Even in its 21st season, Grey’s Anatomy is still considered to be one of the best procedurals ever made. When the surgeons of Grey Sloan aren’t tackling complex medical cases, they’re forced to confront their own issues, blessing viewers with a huge scoop of TV drama. Though the vast majority of the original cast have moved on to other projects, Meredith Grey, Miranda Bailey, and Richard Webber still report for duty.
Richard Webber has been a significant part of Grey’s Anatomy’s lore since the very beginning, and fans often appreciate his wisdom and comforting presence. Yet, many long-time viewers have noticed that he hasn’t been included in many exciting storylines, especially in recent years. As such, fans are starting to worry whether one of the show’s longest-running characters has been pushed aside.
Webber Struggled to Recover After His Health Troubles
Richard Webber has always been in a position of seniority compared to his peers, and that’s evident in the way he carries himself and acts around others. His determination is extremely admirable and certainly rubs off on others, so it’s no surprise that many interns look up to him when they first begin their residences. Personally, his life isn’t so perfect, and he struggles to balance his work with his marriage. His first wife, Adele, begged him to retire, but he’s always seen his work as the most important aspect of his life. Despite all of this, it seems that the show has been pushing him out of major plot points and instead has been presenting him as a very weak and frail man.
A prime example of this is evident in Season 10, Episode 2, “I Want You With Me.” After being electrocuted in the previous episode, Bailey quickly transports Webber to the OR, where she begins work on his intestines. During this intense sequence, Bailey discusses how she’s using her gut to try and work out the issue, something that Richard taught her many years ago. Even in this short scene, the characters are discussing Webber like he’s no longer part of the show and are acting as if his character is a distant memory at the forefront of other major characters’ minds. Later on in the episode, he’s transported to the ICU where he begins a very slow road to recovery. Overall, this was a pretty difficult arc for fans to stomach because many of them aren’t used to seeing Richard in such an uncomfortable and vulnerable position. Plus, even though he was placed in a life-or-death situation, his weak recovery meant that he wasn’t really involved in any other episodes. As such, some fans believe that the writers were looking to give Webber a ton of health issues so that they could ease him out of the wider storyline and make way for other arcs like Cristina Yang’s departure.
Season 16 also alludes to the downfall of Richard Webber, particularly in “Love of My Life.” Here, Richard plans to make a speech at the Surgical Innovation Conference in LA. But, he keeps getting distracted and confused, causing his colleagues to become very concerned. By the end of the episode, he’s spouting complete nonsense and has to be transported to the hospital. Overall, this arc tries to suggest that Richard Webber is developing Alzheimer’s and may not be able to carry out his life-saving work for much longer. Although this turns out not to be the case, this storyline places Webber in a bad light once again. Alzhimer’s is typically shown in older males, which minimizes Webber’s character and presents him more as a crazy old man rather than what he truly is: a talented surgeon with plenty of years of experience under his belt.
Richard Went Back to His Troublesome Ways
A big part of Webber’s character is his addiction to alcohol, and, mostly, it shows how even a competent professional like himself can be weakened by his demons. However, this arc has been explored a few too many times, and frankly, a lot of audiences are just bored by it. Though he first fell off the wagon in Season 6, this storyline was also repeated in Season 19. In “Happily Ever After?,” Richard tries to take a sip of Catherine’s martini and has since been consumed by the thought of drinking again. Though it’s sad to see Webber struggle with his sobriety, it’s something viewers have seen countless times. As such, it doesn’t have the same emotional punch as it did before, causing audiences to completely overlook him and focus on other characters. Plus, the audience very rarely gets to see Richard going to AA meetings or talking about the emotional weight of his addictions, so it just feels like an arc that’s rolled every couple of years to remind viewers that he’s still a recovering alcoholic.
Richard’s problems with addiction are also explored in Season 18, Episode 17, “I’ll Cover You.” In this episode, Richard accidentally drinks some of Catherine’s cannabis juice, causing him to run around the hospital like an incoherent fool. Admittedly, for the first couple of minutes, Richard’s behavior is quite silly and fun, but after a while, it just becomes a minor subplot. Not to mention, this idea has already been explored before with the case of Vikram Roy and the weed cookies. Grey Sloan is presented as one of the best hospitals in Seattle and has tackled a wealth of immense cases, so it seems odd that the show is focusing on Richard’s accidental consumption of cannabis. In addition, Webber’s performance in this episode is wrongfully exaggerated so he doesn’t really appear high, he just seems uncomfortably neurotic, which can distract audiences from the larger issues at hand. Overall, it’s clear that Grey’s Anatomy is no longer taking Richard Webber seriously and is keen to display him in a plethora of embarrassing and shameful lights just so they can prove that he still has an important part in the show.
Webber Seems to Have Lost His Magic Touch
It would be wrong to suggest that Richard Webber has been completely wiped from Grey’s Anatomy, but some fans can’t help but notice that he doesn’t feel as integral to the show anymore. His health woes and relationship difficulties have changed how many audiences perceive him, and he isn’t necessarily viewed as a top-notch surgeon anymore. Even in the latest season, Webber seems to be more of a mentor than one of the greats, which suggests that the writers are placing a greater focus on developing budding interns like Mika and Jules. In “If Walls Could Talk,” Richard is back at work, teaching his inferiors about a new procedure, but it’s hard to ignore how tired and fatigued he looks all the time. Though this could be foreshadowing future developments in his character arc, at the moment, Webber looks like he tapped out of the drama of Grey Sloan a long time ago.
Despite all of these criticisms, it’s very unlikely that James Pickens Jr. is going to leave the show any time soon. He’s been a main cast member since Season 1, and there’s no denying the security and stability that comes from a long-time role like this. However, it’s important that Grey’s Anatomy recognizes where it’s going wrong with Webber because if the show continues to push him aside, more and more fans are going to switch over to its competitors. Although fans are not necessarily expecting a 70-year-old veteran actor to be involved in high-stake stunts, it would be nice for Webber to take center stage in a new storyline. It also seems that Webber only associates with his other long-running peers like Bailey and Grey, which often means that he doesn’t have the opportunity to reveal his true self to others around the hospital. Thus, it might be time for the hit medical drama to put the youngsters on the back burner and let a fan-favorite shine his light once again.
