TV critic Andrew Wallenstein’s commentary on Dr. Hahn’s departure from Grey’s Anatomy is one of the best I’ve heard so far, and you can now listen to it in its entirety on the NPR website. He starts off by addressing the issue that has bothered me the most about the firing of actress Brooke Smith — namely, that it doesn’t make sense for a show that is overrun with one-dimensional characters played by so-so actors to get rid of an interesting character played by a talented actress.

In Wallenstein’s words:

“What’s most unfortunate is Hahn may have been the most richly drawn character the show ever yielded. Finely played by a respected character actor like Brooke Smith, Dr. Hahn’s sexual awakening provided what’s otherwise a pretty vacuous soap opera some real moments of dramatic heft.”

He also hits just the right note when he goes after ABC at the end of the piece, giving a nod to all the ways gays currently exist on TV (as cuddly daytime talk show hosts, as comic foils, and as one-time ratings stunts during sweeps) and concluding that “Grey’s may have been doing something more provocative by normalizing a gay relationship.” Until they screwed it all up, of course.