Well, it’s official. What we predicted from last season’s finale of “Grey’s Anatomy” has proved to be true: T.R. Knight is leaving the show and Katherine Heigl is staying.

Knight released a statement today, saying, “Leaving ‘Grey’s Anatomy was not an easy decision for me to make. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to play this character and will miss my fellow cast and crew very much. I continue to wish them the very best, and wholeheartedly thank all of the fans who have supported me and the show with such passion and enthusiasm.”

Creator Shonda Rhimes followed with her own statement saying, “I think I speak for the entire ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ family when I say we wish T.R. Knight the best in his future endeavors. He is an incredibly talented actor and a person whose strength of character is admired by all of us.”

Yesterday, sources confirmed with Entertainment Weekly that Heigl, whose character Izzie Stevens was on the brink of death in the season five finale, would be returning to “Grey’s” for season six.

All this comes two days after season five newbie and Callie Torres love interest Jessica Capshaw was confirmed as a series regular for season six.

Are you glad the off-screen “Grey’s” drama is finally over? How much will you miss Knight next season? Will “Grey’s” still be “Grey’s” with Izzie but no George? Let us know your thoughts below!

Due to illness and scheduling conflicts last night, I only caught the second half of the “Grey’s Anatomy” season finale when it first went live on air. Though I rewatched the entire two hour special this morning, I knew before Izzie went into surgery to remove her brain tumor that she would survive (albeit with some memory issues), I knew Bailey was facing divorce while she was giddy over “Leo,” and I knew George was going to be John Doe before he even enlisted for the army.

But after rewatching the second hour, and then rerewatching the last minute of the show several times, I came to a startling conclusion that contradicts everything I have said up until this point: I don’t want Izzie or George to die.

This revelation could come from several sources. Maybe it was the catch in Meredith’s voice when she said “Oh god!” and look of horror in her eyes when she realized John Doe was George. Maybe it was the beautiful moment when Izzie walked into the elevator dressed in her pretty pink prom dress in a reenactment of the season two finale, but the doors opened to find George waiting for her in full army garb. Or maybe it was the realization that, despite all my personal feelings against Katherine Heigl, “Grey’s” simply wouldn’t be “Grey’s” without Izzie and George.

There has been some debate after the final scene whether George and Izzie will actually end up being dead. For those who missed the culminating season five episodes, Derek was able to remove Izzie’s entire brain tumor and she had just recovered her memory when she coded in Alex’s arms while George turned out to be the John Doe who was hit by a bus saving a woman from a similar face and had his face smashed in beyond recognition. The show ended with a cliffhanger that did not definitively clarify whether both characters lived or died.

The elevator scene, which has recurred in various forms since the second season, symbolizes both characters’ deaths in this episode, but also suggests that Izzie and George are not dead yet. The elevator doors open and Izzie smiles at George in a “this is the way it’s supposed to be” kind of way. However, while the Chief ignores her Do-Not-Resuscitate and allows Bailey, Christina and Alex to try to bring Izzie back to life, Prom-Dress-Izzie has a worried look come over her face that George’s face mirrors. She does not step off the elevator to join George, which means that she is on the brink of death and the resuscitation revives her and she lives, or she could end up passing in to the great beyond in the season six premiere.

My guess is show creator Shonda Rhimes left this season open ended to see the fan response. She has been adamant this entire season that Katherine Heigl and T.R. Knight will not be leaving the show, so this feels like a way to gauge the fans’ response to Izzie and George’s “death” and see if people actually care if the two stay on the show. Not to toot my own horn, but I was unsurprised during my first viewing last night of Heigl and Knight’s seemingly tidy exits from the show. But after rewatching the episode this morning, I was surprised by how much I really did care especially about George. Plus, by killing off two major characters, “Grey’s” will become more of a soap opera than a primetime drama, and one “General Hospital” is more than enough.

Beyond the not-so-startling cliffhanger ending, there were some other great moments from the season five finale. Highest amongst those was the long awaited MerDer wedding. Signing their marriage contract on a borrowed blue Post-It that was placed in Meredith’s locker was the sweet and fitting wedding the couple deserved.

But even more than that was the realization that Dark-And-Twisty Meredith really is gone. Meredith slipped under my radar this season after Ellen Pompeo was overshadowed by the great characters of Callie, Bailey, Christina and Sloan, not to mention the season-long Izzie drama, but she reemerged this episode with Christina — and the rest of the audience — realizing that Meredith’s proclamation at the end of season four that she was “all whole and healed” was true. By finally marrying Derek and Meredith and by resolving both characters’ emotional dramas, it felt like Shonda’s way of tying a nice pretty bow on five seasons of serious ups and downs. Hopefully the couple will remain happy and that bow won’t be untied to create unnecessary drama. Sadly, MerDer has run its course.

The best character resolution this finale though was by far that of Christina Yang. Though her awkward declaration of “I love you” to Hunt was uncomfortable to watch, seeing her willingly play the role of Maid of Honor to Meredith when she found out MerDer was going to get married in City Hall and then hugging Meredith when all along they have not been “hugging people” showed how far both characters have come since season one. Christina has always been the somewhat cold, logical, ambitiously badass surgeon, so it’s nice to see she’s developed a softer side. It just gives Sandra Oh an even more fantastic character to play.

One character I wish wasn’t going to face serious emotional trauma is Miranda Bailey, who last season almost went through the dissolution of her marriage and, in a final-hour moment, turns out actually is going to be faced with divorce. Bailey has always been the strong and emotionally healthy doctor in the hospital, so when her seemingly happy marriage with husband Tucker was torn to shreds last season, the resulting unhappiness for one of the few remaining complete characters felt like the writers had gone too far. Bailey’s marital issues have been glossed over this season and the show is better for it. The fact she will be a single mother and have to give up the pediatric fellowship she fought for is sure to be heartbreaking season six drama.

And poor Alex Karev. He is a man I never want to see cry again (kind of like Ewan McGregor at the end of “Moulin Rouge”), but his admission to Izzie that they only got married because they both thought she was going to be dead in week was something I’m glad the writers allowed audience members to hear. Because that is what their marriage was. Could Alex and Izzie actually pull off a life of happiness? I don’t think so.

So now we have four months to wait until we find out if Izzie and George are really dead “" or less than that until we find out who signed on as a full-time cast member. My guess is that, unlike Isaiah Washington’s rapid exit, Heigl and Knight will return for the season six premiere and subsequent episodes, regardless of if their characters die or not. There will undoubtedly be magnificent, beautiful funerals to send of both beloved characters.

But both deaths don’t feel like they’re set in stone. So for those of you like me who don’t want Izzie and George to remain dead, make your voices heard to Shonda and the other “Grey’s” creators “" her responses on Twitter “Grey’s Anatomy” fan pages show that she is listening. And we all know they won’t be the first “Grey’s” characters to return from the dead.

What did you think of last night’s “Grey’s Anatomy” finale? Did you expect George to be John Doe? What about the Sloan and Lexie drama? Do you think George and Izzie will stay dead? Leave your thoughts below!

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It looks like ABC will be featuring the deaths of not one but two young, blonde doctors during next week’s season finales. Izzie Stevens, played by “27 Dresses” star Katherine Heigl, veritably signed her death warrant by marrying fellow doctor Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) in a surprising wedding twist during last night’s penultimate episode. After all, we can’t have two happily – or unhappily – married couples on the show at any given time.

Last night’s episode (the show’s 100th) was hinted in previews to be the long awaited marriage between lead characters Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). From the start – showing a cancer-ravaged Izzie complete with pasty skin and a bandana covering her head – we realize that is not the case.

Izzie’s opening monologue discussed how it was the ordinary days that become the extraordinary ones that stay with you forever. “Grey’s” hundredth episode was like that: it started out ordinary (or at least not excitement-worthy) and ended in one of the most pleasant moments in “Grey’s” history – Izzie and Alex’s wedding.

Those who find the upcoming and inevitable death of Izzie Stevens a surprise should have been paying closer attention to the strife occurring off-camera between Heigl and “Grey’s” creator Shonda Rhimes. Heigl and best friend T.R. Knight who plays George on the show have been reported to have asked off the show on numerous occasions before their contracts expired. Rhimes has denied allegations and said that Heigl would not be leaving the show, but at this point those claims seem unlikely.

Before last year’s Emmy nominations, Heigl (who had won the Emmy in 2007 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series) preemptively refused an Emmy nomination for her role on “Grey’s” because she felt she was not “given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination.”

Undoubtedly, Izzie’s melanoma diagnosis and the hallucination insanity that occurred before it (can anyone say Denny Duquette?) is a great role for Heigl to be playing. But it became poignantly clear last night how disillusioned with her talent Heigl was when she smited a possible Emmy nom — before she was even nominated. What Heigl seemed to have failed to realize is that it is not the content that earns the Emmy, but the actors and actresses performing the content. What has earned Chandra Wilson‚  (Bailey) and Sandra Oh (Christina) repeated Emmy nominations while star Ellen Pompeo has not received one is how they create their characters from the content they are given, not by just reading the lines.

Yes, this season Heigl has been given a great character to play, but her vanity as an actress has diluted the character of Izzie. Telling the show’s creator that she needs to step up her game while Heigl does not step up her own is the biggest disgrace to a show that can be done. Heigl’s hissy fit might have earned her a lead role on “Grey’s” fifth season, but honestly, I am glad to see her go.

That said, last night’s episode of “Grey’s,” entitled “What A Difference A Day Makes,” thankfully avoided all the typical jump-the-shark moments the show employs in its pivotal episodes. There were no ferry crashes, train collisions or bombs in patients and, while Jeffrey Dean Morgan did make his return as ghost Denny, the medical aspect of the show was balanced evenly with the relationship aspect. What the episode did center around was death, and lots of it.

Turns out Izzie’s opening monologue was directed to Denny Duquette, a hallucination she had been having that resulted in her discovering she had a tumor in earlier episodes. Denny’s reappearance meant a new tumor and, after much searching, it was located by Derek and Bailey on Izzie’s temporal lobe. Bailey comments on how small the tumor is, and Derek responds only with a very sad “I wish there was something I could do for her.” To you optimists out there, I’m sticking to my theory. There will be no “Grey’s” miracle for this one. Izzie Stevens is dunzo.

Meanwhile in the pit, Callie (Sara Ramirez) is trying to balance the eight dying college students who were in a car accident on their way to graduation with her relationship with pediatric surgeon Arizona (Jessica Capshaw). The odds don’t weigh in her favor as seven of the eight students die in one of the most moving and well-edited “Grey’s” moments in a while. Alex has the one surviving student tell him her graduation speech – today is the day we begin the rest of our lives – while shots of the other students being zipped up in body bags are interwoven with Derek and Bailey discovering Izzie’s new tumor. I’m telling you, metaphors define “Grey’s,” and this metaphor says Izzie does not stand a chance.

Which brings us to the wedding. Sure, let’s ignore the fact Alex never officially asks Izzie if she would like to marry him – the wedding was great. Izzie had been planning the MerDer wedding replete with a poofy white princess wedding dress and a giant church which, as we all know from Dark-And-Twisty-Meredith days, is much more Izzie’s dream than Meredith and Derek’s, so it was surprisingly fitting when Izzie walked down the aisle with George steadying her weak walk as she went.

Alex and Izzie getting married was perfect, but much like Alex’s plan to artificially inseminate Izzie’s embryos when she first went in to cancer treatment, it was a futile attempt to preserve what is left of Izzie’s life instead of a thought through plan for the future. Alex’s and Izzie’s wedding was the long-awaited “Grey’s” wedding (I still wish Christina and Burke had gotten together in season three), but their marriage is something that would never last a year.

Plus, there is one marriage that desperately needs to last – that of Meredith and Derek. The couple that defined the show with “pick me, choose me, love me” has steadily been losing the interesting value of the show, being replaced with the ill-fated Christina/Hunt (Kevin McKidd) romance and the absolutely adorable Lexie (Chyler Leigh)/Sloan (Eric Dane) relationship. As Izzie said in last night’s episode before the wedding swap, Meredith and Derek are the two people least interested in getting married of all time. And as a result, I find myself wondering, do I really care?

So what do we have to look forward to in next week’s two hour season finale? The MerDer wedding, to be sure, but in what form I can’t guess. I’m hoping a private ceremony with only their close friends – and no Thatcher Grey – to honor Meredith and Derek’s wishes, especially since Izzie has gotten an epic albeit quick wedding out of her system.

The last appearance of Denny Duquette as he guides Izzie through death and off to heaven. Izzie is going to die, and it is going to be shot and presented in a way that tells you to feel sad. Whether you actually feel sad is up to your personal relationship with the character of Izzie Stevens. I know my apartment is making a skull and cross bones cake to celebrate the event.

I don’t think there will be an epic accident in this season’s finale – I hope Shonda Rhimes learned her lesson with those sweeps-catering obnoxious drama-fests when they didn’t draw in the ratings or dedication she wanted. This episode should, and hopefully will, focus around Meredith and Derek getting married and Izzie dying.

George leaving Seattle’s Grace. T.R. Knight has been almost nonexistent this season on “Grey’s,” with his last true storyline on the show being the ill-fated Gizzie match-up in season four. He has come back somewhat to the forefront as a great trauma surgeon, but is lacking any substantial reason for remaining on the show. If Heigl is leaving, then Knight is sure to follow, because the two-peas-in-a-pod friendship that held such a great dynamic both on and off screen is sure to follow the other out the door. I’m guessing Izzie’s death and the seven deaths George was unable to prevent will prompt George to transfer to a different hospital.

If both Heigl and Knight do leave the show, then two fifths of the original “Grey’s” interns will be gone from the show, completely shifting its dynamic to newcomers Lexie, Callie, Sloan and Hunt. If the dynamic does shift in such a way, don’t be surprised if in the next couple seasons Meredith and Derek decide to retire and Lexie becomes the title Grey in “Grey’s Anatomy.” She always felt like the back-up plan on the show anyways. But the question is, will “Grey’s” still be “Grey’s”?

Oh, and if you’re wondering who the other doctor most likely to be offed is, check out “Lost”s two hour season finale. She’s another one I can’t wait to leave.

Hey Blast readers, how do you feel about the Izzie/Alex wedding? Will you still watch the show if Heigl and Knight leave? Are you at all excited about the MerDer wedding? Leave us your thoughts!

What’s been speculated since Katherine Heigl’s rejection of a potential Emmy last season has finally been confirmed by cast mate James Pickens Jr.: Heigl and T.R. Knight are leaving “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Pickens told Us Weekly he wishes Heigl “nothing but the best” and said Knight wants to pursue other “career paths,” the magazine reported online Tuesday.

Knight has allegedly been itching to leave the show since the Isaiah Washington controversy in late 2006. Washington, who referred to Knight using derogatory gay slang, was subsequently kicked off the show, but sources close to the show say Knight was not pleased with the way the situation was handled.

Heigl refused an Emmy nomination for best supporting actress for her performance in the fourth season of “Grey’s Anatomy” because she said she felt the content of the show was not worthy of an award.

Creator Shonda Rhimes refused to release Heigl from her contract last year and has instead led Heigl’s character Izzie Stevens through a bizarre storyline which features the ghost of her second season love interest, Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Rhimes has insisted the cause of Izzie’s visions will not result in her death, but the facts point otherwise.

This is not the first time Heigl has backed out of a television show contract early. She did the same with TV show “Roswell,” which ran from 1999 to 2002.

Knight’s screen time during the currently airing season five has been extremely limited and he has not had a serious plot line since its debut.

It should also be mentioned that Heigl and Knight are best friends in real life.

Publicists for Knight and for series creator Shonda Rhimes declined comment. Requests for comment from Heigl’s publicist and ABC were not immediately returned.

The future looks uncertain for “Grey’s Anatomy.” I’m thinking a reboot of the show, with Meredith and Derek being lovingly removed from the show following a big sappy wedding sequence and little Grey (Chyler Leigh) taking the spotlight. Either way, what made the show so great when it debuted back in 2005 has irrevocably been lost and, while the show could continue to be great, it will lose an important sparkle that gave the show its personality.
Blast readers, what do you think about the future of “Grey’s”? Are you glad or pissed Heigl or Knight are leaving? Do you think they have just cause? Share your thoughts below!

Up until this point, I was waiting to write an article entitled “Why Shonda Rhimes Just Doesn’t Get It,” detailing why all of the episodes so far this season have not fixed “Grey’s Anatomy” in the way it needed to be fixed. After Thursday’s episode, I was proved wrong.

No, it did not feature a resurgence of the MerDer relationship that drove the show through its acclaimed first two seasons, but it had heart in it and – is it even possible? – likable characters.

The thing that has always been so great about “Grey’s” was Meredith and Derek’s relationship. The first season was a meager nine episodes, but those episodes were driven by the underlying passion and dynamic of their relationship. No one cared about the medicine – it wasn’t about the medicine. Seattle’s Grace was always just there to be a metaphor for Meredith’s life.

So when the Chief came out in this season’s premiere and gave his big speech about how Seattle’s Grace (cough “Grey’s Anatomy”) came out of nowhere in the beginning and was regaled as being amazing before quickly become second rate, season five seemed like the second coming of season one. That is until he said personal relationships weren’t to be tolerated and that Seattle’s Grace was going to get serious about medicine.

Seriously? Seriously.

It had seemed like Shonda just didn’t get it. We don’t care about the medicine! If we did, we’d be watching Hugh Laurie cracking some seriously interesting cases. We watch “Grey’s” for the sex, the tears, and above all, the drama.

Well, thank god for dermatology.

After the train wreck that was season four, “Grey’s” was in desperate need of exfoliating off a layer of dry, peeling skin and digging deep to get back shiny, happy Meredith that we knew all too briefly.

This was the epiphany Shonda said she had after the 2007 writers’ strike. This was what she had promised. But now Seattle’s Grace is going back to medicine? Come on. Why not focus on all of those beautiful relationships that had been reformed in the last ten minutes of season four and allow them to grow and prosper? Alex did what he does to often and become a complete jerk, Meredith did what she always does and start having trust issues, and…. But I digress.

The point of this article is not what Shonda Rhimes did wrong, but what she has done right.

In season five episode four, entitled “Brave New World,” Shonda came very, very close to bringing back everything wonderful about “Grey’s Anatomy.”

First and foremost (and previously mentioned) was the return of Joe the bartender. Joe’s Bar is almost a character unto itself in the show, but has been M.I.A. for the past season or so. Sure we’ve seen the bar, but where was Joe? I’m thinking the return of our beloved bartender is a signal for a better “Grey’s.”

Second is dermatology. Christina’s discovery of a completely different universe located just floors away from the surgical universe in Seattle’s Grace brought back one of the biggest missing pieces from last season: humor. The dermatology bit was funny. Who cared that Christina was gone from her patient for almost an hour (except for Lexie who weakly rebuked Christina when she returned to find her patient on the verge of death)? Hearing Christina unbelievingly state how one dermatologist had given another dermatologist their surgery because (insert Christina’s incredulity here) they thought the other would find it interesting was priceless.

Then there’s the fact that Callie and Hahn are close to being the healthiest couple at Seattle’s Grace.

Alex finally apologized to Izzie, which is one small step for Alex and one large leap closer to the relationship that’s been five seasons in the making.

The opening scene with the $20 bill, the pink pillow, and Alex and Izzie’s quarreling was great up until Meredith ruined the dreamiest McDreamy moment in a while because of, surprise surprise, her mother.

Basically all we’re waiting for is Ellen Pompeo to part her hair to the side again and MerDer to get back to making our hearts twist every time they have eye sex with each other and we’ll be all set. You go, Shonda.

Seriously.