WARNING: This post contains spoilers from the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy!!
A longtime Grey’s Anatomy star is leaving the show… but not forever!
The ABC medical drama aired it’s 450th episode on Thursday night (October 16), directed by Kevin McKidd, and it was revealed one character is going away for awhile.
In the episode, titled “We Built This City,” the team at Grey Sloan navigates a chaotic first day of surgical rotations amid hospital renovations. Meanwhile, Meredith spends time with Amelia.
Keep reading to find out more…
Kelly McCreary returned to the show as Dr Maggie Pierce, and revealed that she’s pregnant (she’s having a baby on her own using a donor)!
Her reason for a return, to help comfort Amelia as she struggles to cope after the explosion at Grey Sloan, which was caused by the mother of one of her patients.
At the end of the episode, it was revealed that Amelia is actually going to take a sabbatical to go “wherever my people are.”
With Amelia going on a sabbatical, this means we won’t be seeing actress Caterina Scorsone, who turned 44 years old the same day the episode aired, on the show for some time this season.
According to Deadline, Caterina‘s break will be for eight episodes, and she won’t return until 2026!
Of Amelia’s temporary exit, the episode’s writer Zoanne Clack shared why she had to step away.
“She’s realizing that she traded one addiction for another, and that was very unsettling for her when she figured that out,” she told The Wrap of Amelia using work as a crutch. “Usually she’s able to get back on the horse through surgery, but this time, she realized that she’s got to find the balance in her life … She’s got to reconnect with the world outside and just have that time to heal.”
The writer, who has been working on the show for most of it’s run, also revealed that Amelia will “be back periodically and then for good.”