Grey's Anatomy 16x16 Thoughts
Mar. 5th, 2020 11:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaLeave the Light On
I'm surprisingly satisfied with how they said goodbye to Alex given the situation.
+ The writers of this show were put in a really difficult position when Justin Chambers abruptly decided to leave. I've been a little critical about how they've been dealing with it till this point - and my irritation over the lack of Meredith/Jo scenes remains - but I decided to wait and see the end result. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place and I thought they deserved the chance to make it work.
... and I think they actually did. I enjoyed this episode a lot. The explanation - Alex reconnecting with Izzie over Meredith's hearing, discovering that he had twins, choosing them and then being too afraid to face the consequences of that choice by telling everyone in person - I don't hate it.
Having the episode play out as the letters he sent to the three people most important to him are read out-loud while flashbacks play was an excellent vehicle to show how important those relationships are, to remind us about Alex's character growth (and faults) and to resell Alex/Izzie.
I was so uncertain about how they could make Alex disappearing make sense without character assassination. Killing him off (it wasn't him sending the messages) would have been the worst, saddest choice. Having him overcome by a mental illness while visiting his mother and committing himself wouldn't have ended Jo/Alex in a good/effective way. I was kind of hoping for Alex in Switzerland with Cristina but there definitely wouldn't have been any explanation there that wouldn't have been assholish in the extreme.
But him talking to Izzie again and realising immediately that he's still in love with her and that they do still fit? Him discovering he has kids? I think his letters to both Meredith and Jo outlined really well why that wasn't something he could turn his back on, nor was it something he wanted to turn his back on.
He was certainly an asshole in this situation for going MIA on everyone, for lying about where he was, and then taking so long (weeks? months?) to send the letters. It was cruel to the people who loved him, especially Jo. But at the same time I kinda do get it? I feel like it's both obviously the wrong thing to do while also being somewhat sympathetic.
My one big issue here is the fact that he and Izzie so quickly fell back into a happy relationship together including sleeping in 'their bed/room'. As if Alex wasn't married. The kids make sense to me. Alex realising he's still in love with Izzie, fine. But to just fall back into happy togetherness with her like that while still married to Jo? Uh, no. It would have worked so much better if their relationship had been left more up in the air - they love each other and he hopes that they might get back together but right now he's concentrating on the kids. Because what he did here was basically cheat on Jo, and then abandon her for the other woman which, yikes. No. That wasn't great. That I could have done without. Alex loved Jo so much and was there for her through so much, so him just dumping her so quickly for another woman (even if it's Izzie) does feel off.
And yet... in the end this is what matters to me: I love Alex Karev and he got a happy ending. It wasn't one I envisioned for him but it's a good one all the same. He's with someone he loves deeply and is happy with, and while I don't ship Alex/Izzie I'll buy it, he has twin children that he loves, he has a new job that he's great at and is happy to do. He's content. Like Cristina he's where he needs and wants to be, living his best life. And for a character I love this much that's what I want for him most.
+ God, that Meredith letter got to me hard and now I'm having so many feelings. Their relationship is my second favourite in the show (after Meredith/Cristina) and all those flashbacks and that amazingly loving letter only reminded me how wonderful they are and how much I'm going to miss them.
I loved his letter so much. So many great lines, so full of memories and their past, so heartfelt. I love that his letter to her only said 'Evil Spawn' and her called her Mer. I love that Alex doubts his ability to be a good parent he thinks of Meredith being a great mother and believes in himself. I love that he wants Mere and her kids to still be a part of his life and for her to be Aunt Mere. I love that he thinks that she could convince him to leave Izzie/the kids and return to his life in Seattle and that's part of why he can't face her. I love him telling her that she's his best friend (♥) and that he'll "miss the hell out of you". It was a good letter.
+ "You've always been your own damn person. A force of freaking nature. You've never needed anyone but you." - Alex.
+ I really wish the episode had ended with Meredith telling Zola "you know what, yes, let's go see uncle Alex". That would have been the perfect capper to this episode. This season has been doing amazing on the Cristina front in making the Meredith/Cristina relationship feel both present and important still to both of them and that's all I want going forward for Alex. I don't need an Alex mention every episode but don't have him completely disappear from Meredith's life. Have her eventually plan that trip (with her kids) to visit him and Izzie and meet her new 'niece' and 'nephew'. Have her text him about a previous patient or her love life or a case of her own. I want them to have waffle sundays every couple months and emails and phone calls at night while lying in bed. I want him to Facetime with Zola to help her with her science projects. Just don't let him disappear.
+ I feel bad for the kids. Alex has been a huge part of Zola, Bailey and Ellis's life for all of their life. For the younger two he's the only steady male figure in their lives. This is going to be a sucky adjustment for them. I really do hope we get some mention at some point of them visiting Alex and his kids.
+ God, poor Jo. No matter how this Alex situation played out she was always going to get the short end of the stick and I don't know if this is the worst version for her or not but it's pretty up there. Jo with her abandonment issues abandoned by the supportive husband who insists he still loves her. Ouch. After all she's been through and how much she's struggled and got herself into a good place this is a gut punch. I am glad that Alex acknowledged how terrible he was being to Jo by doing this and doing it this way.
+ I am really happy that they managed to get Justin Chambers to do the voice-over letter reading. If we couldn't get to see him then hearing him was the next best thing.
+ Alexis and Eli were adorable.
+ Izzie not telling Alex about using the embryos/having twins was kind of a dick move.
+ I think this would have worked better if Izzie needed Alex there. Say, her cancer came back and then out of the blue Alex calls her and so she tells him. Then he comes out and meets the kids and she tells him that she's sick again, and he decides there is no way he can leave. Even him deciding to get back together with Izzie so suddenly like that would have worked better.
+ I am so glad that Alex wrote to Bailey too because I love where their relationship progressed to. I love that he ended by telling her that he loved her. I love that his whole letter was about giving her the credit for him being a good surgeon and thanking her for mentoring him exactly as he needed.
+ I loved Bailey's reaction when he casually mentioned that he had twins with Izzie. Ha. Man, so many people from that early era are gone that there aren't really that many people who's reactions to this can be fully informed.
+ I appreciate that Alex sent a letter to Richard too and I wish we'd heard it. They started to do a thing where they connected Alex's current situation (picking Izzie/kids over wife Jo/more prestigious job) to Richard's own past choice (Adele/work over Ellis and unknowingly Maggie) and I thought they were connecting it to his current situation and how his life is in tatters with the conclusion that now that he might lose his work (his life) he's regretting making the consistent choice of work over love but they never really did. I was a little disappointed by that. He ends with everyone leaving him and not knowing how to stop it which didn't feel as connected overall.
+ I really like Linc being there for Jo but no to Jo/Linc please.
I'm surprisingly satisfied with how they said goodbye to Alex given the situation.
+ The writers of this show were put in a really difficult position when Justin Chambers abruptly decided to leave. I've been a little critical about how they've been dealing with it till this point - and my irritation over the lack of Meredith/Jo scenes remains - but I decided to wait and see the end result. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place and I thought they deserved the chance to make it work.
... and I think they actually did. I enjoyed this episode a lot. The explanation - Alex reconnecting with Izzie over Meredith's hearing, discovering that he had twins, choosing them and then being too afraid to face the consequences of that choice by telling everyone in person - I don't hate it.
Having the episode play out as the letters he sent to the three people most important to him are read out-loud while flashbacks play was an excellent vehicle to show how important those relationships are, to remind us about Alex's character growth (and faults) and to resell Alex/Izzie.
I was so uncertain about how they could make Alex disappearing make sense without character assassination. Killing him off (it wasn't him sending the messages) would have been the worst, saddest choice. Having him overcome by a mental illness while visiting his mother and committing himself wouldn't have ended Jo/Alex in a good/effective way. I was kind of hoping for Alex in Switzerland with Cristina but there definitely wouldn't have been any explanation there that wouldn't have been assholish in the extreme.
But him talking to Izzie again and realising immediately that he's still in love with her and that they do still fit? Him discovering he has kids? I think his letters to both Meredith and Jo outlined really well why that wasn't something he could turn his back on, nor was it something he wanted to turn his back on.
He was certainly an asshole in this situation for going MIA on everyone, for lying about where he was, and then taking so long (weeks? months?) to send the letters. It was cruel to the people who loved him, especially Jo. But at the same time I kinda do get it? I feel like it's both obviously the wrong thing to do while also being somewhat sympathetic.
My one big issue here is the fact that he and Izzie so quickly fell back into a happy relationship together including sleeping in 'their bed/room'. As if Alex wasn't married. The kids make sense to me. Alex realising he's still in love with Izzie, fine. But to just fall back into happy togetherness with her like that while still married to Jo? Uh, no. It would have worked so much better if their relationship had been left more up in the air - they love each other and he hopes that they might get back together but right now he's concentrating on the kids. Because what he did here was basically cheat on Jo, and then abandon her for the other woman which, yikes. No. That wasn't great. That I could have done without. Alex loved Jo so much and was there for her through so much, so him just dumping her so quickly for another woman (even if it's Izzie) does feel off.
And yet... in the end this is what matters to me: I love Alex Karev and he got a happy ending. It wasn't one I envisioned for him but it's a good one all the same. He's with someone he loves deeply and is happy with, and while I don't ship Alex/Izzie I'll buy it, he has twin children that he loves, he has a new job that he's great at and is happy to do. He's content. Like Cristina he's where he needs and wants to be, living his best life. And for a character I love this much that's what I want for him most.
+ God, that Meredith letter got to me hard and now I'm having so many feelings. Their relationship is my second favourite in the show (after Meredith/Cristina) and all those flashbacks and that amazingly loving letter only reminded me how wonderful they are and how much I'm going to miss them.
I loved his letter so much. So many great lines, so full of memories and their past, so heartfelt. I love that his letter to her only said 'Evil Spawn' and her called her Mer. I love that Alex doubts his ability to be a good parent he thinks of Meredith being a great mother and believes in himself. I love that he wants Mere and her kids to still be a part of his life and for her to be Aunt Mere. I love that he thinks that she could convince him to leave Izzie/the kids and return to his life in Seattle and that's part of why he can't face her. I love him telling her that she's his best friend (♥) and that he'll "miss the hell out of you". It was a good letter.
+ "You've always been your own damn person. A force of freaking nature. You've never needed anyone but you." - Alex.
+ I really wish the episode had ended with Meredith telling Zola "you know what, yes, let's go see uncle Alex". That would have been the perfect capper to this episode. This season has been doing amazing on the Cristina front in making the Meredith/Cristina relationship feel both present and important still to both of them and that's all I want going forward for Alex. I don't need an Alex mention every episode but don't have him completely disappear from Meredith's life. Have her eventually plan that trip (with her kids) to visit him and Izzie and meet her new 'niece' and 'nephew'. Have her text him about a previous patient or her love life or a case of her own. I want them to have waffle sundays every couple months and emails and phone calls at night while lying in bed. I want him to Facetime with Zola to help her with her science projects. Just don't let him disappear.
+ I feel bad for the kids. Alex has been a huge part of Zola, Bailey and Ellis's life for all of their life. For the younger two he's the only steady male figure in their lives. This is going to be a sucky adjustment for them. I really do hope we get some mention at some point of them visiting Alex and his kids.
+ God, poor Jo. No matter how this Alex situation played out she was always going to get the short end of the stick and I don't know if this is the worst version for her or not but it's pretty up there. Jo with her abandonment issues abandoned by the supportive husband who insists he still loves her. Ouch. After all she's been through and how much she's struggled and got herself into a good place this is a gut punch. I am glad that Alex acknowledged how terrible he was being to Jo by doing this and doing it this way.
+ I am really happy that they managed to get Justin Chambers to do the voice-over letter reading. If we couldn't get to see him then hearing him was the next best thing.
+ Alexis and Eli were adorable.
+ Izzie not telling Alex about using the embryos/having twins was kind of a dick move.
+ I think this would have worked better if Izzie needed Alex there. Say, her cancer came back and then out of the blue Alex calls her and so she tells him. Then he comes out and meets the kids and she tells him that she's sick again, and he decides there is no way he can leave. Even him deciding to get back together with Izzie so suddenly like that would have worked better.
+ I am so glad that Alex wrote to Bailey too because I love where their relationship progressed to. I love that he ended by telling her that he loved her. I love that his whole letter was about giving her the credit for him being a good surgeon and thanking her for mentoring him exactly as he needed.
+ I loved Bailey's reaction when he casually mentioned that he had twins with Izzie. Ha. Man, so many people from that early era are gone that there aren't really that many people who's reactions to this can be fully informed.
+ I appreciate that Alex sent a letter to Richard too and I wish we'd heard it. They started to do a thing where they connected Alex's current situation (picking Izzie/kids over wife Jo/more prestigious job) to Richard's own past choice (Adele/work over Ellis and unknowingly Maggie) and I thought they were connecting it to his current situation and how his life is in tatters with the conclusion that now that he might lose his work (his life) he's regretting making the consistent choice of work over love but they never really did. I was a little disappointed by that. He ends with everyone leaving him and not knowing how to stop it which didn't feel as connected overall.
+ I really like Linc being there for Jo but no to Jo/Linc please.
