religion
Losing My Religion (Grey's Anatomy)
"Losing My Religion" is the second season finale of the medical drama series Grey's Anatomy. The episode, the third of three parts, was written by the creator of the show, Shonda Rhimes, and directed by Mark Tinker. This episode garnered 22.42 million viewers. This episode was included on the list...
," but Denny died later in the episode.
He appeared again in the third-season episode "Some Kind of Miracle," when Meredith encountered his spirit in her near-death state. He also returned in the fifth-season episode "Rise Up," appearing to Izzie over a seven-episode arc that led to a monumental revelation regarding Stevens' character in "Stairway to Heaven."
Fictional biography
Denny first enters the hospital in the middle of Season 2, in the episode "Begin the Begin", hoping to get a heart since he is on the National Donor List. He leaves after he doesn't get it, but not before flirting with Izzie. He asks her personal questions, like if she is dating Alex KarevAlex Karev
Alexander "Alex" Michael Karev, is a fictional surgeon on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy, portrayed by actor Justin Chambers. The character was not included in the original pilot script, but was added in after the pilot was shot, meaning initial scenes with him were either reshoots or...
, a fellow intern at Seattle Grace Hospital, and when she says she is not, he gives her reasons to go out with him, instead of Alex. When Denny leaves the hospital, Izzie looks back at him and the look conveys her feelings for Denny.
Denny returns to the hospital a few episodes later, causing Izzie to break up with her now boyfriend, Alex. As Denny is in the hospital, he and Izzie get much closer as each day goes on. Izzie spends the majority of her time with Denny, on and off duty. Later on in Season 2, an opportunity arises where Denny has the chance to get a heart from another hospital, Mercy West. However, there are two claims to the heart and Preston Burke
Preston Burke
Preston Xavier Burke, more commonly known as Burke, is a fictional surgeon on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy. The character was portrayed by actor Isaiah Washington, up until the third season.-Storylines:...
, head of cardiothoracic surgery at Seattle Grace, finds out that Denny is 17 seconds behind the other person on the donor list.
In an attempt to ensure that Denny gets the heart, Izzie cuts his LVAD
Ventricular assist device
A Ventricular assist device, or VAD, is a mechanical circulatory device that is used to partially or completely replace the function of a failing heart...
wire hoping that Denny's condition worsens to the point that Denny gets the heart, but Burke is shot on his way back to check on Denny. Denny proposes to Izzie and Izzie agrees to marry him. Denny gets the heart when he is moved up to 1A status due to his condition worsening after his LVAD is broken. After his strength returns, Izzie offers him a chance to take back the proposal, because "you thought you were dying, and I was the one saving you, so..." but Denny tells her that his possible death wasn't why he proposed. He said that he finally had a choice, and he chose Izzie to be his wife because he was in love with her.
However, Denny dies of a stroke shortly after Izzie accepts his proposal. Sometime later, Denny's father arrives to question Izzie, telling her that both he and Denny's mother believed Denny to be long dead. He questions Izzie's quitting the surgical program after agreeing to marry Denny. He insinuates that Izzie was nothing more than a gold digger, looking to get rich off of Denny. When Izzie finally explains the situation, she discovers that Denny has left her $8.7 million and that shortly before his death, he contacted his parents for the first time in years, leaving a message on their machine asking them "get on the next plane down here and meet my girl... the wonderful, talented, and incredibly stubborn Dr. Isobel Stevens, who's getting me a new heart and has agreed to marry me." After a long debate on what to do with the money, Izzie uses it to start the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic in honor of her dead fiancé.
In the fifth season, Denny returns as a ghost that only Izzie can see. At first, Izzie believes she is going crazy and he is no more than a hallucination. However, she eventually accepts that he's real, sharing a kiss and ultimately having sex. However, Izzie was in the midst of patching things up with Alex and continues to do so, making Denny incredibly jealous, sparking several arguments. In a final argument, Izzie realizes that Denny has returned for her because she is sick and dying. Unable to accept this epiphany, Izzie demands that Denny leave (supposedly to return to Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
) and they share a final kiss before he vanishes.
Izzie later discovers that she has metastatic melanoma
Melanoma
Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye...
and believes Denny to be a hallucination
Hallucination
A hallucination, in the broadest sense of the word, is a perception in the absence of a stimulus. In a stricter sense, hallucinations are defined as perceptions in a conscious and awake state in the absence of external stimuli which have qualities of real perception, in that they are vivid,...
caused by the cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
Season 5, Episode 22. "What a difference a day makes", Denny is present after Izzie and Alex's wedding. They talk for a brief moment and then Izzie tells him to leave so she can be alone with her husband. A clearly upset Denny leaves soon after.
In the season five finale episode, Izzie again has another hallucination of Denny. This time the two of them are on a beach talking about Izzie's future life with Alex.
External links
- Grey's Anatomy at ABC.com