Farewell to Christina Yang

After 10 years of playing the character Christina Yang, Sandra Oh leaves Grey’s Anatomy. PHOTO: FILE

Grey’s Anatomy fans were ready to cry their eyes out during Thursday’s season finale, Farewell to Cristina. In the final scene, we see Cristina (Sandra Oh), smiling, in her office in Switzerland, where the door reads Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery and we hear her say, “Sometimes the future changes quickly and completely”.

And we’re left only with the choice of what to do next. We can choose to be afraid of it, to stand there trembling, not moving, assuming the worst that can happen. Or we step forward into the unknown and assume it will be brilliant.”

Oh opens up in an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter about how Cristina’s story concluded and her emotional farewells.

What was your last day on set like?

I was completely in tears — but not broken. It was not a place of being sad. It was a place of being tremendously moved. I do want to try to be specific about the quality of the emotions because many people can be sad — and it is sad — but I was extremely moved.

Do you think it was it fitting that Cristina replaced Burke at his own facility?

Yes. I felt like you could show the most amount of growth by seeing her come face-to-face with one of the most influential beings in her life. It’s almost like you need a big, strong force like Burke to help her get out. What Burke offers her is so tremendous that she’s willing to change her life for it, to leave her family — Meredith (Ellen) and Owen (Kevin).

Was the final scene as hard as you expected?

My very final moment of shooting was with Kevin, and it was the final moment where Cristina says goodbye to Owen. It was a beautiful image of Cristina in the gallery, behind glass and tapping on the OR theatre below. Symbolically, with that distance, it cinematically tells the story of where they are and also puts a distance that they don’t want between them. It felt right because it was tough shooting that.

What was your final scene with Ellen like?

It was deeply emotional. It was the last scene that Ellen and I shot. I remember feeling for our chests embracing. I was holding her and it felt like we were one body.

Did you already speak with Shonda about potentially coming back for the eventual series finale?

I told her, “If you guys want to finish it out however you want to finish it out, I’d be more than happy to come back.  And if it doesn’t fit in that way, I totally understand. I just want you to know that I’m available.”

Have there been moments this season where you second-guessed your decision to leave?

Yes and no. I would definitely get flashes of fear, but I know that that’s my fear talking. I’ve been given such a bountiful gift of the past 10 years and, at this point in my life, I choose not to live my life from fear.

What will you do next?

I’m going do plays [Death and the Maiden] and after that, I don’t know. I want to be as open as possible to anything that comes.