This piece contains spoilers about Thursday's episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Grey's Anatomy fans expressed shock after Thursday's highly publicized episode, during which original character Alex Karev (played by Justin Chambers) was officially written off the show.
After being absent from the ABC series for weeks, Karev returned—through voiceover—to reveal his whereabouts in a series of letters sent to his longtime friend Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), his current wife,Jo (Camilla Luddington), and colleagues Bailey (Miranda Wilson) and Richard (James Pickens Jr.). The letters explained that he had reconnected with his ex-wife, Izzie Stevens (another original Grey’s character, played by Katherine Heigl) while trying to save Meredith's medical license during an insurance fraud trial. Izzie, it turned out, had given birth to twins after she and Alex split several seasons ago, using an embryo the couple had previously frozen. As a result, Alex decided to divorce Jo and move to Kansas, where Izzie had since relocated.
“Izzie had my kids, and I know you get what that really means. I know you of all people know why I can’t just leave now,” he wrote to Jo. “I have a chance to make this family whole, and I just hope you love me back enough to let me take it. I need to give these kids the family you and I never had.”
The twist, and the fact that the controversial Izzie was involved, left some longtime Grey's Anatomy viewers questioninghis decision—especially since neither Alex nor Izzie physically appeared during the episode.
When Chambers formally announced his departure in January, the show confirmed that its Nov. 14 episode, the 350th overall episode of Grey’s, had been the actor’s last onscreen appearance. He did, however, provide a new voiceover track for Karev's final episode.Heigl, meanwhile, hasn't been seen on Grey's Anatomy since Season 6.
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Following Thursday’s episode, showrunner Krista Vernoff posted a farewell to Karev via Twitter. “It is nearly impossible to say goodbye to Alex Karev. That is as true for me and for all of the writers at Grey’s Anatomy, as it is for the fans,” she wrote. “We have loved writing Alex. And we have loved watching Justin Chambers’ nuanced portrayal of him. For 16 seasons, 16 years, we have grown up alongside Alex Karev. We have been frustrated by his limitations and we have been inspired by his growth and we have come to love him deeply and to think of him as one of our very best friends. We will miss him terribly. And we will always be grateful for his impact, on our show, on our hearts, on our fans, on the world.”
