A Happy Ending For Grey's Anatomy's Dr. Christina Yang

Calling Dr. Yang --

Somebody must be desperate because our Dr. Christina Yang (Sandra Oh), a Grey's Anatomy regular season 1, episode 1 and the most driven heart surgeon prime time has seen since St. Elsewhere's Dr. Mark Craig (William Daniels), is leaving the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital on one of the last episodes to air before the season 10 finale.  The upside is that Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), the man/heart surgeon extraordinaire to whom Christina was set to wed in the last episode of season 3, is returning to the hospital after seven l-o-n-g years leaving viewers to wonder will she? or won't she?

Didn't We Almost Have It All?

Ever since she held in her hand the heart of her dying father, Christina Yang aspired to be a surgeon. Not just any surgeon, mind you, but a cardio-thoracic surgeon with extraordinary skill. Yang's aspirations were fulfilled in the 226 episodes on which the character was prominently featured. When she was to marry, she did so dragging her feet to show up to perform the many pre-wedding tasks

The Eyebrowless Dr. Yang

insisted upon by her groom-to-be and his mother (Diahann Carroll), including the grooming of her eyebrows -- which somehow disappeared hours before the scheduled nuptials. When her appearance down the aisle was delayed near the end of the season 3 finale, Burke let Christina off the hook for the marriage, left her at the church and vanished from the scene, from the hospital and from the show.

The 'Oops' Which Changed the Series

Dr. Preston Burke

In real life, Isaiah Washington put his foot in his mouth by inappropriately "outing" costar T.R. Knight (Dr. George O'Malley) at public events attended by Grey's Anatomy cast members. The outrage that ensued following Washington's comments seemed to put Executive Producer Shonda Rhimes in the uncomfortable position of having to discharge Washington, thereby depriving audiences of one of the show's most promising characters and story lines. Knight hung around for two more seasons until leaving the series after George was killed by a bus in Now or Never, the season 5 finale.

Dr. George O'Malley

We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together

Dr. Preston Burke's return on episode 22 of the venerable series' 10th season is the cherry on top of Yang's sweet, rich ride as one of television's best characters EVER! Whether or not the couple reunites to satisfy the most romantically-inclined of Grey's legion of loving fans is secondary to the fact that the core group of characters who have kept the series popular and relevant for 225 episodes will no longer be graced by the oh-so-expressive Sandra Oh, whose beautifully-expressive face speaks volumes without her ever having to open her mouth. Hopefully, the cherry represented by Burke's return will allow for Christina the happy ending she so richly deserves, particularly since she was gypped out of the prestigious Harper Avery award that should have been hers.

A Guest Shot Perhaps?

As the series continues at least for a few more seasons, the chance to get a glimpse of Christina again does not seem far-fetched. While we do not begrudge Oh the opportunity for other acting gigs, we will surely miss Yang's surgical expertise, the support she provides to her colleagues (even the ones she despises), her on call room antics with ex-husband Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and her friendship to Meredith, Alex and Callie (Ellen Pompeo, Justin Chambers and Sara Ramirez). If we're lucky, Yang will be called to perform heart surgery on one of Grey's major characters and we'll see her again at Grey Sloan Memorial. We can hope so anyway because like Dr. Yang, we deserve a happy ending too!