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Grey’s Anatomy viewers thought they knew the character of Alex Karev. He was loving and loyal, and would never leave those who were closest to him without notice.

So, when his character disappeared from the show, fans assumed that he had to be dead because the character they knew would never abandon his wife and friends. However, the show’s creators had other ideas. 

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ fans expected Alex Karev to be dead

JUSTIN CHAMBERS, ELLEN POMPEO
JUSTIN CHAMBERS, ELLEN POMPEO | Eric McCandless/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

Before the March 5th episode aired, fans were convinced that Alex had died. After all, there’s no way he would leave his wife, Jo, or Meredith, his long-time friend. A discussion on Reddit proved that leaving would go against everything his character stood for, or so fans thought. 

“Alex has been shown to stick around well past necessary and has assured Jo and Mer that he’ll be there for them to rely on,” one person wrote before seeing the controversial episode which revealed what really happened to Alex. “Yet, we’re just supposed to believe he’d give up and walk out spontaneously.” 

Not everyone thought the death of Alex would make a good storyline. “Killing him off screen would be so cowardly,” wrote one fan. But, when the alternative seemed to go against everything they knew about the character, fans seemed to prefer that ending. “It’s better than assassinating his character development,” another fan countered. “He cannot be pulling an Izzie on Jo.” 

“They can’t throw away 16 seasons of making him so caring and lovable (flaws and all) by making him just up and leave everyone,” another fan wrote.

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ surprised fans with a twist ending for Alex

Sadly, during the March 5th episode, we found out that Alex had indeed left Jo to rejoin his ex-wife, and the mother of his children, Izzie Stevens. In a letter he left for Jo, Alex tried to explain his decision.

“I can’t lie to you and pretend the truth isn’t the truth,” the letter said. “That I love you, and I love Izzie. But if it was just me missing her or nostalgia or whatever, I would have been able to walk away and come back to you. But Izzie had my kids, and I know you get what that really means.”

Although this seemed to go against everything fans expected of his character, at least one person defended his controversial exit. Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith, expressed her feelings about Alex’s storyline on Instagram.

After thanking the writers and the show’s producer for creating “the best send off” for Alex, Pompeo wrote, “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.”

She also thanked the show’s fans and asked that they not be sad about Alex’s ending, but instead celebrate the wonderful cast who created the show. 

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ fans wish Alex Karev had died instead of THAT ending

Unfortunately, fans were not happy about Alex’s ending. In fact, many stuck with their original assumptions that Alex would have never left Jo and Meredith in that way.

Before the controversial episode, viewers assumed that he had to be dead, because Alex’s character would never leave that way. And after they watched the episode, many insisted that it just didn’t fit the storyline. In fact, many fans wished Alex had died instead of leaving and expressed their opinions on Twitter. 

“When you pray they won’t kill of Alex Karev and they don’t but the way they do write him off makes you wish they had just killed him,” wrote one fan of Twitter. 

“Just ignoring the end that they gave to Alex Karev. It’s so unfair,” another fan wrote. “Years and years of developing for nothing. He would never leave Jo or Meredith like this. That’s not the Karev that I used to know.”

Twitter was full of Grey’s Anatomy viewers who were angry about Alex’s ending, and most seemed to wish that it would have been done another way… even with Alex dying rather than leaving. 

“I’d honestly rather have Alex Karev die THAN have #GreysAnatomy ruin 16 seasons of character development to have him ghost everyone, and leave his wife for IZZIE F**KING STEVENS,” another fan shared. 

It’s unclear if the Grey’s Anatomy writers knew that they’d be creating such drama after Alex’s leaving. But they seemed to have shaken everything viewers thought they knew about the show and its roles.

Now, fans are left to wonder about the other characters and whether they truly understand them or if there could be more surprises in the future at Grey Sloan Memorial. 

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