The Real Reason Sandra Oh Was Written Off Grey's Anatomy

After watching Sandra Oh embody Dr. Cristina Yang, Meredith Grey's person, on Grey's Anatomy for ten seasons, it was hard to imagine the series without her, and it's still difficult many years later. In fact, it's almost impossible to believe that it was back in 2013 that Oh broke our hearts by leaving the popular ABC drama. Fans will recall that on the show, Yang moves to Switzerland to replace Dr. Preston Burke, her one time love interest, at his medical facility. But in reality, the actress knew that season ten would be her last long before her emotional last dance off with Meredith. Of her exit, Oh told The Hollywood Reporter, "I told [creator Shonda Rhimes] I was going to go at the end of season nine and we didn't really talk about [how Cristina would exit] until the back-half of season 10. [...] I don't remember at what point she said, 'How would you feel if we brought Burke back?' because she and the writers were trying to come up with an exit, which is tricky." During an interview with Variety, Oh also revealed that there'd been some tension behind-the-scenes of Grey's Anatomy, as she explained, "If something kind of came up which was like, ‘That is completely wrong,’ I would go toe-to-toe with Shonda and a lot of the writers, which has been challenging. But I think ultimately, for the entire product and our relationship, if you’re fighting for the show, if you’re fighting for your character, people can tell that." As for the real reason the actress decided to depart the popular series, it turns out that it was all Oh's idea, not that of Rhimes or the writers. In fact, Rhimes asked the actress what she wanted to do in season ten, and the Killing Eve star reportedly replied that she was ready to go. She revealed to The Hollywood Reporter in 2013, "Creatively, I really feel like I gave it my all, and I feel ready to let her go [...] It's such an interesting thing to play a character for so long and to actually get the sense that she wants to be let go as well. [Cristina] wants to be let go, and I am ready to let her go." Although the star was ready to leave the addictive hospital soap, she told The Hollywood Reporter about her final moments at her last table read, "I was completely in tears — but not broken. It was not a place of being sad. It was a place of being tremendously moved. It's not like I broke down and I was crying. I felt so filled with the meaning of this moment that it was very emotional. [...] I was extremely moved." And the good news is that despite any past conflicts over her character's direction on Grey's Anatomy, Oh was happy with how Cristina Yang's story arc ended. The actress revealed on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast in 2020, "We had a lot of discussions about it. They so beautifully gave Cristina a year-long sendoff [...] They wrote it beautifully. It was a great year of work." Still, according to Good Housekeeping, Oh even went to therapy to deal with the end of such an important chapter in her professional life, and it turns out the actress wasn't the only person who struggled with the huge shakeup of the Grey's Anatomy cast. As Rhimes said in a statement per USA Today in 2013, "Over the past 10 seasons, I have been made better by Sandra's trust, faith and friendship and I can't quantify how grateful I am for her collaboration on a character we both love so deeply. This year is going to be bittersweet for us [...] And when Sandra walks out of my door, Grey's Anatomy will once again be forever changed." Meanwhile, Ellen Pompeo, who of course still plays the show's lead character Meredith Grey, opened up about Oh's departure on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. She explained, "To be honest, when Sandra Oh left the show I was like, ‘Ugh. How do I go on without Sandra?' [...] She was such an amazing scene partner. Then I was like, 'Is there a show without Sandra?'" The show remains on the air, but many fans would argue that it was never quite the same once Oh left. However, it's nice to see the actress doing so well post-Grey's. #SandraOh #GreysAnatomy