Grey’s Anatomy season 13 finale: Jerrika Hinton leaving; here’s why

Going into the Grey’s Anatomy finale, there was less of a reason to ask the “is Jerrika Hinton” question for one simple reason. Her exit had already been confirmed!

Many weeks ago, it was first confirmed that the actress, who had played Stephanie Edwards for the past few seasons on the ABC hit, had a new role waiting for her on an Alan Ball HBO project. It’s a pretty worthy reason to leave, and this is actually the second straight season in which there was some debate over her potential exit. Last year, she had boarded a pilot, but because of it not being ordered to series, she ended up remaining a part of Grey’s Anatomy for another year. Luckily, that does feel in retrospect like the right decision given that there was so much more story for her this time around, and the writers were able to craft an exit that felt really worthy of this character and all of the amazing stuff that she brought to the table.

Ever since last season, the biggest weakness that Edwards had as a doctor is that she lacked the ability to care for her patients on an emotional level. She had no empathy, and this led to a series of angry outbursts. Tonight, she had to keep her cool in order to save a young girl who was roaming the hospital at the time of the fire, and she was willing to sacrifice her own life for the sake of her own. She had ultimately discovered more than ever what it was like to actually be a doctor in a way that she had not figured out before, and in that sense, had conquered that hurdle.

As a result of that, now she gets a chance to conquer the next hurdle. She’s leaving to chase other pursuits and interests rather than spending the remainder of her life in the hospital. This does leave open an opportunity for her to come back on the show at some point down the road; ultimately, time will tell if there is an appropriate enough story where that will happen.

Are you going to miss Stephanie on Grey’s Anatomy season 13, and what was your favorite part of her over the course of this season? Sound off now in the comments!

Meanwhile, head over to the link here in the event you want some other news on the show, including a full review for the finale episode. (Photo: ABC.)