‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Fans Share Mixed Feelings After April and Arizona Exits

Grey’s Anatomy fans knew about April and Arizona’s exit for months, but that didn’t make their final appearance during the season 14 finale any less painful.

The finale, which also saw Alex (Justin Chambers) and Jo (Camilla Luddington) tie the knot, served as the final appearance for series regulars Sarah Drew and Jessica Capshaw.

The series teased Arizona Robbins’ (Capshaw) exit early in the season as the fetal surgeon noticed her daughter Sofia (Eva Ariel Binder) growing more and more unhappy after moving back to Seattle from New York City to leave with her.

After Sofia starts lashing out, Arizona decides to uproot her life and move to New York so her daughter can be close to other mom Callie (Sara Ramirez). Together with Nicole Herman (Geena Davis), Arizona also agrees to open a women’s health center in the city to provide first-care to mothers, as well as a training facility for doctors to learn about fetal surgery.

During Alex and Jo’s wedding, Arizona says her goodbyes to best friend April and former pediatrics mentee Alex before she headed off on her next adventure.

April’s (Drew) exit was blanketed by mystery.

During the season’s penultimate episode, April got into a life-threatening accident she survived thanks to her co-workers. The hour also revealed the trauma surgeon had reconnected with ex-fiance Matthew Taylor (Justin Bruening), and the pair had been secretly dating ever since his wife’s death.

As April was busy acting as a wedding planner for Jo and Alex’s wedding, April reveals the reason that takes her away from Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Before the ceremony, Jackson (Jesse Williams) and Maggie (Kelly McCreary) discuss how after her accident April quit her job to “do the lord’s work.” A reveal that reportedly happened “weeks” before the wedding. After some conversations, and a disastrous failed attempt at a wedding ceremony for Jo and Alex, Grey’s wrapped up Drew’s storyline with Matthew and April getting married in an impromptu ceremony.

Fans spent most of the hour paying tribute to Drew and Capshaw’s characters, thanking the actresses for bringing April and Arizona to life.

Grey’s Anatomy shocked fans in early March when news broke that Capshaw and Drew would be exiting the series after season 14.

Despite rumors that the actors were let go because of series lead Ellen Pompeo’s salary increase, executive producer Krista Vernoff assured fans the move was a creative decision.

“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,” Vernof said at the time. “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.”

Grey’s Anatomy will return to ABC for its 15th season in fall 2018.