Grey’s Anatomy fans have their theories about which characters died in the hospital explosion — but who does the cast think might not come back for season 22?
During exclusive interviews with Us Weekly at the Motion Picture & Television Fund NextGen Annual Summer Party on Sunday, June 22, Camilla Luddington and Harry Shum Jr. weighed in on that shocking cliffhanger.
“I have no idea. I have a text chain going on with so many cast members that are like, ‘What do you think?’” Luddington, 41, teased after the surprising season 21 finale. “And we — Nobody knows. No one knows, which is terrifying.”
Luddington, who has played Dr. Jo Wilson since season 9, admitted she is always worried about her character’s future, adding, “We’ve seen too much, and we know too much. There’s not a single season I’m not worried about.”
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Shum Jr., 43, meanwhile, has a creative theory to keep everyone safe.
“Hopefully [it is] not me. Then hopefully, it’s some weird thing where it’s in someone’s mind,” he suggested. “I don’t know, but I don’t think that that’s the case. So we’ll see.”
During the May finale of the hit ABC series, Piper Perabo played a mother of a patient who brought a highly flammable acetylene tank into the operating room to force Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) to perform a high-risk surgery to save her daughter. The hostage situation also put interns Simone (Alexis Floyd) and Adams (Niko Terho) at risk, who Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) tried to save before it was too late.
Despite performing the operation successfully, the tank was accidentally opened, which let the flammable contents leak onto the operating floor. The final moments of the finale showed an explosion that only Meredith and Warren (Jason George) officially survived — for now.
After joining the show in season 19 as Dr. Benson “Blue” Kwan, Shum Jr. revealed how concerned he is about his time on Grey’s Anatomy.
“When the writers come to say, ‘Hey, I need to talk to you about something,’ it’s always like, ‘Oh, please don’t be that reason.’ But you know, that’s what keeps everyone on their toes. I think that’s why people love it,” he told Us. “This particular one — everyone that I’ve encountered — even fans that have come up to me and said this one was just a cliffhanger that they haven’t felt before. That is saying a lot. There’s a lot of cliffhangers that they’ve gone through. So it was nice to hear that.”
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Viewers are looking forward to finding out who lived and who died when season 22 airs this fall. But there’s a few other questions — including Jo’s revelation to husband Dr. Atticus Lincoln (Chris Carmack) about her surprise pregnancy — that fans are waiting to have answered.
“I just hope he’s alive,” Luddington noted. “And if there’s injury — what that is and what that looks like — I have no idea. So I feel like that is on my mind.”
She concluded: “I just hope that my [onscreen] husband is OK. Because she’s gonna need that support and they need it from each other. So I think it’s gonna throw a wrench in things and it’s gonna be a lot. They have two kids and two kids on the way.”
Before returning to film season 22, Luddington and Shum Jr. showed out to support the Motion Picture & Television Fund.
“We refer to ourselves as an industry all the time. This organization reminds us that we are all in it together in our community and in times of crisis. Today we’re here for the wildfire relief,” Luddington shared. “But I do remember back when the strikes happened — and COVID too — they were providing mental health services and housing to people that needed it. I think it’s so important to show up for someone that’s showing up for all of us.”
Shum Jr. highlighted the “way to give back to industry creatives,” sharing, “That’s one of the most important parts when you get into this industry is just looking back for your people. And in times when I needed the help, it’s the support system. Whether it’s MPTF or just being around people that will lend you a hand to just get you over this hump. Because being an artist is already hard enough.”
Grey’s Anatomy is currently streaming on Hulu.
