Grey's Anatomy: Is This How Sarah Drew Is Being Written Out?

Dissecting April Kepner's behavior from the March 8 episode of the long-running ABC hit

By Billy Nilles Mar 09, 2018 3:07 AMTags

April Kepner is losing her damn mind.

Weeks into her new identity of Grey Sloan Memorial's resident party animal, complete with IV bag to nurse her wicked hangovers, the character's still spinning out from her crisis of faith following that one truly bad day at work where nearly every patient she came into contact with died. And now that we know Sarah Drew, along with her co-star Jessica Capshaw, is being written out of Grey's Anatomy by the end of the current 14th season, we're starting to wonder if this just might be what drives her character out of Seattle.

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In tonight's new episode, April accidentally cut a patient's entire ear off thanks to an errant rugby ball in the ER (seriously, it was on par with the infamous One Tree Hill dog-eats-heart mishap in terms of ridiculousness), completely flipped out at Maggie's (Kelly McCreary) game night, delivering a rant for the ages about the chaotic nature of her fellow man, and then went home with Koracick (Greg Germann), much to everyone's dismay. And while there's no lawsuit coming from the family of the girl whose ear she cut off, it's clear that this whole crisis of faith she's currently stuck in will play a major role in her departure. Could her happy ending be with Koracick? Stranger things have happened...

As for Capshaw's Arizona, the episode offered no real clues about how she might depart the series, but we have a feeling it'll have something to do with Carina (Stefania Spampinato). 

"The characters of Arizona and April are permanently woven into the fabric of Grey's Anatomy thanks to the extraordinary work of Jessica Capshaw and Sarah Drew," Krista Vernoff, co-showrunner and executive producer on Grey's Anatomy, said in a statement. "As writers, our job is to follow the stories where they want to go and sometimes that means saying goodbye to characters we love. It has been a joy and a privilege to work with these phenomenally talented actresses."

"It's always hard for me to say goodbye to any of my characters. Both Arizona Robbins and April Kepner are not only beloved but iconic—both the LBGTQ and devout Christian communities are underrepresented on TV," Shonda Rhimes said in a statement of her own. "I will be forever grateful to both Jessica and Sarah for bringing these characters to life with such vibrant performance and for inspiring women around the globe. They will always be a part of our Shondaland family."

"I know you're sad. I'm sad too. I haven't really had the time to process this information…For now, I'd like to say: I love you, and I love April, and her story isn't over yet. And the really good news (for me, at least) is that I'm here on set shadowing one of my favorite people, Kevin McKidd, with my beloved Grey's family all week and next, so i get to process all of my feelings surrounded by the community that has nourished and nurtured me for almost a decade. For that, I am so grateful," Drew wrote in a note posted on Twitter after news broke.

How do you think April and Arizona will be written out? Share your theories in the comments below!

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.