Grey's Anatomy: Farewell Tribute to April and Arizona!
Jasmine Blu
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Another season of Grey's Anatomy is nearly wrapped, and a significant chapter of the series will come to a close.
Fan-favorites April Kepner and Arizona Robbins will depart the series after nine/ten years on the show. That's a decade of touching Grey's Fanatics hearts with their respective journeys.
It's almost fitting that these two best friends will leave the series at the same time. Their friendship is just one of the many great things about both characters. On Grey's Anatomy Season 14 Episode 24 we will be saying farewell to both characters for the last time.
April Kepner
She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. Proverbs: 31:25 (NLT)
Kind, quirky, sweet, strong, and Godfearing -- April cemented her place as one of Grey's Anatomy's most memorable characters and a fan-favorite.
April's journey throughout the series is remarkable. She overcame insurmountable obstacles and tragedies, like the loss of her child, a divorce, and much more with positivity, light, and faith.
April came into Grey's Anatomy Season 6 as a young, naive, and annoying young resident from the rival hospital Mercy West. All these years later, she will leave the series as one of the most accomplished characters -- a mother, friend, and an accomplished doctor.
April's personal life has been marked by great tragedies, though she kept going and pushed through with grace. April's professional journey, however, is one of the most impressive on the series. She's the comeback kid with her own subtle redemption arc.
She entered the hospital an inexperienced, bumbling, insecure resident who was prone to many errors and fired more than once. She'll leave the series as one of the most accomplished, badass doctors that Seattle Grace/Mercy West/Grey Sloan Memorial has to offer.
In her own words, she's not an ugly duckling anymore. She's a swan.
I'm not an ugly duckling anymore. I'm a swan.
April
April caught the eye of the man who always came back for her, Owen. He took her under his wing in the ER, and he brought her with him overseas. It's through that bond and April's fortitude and determination that she became the Trauma goddess that she is today.
Faith is an integral part of April's character, and with her addition to the series, she was representative of a community and demographic that is shockingly underrepresented on television.
Related: Grey's Anatomy Season 14 Episode 23 Review: Cold as Ice
April was steady and unapologetic in her faith. She was a 28-year old virgin who held her own against teasing and jesting at her expense. Yet, the series handled her faith well. She was never made a mockery of nor was she portrayed as a problematic, bigoted Christian.
In that sense, April is one of the most iconic Christian figures on television.
Open-minded, compassionate, and principled, April's faith was always about her own relationship with God and never about imposing her faith on her atheist friends/husband or being remotely portrayed as the homophobic Christian who wouldn't accept her best friend.
What and who April represents has been groundbreaking. Through her portrayal, an entire demographic of viewers have felt adequately represented.
The incredible Sarah Drew has touched the lives of many through her portrayal of this beloved character. Check out the special tribute video to April Kepner below!
Arizona Robbins
"I was raised to be a good man in a storm. Raised to love my country. Love my family. Protect the things I love ... I'm a good man in a storm."
Bubbly, warm, emotional, and fierce -- Arizona Robbins won over fans almost instantly when she arrived in Grey's Anatomy Season 5.
We knew that the bubbly blond would steal hearts when she successfully earned the respect, admiration, and friendship of notorious grouch, Alex.
Related: 21 Grey's Anatomy Mentorships That Will Give You All the Feels!
The two went on to cultivate one of the best mentor/mentee relationships that the series had to offer, and Arizona is credited with shaping Alex into the esteemed Pediatric Surgeon that he is today. She helped him find his calling, and she did it with wheelies and a smile.
Arizona's tenure on the show has been rife with stunning moments of beauty and devastating times of hardship. She persevered through it all like the woman her father raised her to be.
Wise and witty, she's a friend to all. She's supportive and honest, and her approach to life and her relationships was helping those around her figure out how to be their best selves. That's how she managed to be universally adored and form special bonds with nearly all of the characters on the series during her tenure.
Arizona is a fiery and fierce force of nature who demanded the utmost respect and best out of all of those around her with an effervescent smile.
Related: 19 Steamy Grey's Anatomy Moments That Will Put You In the Mood!
Healer of tiny humans, she was the best in her field and didn't hesitate to pursue bigger and better things because she never feared hard work and growth. That's how Arizona went from a world-class pediatric surgeon to a fetal surgeon bound to New York to open her own clinic with her mentor.
Don't let the roller skates fool you. Peds is nothing but hardcore.
Arizona
Bold, cheerful, and the series' first open lesbian, Arizona has also been some of the show's best representation of a specific demographic.
Arizona is the confident lesbian who walked in her truth from the moment she popped up onscreen. She's listed as one of the most influential LGBTQIA characters on television. There is no shortage of accolades heaped upon her character for what and who she represents.
Arizona's relationship with Callie was one of the strongest and best representations of women loving women relationships ever. Their relationship is iconic, and it's just as popular as the primary, most iconic 'ship of the series, Meredith, and Derek.
In addition to the importance of Arizona's role as a lesbian character on network television, she tapped into another underrepresented community as well.
When she was severely injured in a plane crash that cost her one of her legs, Arizona became one of the few characters with a disability that was airing on network television at the time.
Arizona's journey as she learned to forgive her wife for "taking her leg" and learned how to walk again was some of the most compelling storytelling of the series, and it was some of Jessica Capshaw's best work.
There is no doubt that when Arizona departs the series, this mother, doctor, and good woman in a storm will leave behind a hell of a legacy.
Check out a special tribute to Arizona Robbins below!
Are you ready to say goodbye to two of Grey's Anatomy's most iconic and influential characters?!
The Grey's Anatomy Season Finale airs Thursday at 8/7c on ABC. It marks the final episode for Arizona and April. Don't forget to come back for a full review and a roundtable.
If you want to relive all of the great Arizona and April moments over the years, you can watch Grey's Anatomy online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
