Ellen Pompeo calls Alex Karev's 'Grey's Anatomy' goodbye 'the best possible storyline'
Sixteen seasons in, "Grey's Anatomy" still knows how to shock its audience – even though, in retrospect, we should've seen that coming.
ABC promised us the March 5 episode would be Alex Karev's send-off episode – and whew, was it send-off: He left his wife Jo (Camilla Luddington) to reunite offscreen with ex-wife Izzie (Katherine Heigl) ... and the two children Izzie had using frozen embryos the two made back in season five.
We're not kidding.
The episode, which was chock-full of montages of seasons past, featured Jo , best friend Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and former boss Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) all reading letters from him (the return address was from Kansas; Meredith's just read "Evil Spawn," a nod to his former nickname).
He says goodbye (via voiceover) to each of the three women in individual letters.
First up was his letter to Meredith: Alex apparently called Izzie earlier this season when he was looking for people to speak up for Meredith during the trial where she fought to keep her medical license – finally, a good enough excuse to call his ex. He learned Izzie, now a surgical oncologist, was single and had his five-year-old twins.
"You are my best friend and I will miss the hell out of you," he told Meredith.
Next up, Jo: "It's officially the worst thing I've ever done," Alex says in his letter to Jo. And it basically is: He admits he's in love with Izzie (though says he loves Jo, too – it's just that Izzie has his kids, and he wants to be there for them like his and Jo's families weren't ). Keep in mind this was after a rough few seasons where Jo confronted her abusive (now deceased) husband and the birth mother she never knew, and still came out stronger on the other side.
Then, Bailey: Karev tells her she helped him grow the hell up, and references when she took a bullet out of his stomach. He says goodbye and thank you. Richard Webber (James Pickens, Jr.), another former boss, reflects on his relationship with Alex during an AA meeting after receiving a letter of his own.
This episode proved polarizing for "Grey's" fans on social media. But that doesn't take away from the legacy Alex Karev left us.
When was Justin Chambers last on 'Grey's Anatomy?'
Chambers last appeared as Karev in the Nov. 14 episode of "Grey's," but unbeknownst to fans at the time, it was his final performance. He was said to be helping his mother in Iowa ... though we learned in last week's episode on Feb. 28 he wasn't there at all.
ABC confirmed the news in January, as did the actor in a statement from his agent Stephen Hirsh.
"As I move on from 'Grey’s Anatomy,' I want to thank the ABC family, (executive producer) 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," he said. With Chambers' departure, the show, now in its 16th season, is down to those three original cast members. The series premiered in March 2005. Pompeo took to social media to celebrate the episode, sharing a video of their two characters throughout the years. "For me personally for Karev to go back to the beginning.... was the best possible storyline," Pompeo wrote on Instagram Friday. "It pays homage to those incredible first years and the incredible cast ...that created a foundation so strong that the show is still standing. So let’s not be sad." The news that shook 'Grey's Anatomy' fans to their core: 'Grey's Anatomy' star Justin Chambers to exit show after 15 years "Grey's Anatomy" won't be the same without Alex – and it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out why. Karev – or as longtime "Grey's Anatomy" fans know him, "Evil Spawn" – has been a prominent doctor on the series since the beginning. Through 349 episodes, fans have watched him get married (then divorced), survive a gunshot wound, narrowly avoid a plane crash and get remarried. He rose from an intern to a resident to an attending pediatric surgeon to chief of surgery. Hey, it's been a lot of seasons. Karev started the series as a misogynistic, lazy jerk but turned into a lovable, reliable surgeon and friend (with many ups and downs in between). We learned an unstable childhood was to blame for much of his attitude. Yes, over the course of the series he cheated on his wife, Izzie . And yes, he ratted out a colleague after she tampered with a clinical trial, but he learned from those moments . His marriage to Izzie in the wake of her cancer battle was beautiful, though it quickly flamed out the following season (the divorce occurred offscreen). Over time, he became even closer with the other remaining interns Meredith and Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh). When Yang's departed at the end of Season 10, Karev effectively became Meredith's "person," or best, best friend. He eventually found love with new wife Jo , and all seemed to be going swimmingly for the pair, despite a mental health scare and their employment at different hospitals. He became chief of surgery at lower-tier hospital Pac North after getting fired from Grey-Sloan earlier this season because of Meredith. And that's the toughest part of why we'll miss him: He was there for her as she dealt with her best friend moving away and her husband's death. He was there for both his wives when they needed him most. He was there for his mentor, Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), after she lost her leg (he even performed the amputation). He was there for us as we watched a succession of doctors depart the series. Karev was a constant; Where else would he go? After a rough upbringing, he craved stability – making the timing of his exit all the more perplexing. Then again: Maybe Izzie was that stability all along. We'll have a powdered sugar donut in your honor, Karev. We know that's your favorite. Contributing: Erin Jensen and Rasha Ali There are obviously more than these: 7 reasons why 'Grey’s Anatomy' has outlasted 'ER' We talked to Meredith Grey herself last year: Ellen Pompeo on 'Grey’s Anatomy' landmark episode, Ariana Grande video and Sandra Oh's emails This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Grey's Anatomy': Alex Karev says goodbye, reunites with Izzie Stevens