Spoilers and Spoiler Speculation: Benchmarking

[beautifulGA]

2 hours ago, BaseOps said:

I'm convinced that there's no way April dies. The social media accounts have never done THIS much over an episode like this. I just don't think they'd give it away if she actually dies; it seems like they're setting us up to be worried and then be relieved when she survives.

agreed on the non dying part. but I'm not so sure about april's physical/mental fitness post trauma. the episode is being hyped no doubt, even sarah is live tweeting - but she doesn't sounds that excited - which kinda means april will survive but we probably won't be happy.

[BaseOps]

She specifically posted about filming at prospect studios while they were shooting the finale, which is what throws me off re: a death. It also looked like she was at the filming of Jolex's wedding. Unless they're giving her a big Mark Sloan send-off with flashbacks, etc. I do also find it odd that Sarah is live-tweeting tonight, but even if she survives it seems clear that tonight will be the bigger April episode as it's seemingly dinmostly about her, whereas a finale has to give something to every character (and we know there's the Jolex wedding). I suppose ABC could be trying to prepare fans so there isn't so much shock / blowback if she does die.

Edited May 10, 2018 by BaseOps

[GSMHvisitor]

I don't think April is dying at all.

I think they're just overhyping the whole thing. Immensely. Kinda pisses me off, because it's the 2nd to last episode of the season and it looks like it's almost a centric.

As for Sarah livetweeting - I assume that is happening, because it was a huge episode for her and the last time she's really the center of attention. In the finale her story will just be one of multiple. It makes sense to me that she wants to livetweet the last episode where April stands out.

Plus Ellen Pompeo has pretty much confirmed neither April nor Arizona gonna get a tragic exit. I know she says a lot of weird/questionable stuff, but I don't think she would lie that blatantly.

[Pallas]

Makes sense to me that a featured actor highlighted in any Shondaland ep would do social media promoting it. I'm pretty sure they are contractually obliged. 

2 hours ago, beautifulGA said:

the episode is being hyped no doubt, even sarah is live tweeting - but she doesn't sounds that excited -

She's doing downtime publicity -- two weeks after she wrapped -- for the show that laid her off. If her excitement is contagious, I hope I don't catch it. 

[JNM5505]

Isn't Sarah out of her contract with Shondaland and ABC, though? That expired back in March, she has no obligation to them now. She's doing it because she knows fans will be upset no matter what happens and she wants to comment on those tweets by upset fans. I am so glad I am not on Twitter, I was looking through that thread which was referenced a few posts ago about Sarah defending Kelly, people get so vicious. It's like a mob mentality over there. Jesus Christ AM.

Another earlier post on this thread say they think April is going to be paralyzed. That's definitely a possibility, and to back up with another earlier speculation on this thread where they said someone is being proposed to. That could be April/Matthew. But why, why would they settle for the other? I don't understand, but whatever.

So in this episode, after watching the promo/trailer/whatever for the fifth time, here's what I think happens: (I agree April doesn't die). Beware, another reference to a Derek-centric fic (made one on Tumblr earlier) it's a thing of fix-it fanfiction. /nosarcasm #afraiditstrue

Anyways, April flatlines and they're about to call time of death. Or maybe they do, and all the machines, etc are unhooked, unplugged, disconnected, they pull the sheet over her and leave Jackson alone in the room with her. Much like Meredith saying "Derek, Derek" a hundred times hoping he would wake up (but his brain was excavated by those dipshit doctors, whatever) Jackson will be all mournful, refusing to accept April is really gone. But bam, her pinkie finger moves. Is it post-mortem spasm? Nope, April truly is alive.

Doctors return, yada yada. Turns out April is not dead after all, but she has been paralyzed. End of story.

Next week (May 17) episode will probably have a time jump, she's all better and out of the hospital, sitting in a wheelchair at Jo and Alex's wedding. :)

Yes, told you, thing of fix-it fanfiction. If this doesn't happen tonight, I guarantee you someone will make a fanfic of it.

[mkmusic]

10 minutes ago, kinnej5 said:

Doctors return, yada yada. Turns out April is not dead after all, but she has been paralyzed. End of story.

I agree with this, but I honestly think this episode will end with her eyes opening + next week will be the fallout AND time jump. Only time will tell....

[Chick2Chic]

23 hours ago, kinnej5 said:

I am so happy Sarah told those rabid 'fans' (quotation marks because they're not true fans) off for bashing on Kelly McCreary. I see nothing wrong with the actress herself, she's gorgeous with a brilliant smile and hair I'd die for. Sure, I'd be too lazy to manage it appropriately, but living with straight-as-stick hair for 33 years does get a bit tiring and blah.

I agree. And I am glad a lot of media sites picked up the story. I just wonder how nasty the stuff she saw was to prompt her to tweet what she did. Had to be pretty vile. I wish I could be surprised but misogynoir no longer shocks me, unfortunately. 

[Anela]

On 5/8/2018 at 5:02 PM, Chick2Chic said:

Grey’s Anatomy's Sarah Drew Urges Angry Fans to 'Stop Attacking' Co-Star

I'm happy Sarah Drew made a statement as I've read some seriously vile comments about Kelly McCreary - usually about her looks or speech pattern - over something that is out of her control. The misogynoir has been really awful to read. Kelly McCreary doesn't deserve it yet she's been bearing the brunt of some OTT anger misplaced her way about a fictional couple whose break-up had nothing to do with her character nor does Kelly McCreary have control over which actors the showrunners fire.

Wonderful to read Sarah Drew stand up for a colleague and tell people to knock off the unnecessary vitriol about / towards Kelly McCreary. She's not wrong on how extra some folks are being over both character and actress. I have to wonder what Sarah Drew has seen that made her put out that statement. As long as Sarah Drew has been on the show and knowing how passionate fans are about characters and ships, what she has seen must be really vile for her to make that statement for folks to stop being nasty to/about Kelly McCreary. 

I saw that when she posted it, but haven't seen the nasty stuff. That's terrible. One of the actors from The Walking Dead, shut down all social media when people started attacking him over something the character had done, he was so upset. He used to love to interact with the fans. 

6 hours ago, Deanie87 said:

I was feeling that way, but now I'm not so sure.  (Waiting for EW to show up and blow the spoiler)  I'm kind of surprised that Sarah is putting so much emphasis on tonight vs. next week, which makes me think that we find out her fate tonight, which really only means one thing.   Now on top of a death, I'm worried about a big time jump and some kind of afterlife segment in the next episode, none of which I'm excited for.

I was surprised, too. I hope she doesn't die, or that we don't have April doing a Dead Denny. She sounded like it was going to be really sad. 

[JNM5505]

Some dicktwat on Tumblr is giving away spoilers for tonight's episode, things that we have no idea of unless we watch.

Fucking asstwat. /rant

[BaseOps]

I'm watching now. 7 minutes in and it feels like a typical BIG Grey's episode. Nice little twist already, too.

1 minute ago, kinnej5 said:

Some dicktwat on Tumblr is giving away spoilers for tonight's episode, things that we have no idea of unless we watch.

Fucking asstwat. /rant

Maybe stay off twitter. It's airing in Canada.

[pennben]

7 hours ago, Deanie87 said:

(Waiting for EW to show up and blow the spoiler)  

Ha! I checked the spoiler thread earlier today to see if there had been any screwup like when Dempsey was leaving. That was one helluva whoopsie!  As I recall, wasn't this issue that they had forgotten (didn't care?) that mail subscribers sometimes got the issues earlier than when they went on the rack in stores that led to that whopper because EW wanted the exclusive with Dempsey out the day after the episode?

[BaseOps]

The finale promo made me smile so much! I'm sure it won't be ALL happy but I love that the Alex / Jo "drama" seems silly rather than over the top and awful.

Edited May 11, 2018 by BaseOps

[pennben]

Half-way through the episode tonight, I became more and more convinced that Alex was going to give away his wedding to April/Matthew, the same way Meredith gave him/Izzie her wedding with Derek.  On the one hand, I thought that would have been a uniquely Grey's tradition!  On the other, I like that they are bringing the "drama" in a different way. But......maybe April/Matthew grab the wedding while Alex/Jo are in the shed?!:) And Alex/Jo get married on the boat?

[ForeverAlone]

Now I am wondering just what the hell April's exit story is. It's likely tied to Matthew in some way (boo!), but simply getting married or whatever they want to do with the two of them, wouldn't require her to leave her job. Please tell me she doesn't marry Matthew and then decides to quit her job to raise both of their children. I have zero indication that would happen, but that choice would piss me off, because I think it is ridiculous. We know that Arizona is moving for Sofia's sake, so now we just need to know what reason they give April for leaving the hospital. 

[LexieLily]

Maybe something related to the accident? Amelia did the initial scans to eliminate the possibility of brain damage but perhaps there is another symptom that manifests itself later.

[Pallas]

I'm thinking April and Matthew move near the "rural hospital" where they were volunteering, and take jobs there. 

[anna0852]

That makes perfect sense. It's close enough that she can continue to co-parent with Jackson but far enough for her to be realistically off screen. And gives her a happy ending.

[Snow Fairy]

I just watched the finale promo. I think Jo and Alex get married on a boat. And the original wedding will end up being April and Matthew's. So it won?t get "wasted" when they don't show up

[Deanie87]

10 hours ago, pennben said:

Half-way through the episode tonight, I became more and more convinced that Alex was going to give away his wedding to April/Matthew, the same way Meredith gave him/Izzie her wedding with Derek.  On the one hand, I thought that would have been a uniquely Grey's tradition!  On the other, I like that they are bringing the "drama" in a different way. But......maybe April/Matthew grab the wedding while Alex/Jo are in the shed?!:) And Alex/Jo get married on the boat?

That's what I'm thinking.  I guess its "full circle" for Alex, but I think its kind of cheesy that they may do a wedding "switcheroo" again.  On the other hand, I think that its perfect that Alex and Jo sneak off, mostly to have sex, and get locked in a shed LOL!  That is much more in character for them than a fancy wedding I think.  But as always, I wonder who is going to get the reception bill at the end of the night!

[Snow Fairy]

Well, April did plan the whole wedding. So she might as well get married there

[shantown]

10 hours ago, pennben said:

Half-way through the episode tonight, I became more and more convinced that Alex was going to give away his wedding to April/Matthew, the same way Meredith gave him/Izzie her wedding with Derek.  On the one hand, I thought that would have been a uniquely Grey's tradition!  On the other, I like that they are bringing the "drama" in a different way. But......maybe April/Matthew grab the wedding while Alex/Jo are in the shed?!:) And Alex/Jo get married on the boat?

10 minutes ago, Deanie87 said:

That's what I'm thinking.  I guess its "full circle" for Alex, but I think its kind of cheesy that they may do a wedding "switcheroo" again.  On the other hand, I think that its perfect that Alex and Jo sneak off, mostly to have sex, and get locked in a shed LOL!  That is much more in character for them than a fancy wedding I think.  But as always, I wonder who is going to get the reception bill at the end of the night!

Now I really, really want Alex to give April/Matthew the wedding! It would be a nice callback to earlier seasons, a nice full circle for Alex, and a good sendoff for April. PLEASE let this be what happens!

[tua20782]

It's a repeat of what has happened before and since that's all krista does, this is the most likely scenerio.

 

At some point it stops being a call back and is just a matter of laziness and lack of creativity.

Edited May 11, 2018 by tua20782
More words

[Guest]

15 hours ago, kinnej5 said:

 

Isn't Sarah out of her contract with Shondaland and ABC, though? That expired back in March, she has no obligation to them now. She's doing it because she knows fans will be upset no matter what happens and she wants to comment on those tweets by upset fans. 

 

She could still be contractually obligated to do this, and even if she isn’t, it is a way to please her fans. With a new show coming up, I can see her wanting to keep her fan base happy in hopes they follow her to C&L.

[LaughingOne]

8 minutes ago, shantown said:

Now I really, really want Alex to give April/Matthew the wedding! It would be a nice callback to earlier seasons, a nice full circle for Alex, and a good sendoff for April. PLEASE let this be what happens!

Ugh, I would hate this. If I was Matthew's mom and he came to tell me that he got married a couple months after his wife died and his child was born (not to mention married to the woman that RAN OFF WITH ANOTHER GUY AT THEIR WEDDING), I would drag him to see a therapist immediately. It's just such lazy writing that has zero concern for their characters' history. If they wanted to re-build Mapril, that's fine. They should've started doing that six months ago rather than lazily doing an exposition relationship.

[Pallas]

50 minutes ago, Snow Fairy said:

Well, April did plan the whole wedding. So she might as well get married there

And didn't Izzie plan the wedding that Meredith re-gifted her? 

ETA: @shantown said,

Quote

Now I really, really want Alex to give April/Matthew the wedding! It would be a nice callback to earlier seasons, a nice full circle for Alex, and a good sendoff for April.

Especially with the eulogy that Alex gave April over her cold live body. The parallel to Bailey's, "I thought you were a pixie stick," to Arizona.

Edited May 11, 2018 by Pallas

[Evie]

11 hours ago, pennben said:

Half-way through the episode tonight, I became more and more convinced that Alex was going to give away his wedding to April/Matthew, the same way Meredith gave him/Izzie her wedding with Derek.  On the one hand, I thought that would have been a uniquely Grey's tradition!  On the other, I like that they are bringing the "drama" in a different way. But......maybe April/Matthew grab the wedding while Alex/Jo are in the shed?!:) And Alex/Jo get married on the boat?

I hadn't thought of that, but now I totally see it happening. It would be crazy for April and Matthew to get married, but the setup is there: April planning the wedding, the wedding being very not Jo and Alex, the near death experience to make them seize the day.

I hate TV weddings so as a Jo and Alex fan, I would like it if they just exchanged vows alone in the shed (in a funny but sweet way), signed a marriage license when they got out, and went to the boat to party. 

[funnygirl]

I figure they're on a boat (looks like a ferry from the promotional pictures) as a means to get to the wedding location.  

[shantown]

3 hours ago, tua20782 said:

At some point it stops being a call back and is just a matter of laziness and lack of creativity.

I hated the last 5 seasons so anything that calls back to earlier ones, I'll take it! (I see your point though, with it being a retread of stories already done)

I just want a happy little boat wedding for Jo/Alex and a big happy fancy wedding for April/Matthew and I want a season finale that is fun and happy and hopeful and not full of death and fire and gloom and broken hearts.

[chitowngirl]

I don’t see April and Matthew getting married in the finale. Just because they’re in love doesn’t mean they are ready for marriage yet.  And there’s that pesky license that they probably don’t have.

[tua20782]

1 hour ago, shantown said:

I hated the last 5 seasons so anything that calls back to earlier ones, I'll take it! (I see your point though, with it being a retread of stories already done)

I just want a happy little boat wedding for Jo/Alex and a big happy fancy wedding for April/Matthew and I want a season finale that is fun and happy and hopeful and not full of death and fire and gloom and broken hearts.

Congrats on getting what you want. If only I knew I wouldn't have wasted the past 5 years watching.

[Deanie87]

14.24 Sneak Peek

Edited May 16, 2018 by Deanie87

[beautifulGA]

alex and Jo sneaking in a quickie reminded me of Charlotte and cooper doing the same in PP. krista's lack of creativity is showing lol. 

[Chas411]

Honestly I'm just happy it's being played for lolz and the wedding fiasco looks lighthearted. 

[Deanie87]

4 hours ago, Chas411 said:

Honestly I'm just happy it's being played for lolz and the wedding fiasco looks lighthearted. 

Me too. I never watched PP so this is new to me.  And I think that this is much more in character for Jo and Alex than a fancy wedding, as beautiful as it looks. I hope there are some nice moments between them and it’s not all slapstick, but Camilla is cracking me up so far with her screams and her spitting her sex hair out of her eyes.

[Chas411]

Yeah I have to say despite my issues with this season one thing I've loved is the direction they've taken with Jo. Her past has been explored albeit only slightly and they've managed to make it relevant to what's happening around the episodes rather then just having her spit out how she lived in her car once a season. 

Also, they're making her funnier which after Nearly three seasons of whining is such a welcome change. I think Camilla plays it well and it's bringing out the best in Jolex. 

[BaseOps]

So... Debbie Allen seemingly just confirmed on Instagram that someone who isn't Alex/Jo get married. Here comes the April / Matthew wedding! 

[Deanie87]

1 hour ago, BaseOps said:

So... Debbie Allen seemingly just confirmed on Instagram that someone who isn't Alex/Jo get married. Here comes the April / Matthew wedding! 

I'm kind of skeptical about that and I hope she's trolling.  I don't think that Jo and Alex will get married at the venue, but I don't think anyone else will either.  Don't forget there is some other rando bride to contend with.

[BaseOps]

Also, the Grey's Instagram account just posted a photo that shows Kim Raver at the final table read... 

Edited May 17, 2018 by BaseOps

[JNM5505]

I agree that Debbie Allen might just be trolling us.

Also, I am so happy to see Peyton has returned! Just checked her page, she's from Toronto! I wonder if she knows Caterina's family. :)

[Yes, I am aware she and Caterina may not actually be from Toronto, like I say I'm from Boston but not really. Boston is a city everyone around the world recognizes.]

Edited May 17, 2018 by kinnej5

[anna0852]

2 hours ago, BaseOps said:

Also, the Grey's Instagram account just posted a photo that shows Kim Raver at the final table read... 

Crap, Teddy's probably pregnant.......

[chitowngirl]

2 hours ago, anna0852 said:

Crap, Teddy's probably pregnant.......

Ding ding ding!

[BaseOps]

Me: * Excited that the cast is down to 10 regulars for the first time in years *

Also me: * Dreading the inevitable press release announcing that Teddy, Carina & all 4 interns will become regulars *

Edited May 18, 2018 by BaseOps

[doingthejackal]

So I am remembering that blind item that theorized that Sarah Drew was fired to clear the way for Maggie/Jackson, with her having pitched the loss of faith storyline which was originally intended to lead to a Jackson/April reunion. If that's true--and I'm tinfoil hat enough to believe it is--I'm looking at the finale and wondering: how was April's story supposed to go? Was Matthew always supposed to return, or was that the first change? I can't decide, though I think for sure he wasn't supposed to stick around. Before she was let go, Sarah had an interview where she said that April wasn't ready to move on or something like that. So...my guess as it was originally pitched by Sarah (that Jesse Williams was on board for): When April apologizes to Jackson, that moment would have led to him slowly starting to Have Feelings Again, that he realizes or not, and the near death experience was supposed to bring them back together, him praying for her the big climax to show his depth of feeling. Jackson breaks up with Maggie in the finale (unless the writers are cruel and have Jackson and April reunite before he ends things with Maggie...hmm), and there is a Jackson/April reunion--or at least a kiss--to end the year.

And then Maggie enters the next season having been rejected by three guys and spirals in response so she's dark and twisty--a real Grey sister. Shit, now I wish I could see that. Drink that tequila, Maggie!

Okay, maybe the last part wasn't in the original plan, but it's in mine. Anyway, that's my guess. Tinfoil hat off. For now.

[BaseOps]

21 minutes ago, doingthejackal said:

So I am remembering that blind item that theorized that Sarah Drew was fired to clear the way for Maggie/Jackson, with her having pitched the loss of faith storyline which was originally intended to lead to a Jackson/April reunion. If that's true--and I'm tinfoil hat enough to believe it is--I'm looking at the finale and wondering: how was April's story supposed to go? Was Matthew always supposed to return, or was that the first change? I can't decide, though I think for sure he wasn't supposed to stick around. Before she was let go, Sarah had an interview where she said that April wasn't ready to move on or something like that. So...my guess as it was originally pitched by Sarah (that Jesse Williams was on board for): When April apologizes to Jackson, that moment would have led to him slowly starting to Have Feelings Again, that he realizes or not, and the near death experience was supposed to bring them back together, him praying for her the big climax to show his depth of feeling. Jackson breaks up with Maggie in the finale (unless the writers are cruel and have Jackson and April reunite before he ends things with Maggie...hmm), and there is a Jackson/April reunion--or at least a kiss--to end the year.

And then Maggie enters the next season having been rejected by three guys and spirals in response so she's dark and twisty--a real Grey sister. Shit, now I wish I could see that. Drink that tequila, Maggie!

Okay, maybe the last part wasn't in the original plan, but it's in mine. Anyway, that's my guess. Tinfoil hat off. For now.

They wouldn't have to fire her to make Jaggie happen, though. This is what confuses me most about the fans hating on Maggie (not you) - Jackson and April have been broken up for several seasons now. No one needed to be written off to make Jaggie happen; it happened while April was still there (and the seed was planted before Vernoff showed up). I doubt the near-death experience was planned before Sarah's exit was, but of course I could be wrong. To me, it was clearly used as a big 'goodbye' and catalyst to have her quit. Sarah & Jessica were notified in early March that they were being let go, so the decision was likely made sometime in February. By that point, it was already decided to have Matthew return at least once (14x19) as his episode was filmed before Sarah was even notified, and certainly planned much much before (episodes break / are written weeks in advance of filming). 

I really think that, as with most situations, the simplest explanation is probably the true one: Krista wanted to scale back the cast and April & Arizona had the least ties to Meredith so they got cut. While I think April still had a ton of potential story to tell, I get it. But I wish she and Arizona both stayed around. 

Edited May 19, 2018 by BaseOps

[Chas411]

I said it in the episode thread but looking at how thrown together her exit was I think the original plan was to kill April off until they saw the backlash her exit was causing do they backtracked and gave her that non sensical but happy ending instead.

[AprilShowers0417]

16 hours ago, Chas411 said:

I said it in the episode thread but looking at how thrown together her exit was I think the original plan was to kill April off until they saw the backlash her exit was causing do they backtracked and gave her that non sensical but happy ending instead.

I agree that the original plan was to kill April off. The entire season, she was in a downward spiral: drinking, partying, coming to work hungover, having sex with interns, not believing, etc. She even did an "Apology Tour" and told Jackson that she was happy that Harriet had him to look after her. It really seemed like they were foreshadowing either suicide or a drunk driving accident resulting in death (probably with April behind the wheel - could have been the original plan for 14x23).

If they didn't anticipate the fan backlash, they may have been ordered to change April's ending to a happier one. The ending they gave April...makes no sense at all. The timeline doesn't make sense and it seems like they literally pulled it together at the last minute. In their defense: Shonda has said that Derek and Mark needed to die when the actors left because neither character would leave their children behind. There's no way April would leave Harriet and Jackson would never let April take Harriet if April moved out of Seattle. So their options are basically limited to death or coming up with a reason that April stays in Seattle but is never seen. So, if they were forced to change to a happy exit, they're basically forced to come up with a reason that she stays in Seattle for Harriet but doesn't work at the hospital. 

[JNM5505]

I also agree that 14x23 was probably written part of the way before the fan backlash came to public attention. There are bits and pieces from that episode (and the previous, as someone said, with April saying Harriet's all set) that April was supposed to die. Funny, because someone a few posts above mentioned suicide, and that's what I thought she was going to do many episodes ago, in that shower scene. I completely expected her to be staring dead-eyed at  the wall, and then a bloody knife appears. But no, we saw Vik and a bit more. Ew.

I like the naieve idea someone on the previous page mentioned. I know it's stupid, and it's fan fufilling. But I like it. Well, I more like the idea of Maggie being all hell bent out of shape and downing tequila by the bottle. There's Amelia in the background biting her lips and Betty arguing that she wants to join Maggie on the binge drinking.

"Aw, c'mon Amy! Learn to have some fun!"

(I don't think she knows about her drug and alcohol addiction?)

[LexieLily]

18 hours ago, AprilShowers0417 said:

I agree that the original plan was to kill April off. The entire season, she was in a downward spiral: drinking, partying, coming to work hungover, having sex with interns, not believing, etc. She even did an "Apology Tour" and told Jackson that she was happy that Harriet had him to look after her. It really seemed like they were foreshadowing either suicide or a drunk driving accident resulting in death (probably with April behind the wheel - could have been the original plan for 14x23).

If they didn't anticipate the fan backlash, they may have been ordered to change April's ending to a happier one. The ending they gave April...makes no sense at all. The timeline doesn't make sense and it seems like they literally pulled it together at the last minute. In their defense: Shonda has said that Derek and Mark needed to die when the actors left because neither character would leave their children behind. There's no way April would leave Harriet and Jackson would never let April take Harriet if April moved out of Seattle. So their options are basically limited to death or coming up with a reason that April stays in Seattle but is never seen. So, if they were forced to change to a happy exit, they're basically forced to come up with a reason that she stays in Seattle for Harriet but doesn't work at the hospital. 

I think I mentioned this in the episode thread but why did her happy ending have to be about a man at all? If the show is set on Jackson/Maggie and thus April can't be with Jackson, so be it. Jackson and April can be friends and co-parents, and April and Matthew could have continued their volunteer work at wherever they were volunteering the day of the accident and becoming friends again, slowly, or at the very least Matthew could have forgiven her for the wedding debacle five years ago and/or more currently for Karen's death. There wasn't a story need to have April/Matthew fall in love again and marry, given that April isn't on the show any longer. 

[LaughingOne]

7 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I think I mentioned this in the episode thread but why did her happy ending have to be about a man at all? If the show is set on Jackson/Maggie and thus April can't be with Jackson, so be it. Jackson and April can be friends and co-parents, and April and Matthew could have continued their volunteer work at wherever they were volunteering the day of the accident and becoming friends again, slowly, or at the very least Matthew could have forgiven her for the wedding debacle five years ago and/or more currently for Karen's death. There wasn't a story need to have April/Matthew fall in love again and marry, given that April isn't on the show any longer. 

Considering that this episode would’ve been written after public backlash to Sarah and Jessica’s firings, my guess is that Krista opted for a happy ending for April to try to appease fans. And since Krista is completely clueless about April’s character and has no desire to write for her, she went the easiest ending for that would make a sweet, Christian, country girl like April happy... marriage.  

 

Can you tell how much I hate April’s ending? 

[LexieLily]

11 minutes ago, LaughingOne said:

Considering that this episode would’ve been written after public backlash to Sarah and Jessica’s firings, my guess is that Krista opted for a happy ending for April to try to appease fans. And since Krista is completely clueless about April’s character and has no desire to write for her, she went the easiest ending for that would make a sweet, Christian, country girl like April happy... marriage.  

 

Can you tell how much I hate April’s ending? 

I don't care for it either. I guess I was more of a Jackson/April shipper than I thought! And I know Grey's Anatomy is really a soap opera no matter how much it might pretend that it isn't but I don't see this version of April/Matthew going the distance. Like someone in the episode thread mentioned this isn't a scenario where they have been pining for the last five years for "the one that got away." The show made it clear the two of them hadn't had any contact until the day Ruby was born/Karen died and then not until Ruby came to the hospital for failure to thrive. This April and this Matthew don't know much if anything about each other and Arizona's info-dump that they bonded over their shared loss of him losing a wife and her losing a child makes little sense, when it was the exact shared tragedy of losing Samuel that was the catalyst in driving Jackson/April apart. If April wasn't being written off I would fully expect the season premiere to be April coming to the realization that Matthew was subconsciously using her as a rebound and/or a way to delay facing his grief over Karen's death, and for there to be a quiet divorce or annulment.