Shonda Rhimes gets blasted over 'distasteful' ending to beloved 'Grey's Anatomy' character

Grey's Anatomy finally gave fans what they asked for Thursday night, as the hit ABC show said goodbye to Dr. Alex Karev, portrayed by actor Justin Chambers. However, viewers were left even more disappointed at how they closed out the OG character's storyline.

After 16 seasons, Chambers left the show after appearing in his last episode, which aired in November of 2019. While Chambers did not physically return for his character's farewell episode, the actor did provide voiceover work to read the handwritten letters Karev sent to his wife Jo, Meredith Grey and Miranda Bailey. It turns out — Karev is alive and living on a farm in Kansas with his ex-wife, Izzie Stevens, and their, wait for it, 5-year-old twins.

To refresh your mind in case you forgot, Izzie Stevens was another OG cast member, who eventually married Karev, and was portrayed by Katherine Heigl, who left the show during Season 6. Two years after Heigl's exit from Grey's, the actress stated she wanted to return to the show to give closure to her character but, at the time, showrunner, creator, head writer, and executive producer Shonda Rhimes said she had no plans to revisit Izzie's storyline. However, Rhimes's mind must have changed. And in a serious case of irony, Karev left Jo the same way Izzie left Karev. Could it be because Chambers's exit was sort of similar to Heigl's?

In January, fans were shocked when Chambers revealed he had left Grey's and that his last episode had already aired. As a beloved character, viewers demanded a proper farewell. And after months of avoiding an official conclusion to Karev's storyline, Grey's finally teased his goodbye episode last week. While fans were excited for the episode, they mostly hoped the writers wouldn't kill off Karev's character. However, after the super disappointing ending that was given to his character this week, viewers actually began wishing Rhimes had just killed him off instead.

As you could imagine, fans were furious. Mostly because leaving Jo behind for Izzie was not in Karev's character. Now, with only Meredith Grey holding down the fort, will Grey's Anatomy continue for that much longer?

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Watch ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ teasing Karev’s long overdue exit, which had fans sobbing:

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