'Grey's Anatomy:' Cristina Yang says goodbye

Well, Cristina Yang got out alive -- which isn't always a given on "Grey's Anatomy," particularly on season finales where the carnage can (and has been known to) cut a wide and indiscriminate path.

But Yang -- actress Sandra Oh -- needed and deserved a dignified exit and actually got one. It was all one of those follow-your-heart-and-don't-let-fear-or-the-fates-derail-your-dreams kind of walkaways, and it actually worked, though that wasn't always a given. A fan posted the key three minutes from last night and I've reposted here:  In which Yang and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) "danced it out" to the old Tegan and Sara song, "Where Does the Good Go." (How old? I think it actually came out right around the time "Grey's" did, so in a sense this song was an homage to the beginning of the Grey/Yang relationship, which began, of course, at that time, a decade ago.)

This series will be different without Yang -- how different will be is left to real fans to consider. But she was absolutely a vital part of the long-running success of "Grey's," the gimlet-eyed counterweight to Grey's tumultuous inner life. A real sense of that comes out in this brief scene. Yang's romantic ups and downs certainly rivaled Grey's, so her final advice to Meredith not only comes from the heart but comes from experience.

Now, any bets Yang will be back at some point to pay another visit to Seattle Grace -- almost certainly during a sweeps period?