Once again, Greys Anatomy has broken our hearts by killing off an OG character. This time it’s sweet angel and fan favourite Justin Chambers aka Dr Alex Michael Karev.
The episode, which aired on March 5, featured no new footage of Alex Karev but did have Chambers’ give a voiceover for the episode’s flashbacks.
Thankfully, Alex is alive and well and is living in Kansas with his ex wife Izzie Stevens (formerly played by Katherine Heigl). The pair rekindled their love and are now living that farm dream in Kansas with twin children.
Throughout the episode, Alex also reveals that Izzie called him five years ago to use their frozen embryos from when she was undergoing cancer treatment.
From my non-Grey’s Anatomy-watching research, Alex yeeted himself the fuck out of his former life by sending a LETTER to his current wife basically explaining that he’s gone to live the farm life with his ex wife. Honestly, men are a whole different breed. This is fucked. Fucked. FUCKED.
Unlike other characters, who publicised their reasons for leaving, Chambers’ departure from the show sent shocks through the Greys Anatomy community (yes, there are still diehards who watch this show after all this time).
“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” Chambers said in a statement back in January. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time. “As I move on from Grey’s Anatomy, I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda Rhimes, original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride.”
It’s clear that Chambers has left a gaping hole in the Grey’s family, with showrunner Krista Vernoff explaining in a statement on Thursday.
“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,” Krista said. “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.”
Chambers joins a string of series regulars who have departed the hugely popular show including Sandra Oh (Cristina, season 10), Patrick Dempsey (Derek, season 11) and Katherine Heigl (season 6).
Fans took to Twitter to share their heartbreak.
alex karev leaving his wife, all of his colleagues and his best friend for izzie stevens literally sounds like a whole ass fanfiction you could find one wattpad when you were 12 but ok
— iza (@wIwsfilm) March 6, 2020
so your telling me that alex karev had the biggest & best character development and became the best man on the show perfect husband perfect friend just for shonda to have him go back to izzie who we havent seen in 10 seasons as his exit?? THROW IT ALL AWAY https://t.co/cNJEMS4QtE
— . (@onlyangvIs) March 6, 2020
They were also quick to point out what I was thinking, what the actual FUCK is this storyline?
alex karev was the epitome of perfect white fictional male character development who got over his izzie abandonment issues that fucked him up, only to turn around and do THE EXACT SAME THING TO JO. I SUPPORT MENS RIGHTS TO SHUT THE FUCK UP !!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/S7yIF2D7ZU
— helvocative. (@laurasreese) March 6, 2020
alex karev leaving jo for izzie and suddenly having two kids with her makes no sense so i’ll just ignore that storyline for my mental health pic.twitter.com/O4OT9RauTn
— cami⁷ (@astherias) March 6, 2020
they really just ruined alex karev and took away his 16 seasons of growth by having him leave jo, the love of his life who he just married, to go back to an ex he dated 10+ years ago. wow, the worst i think. #GreysAnatomy pic.twitter.com/wQib7dfOzV
— heartv (@heartmel_wood) March 6, 2020
