‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Teases Fans With Justin Chambers Cliffhanger to End Episode

After Justin Chambers announced in January that he would be leaving Grey’s Anatomy, fans have been anxiously waiting to learn how his character Dr. Alex Karev will be written off. Alex had left Seattle and traveled to Iowa to visit his mother before the midseason finale in November, and hasn’t been seen since. With the promise that fans will get “clarity” in time, Thursday night’s newest episode ended on a major cliffhanger that potentially sets up some major answers.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Grey’s Anatomy Season 16, Episode 14, “A Diagnosis.”

After confiding in Amelia Shepard (Caterina Scorsone) in “Save the Last Dance” that Alex hasn’t been returning her calls or texts, Jo Wilson’s (Camilla Luddington) crumbling relationship with her AWOL husband became even more apparent as she worked on a case involving a man who had been seriously injured after throwing himself in front of a bear to protect his wife.

“What if he ran into an old girl from high school and one thing led to another?” she asked Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) of Alex, who had travel back to Iowa to be with his mother.

“It took me a long time to get to this place in my life with Teddy, just like you and Karev,” Hunt told her, according to PEOPLE. “I wouldn’t screw that up for anything. Neither would your husband.”

The conversation, and the lingering thought that perhaps Alex’s lack of contact was a sign that something more troubling was going on, led Jo to leave a heartbreaking voicemail for her husband.

“I need to hear your voice,” she said. “I need to know what’s going on. Whatever it is. I need to know. I want to know because I would jump in front of bear for you, Alex. Please call me.”

Although Alex doesn’t seem keen on responding to his wife’s calls, the episode ended on a major cliffhanger when Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who had been dealing with issues of her own, sent him a text saying “I need you.” Before the screen cut to black, an ellipsis on her phone screen appeared, presumably meaning Alex was responding, though the text never came.

Chambers has not been seen on Grey’s episode since November 2019, and although it was revealed after he announced his decision to leave the series that he would not be appearing in anymore episodes of the ABC drama, showrunner Krista Vernoff promised that fans would get answers “episode by episode.”

New episodes of Grey’s Anatomy air Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.