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Shondra Rhimes loves giving Grey’s Anatomy fans little heart attacks. She’s never afraid to take risky moves or write characters who fans love off of the show. We’ve seen it time after time over the years. Even if a character seems vital to the plot of the show, Rhimes never hesitates to kill them off or send them to some other city or country, never to be heard from again.

Grey's Anatomy
Grey’s Anatomy | Mark Davis/Getty Images

While fans certainly miss their favs when they leave the show, the cast is also sad to see their friends written off and some of the storylines die. So, who does the cast really want to come back?

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Exits

Throughout the years, the show has killed off a number of big characters. George O’ Malley’s death was one of the first times a main character died on the show. He was soon followed by Lexie Grey and McSteamy. But perhaps the most surprising death on the show was Derek Shepherd’s. He and Meredith Grey were the center of the show at one point. But now, he’s nothing more than a distant memory.

Grey has lost a lot of people throughout the series, including both of her best friends. Though Christina Yang and Alex Karev didn’t die, they both moved to other cities, leaving Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital forever.

Alex Karev leaves ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

In January, Justin Chambers, who plays Karev, announced that he was leaving Grey’s Anatomy.

“There’s no good time to say goodbye to a show and character that’s defined so much of my life for the past 15 years,” he said in a statement to Deadline. “For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices. And, as I turn 50 and am blessed with my remarkable, supportive wife and five wonderful children, now is that time.”

He went on to thank the members of the cast that have been working with him since the very beginning.

“As I move on from Grey’s Anatomy, I want to thank the ABC family, Shonda Rimes, original cast members Ellen Pompeo, Chandra Wilson, and James Pickens, and the rest of the amazing cast and crew, both past and present, and, of course, the fans for an extraordinary ride,” he continued.

Which characters do the cast of ‘Grey’s’ want to come back?

We’ve lost a lot of Grey’s characters over the years, but we have also gained more than a few. Jaicy Elliot, who plays Taryn Helm, recently spoke about all of the old cast members that she wants to return to the show.

“I love Alex Karev,” she told HollywoodLife. “That character is just so amazing. Alex has been on the show as that specific genre of a person — kind of the moody, and a tough love kind of character — and I think that energy’s going to be missed on the show. It’s always sad to see a character leave the show.”

But Karev isn’t the only one Elliot is missing.

“I want Cristina Yang to come back,” she continued. “She’s at the root of the whole sister house and ‘dance it out’ and all of these things that make Grey’s what it is, and all of these references that we have. So Cristina for sure, but I also kind of miss Lexie. Lexie Grey. I loved her. I think she was such a fresh and very vulnerable character. I loved her relationship with McSteamy. I loved him as well. I kind of want to see everybody come back. George would be amazing. I think I might eventually go back and watch all of it from the beginning just to feel like I have these people in my life again.”