The Sucker Punch on 'Grey's Anatomy' Had Nothing To Do with the Character Exit

As I’ve written, I’m a recent returnee to the world of Grey’s Anatomy, and just eight episodes into my return, I’ve already developed a healthy distaste for one of the show’s most annoying characters: Dr. Levi Schmidt (Jake Borelli). He might be the best argument for never catching up on the last seven seasons. Grey’s Anatomy isn’t exactly an edgy drama, but Levi feels like a character from a Disney Lifetime movie, if Disney allowed gay characters to kiss onscreen.

I knew this week would mark his last episode because I’d seen an interview with Borelli lamenting his exit beforehand. I’d like to feel bad for the actor, but since he plays this character, it’s hard to separate the two. Sorry, Jake Borelli, that the universe has taken away one of the steadiest paychecks in TV, but I will not miss Dr. Schmidt. Even in his sendoff episode, he felt like a relic of the “gay best friend” trope. (What did you do to Shonda, Jake?) This season, Levi has been hooking up with the chaplain, but he took a gig in Texas, and honestly, the hospital didn’t put up much of a fight to keep him. The only person who even seemed to care about his departure was Jo, and frankly, I wouldn’t have minded if she’d decided to join him in Texas, too.

The heart of the episode delivered a real sucker punch, and I have to appreciate the old-school writing here. It was a gut punch by way of sleight of hand: The audience was so preoccupied with Levi’s exit and Yasuda (Midori Francis) fighting for her life after a car accident that we didn’t see it coming when Yasuda’s sister, Chloe — who was already battling cancer — succumbed to the injuries of that same accident.

I liked Chloe from what little we saw of her, but I really like Yasuda — and her burgeoning relationship with Jules. So, the episode’s emotional blow wasn’t Chloe’s death. It was Yasuda waking up from a several-day coma only to learn from Dr. Bailey that her sister hadn’t made it. I just wanted that poor woman to fall back into her coma to avoid experiencing such profound grief — and guilt, since Yasuda had been driving. Chloe’s death was all the more devastating because she was on the road to recovery from her cancer.

This show is a lot. I’m much older now than I was when I watched the first five seasons, and while the show hasn’t necessarily gotten better or changed in any meaningful way, I have. Death and grief, even on a broadcast network soap opera set in a hospital, hit differently now. The ending left me too heartbroken to take any joy out of Levi’s exit. That’s a real dick move, Grey’s. The bigger dick move is yet to come, as Midori Francis is also scheduled to exit the series soon.