★ Apologies for the delay, but it was a busy weekend.
Cosmopolitan posted an interesting take on the character of Alex Karev. Below is only an excerpt of the article, so click on the link to read it in full.
Sidenote: Alex Karev has always been my (Diana) favorite Grey’s character!
How Alex Karev Became an Unlikely New Heartthrob of “Grey’s Anatomy”
What bothered me most was the fact that he was ever even assigned to Dr. Bailey’s service: In the pilot, only Izzie, George, Cristina, and Meredith were her interns. What was the point of transferring Alex to Dr. Bailey too? Did the network not think that three powerhouse women and one brilliant but bumbling boy next door were enough? Did we seriously (to use the frequently overused catchphrase of the show’s early seasons) need to add a white bad boy into the mix?
What followed for Alex (played by Justin Chambers) was a veritable parade of douchebaggery. He started a syphilis outbreak. (Not hating on his casual sex game, but he’s a doctor — he should know to use condoms.) He yelled at patients and treated women (actually, everyone) like they were beneath him. He somehow managed to both sexually harass and reject Addison Montgomery Shepherd. And he entered into a codependent relationship with Jane Doe/Ava that nearly destroyed both of them. There were flashes of compassion throughout — I’ll admit I got choked up when he picked up Izzie and carried her away from Denny Dukette’s death bed — and it was clear viewers were supposed to see him as a jerk with a heart of gold, in part because we were supplied with plenty of explanations for his behavior. He had an abusive father, a mentally ill mother, and a youth spent in foster care and juvie. But all those explanations were just that: explanations. They weren’t excuses.
And yet now here we are, in a world where Alex is responsible enough to be Meredith’s emergency contact. In a world where he’s in a loving, honest relationship with Jo, someone with whom he’s finally allowed himself to be vulnerable. In a world where, if my suspicious/fantasies are correct, he’s going to be a committed father before the season is up. How did Grey’s pull this off?
