WARNING: This article may contain some spoilers for Grey's Anatomy season 16. Read at your own risk.
Grey's Anatomy season 16 has already shown the apparent exit of Justin Chambers' character, Alex Karev. However, there are still a lot of questions about his departure, including how the writers will take the character out of the series. Now, executive producer Krista Vernoff sheds light on this matter and discussed what's next for Alex.
Chambers' departure in Grey's Anatomy season 16 shocked many fans, as no one sees it coming. His character was in the middle of a big storyline, and he's also married to Jo, who has a history of abandonment. The last time we saw Alex in the series was when he visited his mother, and that was it. There is no explanation as to why he's not coming back, leaving many fans confused.
In the previous episode of Grey's Anatomy season 16, Jo revealed to Amelia that Alex isn't returning her phone calls. She said that if she didn't know better, she would think he's paying her back for pulling away last year: when she suffered depression after learning how she was conceived. But then, Jo also acknowledged that Alex wouldn't do such a thing.
Speaking to Variety, Vernoff said viewers need to wait for a little to learn more about what happened to Alex and will also address the real-life exit of Chambers. She said it was a "very careful threading of a needle" and they're giving information and pain to Jo. The executive producer revealed it would take a few more episodes to get to the story of where Alex is; giving the audience clarity.
Writing off Alex would be complicated as well, considering the turmoil Jo went through recently. She fought hard to get to a better emotional place now, and it would be difficult for her if her husband leaves her without any explanation. Vernoff said Jo experienced a lot of pain and grief in the previous season, so they wanted to be careful with her storyline this time.
She revealed they wouldn't repeat the things that she went through in the past. While it's still a mystery what's going on with Alex right now, Vernoff noted they wouldn't want to see Jo being in the same place as the previous installment. She then revealed to the publication that they planned Alex's exit as carefully as they could, and it would take a while to get there.
Grey's Anatomy season 16 airs every Thursday on ABC.
