‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Needs to Handle Its Alex Karev Problem
When the news broke that Justin Chambers, who plays Dr. Alex Karev on Grey’s Anatomy, was leaving the show after 16 seasons, the fan base was shook. Alex has been through it all, and he’s also helped Meredith through hundreds of episodes worth of stuff, so like...what will the show even be like without him? Aside from the many feelings people had about a lack of Karev, there seemed to be some confusion as to how it would go down. Grey’s needs to handle that ASAP.
Justin announced his departure during the mid-season hiatus of the show. So when episodes started running again, and he was just mysteriously not there, people were like, “Uh...is that it? Is he just off the show now?” As the weeks have gone on, the Alex character has been “visiting his mom,” and as of the last episode, he started ignoring Jo’s calls and texts. It still isn’t entirely clear whether he will actually make a physical appearance in any future episode as an official send-off, and the fans aren’t happy.
Krista Vernoff, the showrunner for Grey’s, told Variety Alex’s departure will unfold over time. “It was a very careful threading of a needle, where we are giving a little bit of information and pain to Jo,” she said. “We’re, episode by episode, illuminating the story of where Alex is. And it takes us quite a few more episodes to get there and to give the audience clarity.”
When I first heard the news, I assumed we would have the rest of this season with Alex in it, and he just wouldn’t be in the next one. Maybe that was naive, but it does seem weird that one of the OG characters could just quit the show in the middle of a season and never return. Is that allowed? Aren’t there contracts for that? It’s truly a shame that after spending 16 seasons with a character, he could just evaporate like that.
As of right now, it seems like they’re building the narrative to a place where Alex just won’t return from his mom’s, and that’ll be how he’s written off. Not to be dramatic or anything, but that is simply not enough. It’s totally implausible for the character to just abandon everyone like that, and it would mean either (1) the show would have to write off Jo, too, so she could join him wherever he is or (2) Jo and Alex would have to break up for good. There’s no way!
If Grey’s wants fans to be happy with how they write off a favorite character like this, Alex needs to make a physical appearance on the show. I don’t care what drama happened behind the scenes, the Grey’s team needs to get its shit together to give him an actual farewell. It’s what we deserve!!
You Might Also Like
