Thursday night was a difficult evening for many a \"Grey's Anatomy\" fan. <\/p>\n
Dr. Mark Sloan, aka McSteamy (played by Eric Dane), said his final farewell to the halls of Seattle Grace on the show's Season 9 premiere, after he was taken off life support and subsequently passed away. <\/p>\n
PLAY IT NOW: What Will Eric Dane Give Rebecca Gayheart For Valentines Day? <\/p>\n
\"Grey's\" creator addressed the reasoning behind the loss of McSteamy in a blog post on Friday, writing, \"For me, this [death] is the most tragic. I'm VERY attached to Mark Sloan. He's part of the fabric of the show.\" <\/p>\n
Shonda explained that if Mark had lived, he would be forced to grieve for Dr. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh, who died in the crash during the Season 8 finale), and that storyline would've been too painful for one of her favorite characters. <\/p>\n
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywoods Hottest Beach Bods <\/p>\n
\"That doesn't sound like what I want for my beloved Mark Sloan,\" she wrote. \"So, I fought it and I debated it and tossed and turned about it but in the end, I had to do what was right for the integrity of the character... So Mark dies. And he and Lexie get to be together in a way. Their love remains true.\" <\/p>\n
Another shocker? Dr. Arizona Robbins (played by Jessica Capshaw) survived the Season 8 finale plane crash, but lost part of her leg. <\/p>\n
Jessica took to Twitter to share her relief over her character's survival. <\/p>\n
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Primetime Hunks <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
See more here: Thursday night was a difficult evening for many a \"Grey's Anatomy\" fan. Dr. Continue reading
\nGrey's Anatomy: Shonda Rhimes Explains Killing Off Eric Dane's Character<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"