Entertainment
6 Major 'Grey's Anatomy' Characters Who Need To Just Leave The Show Already
There is a lot of dead weight that could be trimmed from Grey's Anatomy these days. Somehow new characters continue to be funneled into the narrative — there are interns galore — while those who are staples of the show are tossed aside or simply neglected until their arcs are too convoluted or too far in the past to really care about. As a result, here are all the characters who should leave Grey's Anatomy in Season 14.
Of course, some faves are already exiting the show following this season. April and Arizona (actors Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw, respectively) are being written out of the show, to the dismay and anger of plenty of longtime fans. And, while the show has long sustained the loss of substantive figures — plenty of secondary characters, as well as primary characters with dead plotlines, will likely still be roaming Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital for years to come.
It's a frustrating pattern, but one that the show seems to have been following these past few years. The sheer number of characters that Grey's Anatomy tries to accommodate has lent to fumbled twists and turns, as well as plotlines that are difficult to become invested in as a viewer. Some characters are best left behind, not because they are, by nature, useless or uninteresting, but because their potential hasn't been fully realized — or they've long been stuck in cyclical plots — and it's time to cut them loose.
Carina
Carina flew into Grey Sloan like a hurricane, stirring things up and offering the first compelling love interest for Arizona that the show had seen in a while, and her research on the female orgasm was reminiscent of the studies and research that made some of the earlier Grey's seasons so interesting. But, as Arizona mentioned last week, apparently Carina's work is almost done — that kind of sucks, as viewers were teased with this incredibly unique trial and were only able to see glimpses of it over a couple weeks.
And if Arizona is leaving, why would Carina stick around? She had a random fling with Owen that's since been long forgotten — as so many things are on this show — and recently fought with Andrew, her brother, but we know so little about their relationship that it's hard to care much about where they stand. Carina has so much potential as a character, but if the writers won't give her more than one night stands and dead-end storylines, it's better to gracefully let her go.
Andrew
Andrew's main love interest, Bello the intern, zipped off to Switzerland last week to avoid deportation and work with Cristina Yang, and, without her, it's unclear what he's left to do. He had a brief relationship with Maggie that went nowhere, and his skills as a surgeon haven't really been explored to their full potential. The conflict with Alex — you know, the one that nearly had earth-shattering consequences — has been all but forgotten, as the two of them haven't shared any noticeable screentime in weeks.
His relationship with Bello really wasn't that compelling, either. Both of the actors handled that storyline with about as much passion as possible, but viewers were never afforded much background on what actually happened between the two of them. That relationship was presented as if it was meant to be some sort of epic tale of two lovers ripped apart, but as sad as it was on a surface level to watch Andrew say goodbye to Bello, and as heartbreaking as her deportation storyline was because of the reality it reflects, there just wasn't enough substance behind it for it to be as moving as it could have been.
Maggie
Maggie is one of the show's biggest examples of wasted potential. Remember when she was introduced in a shocking twist as Richard and Ellis' long lost daughter? And threw a new sister into the mix with Meredith? Those were the days! In the time since then, Grey's has allowed Maggie to transition into being seen as one of Meredith's bona fide sisters, and has shown her have some sweet moments with Richard. And in particular, when Maggie was seen saying goodbye to her dying mother, actor Kelly McCreary flourished.
But it's been a while since those developments, and now Maggie has been relegated to a relationship with Jackson that's completely devoid of chemistry, complete with petty, contrived arguments such as last week's blow-up over Jackson kissing April. Maggie is supposed to be one of the most brilliant cardio minds of her age — Grey's would do well to focus on her smarts and her career as head of damn cardio instead of forcing a romance where a romance does not need to be. If the only use the show has for her is as some sort of conflict for Jackson, it'd be better for her to peace out.
Owen
Owen was finally given something new to do last week other than zigzag between Teddy and Amelia or pine over his lack of children — it seems that he'll be looking to foster and adopt a child of his own, fulfilling a longtime dream of the character. If this proves to be a meaningful storyline, perhaps he should stay, but I remain skeptical given the show's history on follow-through.
Owen used to be one of the most moving characters on the show. His romance with Cristina and the ensuing Teddy conflict was one of the most emotional storylines of the show to date, but lately he's just been floating around in the background. He also used to struggle with PTSD from his time in the military, but that hasn't been so much as mentioned in countless episodes. Grey's also put fans through this huge drama — including a marriage — between him and Amelia, only to have the couple pretty casually divorce in the blink of an eye, so it's hard to have any real investment in big life changes for Owen. He deserves happiness, and he should get it, but if he's going to stick around as the sad puppy he's been in these past few seasons, he should take his leave.
Amelia
Caterina Scorsone is immensely talented, and has shouldered some intense storylines as Amelia over the years, both on Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. But now that the brain tumor scare is over and her relationship with Owen is seemingly kaput, she's another doctor who seems to have no real direction at the moment. She's twisted up in this brain tumor legal mumbo jumbo introduced last week, but it's too early to know too much about what's happening there.
Amelia has so much in her past to draw from — her loss of Derek, her battle with addiction, her demons from back in her Private Practice days, but none of these seem relevant anymore, save for her AA meeting with Richard and his sponsor a couple weeks ago. Amelia seems to just simply exist right now, and such a complex character deserves more than stagnation.
Literally Any Of The Interns
I know, I know. The interns are cute and fun and a necessary piece of storytelling that's always been part of the fabric of the show. Meredith and Alex, along with some of the other historic staples of the show, all started as interns. I get it. And some of these interns have presented interesting and important stories just in their short time on the show — Bello with her immigration arc, Casey with the story of his transgender identity, and Dahlia's relationship with faith. But if Grey's Anatomy continues to make these plots a one-episode mention that never come up again in a meaningful way, it's just doing the characters a disservice. Viewers haven't been given time to really, truly care what happens to any of these newcomers, especially when so much still needs resolved with the longstanding cast members.
Ultimately, all of these characters are victims of Grey's Anatomy's inevitably large cast. Any and all of them could become (or remain) important and iconic figures in the show if simply given the time and attention to do so. But unfortunately, Grey's doesn't seem to have the bandwidth for all of them. The number of plotlines the writers are attempting to juggle means that certain would-be life-changing arcs for even more central characters — Bailey's battle with OCD, Meredith's loss of Cristina, Alex's threat of jailtime — seem hastily concluded in order to move onto the next short-term drama.
Even certain major functions of the hospital are only mentioned from time to time, despite the importance placed on them in the past — remember when the Board of Directors seats of Grey Sloan actually were a big deal? All this makes it even more frustrating that characters who are extremely unique and do have more to offer, like April and Arizona, are being written out. Fans aren't lost on these overlooked plots, either. If Grey's Anatomy wants viewers to be able to properly invest in these characters, it should give them something real to do and stop neglecting their pasts — or cut their losses altogether.
