When “Grey’s Anatomy” comes back for its 12th season on September 24, the show is going to see many changes to its structure and cast, and not all of the new developments might be enjoyable for all fans, but it’s clear that the producers are experimenting with some new ideas and some things might not work out perfectly. Still, it’s commendable to see that they’re still willing to develop the show further, even after so much time – it goes to show that they have a serious dedication for it.
Jason George, who plays the role of Dr. Ben Warren, has been promoted to a regular character in the show, and he’ll be moving back to Seattle from Los Angeles following the footsteps of Miranda Bailey – played by Chandra Wilson – and he’ll get a fifth intern position. This was confirmed by the actor himself in June, and he seemed very excited to be coming on the show as a regular character.
At the same time, Sarah Drew, who plays the role of Dr. April Kepner, revealed to Entertainment Weekly that the new season is going to see a development in the storyline between April and Jackson Avery. The couple had a dramatic turn for the worse last season when they lost their son, Samuel. Then, April revealed to Jackson that she was planning to get back to the Army, and even though he gave her his blessings, he said that he wasn’t going to wait for her to come back.
Now, it’s not clear where things are going to go next between the two characters. Are they going to reconcile or is their relationship over when April goes to the Army? According to Sarah Drew, there might be more to their relationship and we may get to see them getting back together in the future, and she herself is certainly hopeful of that.
She said that her character hasn’t actually broken up with her lover, and they’re left in a limbo where she’s been given an ultimatum and has to figure out what she wants. Now, season 12 is coming with some fresh developments that might see the story moving in either way, realistically.
But of course, according to most fans, it would be better to see the two characters continuing their relationship and developing it even further. It was one of the more beautiful romances on TV lately, and the death of their son was a tragic event but it could be used to strengthen their bond over the next episodes as well.
April might take over the position of Dr. Owen Hunt as chief, but she’s reluctant to do that due to the amount of paperwork and legal ordeals involved in the job. She’s not the kind of character who enjoys sitting behind a desk and pushing pencils around, and she’s much more comfortable being “on the front line”, doing actual work and healing people.
She has actually found a great realization for herself in that job, and it would be peculiar – in a not very good way – to see her limiting herself to a desk position like that. Still, if it means seeing her stick around, then it might not be that bad for the development of the show as a whole. This could be one of the good ways for the writers to retain her character on the show in a realistic way without having to go to great, long explanations for their decision.