BaseOps

We got some small tid-bits from Camilla's TVLine interview at Comic-Con. She said that there's no time-jump; season 15 starts pretty much where 14 left off. She was also told that Jo picks her specialty this season. They start shooting in Seattle this week for multiple episodes (like last season). Table read for the premiere is this Thursday.

Scott Speedman confirmed this weekend at a Felicity reunion panel that he's "probably not" coming back to Grey's.

I'm confused as to how being with Matthew is seemingly so regressive for April. I DO agree that the courtship was quick and in that sense I totally get fans being upset over it. But in terms of what he means for April or how he represents pre-season 9 April, I'm a bit confused. For one thing, she left Matthew in mid season 10. And she was still deeply religious after that... that part of her never changed. Yes, she was a very complex character, but she was complex pre-season 10 as well. I think the whole idea of her arc this year was that her faith had been slowly eroding over time without her noticing, and then she had a breaking point - she had lost Samuel, her marriage had crumbled, and she had made choices that she would never have expected herself to make. All of this led to a full-on crisis of faith once Matthew lost his wife and the young boy who got shot died. Her bond with God became greater than ever once she found her way through that - I don't see it as regressive, but as April actually progressing. She found a way to balance everything: practicing medicine for the less fortunate, being with a partner who respects and understands her faith, and having a successful co-parenting relationship with Jackson, etc. I think everyone in the hospital respected her greatly for her surgical skills, as well. I wouldn't have minded seeing her perhaps get one last truly triumphant surgery, but it is what it is I suppose. I certainly think that Krista could have given April a much, much (much, much, MUCH) worse exit; a lot of season 14 was her story. And admittedly, Sarah Drew was very proud of the story that they told for April in S14. She dominated several episodes throughout the year, survived the season, and exited on good terms with every other character - that's pretty much more than you can ask for on any TV drama, especially Grey's Anatomy.

On the speculation end of things, I've been thinking about the set-ups for season 15 that we were left with and where Krista might intend to go. - We have Teddy returning, pregnant, and taking on the role of interim chief. This obviously sets a major obstacle for Owen / Amelia, who everyone pretty much assumed were going to get back together. It should also be an interesting shake-up for pretty much everyone as Bailey has been chief for several years now and Teddy has basically been MIA. It will be interesting to see how she deals with being in charge, both with characters whom she has a past with (Owen, Meredith, Richard) and those who we haven't really seen her interact with yet (DeLuca, Jo, Maggie). - Bailey continuing to do surgery but stepping down (temporarily) as chief to explore more outside work and enjoy her life. I think it could be really interesting depending on what Krista cooks up for her. - Meredith seems to be finally ready to find new love without all the reservations that she had when Riggs was around. I'd love it if they could get Scott Speedman back (Ellen mentioned that they told him the door was open for his return) but in general it'll be nice to see her having fun with someone new. I also really hope they keep a major focus on Meredith as a great surgeon / mentor. I'm hoping her storyline with Jo continues. - Alex and Jo are a bit of a mystery. Obviously if she takes the fellowship they'll either have a brief separate storyline in Boston (like Cristina did for a while) or we'll have a time-jump, which I don't expect given the Teddy storyline. I'm content with Jo choosing to stay in Seattle and become a resident and continue to work under Meredith. I'd love to see Jo pregnant by the end of S15. - DeLuca is another mystery. I genuinely have no clue what they plan to do with him. Unless the next relationship they give him is a lot more interesting than Bello, I'd be content to see him stay focused on neuro work with Amelia. - Maggie and Jackson will presumably have a number of annoying/boring tribulations to go through. - A big question that wasn't answered in the finale is whether or not Carina will be back. Basically she'll either get a one-line write-off in the premiere ("My sister went back to Italy..."), stick around for a few episodes, or become a regular. The fact that they didn't write her off at the end of S14 makes me believe that she'll be sticking around, but it could come down to contracts.

Teddy pretty much already did call Owen out on his shit so that should make things interesting at the start of next season. I wonder if they'll be pushing Teddy/Owen or Teddy/Amelia.

Kim Raver has been promoted to series regular for season 15.

They wouldn't have to fire her to make Jaggie happen, though. This is what confuses me most about the fans hating on Maggie (not you) - Jackson and April have been broken up for several seasons now. No one needed to be written off to make Jaggie happen; it happened while April was still there (and the seed was planted before Vernoff showed up). I doubt the near-death experience was planned before Sarah's exit was, but of course I could be wrong. To me, it was clearly used as a big 'goodbye' and catalyst to have her quit. Sarah & Jessica were notified in early March that they were being let go, so the decision was likely made sometime in February. By that point, it was already decided to have Matthew return at least once (14x19) as his episode was filmed before Sarah was even notified, and certainly planned much much before (episodes break / are written weeks in advance of filming). I really think that, as with most situations, the simplest explanation is probably the true one: Krista wanted to scale back the cast and April & Arizona had the least ties to Meredith so they got cut. While I think April still had a ton of potential story to tell, I get it. But I wish she and Arizona both stayed around.

Me: * Excited that the cast is down to 10 regulars for the first time in years * Also me: * Dreading the inevitable press release announcing that Teddy, Carina & all 4 interns will become regulars *

@beaunicorn It's pretty explicitly implied that she goes to NYC to repair things with Penny. The only reason they broke up is because Callie plans to stay back when she doesn't get custody. Arizona tells her to go be with Penny. "Sophia deserves two happy moms. Let's all be happy."

Bailey didn't say that she was leaving. She said she wanted to do surgery and have time for other things, so she's giving up on the paperwork and 'stressful' side of her job but my take was that she'll remain doing surgeries and working at the hospital.

Yes, Bokhee was there! She handed the knife to Jackson during the procedure at the wedding. I thought that was hilarious.

Y'all are taking this WAY too seriously - it's Grey's Anatomy! Who cares what Matthew's family thinks? What we're told is that April & Matthew are happy, Jackson and Matthew are getting along, and Harriet will have two living, respectful, co-parents... let's take it at that. I'm so happy that they opted for a joyful finale after such a strong season. Alex and Jo were hilarious throughout and their wedding was beautiful. I loved the ferryboat tie-in and Meredith being the officiant. Her not wanting Alex to leave was so cute - and I enjoyed the nod at fans constantly thinking that Meredith/Alex would become a thing. This put that to bed once and for all. Meredith and Jo's relationship this season has been really enjoyable and I'm glad that it continued here. It was so nice to see Jo come into her own as a surgeon and Alex respect her enough to be willing to move for her career. Teddy showing up pregnant was predictable but fun. I love the idea of her being chief and shaking things up next season. As I said before, there was no way to do Calzona without rushing it, but this was a solid way to set it up offscreen as a possibility. I wonder if Carina will stick around next season? They certainly didn't try to write her off at all. DeLuca kissing Meredith was great. Is it odd that I was here for it? Overall, I so thoroughly enjoyed season 14. I'll miss April & Arizona but I'm looking forward to what's to come.

I loved that. Great endings for April and Arizona, Teddy pregnant and returning, a fantastic JoLex wedding, and smiles all around. Sara singing The Story fucked me up.

Also, the Grey's Instagram account just posted a photo that shows Kim Raver at the final table read...

So... Debbie Allen seemingly just confirmed on Instagram that someone who isn't Alex/Jo get married. Here comes the April / Matthew wedding!

No surprise here, but ABC confirmed at upfronts today that Grey's will remain in the Thursday at 8 timeslot next season as part of another all-Shonda TGIT. Fall: 8pm - Grey's 9pm - Station 19 10pm - How To Get Away with Murder Spring: 8pm - Grey's 9pm - Station 19 10pm - For The People

Her net worth is estimated to be around $3M - she'll be fine if she doesn't hop onto another series right away. Like you said, I'm sure it's not fun to go from thinking you'll have the same amount of $ coming in to having no steady pay, but she was making somewhere between 80K-100K per episode, which is around $1.9M minimum for the last season alone. She should be okay for the time being.

I mean, of course... the writers can do whatever they want. I'm just saying that personally I'm very satisfied with Callie & Arizona not being together and Arizona instead getting a wrap-up related to her daughter and career. Also, at least in April's case we knew a few weeks ago that she was seeing someone so it was alluded to happening off-screen. In this case, Arizona just broke up with Carina last week and for all we know Callie is still with Penny, so there'd be a bit more work to do. That said, if Callie makes a surprise appearance in the finale to whisk Arizona off her feet, I wouldn't be mad.

To me, while Jackson & April have incredible chemistry and would have been an ideal endgame for the series, they never really WORKED as a couple. And yes, that comes down to how the writers wrote them, but it is what it is. They were plagued with issues that they never resolved – April ran off to the army, Jackson treated her like crap when she returned, etc. The beginning of her pregnancy with Harriet was totally toxic (restraining orders, fighting… her neglecting to even tell him at first). I thought they worked better as friends and co-parents with a deep respect for one another this year than they had a couple in the past. As for Matthew, I’m okay with him and April being together, too. What she did to him at the wedding was awful, but it was years ago. He’s deeply religious and his religion teaches forgiveness. I do wish that we had seen more of their new relationship unfold onscreen, but I get that they were in a time-crunch and I’m glad that they’re giving her a happy ending rather than killing Harriet’s mother. April and Matthew make sense to me, especially considering what they both went through this year. Is it too soon after his wife passed? For some people, sure. And I’m glad that Arizona at least acknowledged that by saying that they didn’t tell anyone because they feared judgement. It happens in real life. You can’t really decide when you’ll meet someone who helps you move on. I’m very glad that Arizona is getting a great send-off, as well. I loved her stuff with Herman and short of getting Callie back, Herman was definitely the next best thing (probably even better, as any resolution with Callie would have been super rushed and I’m fine with them being amicable but not together). In this case, we’re getting a farewell that honors Arizona as a surgeon. I’m super excited at the prospect of a not-so-dark finale next week, though given the impending goodbyes, I’m sure it will be emotional.

It's been quite a while since they actually operated on one of their own... Meredith back in season 12? Bailey had her heart attack at another hospital and many of them never even knew about it.

The finale promo made me smile so much! I'm sure it won't be ALL happy but I love that the Alex / Jo "drama" seems silly rather than over the top and awful.

Amazing episode. It was sad, funny, scary, emotional... everything that makes Grey's great. I'll have more thoughts later, but I so fully enjoyed every moment. I cried both sad + happy tears.

I'm watching now. 7 minutes in and it feels like a typical BIG Grey's episode. Nice little twist already, too. Maybe stay off twitter. It's airing in Canada.

She specifically posted about filming at prospect studios while they were shooting the finale, which is what throws me off re: a death. It also looked like she was at the filming of Jolex's wedding. Unless they're giving her a big Mark Sloan send-off with flashbacks, etc. I do also find it odd that Sarah is live-tweeting tonight, but even if she survives it seems clear that tonight will be the bigger April episode as it's seemingly dinmostly about her, whereas a finale has to give something to every character (and we know there's the Jolex wedding). I suppose ABC could be trying to prepare fans so there isn't so much shock / blowback if she does die.

I'm convinced that there's no way April dies. The social media accounts have never done THIS much over an episode like this. I just don't think they'd give it away if she actually dies; it seems like they're setting us up to be worried and then be relieved when she survives.