Summary

• Sandra Oh's Grey's Anatomy run is officially over, as revealed in the emotional season 17 finale.
• Despite fan hopes, Cristina Yang's absence in key moments indicates Sandra Oh won't return.
• Sandra Oh's successful career post-Grey's Anatomy suggests Cristina Yang won't be back on the show.

Much to the chagrin of the Grey's Anatomy fans, season 17 proves that the Sandra Oh Grey's Anatomy run is over once and for all. The character of Cristina Yang remains popular within the pantheon of the show's expansive cast, and her departure in the season 10 finale is both memorable and emotional. Her time on the series intersects heavily with many of Grey's Anatomy's other major players, primarily the show's central character: Cristina's "person," Meredith Grey. Of course, the Sandra Oh Grey's Anatomy character is not the first to depart from the show.

Plenty of other characters have left Grey's Anatomy, with some returning (some as ghosts during Meredith's near-death experiences). Because Cristina is alive in the Grey's Anatomy canon and serves as Chief Medical Officer and Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the prestigious Klausman Institute for Medical Research in Switzerland, audiences wonder if she could return to Grey's Anatomy. However, the Grey's Anatomy season 17 finale, and actress Sandra Oh's career, indicate that Cristina Yang won't return.

Grey's Anatomy is available to stream on Hulu and Netflix

How The Grey's Anatomy Season 17 Finale Confirms Cristina Won't Return

Cristina Wasn't There For Meredith In Season 17

It's clear by this point that Cristina Yang won't come back to Grey's Anatomy because, at every chance of a reappearance, she's been absent. After Grey's Anatomy season 17, many fans have begun to realize that her sporadic texts may be the most audiences see of Cristina Yang before the show's eventual end. Throughout Grey's Anatomy season 17, a few moments made viewers question whether Sandra Oh could return to Grey's Anatomy, but she's been purposefully absent. When things took a dramatic turn for Meredith, who nearly died, Cristina never returned.

The fact this perfect setup didn't lead to an appearance from Cristina doesn't bode well for a Sandra Oh return.

Cristina didn't appear to the comatose Meredith on her limbo-like beach, where many loved ones (Derek, George, Lexi, Miranda, and Richard) appear to her, seemingly answering the question once and for all. The Grey's Anatomy season 17 finale could have incorporated another text message exchange between best friends Cristina and Meredith discussing the same near-impossible procedure. However, the fact this perfect setup didn't lead to an appearance from Cristina doesn't bode well for a Sandra Oh return.

Sandra Oh Has Moved On From Grey's Anatomy

The Cristina Actress Has Made Comments About A Return In The Past

Of course, a crucial factor for the Sandra Oh Grey's Anatomy return is the willingness of actress herself — and that seems pretty absent. For those wondering if Cristina Yang will come back, the answer is likely disappointing. For years, Oh has expressed polite disinterest in returning to Grey's Anatomy to pick up the role of Cristina Yang which garnered her five Emmy Award nominations. In an interview with the LA Times' Asian Enough podcast, Oh's answer about her exit was pretty definitive.

"I left that show, my God, seven years ago almost. So in my mind, it’s gone. But for a lot of people, it’s still very much alive. And while I understand and I love it, I have moved on."

Grey's Anatomy's Sandra Oh has had a busy run recently, playing the groundbreaking title role in Killing Eve and voicing characters in Amazon's Invincible series, Disney's film Raya and the Last Dragon, and Pixar's Turning Red. Given Sandrah Oh's success since leaving the show, it's unlikely Cristina Yang isn't coming back to Grey's Anatomy any time soon. While it is unclear whether Grey's Anatomy's creative team has ever directly asked about a possible return, Sandra Oh's decision to steer clear of the hit medical drama is understandable.

Grey's Anatomy's writers, led by showrunner Krista Vernoff, have done their best to honor Cristina's legacy.

Despite leaving the show, it's undeniable that Sandra Oh put in astounding work during her decade-long portrayal of Cristina Yang, a critical player in Grey's Anatomy's exploration of nuanced female friendships and unapologetic female strength. Grey's Anatomy's writers, led by showrunner Krista Vernoff, have done their best to honor Cristina's legacy in the seven years since she left the series. However, it is undeniable that Cristina Yang's continued absence comes with some almost insurmountable narrative hurdles and has led to some inevitably clunky plotting.

What The Grey's Anatomy Cast Have Said About Sandra Oh's Cristina Return

Grey's Anatomy Still Honors Sandra Oh's Contributions

Many of the Grey's Anatomy cast were saddened to see Cristina go, and have also wondered if Sandra Oh could return to Grey's Anatomy?" Cristina hugely impacted the series and stuck around for a long time. Ellen Pompeo discussed how Oh and Patrick Dempsey's exits affected her differently. Pompeo said when she first heard of Sandra's departure from the show, she wondered if she could do it anymore. On an episode of Dax Shepherd's podcast "Armchair Expert," Pompeo asked, "Is there a show without Sandra?"

Co-star Kevin McKidd (Owen) had some things to say about Cristina leaving the show in an interview with PEOPLE and even addressed the possibility of the actress returning. McKidd said:

"I would love – and I always say it – I would love Sandra Oh to come back. [...] I don't think she will. She keeps saying she won't. Every time I see her, I'm always needling her, going: 'Come on, come on. Just one.' Maybe one day she'll say yes. I'm always working on her."

Grey's Anatomy season 17 may have delivered the final answer to any expectations that Cristina Yang would return to Grey's Anatomy. Yet, as with most long-running television shows, cast turnover can (and maybe should) happen to help keep the larger story of Grey's Anatomy chugging forward. Even Ellen Pompeo has stepped back from the show. While Grey still makes random appearances, don't expect to see Cristina again on the show, although streaming services make it easy to relive Cristina's story arc all over again.

What Has Sanda Oh Done Since Leaving Grey's Anatomy?

Sandra Oh Has Won Several Awards Since Leaving The Show

Though audiences still want Sandra Oh to return to Grey's Anatomy, she has done more than well enough on her own. After her breakout performance as Dr. Cristina Yang, she worked on the stage and the screen. She quickly joined the cast of the comedy film Tammy as Susanne before appearing in a handful of small roles and a bigger part as Abby Tanaka in American Crime season 3.

Oh also picked up a voice role in the live-action Sandman Netflix series as The Prophet Cat.

Sandra Oh also has a major career as a voice actor. She voiced Castaspella in She-Ra and the Princess of Power and continues her success in voice-over work playing Virana in Raya and the Last Dragon, Ming in Turning Red, Mrs. Zhong in Over the Moon, and Deborah Grayson in the Prime Video series Invincible. Oh also picked up a voice role in the live-action Sandman Netflix series as The Prophet Cat and the 2023 animated series Gremlins: Secret of the Mogwai as Nuwa on Max.

However, her biggest success was landing the lead role of Eve Polastri on the hit action drama series Killing Eve. She's won a Golden Globe, a SAG award, and several other accolades for her spell-binding performance as Eve, and other than the Sandra Oh Grey's Anatomy role as Cristina, it's her most critically acclaimed performance to date. Her role in Killing Eve opened the door for a litany of other productions, including the animated movie The Tiger's Apprentice, the upcoming Keanu Reeves movie Good Fortune, and the Max TV series The Sympathizer.