You gotta do what you can during a global pandemic.
Grey's Anatomy fans were handed a treat this week in the form of Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) and Mark Sloane (Eric Dane), who both appeared on the coma beach to offer Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) some advice as she prepares to go back to the land of the living. Ever since Patrick Dempsey first appeared on that beach, viewers had been hopeful to see Lexie and Mark again, though we feared it wasn't going to be possible.
Leigh is one of the stars of Supergirl, which is currently filming its final season in Vancouver. Due to Canada's strict quarantine protocol, it seemed nearly impossible for Leigh to film a cameo in Los Angeles without wasting a whole lot of time going back into quarantine when she returned. It turns out we were correct, but thanks to some CGI, the cameo happened anyway.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dane confirmed that Leigh had to remain in Vancouver and the show had to "work some magic."
"Chyler could get here but then she couldn't get back to Canada," he explained. "There was some greenscreen. There was a lot of me and Ellen."
Dane said he was "bummed" that he was even asked the question because he wanted to keep the illusion alive, but hey, a little greenscreen never stopped us from crying.
The actor, who has more recently been seen on HBO's Euphoria, also shared his thoughts on Mark and Lexie's intertwined fates after their deaths. Lexie, of course, died on the scene after a plane crash at the end of season eight. Mark died weeks later from injuries sustained during the crash, and he told Meredith that at least on her beach, Lexie and Mark are living happily ever after. Dane thinks Mark and Lexie are together off the beach, too.
"I think Mark would have found Lexie no matter what," he said. "Whether it would have been on Meredith's beach or Lexie's beach, or anybody's beach, I think Mark would have found her."
As Lexie died, Mark told her about the life they were going to lead and the kids they were going to have, and he promised they were "meant to be." Dane sees the beach scenes as confirmation that they really were.
"I think it all came full circle," he told THR. "The one question I think that everybody was left with was, obviously, Mark Sloan saying goodbye to Lexie and she said, 'We're meant to be.' And then Mark passes on, and we don't know what that meant. And now we know, Mark and Lexie are together in their parallel universe."
Hope you were in the mood to sob today!
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.