Grey’s Anatomy season 16, episode 16, “Leave a Light On,” finally revealed how Alex Karev was written off the show and served as the farewell episode for his character.

From the very start of Grey’s Anatomy season 16, episode 16, “Leave a Light On,” the show tried to bring the nostalgia. Parts of the pilot episode were shown, specifically when Meredith and Alex were just interns themselves and didn’t see eye-to-eye. But fans were quickly reminded of the current situation as Meredith, Richard, Bailey, and Jo got letters from Alex.

Justin Chambers didn’t film additional scenes for his character to be written off, so it seems they found a way out of having him back. The letters served as an explanation as to what happened. Alex wrote that he didn’t come back to say goodbye because he didn’t want to be talked out of it; he didn’t want Meredith to say the perfect thing to make him stay in Seattle.

“It’s not about you, or work, or Jo, it’s about me — I left and I’m with Izzie.”

Alex explained further that he got in contact with Izzie when Meredith was going through her issues with the medical board. With the excuse to help Meredith, he contacted her, but really he wanted to know what she was up to. Clips of Alex and Izzie played in the mix with Meredith reading the letter.

There was another twist in the situation, though. Alex detailed in the letter that he heard kids in the background, and when he asked about them, Izzie got quiet. He then learned that she had kids and they were his, too. When Izzie was still sick, they made embryos together and that was how her kids came to exist.

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He gave more details on the kids: a boy and a girl that were both already five years old. They told Alex that they wanted to be doctors like their mother, and now they were calling Alex dad, too. The letter basically painted a perfect picture. A new life where Alex felt like he belonged and somehow wasn’t even mad at Izzie for keeping the secret for so many years.

As Meredith read the letter, she smiled and teared up. Alex called her his best friend and said he would miss her, but he hoped that if she came to visit, it wouldn’t be to talk him into leaving and going back to Seattle. I know this whole scene is supposed to get viewers emotional as well — but all I could think was that it sounded unrealistic.

It felt so much like a deus ex machina; it was too perfect of a situation, as though it was created as a way for us to understand why Alex Karev was written off and be happy for his new life with Izzie. Yet, I can’t help but feel like all it really does is take away from Alex and Jo’s story. It was like their love story was never as great as it felt all along because he was so ready to leave her.

Alex’s letter to Jo didn’t help much either. Grey’s Anatomy season 16, episode 16, continued to show clips from the past and started to show Jo and Alex’s story. At the same time, though, Jo was reading a letter where Alex said he’s in love with Izzie. He used the excuse of the children as to why he was staying because he wanted to make the family whole. He thought that Jo would understand it because they never had that.

He also explained that he’d already taken care of the divorce papers. Everything that was there in Seattle was getting left to Jo, including his shares in Grey Sloan Memorial. It was supposed to be generous, I’m sure, but this again just makes the whole situation feel too neat. I’m surprised Jo didn’t have more of a reaction as she read the letter, unlike Richard, who threw his letter away.

Bailey read her letter from Alex next. It was less of an explanation and more of an ode to Bailey teaching Alex through the years. There were flashbacks to all their time together, from Bailey not liking him to taking the chance on him anyway because of his talent.

He reminded Bailey of all the things he did for her and how she helped to make him a better doctor. The letter was both a goodbye and also a thank you. It was less emotional than the letters to Meredith and Jo but also sounded less fake.

The episode went back to Richard after Bailey, showing more flashbacks as he talked about his career as a surgeon. It was a reminder that Alex and Richard didn’t always get along either. He stepped up and became a great doctor, just like they taught him, though.

Richard was upset about Alex’s decision because he thought it was a waste of his career. But on the other hand, he understood what it was like to miss out on a child’s life. He was still upset about not being able to say goodbye, as a teacher to a student. Richard’s feelings are clearly mixed on the situation, which is more realistic.

As if this wasn’t enough pain to those of us who loved Alex and Jo, the show had even more flashbacks. They showed a montage of Alex and Izzie’s time together on Grey’s Anatomy, and it only bothered me more.

Bailey finally reacted, too. She told Ben the news of how he was leaving everyone behind to start over. While Bailey was upset, it made her want to help Joey more. She didn’t want to see him become another kid that was lost in the system. At least the episode had something positive coming out of it, I guess?

At the end of the episode, Link went to check on Jo and offered to take her out drinking. First, Jo had to work, though, and Link called her his hero. She walked out looking strong, too strong.

It worries me that this might mean the whole issue will largely be swept under the rug after this episode. It’s already upsetting to see how Alex was able to walk away from Jo so quickly, and I hope they at least handle things differently on Jo’s end.

After all of this, I’m really wondering why they didn’t just kill him off. It might have actually been better to write Alex Karev off the show that way than this.

What do you think about the way Alex Karev was written off ‘Grey’s Anatomy’?