Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Reveals How 1 Major Character Exit Will Happen (& It Follows A Horrible Trend)

Two major characters are set to exit Grey’s Anatomy in season 21, and one worrying development in season 21, episode 3 likely kickstarted the storyline leading to the departure of one of them. The main storylines in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 3 continued to revolve around Catherine and Meredith’s feud and Meredith and Miranda following Catherine as a patient, but the episode also introduced interesting new developments with Nick and Amelia’s momentous surgeries. Another unexpected and unfortunate situation was nonetheless revealed in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 3, and it impacted multiple storylines and affected one character in particular.

Well before Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s release, the exits of Jake Borelli and Midori Francis from the show were announced, making it imperative for season 21 to tackle what will prompt their characters Levi Schmitt and Mika Yasuda to leave Grey Sloan. While it’s unclear how Levi might be persuaded to leave a hospital that was so central to his growth, one detail revealed in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 3 just introduced a major crisis for Mika. The crisis in question could affect Mika enough to leave Grey Sloan Memorial, especially as the hospital will play a key part.

Chloe Yasuda’s Illness Sets Up Mika’s Grey’s Anatomy Exit

Chloe’s Shocking Diagnosis Can Make Mika Reevaluate Her Whole Life

Mika Yasuda spent the best part of Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 3 in her own head after she disappeared as Sydney Heron was giving the interns their assignments, even lashing out at Jo and Amelia when they were fighting in the middle of Rhiannon’s surgery. The end of the episode eventually clarified why the phone call affected her so much, with Jules and Mika’s heart-to-heart revealing how Mika had just learned her sister Chloe was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age 22. The revelation thus explained both Mika’s behavior and her request to speak with Teddy in private.

Chloe’s appearance in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 4’s trailer highlights even more the severity of the situation based on Richard’s words. This shows how Chloe’s cancer can be what triggers Mika to leave Grey Sloan Memorial. Indeed, with showrunner Meg Marinis revealing how Levi and Mika could both return (via Deadline), Mika’s departure involving her death is all but ruled out. However, the serious illness of someone as close as her little sister can be life-changing enough to upend her life, whether Chloe lives or dies, making it more likely the diagnosis will prompt Mika to leave Grey Sloan.

Grey’s Anatomy Has A History Of Characters Who Experienced Mika’s Crisis

Many Of Grey’s Anatomy’s Doctors’ Relatives Ended Up At Grey Sloan As Patients

Assuming Chloe will die based on Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 4’s trailer and Mika’s reaction would be too hasty, but all the doctors at Grey Sloan who faced Mika’s problems were without a close relative at the end of that story arc. The trend was set up in Grey’s Anatomy season 3 with the heartbreaking death of George O’Malley’s father after his health kept declining for days as he was being treated at Seattle Grace, but the medical drama sadly kept it up even in more recent seasons. Indeed, Alex’s father too died after being treated at Grey Sloan.

More recently, Maggie’s fight with her mother on how to deal with her illness in her last days was harrowing enough to make the episode of her death in season 13 one of Grey’s Anatomy’s saddest episodes. Finally, the death of Bailey’s mother from Covid in Grey’s Anatomy season 17 also happened at Grey Sloan, cementing the admission to the hospital of its doctors’ close relatives akin to a death sentence in the medical drama. This makes it more likely for Chloe Yasuda to die in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, thus fully justifying Mika’s disappearance from Grey Sloan Memorial.