Unfortunate Surgeons (Grey's Anatomy 8x24 Flight Episode Review)

The surgeons of Seattle Grace Hospital always face unlucky and quite absurd moments during their work. From sudden deaths, to shoot outs, to endless love affairs, to screaming and scolding in the operating room. And most recently, this critically acclaimed drama added another major conundrum: a plane crash. 

And weeks before the airing of the season finale, creator Shonda Rhimes had all warned us on a major character death.

So... without further ado, the most unfortunate doctor this episode is....

Little Grey. Yes. It's Lexie Grey. The sister of the show's lead character Meredith Grey. Because, apparently, there can only be one Grey in Grey's Anatomy. It's not Greys' Anatomy for crying out loud.

But here's another surprise in the episode. Lexie did not die during the final 5 minutes of the show. She passed away within the episode's first twenty minutes.... with some sad and touching 'goodbye' scene with her on-and-off love interest Mark Sloan. 

A few hours before the airing of the season finale, Rhimes has tweeted: 

“Do not expect to be comforted or happy at end of the GA finale. I wrote it and even I found the ending to be very unsettling.”

And boy, she was right. The ending was... weird and very unsettling. It's not much of a cliffhanger since we know they will survive anyway(?), but ending it like that reminds me a lot of Lost's pilot ep. Better watch out for a black smoke then, huh?

As for Lexie's death, I was not expecting it to be her. I had a feeling it's going to be Arizona since her storyline with Callie is getting repetitive and boring. It's about time to give Callie another buzz shot so we can all see her Tony-winning talent one more time if her wife dies. But no. Lexie died. Which means a sadder Sloan. What will happen to McSteamy now?

But there is also another major character to leave the show. And it is Teddy.  At first, she refused to accept Metcom's offer to her because she wanted to be where her husband died. But Owen fired her, thus, forcing our sweet Teddy to leave Seattle Grace for good. 

Looks like this will be an opportunity for Christina to be the queen of Cardio in SG.

Shonda Rhimes tweeted her thoughts on the departure of two of her casts:

Callie said it best tonight: Life changes in an instant. Turns on a dime.

This finale was incredibly hard to write. I did not enjoy it. It made me sick and it made me sad. We end the season not knowing ANYTHING about the future. Except for two things. We know we are definitely saying goodbye to two of my favorite people: Chyler Leigh (Lexie) and Kim Raver (Teddy).

I know this season’s finale had some surprises for viewers and the exit of Kim Raver was one of the big ones. But Kim’s series option was up and she was ready to give Teddy Altman a much-needed vacation. It’s been a pleasure working with someone as talented and funny and kind as Kim; everyone is going to miss her terribly. I like to imagine that Teddy is still out there in the Grey’s Anatomy universe, running Army Medical Command and building a new life.

I love Chyler and I love the character of Lexie Grey. She was an important member of my Grey’s family. This was not an easy decision. But it was a decision that Chyler and I came to together. We had a lot of thoughtful discussion about it and ultimately we both decided this was the right time for her character’s journey to end. As far as I’m concerned Chyler will always remain a part of the Shondaland family and I can’t wait to work with her again in the future.

I’d write more but I’m honestly too sad. I don’t like life changing in an instant and turning on a dime.

I was expecting more in the finale. But I did not have it. Am I disappointed? A little. I remembered the feeling I had when George and Izzie were in the brink of death during the season 5 finale. George's death was random and very very surprising (up until now I still mourn for him), and Izzie's surprising recovery from cancer was satisfying. 

I didn't like the whole plane crash twist. It's just an attempt of the writers to give the show a huge bolt after a melodramatic and shaky season.

Nevertheless, Lexie's death definitely tugged my heart. I will miss one of the best characters in this series.