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Alex's 'Grey's Anatomy' Future Is Unclear

To say that Alex Karev is in a pickle is one hell of an understatement. After beating resident Andrew Deluca to a bloody pulp (he thought that Deluca was attacking Jo, Karev’s girlfriend), Karev confessed to his crimes and is now being charged with felony assault. Karev, you were doing so well! Now, his whole life is in jeopardy — his friends, his girl (she’s basically already gone), and now, his job. Surprisingly, Chief Bailey let Karev keep his job at Grey Sloan, with one caveat — he has to work in the clinic, not as a surgeon. What will happen to Alex Karev’s job on Grey’s Anatomy ?

There was another element to all of this — because Karev was so distracted by the felony assault charges brought against him (not misdemeanor, like he thought they would be), he missed the signs that a patient of his had a dangerous infection, and the child almost lost his brand-new kidney because of it. Not good, Karev. With this whole situation going on, Bailey had no choice but to take him off surgery. She talked about how he was the most improved, how he made the most progress, and basically said she couldn’t fire him. Instead, she would move him to the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic, which is funny to me because Karev has spent most of the seasons of the show trying to get out from under Denny’s shadow. But at least Karev still has his job and his medical license.

It could be way worse — he could be fired and jobless and have a degree he can’t use. Karev isn’t out of the woods yet, though. If he’s convicted of a felony, Bailey talked about how hard it would be to let him operate on young children, because she would have to tell the parents about his conviction. I can’t imagine that I would want a rage-o-holic operating on my very fragile little kid. Karev was wrong, but I still feel for him. As a Grey’s Anatomy viewer from the very beginning, I’ve grown up with Karev, and it’s hard to see him fall so hard and so far.

Images: Eric McCandless/ABC; Giphy