Patrick Dempsey's 5 Greatest Grey's Anatomy Episodes

McDreamy has finally attained his ambition.

PEOPLE picked Patrick Dempsey, a former Grey's Anatomy star (and prospective Ferrari star), as their 2023 Sexiest Man Alive, and it's hard to argue with that choice. After all, he is the guy who appeared in almost 200 episodes as one half of TV's sexiest duo.

During his time on Grey's Anatomy, Dempsey's character, Derek Shepherd, dealt with a lot of extraordinary life situations, including a ferry disaster, a plane crash, many vehicle crashes, and a slew of other non-crash-related events. Derek went from being a spouse to an ex-husband to a husband again (via a Post-it note) and then a father before dying in a horrific accident while doing what he did best: rescuing lives on a beautiful day.

In honor of Dempsey's new title, we've picked together his five finest episodes of the long-running ABC medical drama.

1. "Pilot" (Season 1, Episode 1)

Okay, this is apparent. You must include the episode in which the McDreamy "look" was first established; Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) is familiar with it. He may have started out as simply a man at a bar, but this episode marked the beginning of the love story that would reveal he was so much more.

2. "As We Know It" (Season 2, Episode 17)

Derek performed admirably in the second half of the two-part bomb drama. He not only put his life in danger by refusing to leave the operating room to rescue Bailey's (Chandra Wilson) husband, but he also concluded the episode on Meredith's doorway, making a memorable speech about their final kiss. (Her hair smelt of lavender!

3. "Losing My Religion" (Season 2, Episode 27)

As the season-long tension between Meredith and Derek was set to boil over, Dempsey gave the single sexiest look of the whole series, with Derek spotting Meredith across the dance floor and just cannot stop himself. What followed was a lot of emotion, a lot of yelling, and the start of a love... square?

4. "Drowning on Dry Land" (Season 3, Episode 16)

In this emotional episode, Dempsey was able to portray a different side of Derek. After Meredith drowned, he grabbed her from the sea and transported her to the hospital, but her odds of survival were slim. With little words, Dempsey gave a sad portrayal as the distressed lover forced to wait in the corridor while his friends attempted to save the lady he loved.

5. "Elevator Love Letter" (Season 5, Episode 19)

This one also seems apparent because it is THE PROPOSAL. Sorry, but if we're talking about one of the best pairings in television history, we can't leave out the episode when Dempsey makes a McDreamy-level proposal... in an elevator, of course.