Ellen Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey, posted on Instagram the day after the episode aired saying that she thought it was the best send-off for one of the show’s few remaining original characters . “It pays homage to those incredible first years and the incredible cast...that created a foundation so strong that the show is still standing,” she captioned a highlight reel of some of her character’s most memorable moments with Alex. Alex’s exit isn’t totally permanent — or at least, it doesn’t have to be. The way he was written out of the show doesn’t close the door on him coming back in later seasons. Until then, Alex gave Jo his shares in Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and, knowing Grey’s, her life won’t stay where it is for long.