Mary McDonnell says her final Major Crimes episode “felt like a kick in the solar plexus to a lot of amazing women and men out there”

Variety

“What surprised and humbled me, and in a deeper sense than ever before, woke me to the incredible power of the medium, was the level of authentic grief that emerged after Sharon’s death,” McDonnell writes in Variety, breaking her silence on her abrupt departure three episodes before the series finale. “Many fans were truly saddened, angry, and overwhelmingly frustrated. I knew how much Sharon was loved. I knew she was a role model. What I hadn’t totally comprehended was how much importance she held as a symbol. And how her importance had grown since the election last year.”