When Grey’s Anatomy announced that both Teddy and Owen would leave the series after Season 22, there was some buzz.
There’s no doubt their story has stagnated, but they’re not the only ones. Some of the newer cast members have found themselves with barely anything to do.
In fact, if Grey’s Anatomy Season 23 wants to pick up the pace and get the magic back, there are two other characters who could be written out — unless the show wants to start using them!
It’s Time to Give Blue Something More to Do
I really hate saying that Harry Shum Jr.’s character needs to go. I have loved this actor since his Shadowhunters days.
When given the right material, he can excel, but that’s not what he’s been given as Benson “Blue” Kwan.
Since arriving as a new intern during Grey’s Anatomy Season 20, Blue hasn’t had much of a career storyline.
He initially hooked up with Jules and later had a fling with Mohanty. That fling led to a rift between friends, though it didn’t last long.
When it comes to his personality, there isn’t one. We barely know anything real about his life, except maybe the recent episode when he connected with a patient’s son.
It’s actually been the most recent episodes of Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 that have given him a real storyline that could help put him on the map as a doctor at Grey Sloan Memorial.
As he realized the nuances and lack of emotion coming from the people making implant and trial decisions, Blue decided to take matters into his own hands and injected the patient with a trial drug.
The problem was that the patient had been denied the trial drug.
While Bailey initially (and stupidly) covered for him, it’s all about to come out. This could lead to an arc that we’ve seen in the past.
We’d get to see Blue defend his actions, and we’ll see if others can stand by him.
It’s reminiscent of Izzie cutting the LVAD wire and Bailey injecting the boy with the deactivated form of HIV. He did the wrong thing for the right reasons, and it’s a lesson doctors have to learn.
These types of storylines can help to strengthen a character’s resolve, but with Blue’s lack of development and personality, it could just be an easy way to write him out.
Simone Needs a Personality Transplant
Meanwhile, there’s Simone Griffith, who has a personality, but it’s not the best.
Having a questionable personality isn’t all that bad, as long as the right steps are taken to learn.
Look at how Izzie was stuck-up and judgmental at first, but then she proved that she had her friends’ backs.
Jo was a bit of a princess, but over time, she proved her mettle in the game, her love for her patients, and her skills as a doctor.
Also, did she ever tell you that she lived in her car?
Simone has a backstory that Grey’s Anatomy could lean into, and there have been moments when a hint suggests the writers would like to.
Her mom died at Grey Sloan Memorial during childbirth, and for the longest time, she wanted to get to know her. While her dad doesn’t necessarily want to talk about her, there are likely others out there who do.
We even got a moment during Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 Episode 5 when Simone met one of her mom’s former friends.
However, instead of leaning into this, the show has focused on Simone’s love life. First it was with Lucas, and now it’s with Bryant.
When things don’t go her way or she makes a mistake, she’d rather shift fault to how everyone else reacts rather than change who she is and become a better person.
Her storyline already feels much like Amelia’s, with a revolving door of partners she blames for the bad in her life, and we’re done with that. As we already established, it’s time for Amelia to get a real medical storyline!
The same applies to Simone.
There could be an amazing growth arc for Simone, but with the way the writers have handled other characters, I don’t have faith in that.
It doesn’t help that Simone hasn’t really had much of a career storyline, either.
While she has continually fought for surgeries, she’s frustratingly static in her professional life.
At no point could I see her handling the surgery Jules did at the start of Grey’s Anatomy Season 22.
I couldn’t have seen her tackle a cancer storyline the way Lucas and Katie bonded, as she doesn’t have the ability to form a deep attachment to someone.
By losing Simone and Blue, the resident storyline could be better contained with Jules and Lucas.
It would allow them to continue the growth they have had personally and professionally.
Grey’s Anatomy has an ensemble-cast problem, and unfortunately, it’s led to wasting too many characters with potentially hard-hitting storylines.
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What do you think Grey’s Anatomy needs to do to capture the magic? Is it a character problem, or does it go deeper than that? Let us know! Independent journalism relies on you!
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