Jo Wilson and Lucas Adams found themselves in danger during the Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 fall finale, when they became hostages in an armed robbery. While we wait to learn their (possibly already spoiled) fates when Grey’s returns to the 2025 TV schedule, allow us to travel back in time to another harrowing plotline in the medical drama’s history — the plane crash. While the Season 8 finale was merely one of several near-death experiences for Meredith Grey, her sister Lexie actually did perish in the aftermath. Chyler Leigh recalled her demise, and I did not expect this reaction to her character being eaten by wolves.
Now I’m going to be honest, as a longtime fan of Grey’s Anatomy, I remember Lexie Grey being crushed under the plane and her heartbreaking death after she and Mark Sloan professed their love for each other, but I did not remember that her body was then picked apart by wolves! When Chyler Leigh visited the Call It What It Is podcast, it sounds like she wouldn’t be able to recall that detail either, if not for all the memes. So how does she feel meeting such a gruesome end? She said:
I guess I was eaten by wolves? I just wanna know because, like, wolves [are] like, one of my spirit animals, so I’m like, I’m down with that.
Well that was definitely not what I would have expected. Poor Lexie Grey had been crushed by a plane and then her final moments remain to this day one of the saddest and most shocking Grey’s Anatomy deaths of the whole series. Why did they have to do the character dirty like that, literally feeding her to the wolves? Well, at least Chyler Leigh is cool with it, and fans have found their own way to cope as well:
Humor is definitely one way grieve, and I’d say Lexie Grey fans are doing a pretty A+ job of highlighting that trauma-inducing detail:
@luthorgreys i miss her tho #fyp #fypシ #foryou #greysanatomy #meredithgrey #lexiegrey #greys ♬ original sound – atsilia 🌱
Well, now I’m officially down this rabbit hole. Hopefully I will not be here for four days, as Cristina Yang painfully recalled in Season 9 how long the plane crash survivors were left to drink their own urine and listen to wolves fight over Lexie’s body.
Thankfully that wasn’t the last time we got to see Lexie Grey. She and Eric Dane (who played Mark Sloan) made a visit to Meredith’s COVID beach in Season 17, as Grey’s Anatomy allowed Ellen Pompeo’s character to reunite with her dead sister, husband Derek and friend George.
The wolves thing still feels a bit unnecessary, but I guess I should remember that the Seattle hospital was ultimately renamed for the two plane crash victims, so we often do think of Lexie and Mark when we mention Grey Sloan Memorial. Or, we think about this:
It’s a good bet that when Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 returns to ABC at 10 p.m. ET Thursday, March 6, 2025, there will be no wolves waiting in the wings for Jo or Lucas, but may we never forget what this show is capable of. Feel free to start a Grey’s Anatomy rewatch if you need an extra reminder. Every episode that’s aired so far can be streamed with a Hulu subscription, while the first 20 seasons are available with a Netflix subscription.