Grey’s Anatomy star Kim Raver was shocked by Teddy and Owen’s decision to open their marriage — but more than ready to take on the challenge as an actress and director.
“It’s such a tricky topic, and we’ve never done it on Grey’s. Everyone you talk to has very strong feelings about it. Kevin [McKidd] and I were really worried, like, ‘OK, wait, this is really tricky terrain.’ We both love this couple and the years that we’ve been building it [along with showrunner] Meg [Marinis] and the writers,” Raver, 56, told Us Weekly during an exclusive interview ahead of the Thursday, April 3, episode of the medical drama. “Grey’s has also never shied away from really intense, controversial topics, so this is such a fun one to do.”
Raver credited Marinis for how she approached the story line.
“Meg has been so incredible. We had several sit-downs on [discussing], ‘How do we protect the characters that we love in this situation but also open up, so to speak, the dialogue about it?’” she explained. “Teddy and Owen have been arguing for so long and they’re not getting along. When we were talking with Meg, it came from a place where Owen and Teddy love each other so deeply that they’re not ready to walk away from the relationship. So what do you do?”
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While Teddy and Owen established in the March 27 episode that one of the rules of their open marriage is to keep things physical and not establish an emotional connection with someone else, Raver agreed with Us that that would be difficult for these characters.
“Teddy and Owen are so emotional! And their whole relationship has always been very bumpy, tumultuous,” Raver said before referencing Teddy’s past affair with Tom Koracick (Greg Germann). “My big thing to Meg was, Teddy really messed up when she cheated and if Teddy has evolved at all, it can’t be just a silly, open marriage. It has to be much deeper and much more layered. I think even the fans responded, like, ‘Oh, thank God. They’re finally being honest.’”
On Thursday’s episode, Teddy is reunited with fellow trauma surgeon Cass (Sophia Bush), who is in an open marriage of her own with husband David.
“She is so fantastic,” Raver gushed of Bush. “She is super intelligent, super generous. For an actress to come into a group that’s been together for so long and be so positive — she’s an incredible addition.”
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While the two women previously felt sparks during a November 2024 episode, Teddy pulled away. This time, Teddy and Cass acted on their feelings.
“We’re doing this love scene together and I would be like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, I have an idea.’ And she’d be like, ‘Wait, what?’ Mid-kiss! And then she’d be like, ‘OK, great, let’s do that,’” Raver said of directing their makeout. “It just was incredible to have such an amazing partner who has such fabulous qualities of generosity, intelligence, laughter, ease and professionalism. We’re so lucky to have her playing Cass because it’s a complicated role. Everyone loves her. I felt so lucky. She’s really a woman who supports other women.”
Raver added that she thinks Bush “makes the whole relationship stand out.”
“On camera, she has this incredible, like, sparkle about her,” she continued. “It’s this effortless, really wonderful quality. It’s not someone coming in and breaking up a marriage. Her character is really illuminating that there are other ways than the traditional ways of having a relationship, and that everyone has to choose their own path.”
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Raver noted that Cass is “not forcing” anything on Teddy. “What’s cool about this episode is Teddy’s like, ‘I’m fully ready to have that conversation,’” she said. “It’s also about consent, and I think that that’s a really important thing. Consent from all ends — consent from Owen, consent from Cass, Teddy being mature and cool on her end. It’s a very mindful exploration of this open marriage.”
While Teddy and Cass get hot and heavy for a minute, fans see Teddy actually changes her mind mid-makeout.
“I think it’s really amazing that Teddy comes to the realization before, like, making love. She’s like, ‘This is not gonna fix my marriage. I thought this was gonna be a fix,’” Raver told Us. “For her, she realizes it feels too much like cheating, and it feels too much like the road that she had been on before.”
Owen, for his part, spends the episode with Nora (Floriana Lima).
“It’s so many layers and is so complicated,” Raver said. “Floriana is another amazing, generous, fantastic, talented, woman. I had to choreograph the love scene; It’s very choreographed. We have an intimacy coordinator, but Sophia, Floriana were just such rock stars in terms of being able to delineate Teddy and our relationship, but then me directing. They were so open to trying things and playing around with things.”
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Raver also laughed about being the one to direct McKidd with a new love interest. “Me telling Kevin, like, ‘OK, I need you to kiss her more, bring the comforter down more’ — I felt so excited to tell the story and it made it very easy,” she said.
At the end of the episode, fans are left unsure of what is next for Owen and Teddy.
“I wanted the ‘oh my God’ moment where people are throwing things at the television, going, ‘What?!’” Raver told Us. “The way it goes to black, and there’s this a cappella music playing. I wanted that to be so shocking.”
Raver also warns fans to get ready for the remaining episodes in the season.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen with them, and that’s so sad and scary. It’s definitely gonna be a roller-coaster,” she said. “We just finished the finale and I’m not gonna give anything away. I would just say, ‘Buckle up.’”
Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET.
