Originally appeared on E! Online
This article contains spoilers for the season 22 fall finale of Grey’s Anatomy.
Camilla Luddington is just as shaken by that shocking revelation.
Of course, it would be far from the first time “Grey’s Anatomy” ended a series of episodes on a cliffhanger. But just weeks after Dr. Atticus “Link” Lincoln (Chris Carmack) barely survived the fatal explosion at Grey Sloan Memorial, his wife Dr. Jo Wilson (Luddington), who is pregnant with twins, is caught up in her own major health scare.
“This is what we do best, these horrifying, terrifying midseason finales,” Luddington told TheWrap in an interview published after “When I Crash” aired on Nov. 13. “The script was written so well, and that being the last thing that we see, I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ The writers are just incredible.”
During the episode Jo experiences shortness of breath, with it subsequently being revealed the very pregnant doctor is having heart failure. And though fellow doctors Dr. Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill) and Dr. Ben Warren (Jason George) to run through a series of treatments, they all ultimately fail.
READ: It’s a Beautiful Day to Operate on These Grey’s Anatomy Secrets
As for where this leaves her? In the surgical wing as cardiothoracic surgeon Winston must perform an emergency C-section — a procedure she was hoping to avoid and he hasn’t done since med school — though fans will have to wait until January to learn if she makes it through the ordeal.
“This is a situation where everything hangs in the balance and survival is not guaranteed for a lot of us involved,” Luddington emphasized. “The cost of a mistake could be everything.”
Meanwhile, Jo’s medical emergency is not the only shocking moment on the fall finale — for Luddington and viewers — was Her colleague Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) reveals to Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) that he has been diagnosed with cancer.
“The way I go into a table read is, I actually don’t read the whole script. I read my part so I understand what I’m bringing to the table, and I like to hear the whole script for the first time out loud,” the actress explained. “So I remember when it got to the Richard part, I audibly gasped.”
And as she teased, the roller coaster continues when Grey’s returns Jan. 8. “If there’s one word to sit on it would be ‘brutal,” Luddington hinted. “Emotionally prepare because the next episode coming up after this, it is worse, to be honest. So yeah, just drink a lot of wine and try to compartmentalize this is not happening on Grey’s Anatomy until January.”
