[Grey's Anatomy in the Media: Incident Reporting]

No, I can't see the good in Alex's exit, and it's not as a Jolex shipper, but as an Alex fan. He left everyone and everything without goodbye, lied about where he was going, disappeared for weeks, and then sent these cowardly, horrible letters.

And yes I would have been equally angry about it, if they had killed him off. But I'm tired of hearing those were the only two options.

They had the easiest and best solution right in front of their eyes. They said Alex went to Iowa to help his mom. Why not stick with that and say he needed to be there for her or his siblings indefinitely? Then he and Jo could have tried long-distance that ulimately didn't work out.

[Spoilers and Spoiler Speculation: Benchmarking]

Flashbacks to the past and dead wife of a character who isn't even a regular? Are you kidding me? But in 16 seasons we couldn't even meet Alex's sister once?

[Spoilers and Spoiler Speculation: Benchmarking]

I have never read a single bad word about Justin from cast or crew. The silence is weird and suspicious, but I won't believe Justin made problems on set unlesd I read something that is credible.

I don't even remember any rumours that were mentioned on this board and I usually read this board pretty throroughly. I don't think I missed something as big a juicy BTS rumours.

[Spoilers and Spoiler Speculation: Benchmarking]

4 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

So the behind the scenes rumors about Chambers having big issues with other actors on the show, and they had o have separate scenes, now sound really accurate.   After Chambers left, they could dump the other hospital, and not have to do a separate plot for him, and Pac-whatever hospital.     My personal guess is it came to a head about the time the final episode for the first half of season finale, and they tried to strong arm Chambers into coming back to the home hospital, and he said no way.      If the show runners didn't want to stomp on Chambers, then they would have had a better explanation than leaving his wife for Izzy, and the formerly unknown kids.      I bet this ending was the threat to get the actor to come back to the main story line, and he said no way.      

I hope whatever happens, that Chambers and his family are happy.      

What behind the scenes rumors? This is the first I've ever heard about that. If anything it was actually the opposite. Justin was a very beloved among the cast. I've never heard anything other than that he was an absolutely generous, laid-back funny and humble guy.

Can you tell me where you read that Justin wasn't getting along with people?

[Spoilers and Spoiler Speculation: Benchmarking]

5 hours ago, BaseOps said:

There really was no logical option left for the writer aside from killing him off. I'll be upset if they go for the alternative of having him leave Jo because that's out of character.

But there were options! There were several at the beginning. It's just lazy writing that we ended up with ghosting everyone or death. They could have said he got a new awesome job offer elsewhere. Since Catherine bought Pac North and he got fired from Grey Sloan previously, it would only make sense that Alex would finally want to escape the Seattle doctor mess. And since they started this story by saying Alex was visiting his mom, they could have said he decided to move back to Iowa to take care of her. Either way he and Jo could have tried a long distance relationship for a while and then they could have said it didn't work out, if they wanted to keep Jo around. It's solely the writers' fault that this turned out the way that it did. In fact, it looks to me like viewers wanting Alex dead is exactly what the writers were aiming for. What else am I to make of the fact that neither his wife Jo nor his best friend Meredith were worried for even a second that something terrible could have happened to him? Cheating/leaving are the only possibilities the viewers heard over the last 4-5 weeks, so now they've had plenty of time to come to the conclusion that death is the better option. But that's not me. The only thing I want out of this is for Alex to come out of this alive.

2 hours ago, dvr devotee said:

So my bet is that police, after having finally identified him, come to the hospital to make the notification to Jo, and then everyone is in a different room of the hospital remembering their various experiences with Alex over the years. Alex's death somehow convinces Richard to not throw in the towel on being a doctor yet (or maybe not throw in the towel on his marriage?). Miranda's distress over losing another of the "babies" she "raised" helps Ben more easily agree to adopting the kid whose name I can't recall right now. Schmitt seeing Jo's devastation over losing the love of her life convinces him that life is too short to waste with someone who isn't giving you what you need in a relationship. Owen will (naturally) turn to Teddy in the sadness of the moment, probably saying something to the effect that he's so glad they made it through the war together and fought to end up together, which will make Teddy feel so incredibly guilty that she immediately confesses to Owen about whatever ended up happening with Koracik, which then also leads to the question of Amelia's baby's parentage coming out. Jo's devastation also makes Link realize that he loves Amelia so much that he doesn't care if he's the father of her baby, he just wants her. Only thing I don't have a guess about is if Amelia will take him back--I think Alex's death will bring up emotions about Derek's death, which could drive her back to Link's arms or could make her circle the wagons more tightly around her family (meaning sisters+nieces+nephew+baby).

I could so see this happening and I will hate every second of it. So many times especially in the last 5 years Alex has only been used to further other characters' storylines and I will hate it if the even use his exit that way. But I don't expect anything else from these writers.

[S16.E15: Snowblind]

So Jo is still thinking Alex left her? For weeks she's been riding the he left me/ is cheating/ ran off with another woman train and not a single thought that maybe something terrible has happened to him? Seriously Jo?? I get that the ghosting/cheating thought would be the dominant one after his cryptic text (voicemail?) about going through something and needing time, plus the radio silence after, plus finding out he's never been visiting his mother. But I would hope she knows him well enough and trusts him enough to realize that all this is so off and doesn't make sense for her husband to do. But she's not even considered for a moment that something terrible could have happened to him instead. It's insane it actually took her weeks to contact his mother. She could have gone to Iowa to find out what is going on with Alex weeks ago. Honestly, if my husband just disappeared like that for weeks and then I find out from his mother that he hasn't been with her, I would go straight to the police. Everyone is talking about what an ass Alex would be for leaving her like this, but nobody is talking about how Jo has pretty much zero trust in him and doesn't even waste a thought on the very real possibility that something happened to her husband. But I gotta say, my sympathy for Jo is very limited right now.

Especially because there's no way I believe Alex actually ghosted her and his entire life and is cheating on her. They've teased this option so much over the last 5 episodes or so that for me it's pretty clearly a red herring. I hate the mere thought, but I think they're killing him off.

Also because I doubt they would do a tribute episode for a guy who walked out on his wife/ and or is cheating on her.

My best option now is coma or amnesia. But I don't know how they could sell that without Justin being there in person.

[Spoilers and Spoiler Speculation: Benchmarking]

5 hours ago, BaseOps said:

Amelia will give birth in either 16.19 or 16.20. They are filming the episode now.

DeLuca's story is a continuation of his dad's bipolar disorder that was explored last year. It isn't a sleep disorder and it would have been planned long before Justin's exit. There is no reason to believe that there is any bad blood between Justin and the cast or writers.

So you've said before. And being a fan of Justin and knowing that he was never not supportive or loyal to the show it wouldn't make sense to me either. But it's just so weird that there's been complete radio silence from TPTB + the cast about his departure that people probably jump to conclusions.

What's more is that I can't come up with a reason why Justin would not be willing to do a goodbye arc, or hell, just a goodbye episode. Especially because I know he's a decent guy who has always been loved by all the people on set and he's never complained, not even about his character having been sidelined so much - which he was.

How did he even get out of the contract in the middle of the season? I'd really just like to have an explanation that makes sense.

[S16.E14: A Diagnosis]

7 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

Forgot to add… To everyone upset about the way its going with Alex so far… ( as we don’t actually know what the final plan is) what would you have the writers write?… Doesn’t seem like Camilla is leaving so not a ton of options

Easy! Just give him a new awesome job in a different state he wants to take. After Catherine hijacked Pac North it would make even more sense for Alex to want a job away from the Seattle doctor mess. Then he and Jo can fight (off-screen or via phone) about whether Jo wants to leave too. I think it would make neither of them a complete asshole for wanting to go/stay. Well, maybe Jo would look a little worse for not going, but I don't think it would do too much damage to her character. And frankly, the top priority in that situation should be to give Alex a half-decent exit. He's an OG and that's the least they should have done. Instead they are cooking up some bullshit that will lead to God knows what kind of stupid resolution.

EDIT: also what Evie said right above me. Really there were several ways to handle this better than what they went for. But they're sacrificing reason for drama as always.

[Grey's Anatomy in the Media: Incident Reporting]

2 hours ago, Evie said:

I don't know but my first impression from that statement is that he probably did leave/was let out of his contract for personal reasons that he clearly does not want to talk about so he's focusing on life after Grey's instead. 

That's fair. I did think maybe he wanted to deflect. I do wish him the best and he needs to do what's best for him. But I am also super sad this is the way it ends for Alex. I was so invested in this character.

[Grey's Anatomy in the Media: Incident Reporting]

I'm more and more confused. Obviously he's not gonna tell the public if he had/has to face some severe tragedy in life, but all of his statements sound like he was just done with Grey's and is looking to do other projects. But why not do a little good-bye arc then? And how was he left out of his contract so easily, if it wasn't for personal reasons?

[Grey's Anatomy in the Media: Incident Reporting]

3 hours ago, Norma Desmond said:

I remember Justin's short stint on "Cold Case". He left abruptly too, I am not sure why or if he left to join Grey's.

As far as I know that was because TPTB didn't think he had the right chemistry with the female lead.

[Grey's Anatomy in the Media: Incident Reporting]

 

1 minute ago, anna0852 said:

I'm guessing whatever personal issues prompted his break turned out to be much bigger to deal with. And if that's the case maybe he's guarding his privacy and his coworkers are cooperating by not posting stuff online. 

Yeah it must be really severe if he decided to quit altogether. Now I'm worried he or his family might be ill.

I wonder if we will finally hear something from cast & crew once the show comes back. I'd expect them to wish him well and thank him for his work at the very least.

[Grey's Anatomy in the Media: Incident Reporting]

6 minutes ago, BaseOps said:

Per a friend of mine who is... familiar with the set, Chambers wasn't being let go. He wasn't moving to any spin-off (there was never a Pac-Gen spinoff on the table). He was signed on through the end of next season. He's very well-liked on set, good friends with Ellen, Jesse, etc. He asked for time off for personal issues, which he was granted, and then amidst that break, he approached ABC and the producers asking to be let go from his contract immediately. 

So maybe a new project was offered to him that he didn't want to miss out on?

Regardless, if this story is true I'm disappointed in Justin that he didn't care enough about the character or the fans to give Alex a proper ending.

I don't blame him for wanting to leave, because the lack of screentime and storylines was insulting, but this? This is not okay.

[Grey's Anatomy in the Media: Incident Reporting]

But who would turn down a spin-off that will give your character more focus?

If anything I could see Justin demanding more of something (Storylines? Screentime? Money?) and TPTB refusing. Because I could absolutely see those people having an "Do it our way or get out" attitude.

It bothers me that we will never know what exactly went down. I feel so disrespected as a fan by this curveball.

I'm also not sure that story about his mental health issues is legit. So far there has only been one site that wrote about it. Not a single other media outlet has picked it up. That makes me wary.

[Grey's Anatomy in the Media: Incident Reporting]

Things still don't add up to me. Like some others suggested, if Justin needs to take care of his health wouldn't he have opted for an extended leave of absence instead of quitting the show so suddenly? Especially, because there have been so many seasons in different stages of this show where Alex was treated like a side character. Justin certainly must have been annoyed about it, but if it didn't make him quit before, why now? He always seemed to enjoy that he had a steady gig that brought in good money and a daily routine.

But even if it reached the point where he couldn't take it anymore, in addition to alleged mental health problems, I'd want to believe he cared enough about the character (and the fans) to want some sort of proper ending for him. But this... this is just so weird I can't make sense of it.

[Grey's Anatomy in the Media: Incident Reporting]

This is how it ends for my favourite TV character ever? This just sucks. This shit show is dead to me now.

[S16.E09: Let's All Go to the Bar]

What a joke.

I knew this episode would be lame once they went over the top in their promotion for this episode by using the word "shocking" way too many times.

I like DeLuca but the way he keeps running after her is silly and makes me like him less. Even in dumping her he was wishy-washy. And Meredith is not likable in that relationship. I never really buy it that she actually cares for him, let alone loves him. In short, they are just not right for each other. They both deserve better.

Why the hell should Koracik still want to be with Teddy? She's such a wet blanket.

Jo stole that baby? Another person on this show who did something stupid and legally questionable. On this show this means she will probably get rewarded for it and she and Alex will adopt that baby (not that Alex really matters in that scenario, because he never does, but I will get to that in a moment).

So that was the big cliffhanger? A bunch of people I don't care about (minus Ben maybe) are trapped in the bar and might get smashed by a car? Yawn.

You know who I care about? Alex! He is at this point the sole and only reason I still put up with this nonsense show. And then he isn't even in the episode? And it's the fall finale no less. This season has been one giant joke for him so far. The Pac North story has barely had any movement so far, 9 eps in I still don't have a clue what its purpose is. Several episodes he got nothing else to do than being the emotional support guy/cheerleader for other characters (Jo, Meredith, Maggie) and when they did give him a story (Hallowen) it was just for comedic relief. At this point they can't make it more obvious that nobody in that writers room gives a rat's ass about Alex as a character.

[S16.E08: My Shot]

On 11/19/2019 at 11:52 PM, krankydoodle said:

This is reminding me of the plot where Alex blabs about Meredith violating protocols so Richard's wife doesn't get the placebo during the clinical trial for a potential Alzheimer's treatment. IIRC, Alex did it deliberately, but he also got iced out by everyone and I remember Owen asking him something like, "What did you expect? You betrayed the most beloved person at this hospital." Even then, I remember thinking: Really? Her?

Yup, I remember this. I also hated it because it was the stupidest justification ever. Alex was punished by Owen for ratting out The Sun when she was the one who had broken the law. It was so unprofessional of Owen. His reasoning was just so dumb.

[Spoilers and Spoiler Speculation: Benchmarking]

20 hours ago, BaseOps said:

Meredith and DeLuca won't be broken up for long. Per Ellen's instagram story, she has a love scene with Giacomo in the episode that Jesse Williams is directing right now, which is 16x13. 

I saw that story, but was hoping that love scene is with someone else. I guess no such luck 😕

This pairing is not working and I wish KV would finally realize it.

[S16.E08: My Shot]

Reading the merciless snark on this board after yet another eye-roll worthy episode might be one of the only good things that are left of Grey's. So keep it coming!

[S16.E07: Papa Don't Preach]

So this was basically another centric, with only 2 stories and only 4 (5 if you count Catherine which I hate to do) of the main characters affected. With the one two weeks ago and the one following next week about Meredith that makes 3 centrics in 9 episodes.

Don't get me wrong, I love that I don't have to see all of these characters every episode, but I can't help noticing that Alex is never one of the characters who has had an active story in any centric and they've been doing lots of them the past few seasons. I'm so beyond tired of Alex always being sidelined.

[S04.E04: Flip a Coin]

6 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Yes! We're finally getting into the Married Teen Kevin saga! I've been waiting for them to explore that for a couple of seasons, at least.

Me too! But I'm very sceptical if they will thoroughly explore it. I want to see the wedding itself and all that led up to it, actually SEE it and not just have it recounted as they tell the family. It seems to me that next week will be all about the reaction of the family. From the promo teen Kate's story already seems more front and center than Kevin's. But what I really need is some real insight into teen Kevin & Sophie's relationship. Also can teen Sophie finally be allowed to be more than Kevin's arm candy? I want some real focus on their relationship for once. Teen Sophie first appeared in s1, but we have seen nothing of their relationship so far.

[Spoilers and Spoiler Speculation: Benchmarking]

Meanwhile Alex still has never been part of a single centric episode...

[S16.E01: Nothing Left to Cling To]

14 minutes ago, dmc said:

Seriously I can't believe you would go there for help with depression.  Also why did they take her ring?

Not to mention the drawstrings from her hoodie. I guess it was done so she didn't have anything on her to hurt herself. But dear lord could that scene have been any more over the top? She admitted herself voluntarily and while she acknowledged having suicial thoughts, she has never actually tried it. So was that really necessary? Maybe it is common procedure for every patient who stays at a psych hospital  but then it's still OTT. And yeah I agree, that place, Jo's room especially looked nothing like a place you would go to for healing. It was ridiculous how they made everything extra dire.

47 minutes ago, anna0852 said:

Jo going into a spiral always made total sense to me. She'd been able to tell herself that her mother couldn't care for her, that she was loved but that her mom did the best she did, etc. Finding out that instead she was a product of rape that her mother could barely stand to look at and that her mother could barely acknowledge she even existed, must have been crushing. Not to mention she was left at a fire station long before any safe haven laws were actually in place.  Jo was not safe dropped, she was abandoned.

It's not the spiral itself I can't understand. It's the fact that she thought in-patient treatment was what she thought she needed as opposed to regular therapy. At the end of last season she just went there without any explanation whatsoever. It's such lazy writing IMO. It's like they jumped to a conclusion without giving us any real insight into the characters thoughts and feelings.

I used to like Jo so much, but the superficial way her stories are told has soured me a bit on the character. And there's just never a clear characterization with her. She doesn't even feel like the same person she was back in s9 & 10. And that's too bad, because that was when I liked her best.

[S16.E01: Nothing Left to Cling To]

56 minutes ago, dmc said:

I thought Jo was just depressed?  I am curious why she needed in patient versus out patient treatment?  Was it also the drinking?

No, it was just never explained. Not in the s15 finale, nor in yesterday's premiere. Who cares about the characters motivations if you can raise awareness for another important social issue. Making a statement is the only thing that counts now.