It’s time to talk about one of Grey’s Anatomy’s biggest frustrations of recent years.
And that’s the fact that the series completely fumbles Harry Shum Jr., who is such a great actor with considerable range, but somehow this little medical drama doesn’t know what to do with his character.
You know, except hooking him up with characters in ill-advised romances with no buildup that they don’t bother to invest in much.
How is it that Benson “Blue” Kwan debuted in the series during Grey’s Anatomy Season 19, and yet we still know next to nothing about him?
Seriously, let’s let that simmer in our collective spirits for a minute. We’ve had Kwan for four seasons now, and I can probably tick off on one hand the amount of serviceable plots he’s had and all the things that I know about him.
Okay, I’m being hyperbolic. It may require both hands, but not all the fingers!
When the new version of MAGYK appeared, it felt like Grey’s Anatomy had a refreshing reboot within the series, and we were on the pathway to exploring a new generation of interns who most closely resembled the original M.A.G.I.C.
Kwan? He was so much like Alex Kareve in ways, right down to how long it took for him to finally settle in with his colleagues, who would eventually become his friends.
And don’t get me started on his fraternal rivalry of sorts with Lucas, at times giving us a taste of that Alex and George dynamic we haven’t had in well over a decade.
But do you know what one of the most interesting elements about Kwan was? He attended medical school in St. Kitts.
For someone so brilliant, highly competitive, and arrogant, it was actually refreshing to learn that a family crisis led him to study at a college that elitist fields don’t consider of high value.
Anyone with some knowledge of medical programs and the unique experiences on islands knows that it comes with a wealth of knowledge and different ways of doing things. To me, that was one of the most fascinating elements of Kwan that the series could have dug into.
It could have the same appeal as when the series leaned into Owen and Teddy’s respective experiences as combat medics and how creative things get in the field during war.
But Grey’s Anatomy never leans into this with Kwan, not beyond a few passing moments in his first season. Instead, they have resorted to making him the guy who makes snarky quips, gets competitive with the others, and, of course, finds himself in relationships that no one can get invested in.
It’s such a disservice to the character, and don’t get me started on how disappointing it can be when Shum doesn’t get a proper story arc to really show off his range. Yes, he’s a master at a quip, and he can steal a scene or two.
And Kwan can have some great moments with patients, but that’s more of a reason as to why they leave me wanting MORE from him and about him. Instead, he’s always third-wheeling in romantic or friendship drama. He’s just … there.
I shouldn’t feel like Shum had more to work with during Glee, where Mike Chang barely had lines, than he does on Grey’s Anatomy, you know? I’m inches away from bingeing Shadowhunters all over again for a Magnus fix, let me tell you.
But every time Grey’s decides they’ll finally do something with Kwan, they just throw a romantic partner at him.
We started with him and Jules. They had a nice love-hate enemies-to-lovers dynamic that was endearing enough and likely intentional, as it scratched the Izzie/Alex itch in the early days when they truly embraced this version of MAGYK, paralleling the original.
It had potential, and there was something there worth investing in.
Hell, it at least had the benefit of the two being peers rather than another relationship with a power dynamic, unlike what we now have with both of those characters and their current mentors.
But then Grey’s decided that it was just a casual thing, and they fizzled out.
They pivoted to Jules and Mika instead, which was perfectly fine, compelling even, but in hindsight, if we had known that Mika would depart the stories, and they’d break up such a beautiful love story, maybe they should’ve just let Kwan and Jules ride things out in the first place.
I say that as someone who really did like Mika and Jules.
Then, out of the blue, Grey’s introduced the storyline with Molly.
The problem with Kwan and Molly was that there was no reason to care about them other than the show telling us to. We barely knew Kwan… why the hell should we care about his relationship with his ex-fiancee, who didn’t even remember him at first?
The entire storyline felt like something ripped from a daytime soap opera, and beyond Shum’s great acting in the emotional moments as Kwan dealt with Molly’s medical issues and the return of her current spouse, I couldn’t muster up a care in the world.
But does Grey’s Anatomy learn? Did it consider that maybe it was time to give Kwan a serviceable storyline about literally any other aspect of his life, or to give us more insight into his background? No.
Instead, they just threw another pretty woman at him and expected us to go with the flow because Shum is charming enough to be the leading man in all the romcoms, and Grey’s churns out more ships than the Amish does butter.
And that’s being very nice to Grey’s. Amish butter is amazing, and I cannot say the same for many of Grey’s ships as of late.
Now, after all of what, two episodes of interaction? Kwan is having lukewarm makeout sessions in this iconic elevator of steaminess with, hold on, let me check my notes again, Kavita Mohanty.
Nothing hurts my heart more than getting a person’s or even a character’s name wrong, especially a character of color. That said, it speaks to just how irritating this whole thing is: we’ve barely had enough time with Kavita to actually remember her name, and now she and Kwan are a new ship.
Where is the buildup? The plot? Any sort of development?
I don’t know enough about Kwan, and he’s been here for four seasons, so why should I invest or care about his new situationship with a character who hasn’t even clocked in with 40 total minutes of screentime across three episodes?
Shouldn’t they have actually worked toward developing Kavita first before tossing her in Kwan’s arms? When will Grey’s Anatomy learn that mashing random characters together like dolls is not a shortcut or substitute for plot development?
I’m not saying I won’t care about Kwan, Kavita, or their relationship at some point. It’s possible we could get there. I’m saying both characters deserve better first.
Kwan doesn’t need a new love interest; he needs an actual storyline, character development, and, literally, a plot.
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