"The truth is: there's really no good way to say goodbye."
Truer words have never been spoken than those of Meredith Grey in last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy, as we learned what became of Alex Karev (Justin Chambers).
Chambers announced his exit in January, and ABC confirmed that the last episode he would appear in was the one that aired in November, where he showed up at Meredith's trial with letters from people in support of her. It turns out that while he called Cristina, he also called Izzie and discovered that Izzie had been raising a pair of twins, Eli and Alexis, who were biologically his.
Alex and Izzie had embryos made when Izzie had cancer a decade ago, and apparently she had used them. Now, Alex has decided to be with her to raise his children. He even already signed divorce papers, leaving Jo everything he has, including shares in the hospital.
Izzie herself had not only gone on to raise those kids herself on a ranch, but she also became an incredible surgical oncologist after her own bout with cancer.
While it's a complicated ending for fans of Alex, Alex and Jo, and Izzie, it does tie up quite a few loose ends for long-time fans of the series.
Izzie was among the first of the major doctors to leave the series, and Alex is obviously the most recent, but they're far from the only docs to say goodbye. You can keep up with all of the departures in our gallery of every single doctor who has worked at and then left Seattle Grace/Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, in chronological order.
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.