Kwan’s Grey’s Anatomy Season 21, Episode 8 Twist Is A Reminder Of Shum’s Troubled Sequel To A $239M Hit

ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy has concluded the first half of season 21, leaving fans with a huge cliffhanger with some of their favorite characters left in danger. While not in trouble, Benson “Blue” Kwan, portrayed by Harry Shum Jr., who was cast in Grey’s Anatomy season 19, has had an interesting romantic subplot this season that mirrors an upcoming movie. Kwan is a more private person who keeps his personal drama relatively under wraps compared to the other interns. However, when his ex-fiancée shows up at the hospital, it gives the audience a glimpse behind the carefully crafted walls Kwan has put up.

Harry Shum Jr. has had many notable roles beyond that of the Grey’s Anatomy cast that have made him a fan-favorite actor across franchises. One of his more interesting roles is in the Crazy Rich Asians movies, the first of which was released in 2018. While he only appears for a few seconds in the first film, it set up the bigger role he is going on to play in the sequel. For fans of both Grey’s Anatomy and the Crazy Rich Asians franchise, some similarities can be seen between both of Shum’s characters.

Kwan Gets Back With His Ex-Girlfriend In Grey’s Anatomy Season 21, Episode 8

Their On-Again/Off-Again Relationship Has Been Troubled

During Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 8, Molly returns to Grey-Sloan to see Kwan before she gets married, and the pair end up getting back together. This new love triangle can cause problems for Kwan down the road when Molly breaks things off with her fiancée. This storyline also demonstrated how talented Shum is because of his ability to sway the audience. Even after it was revealed that Kwan cheated, Shum managed to win the audience back to Kwan’s side in the love triangle.

Molly and Kwan getting back together will allow Shum to explore a different side of Kwan, which will hopefully continue in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 9. Since Molly forgave him, Kwan will be able to let go some of the guilt that he’s been holding on to. Shum can explore who Kwan is now that his romantic life is how it should be. Audiences will also get to see how Kwan manages his past relationship with Molly and his current one. Balancing these past and present relationships will give Shum an opportunity to dig deeper into the character.

Kwan’s Romantic Plot Is Reminiscent Of Harry Shum Jr.’s Role In The Troubled Crazy Rich Asians Sequel

The Love Lives Of Both Characters Are Tangled

Kwan and Molly’s relationship over the course of Grey’s Anatomy season 21 was actually similar to Harry Shum Jr.’s character in the Crazy Rich Asians franchise, Charlie Wu. Both of Shum’s characters deal with a past relationship that he can’t stop thinking about or move on from. In addition, both Astrid and Molly are both still involved with someone else when their relationship with Shum begins. These similarities will lead to a lot of conflict for Shum’s characters, giving him the opportunity to create a multi-layered performance.

These similarities will also give Shum the ability to make different acting choices. This will allow him to really discover what choices are best for this type of storyline and focus on that. Shum manages to bring something special to these characters that makes the audience root for him, even when he is the “other man“. If the audience doesn’t root for Shum, then there isn’t much of a love story, let alone a compelling love triangle. Between a network television show and a box office film, Shum has proven himself the ideal pick for this type of character.

Will The Crazy Rich Asians Sequel Ever Happen?

It’s Looking Unlikelier By The Day

After a very successful run at the box office, Crazy Rich Asians grossed over $174 million domestically. Success like that made fans very excited about the sequel that could show Astrid reconnecting with an old flame. Between changing screenwriters and trying to capture the magic of both the book and the first film, however, Crazy Rich Asians 2 has been continually delayed. In addition, the director of the film, Jon M. Chu, has been spending his time working on the Wicked movie and has signed on to direct Wicked Part 2 as well.

Crazy Rich Asians 2 was originally going to begin filming in 2020 but was delayed due to scheduling conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic. The newest update for the Crazy Rich Asians sequel anticipates filming in 2025 in Malaysia and Singapore as they did with the first movie, though Jon Chu’s update on Crazy Rich Asians 2 throws that into doubt. While Warner Bros. has not yet announced an expected release date, typical production schedules suggest a potential 2026 release. While it can be frustrating to wait years for the film, the time taken to do the Crazy Rich Asians sequel justice will only benefit the fans. In the meantime, however, audiences can get a taste with Shum’s work in Grey’s Anatomy.