Buckle up kids, because it’s time to talk about something of the utmost importance: the imminent demise of April Kepner. Plenty of characters have gone out with, shall we say, big bangs—I mean, Lexi Grey was eaten by wolves for God’s sake—but I believe that April has the potential to be the biggest bang of them all.
This poor girl has been in a steady downward spiral for most of season 14 of Grey’s Anatomy, turning to alcohol and anger in her time of personal and spiritual strife. The beginning stages seemed so positive, with April standing up for herself and owning her new position as judge of the surgical competition, but with each episode since she’s become more and more unstable. I didn’t know how much worse it could get after game night, but it definitely came to a head in this week’s “Caught Somewhere in Time,” as April took control of the intern’s trauma certification, running the whole thing into the ground before backing out of her parental duties for the night, and breaking down in a supply closet.
I’d really like to have hope that this was a turning point in her story, and that April is going to start coming back to herself for the remainder of the season. She seems to be realizing how not okay she is, but it’s highly unlikely that a sane April Kepner is going to leave Grey Sloane of her own accord—not without Harriet—and we know Jackson isn’t going to have that. In light of these musings, here are six possible ways that April Kepner will take her leave:
1. She’s involuntarily committed or sent to rehab
If April continues down the path she’s currently on, one of the next steps is probably showing up to work drunk. While her behavior as of late seems like that of a drunk woman, I don’t think this has actually happened yet. While the rest of the crew has taken note of her odd behavior, nobody has really stepped up to help her. I bet they’d be pretty quick to stage an intervention, though, and then she’d finally get the help she clearly needs.
2. Her mental health continues to deteriorate, and she disappears
If April doesn’t get the help she needs, I could see her pulling a Meredith and going completely MIA. Unfortunately, she’s not likely to return once things have settled down for her, and we’ll be left with a number of questions.
3. She realizes the trouble she’s in, and she goes away to find herself
On the other hand, she could head off on a soul-searching mission, or rejoin the military, in an effort to better herself. She’s still unlikely to return, but at least we’ll know that she’s out there doing something good for herself.
4. She causes an accident and is sentenced to prison
If April does stick around, I could see her poor judgment taking it a step further and putting her behind the wheel of a car, a la Derek after his shooting. But where Derek spent a night in the drunk tank and learned from that mistake, April probably won’t have a friendly officer keeping her off the road. It wouldn’t surprise me if she caused an awful accident, leading to her incarceration and even further separating her from her faith and her family.
5. She causes an accident and is killed
Alternatively, the accident leads to her untimely, terribly depressing death. Denny, George, Reed, Percy, Lexi, Mark, Brooks, Derek who?
6. She turns herself back around, but is killed in a freak, non-breakdown-related accident
Just when we think everything is back to normal, and that maybe, just maybe, Sarah will stay, a classic Grey’s disaster will strike. Ferry boat crashes? Don’t make me laugh. Bus explosions? Ha. Hospital destruction? LOL. What’s left??
I’m not particularly fond of any of these options, but unfortunately Shonda didn’t put me in charge of April’s fate. Given my lack of control, the best I can do is hope for either 1 or 6. I absolutely want to see April get back on her feet, though having to see her die, especially after overcoming everything that was pushing her down, might kill me, too. If she’s sent away for treatment, at least we’ll know she’s still there, still fighting, and we’ll probably get to hear about her every now and again, like Cristina.