SPOILERS AHEAD
“Nobody knows where they might end up, nobody knows . . .”
Well if you’re an avid Grey’s Anatomy fan like me, you know you’ll end up on your couch on Thursdays at 8:00 pm watching the hit show on ABC.
For the past 12 seasons, we have all put our pajamas on (which I shamelessly pretend are my scrubs) to join the doctors at Grey-Sloan Memorial hospital with everything from saving patients with brain tumors to witnessing marriage vows being written on a post-it note (too soon?). We have apprehensively opened our arms to new doctors, we have said tearful goodbyes to those who move on to bigger and better things (au revoir Cristina Yang), and we have mourned the MANY losses of those who were taken too soon (Shonda Rhimes do you enjoy our pain??). In the words of Richard Weber when faced head to head with an active shooter in the season six finale, “[We] have been to hell and back”.
In season 13, episode 1 our dear friend Dr. Alex Karev embarked on a journey that he might not come back from. No, he was not killed by a homemade bomb, an active shooter, or a plane crash, but he was sent somewhere outside of the safety of the hospital (which is ironic to say as it is the most dangerous hospital to work at- signing your employee contract is like signing your death wish). Karev was sent behind bars for assaulting Dr. DeLuca after walking in on what appeared to be DeLuca taking advantage of a very drunk Jo, although viewers know he was innocently helping her get to bed after she and Alex got in a huge fight. After initially lying on Karev’s behalf, Meredith eventually told Bailey that DeLuca was beat up by Karev and didn’t get mugged by a robber, as was the initial story behind his visit to the ER.
Although Meredith did the right thing by telling the truth, the results were less than favorable for Karev. While extreme violence is never the answer, in his defense, he walked in to his girlfriend’s apartment seeing his half naked, drunk girlfriend being put into bed by a sober male. He didn’t take time to ask questions, because all he wanted to do was protect Jo; throughout the past 12 seasons Karev has lost many people- friends, family, patients, and lovers, which is why he was so fiercely protective of the woman he loves.
As Grey’s Anatomy fans, we are accustomed to saying goodbye to well-loved characters. However, most of our goodbyes are quick and sudden, and without much warning. Let’s hope that Karev’s new life behind bars isn’t the beginning of the end of our relationship with the man we used to hate and have come to love. I guess its true that nobody knows where they might end up.