Camilla Luddington Teases Grey’s Anatomy Season Finale, Including Kim Raver and Kevin McKidd’s Emotional Exit (Exclusive)
“I think that they did such an incredible job even just at the table, playing that storyline, I was crying,” Luddington says of her costars’ final episode
Grey’s Anatomy season 22 is heading toward an emotional finale.
In a conversation with PEOPLE to promote her partnership with Get’ems! Squeezies from Gerber, Camilla Luddington teased what’s ahead in the final episodes leading up to the Thursday, May 7, finale. The actress, who plays Dr. Jo Wilson on the long-running show, revealed fans should brace for multiple cliffhangers.
“It’s not even just one cliffhanger,” Luddington, 42, says. “There’s just so many cliffhangers in the finale. Like even as an actor, it’s frustrating. I’m like, ‘Can I get this script for next season? Can I get the premiere?’ “
One thing that will definitely happen in the finale: Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) and Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) will say goodbye to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. On Wednesday, March 25, Raver and McKidd announced they were exiting the series ahead of season 23.
While details about what prompts the characters, who have an on-again, off-again relationship, to leave Seattle behind remain under wraps, Luddington promises Owen and Teddy’s farewell is going to be an emotional one. In fact, just hearing the actors during the table read left her teary.
She says, “It’s a really beautiful storyline too. And I think that they did such an incredible job, even just at the table, playing that storyline. I was crying.”
Luddington adds that saying goodbye to her castmates is “difficult.” She says, “It’s really hard. I mean, we’re family, so it’s hard … I think we all hate to say goodbye to anybody. And Kevin directs so many of our episodes. So I’m hoping that he continues to be able to do that next season.”
As for what’s ahead for Jo, the actress reveals her character is heading toward a “crossroads” as she continues to deal with mental health issues following the traumatic birth of her and Link’s (Chris Carmack) twins, Peyton and Hattie. “I can tease that it doesn’t get any easier,” Luddington says of Jo’s plight in the final episodes of season 22.
She jokes, “I need like one day where they’re like, ‘It’s an emergency. You have to drink a margarita.’ And it’s like, that’s what she has to do. It’s never happened. Wishful thinking. It’s going to get harder and it actually leads to her sort of in the finale having this moment of feeling like she’s at a crossroads to do with her career.”
Since Luddington joined Grey’s Anatomy in 2012, Jo has had several stories dealing with her mental health following her difficult childhood and abusive relationship with her ex. Still, even Luddington was surprised to see Jo being triggered by seeing her twins. However, after reading the episode that explored her opening up to Link about her feelings, she says she was glad to see the show shining a spotlight on a rare postpartum experience that some women face.
“I remember reading the scene where she talked about how… That basically when she looks at her babies, it’s really triggering,” she recalls.” It triggers the idea of that trauma and the loss that she went through. It just didn’t occur to me that that could be something that somebody feels after going through something like that. And so I loved that we told that story. I was like, ‘Oh, that makes sense. Yeah, let’s tell it.’ “
