It's been twelve years since Grey's Anatomy fans were forced to say goodbye to one of the series' favorite characters Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh). After a five-season run on the show, Leigh exited by the end of Season 8, in one of the season finales that most angered fans. In a recent interview during the Call It What It Is podcast — hosted by Grey's Anatomy stars Camila Luddington and Jessica Capshaw — Leigh spoke about her abrupt departure from the series and how she feels about Lexie's death.
During the interview, Leigh stated that she doesn't regret her character dying but recognized that the exit was a bit overdone. Even though the official cause of death of Lexie was due to injuries suffered after a plane crash in the middle of a forest, in Season 9 Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) mentions that she has nightmares about what happened after Lexie died and before the doctors got rescued. Leigh joked:
“I guess I was eaten by wolves? I just wanna know because, like, wolves [are] like, one of my spirit animals, so I'm like, I'm down with that.”
The Supergirl actor also revealed that back when she decided she was leaving the series, she had conversations with series creator Shonda Rhimes in order to "figure out a really great way for it to happen," but it seems like that ultimately didn't happen. Much like fans do, Leigh considers her Season 17 return the character's "redemption" and more appropriate exit. However, Leigh revealed she "never felt so ridiculous" because her guest appearance was filmed in Canada and with a blue screen, so she never actually interacted with series' lead Ellen Pompeo.
Lexie Was A Fan-Favorite 'Grey's Anatomy' Character
Image via ABC
Leigh entered Grey's Anatomy by the end of Season 3, and in the beginning fans thought that her character Lexie was going to be yet another doctor fighting Meredith (Pompeo) for Derek's (Patrick Dempsey) attention. The twist came in Season 4, when we discovered that not only Lexie wasn't really interested in Derek at all, but also she was actually Meredith's half-sister. The character went on to become one of the most beloved doctors to walk the halls of Seattle Grace Hospital — which was later renamed "Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital" in honor of Lexie Grey's and Mark Sloan's (Eric Dane) deaths.
Grey's Anatomy is currently on a Season 21 hiatus and scheduled to return to ABC on January 16. Even though several characters have made surprise returns in the last couple of seasons, it's unlikely that Leigh returns once again since it would depend on Meredith going on a near-death experience one more time. The show is still doling out its share of shocking exits to this day.
You can stream Grey's Anatomy on Hulu.
