Grey’s Anatomy is at the midway point of Season 9, which can only mean one thing: Time to check in with the ABC drama’s boss, Shonda Rhimes!
And by “check in,” we of course mean grill her for details about the season-ending arc for Mer/Der (baby crisis?), Alex/Wilson (are they the real deal?), Cristina and Owen (baby crisis Part 2?) and much more.
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TVLINE | Back in September you told me that this would be the season Alex finds love with a woman who will not leave him. Is Wilson that woman?
Possibly. I’m hopeful. I started out this season being very specific and sure about that, and then really wanting to calibrate that for him. We’ve been watching the chemistry between them and building things. I didn’t want to jump into an immediate romance for him. He’s been the guy who sleeps with everybody, and I didn’t want to see him do that. I felt like he needed a friend. We’ve been watching that build, and I don’t want it to go too fast or too slow. We’ll see what comes. They’re now doing stuff together that just makes me laugh out loud while watching the cuts, and I don’t want to push it. Right now we’re just leaning into it.
TVLINE | Mer’s pregnancy – why do I have this sinking feeling that it’s all building to a “Love’s Labor Lost” kind of climax?
You have a bad feeling because everybody thinks I kill everybody all the time. That’s why you have a bad feeling. [Laughs] And that works to an advantage, because the audience takes it very seriously that things could happen. But in my mind I feel like we have this storyline about this person who wasn’t necessarily meant to get pregnant, but did — and is now very worried for herself. We’re going to be watching this. We have a lovely storyline planned, and I think it’s going to be very beautiful for Meredith and Derek. I hope the audience is along for the ride.
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TVLINE | Can you shed any more light on their storyline during the second half of the season?
Derek’s hand is better, but I think he feels an extreme sense of responsibility for what’s happening with the hospital. They’re going to be playing a larger part in the future of the hospital as well and trying to help fix it if they can. But mostly, I feel like you’ve been watching Meredith evolve as a leader and a doctor and a surgeon. And that’s going to continue. Portraying them as a grown-up couple has been very fun for us. It’s been nice to see.
TVLINE | When will Cristina and Owen’s lingering baby issue rear its ugly head again – because I know it’s coming.
It is going to come up. I’m so happy right now because they decided not to talk about it. Divorce has sort of freed them from feeling like they have to. It’s going to be complex. They’re something very intense about the idea that Cristina is a woman who does not want children. She’s unapologetic about it. She does not want them. And there’s nothing wrong with not wanting children. I love babies. If you gave me 40 babies I’d be thrilled. But this idea that if you place a baby in a woman’s arms and she’s going to melt is not true for some people.
I feel really strongly that we allow this character to be who she is, this woman that does not want children. She’s a surgeon and a scientist first before she is anything else, and Owen has to deal with the fact that he is in love with somebody who has a genius, versus being in love with somebody who wants to have a family. That is going to be a complex thing for them. And I’m enjoying watching them deal with not dealing with it at the moment. But yeah, they’re going to have to really talk talk about it and figure it out and struggle to figure out if they can be in love despite the fact that he wants kids and she doesn’t.
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