Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo: Alex's Sendoff Was 'The Best Possible Storyline... Let's Not Be Sad'

Rebecca Iannucci
·3 min read

You can count Ellen Pompeo among the Grey’s Anatomy fans who enjoyed Alex Karev’s bittersweet sendoff.

In an Instagram post on Friday — accompanied by a video of scenes that Alex and Meredith shared throughout the years — the ABC drama’s leading lady praised the exit storyline that was crafted for Justin Chambers’ character in the March 5 episode.

More from TVLine

Through a series of lengthy letters to Meredith, Jo and Bailey (recited via voiceover by Chambers, who did not actually appear in the episode), Alex revealed that he had reconnected with former love Izzie and was now living with her on a farm in Kansas, along with their twins, Eli and Alexis. (Read our full episode recap here.)

“For me personally for Karev to go back to the beginning…. was the best possible storyline. It pays homage to those incredible first years and the incredible cast …that created a foundation so strong that the show is still standing,” Pompeo wrote. “So let’s not be sad. As our fearless leader [episode director Debbie Allen] always says let’s PULL UP and celebrate the actors, the writers and the fantastic crew who make this show come to life every week.”

In a poll published after Alex’s farewell episode, 50 percent of TVLine readers said they hated the character’s departure, while only 23 percent loved it and 26 percent fell somewhere in the middle. (As for us? We found Alex’s exit pretty satisfying.)

Grey’s showrunner Krista Vernoff also released a statement following Thursday’s episode, admitting that “it is nearly impossible to say goodbye to Alex Karev… We have loved writing Alex. And we have loved watching Justin Chambers’ nuanced portrayal of him.”

Read Pompeo’s full post below:

View this post on Instagram

Hi here I go again … Thank YOU! You are truly the best most passionate most loyal fans anyone could ever ask for. Because of you we got to make great tv… because of you we got to make television history! I say often life is hard and thank God it is because like I tell my kids… it shows us what we are made …of how strong we really are and let’s face it… without the lows there would be no dancing it out or celebrating this incredible experience we call life. Thanks to our national treasure @therealdebbieallen and the writers for giving Alex Karev the best send off. Thanks to @shondarhimes for creating the most amazing character. For me personally for Karev to go back to the beginning…. was the best possible storyline. 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. As our fearless leader DA always says let’s PULL UP and celebrate the actors the writers and the fantastic crew who make this show come to life every week. No matter what the challenge or how tired we all are in the end… you keep us going…..That is worth dancing it out over! So much love and gratitude to you all. Xo E

A post shared by Ellen Pompeo (@ellenpompeo) on Mar 6, 2020 at 8:28am PST

 

Best of TVLine

Sign up for TVLine's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.