Midori Francis Characters Left Us Twice in One Week And I’m Sad About It
Last week’s Grey’s Anatomy was the final episode for queer intern Mika Yasuda, played by incomparable queer actress Midori Francis. Based on all accounts I can find, it seems like a mutual decision, and based on this interview with Deadline, she doesn’t seem to have any resentment about leaving, or the way Mika’s story ended. In fact, when asked directly why she wanted to leave, she kind of skirts the question, reaffirming that it was a dream job for her. The closest she came to answering was saying, “Creatively, it’s about coming together to find the right story, the right moment for Mika’s exit.” When Deadline first broke the news, they said Francis was departing because she wanted to “branch out” and for the next step of her career.
I know a lot of queer people are disappointed that they set up Jules and Mika for such an epic friends-to-lovers storyline only to tear them apart, but I personally am grateful that their relationship progressed as far as it did before Mika had to go. I love a locked-door on-call room moment, and I feel like Jules and Mika got more emotional scenes per capita than some other relationships on the show. On Grey’s, I never expect things to last for long, so I’m just happy we had it for as long (or short) as we did. Especially since it involved two queer actresses who seemed passionate about the story. In that same interview, Midori Francis goes on to say about her and Adelaide Kane, “I know that for both of us, how that story was told was very important to us on a personal level, and because we had already had this trust and this friendship, we could really get into it and talk about the scenes on and off screen.”
I won’t lie, Mika’s story ending was a dual blow combined with the fact that it seems like Alicia is exiting stage left with Leighton on The Sex Lives of College Girls, but hopefully this means we’re about to see a lot more of Midori Francis in other projects.
And if you’re wondering if we’ll ever see Mika again at the Seattle Grace Mercy West Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital for the Doomed and Deranged, I wouldn’t hold your breath. To quote Midori herself “As far as returning to Grey’s, I would be so delighted…I don’t know if Mika would, I think for Mika it would be triggering.”
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