‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Stars Answer Season 11’s Burning Questions

ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy wrapped the first half of its 11th season last week with a few big cliffhangers: Derek seems poised to go to D.C.; the diagnosis for April and Jackson’s baby does not seem to be a good one and Dr. Herman might only have a few months left — but only if Arizona and Amelia keep her secret.

The Hollywood Reporter was on the set for the midseason finale and quizzed the cast on what’s to come when season 11 returns for its remaining 16 episodes.

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How will Meredith handle Derek’s likely departure to Washington, D.C.?

Ellen Pompeo: Right now, Meredith and Maggie are finding a friendship. There’s got to be something to structurally replace that Meredith and Christina relationship, so that makes sense. I think you can probably see Maggie and Meredith playing out a female friendship.

Will Maggie feel any responsibility over Meredith and Derek’s fight since it was her case that divided them again?

Kelly McCreary: Yeah, I think that she does recognize that she played a role in a way that she definitely did not intend to. She did not intend for the professional to get so personal, but I don’t know. I think we’ll have to see whether she feels responsible enough to somehow make amends or to step in in some way, but yeah, it’s a very awkward situation that she finds herself in between the two of them.

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How will Dr. Herman respond to Amelia’s declaration that she can help her?

Caterina Scorsone: With shock and dubiousness! Amelia is this young whippersnapper with a very bold plan and Dr. Herman has heard it all before and doesn’t suffer fools. Amelia is going to have to do some pretty delicate dancing to convince Dr. Herman that this is a good idea to try.

Has Arizona compromised her integrity by telling Dr. Herman’s secret to Amelia?

Jessica Capshaw: I have been playing it that her motivations are strong. Arizona is a good person, minus the infidelity. It’s in her DNA since the moment she showed up at the hospital. That’s also what I think is so interesting about Arizona and Callie’s break up. She wants to be happy. She’s a happy person. She’s a sincere person. She got into pediatrics because she wants to save babies, and she wants to save lives and she’s incredibly good at it. She has all this good in her and she needs to figure out how to do it. With Herman, she feels an ethical dilemma because she’s a member of the board but she feels a human dilemma because she wants to play both fields. She’s not maliciously trying to get as much information from her as she possibly can, and just hoping to get it soon before someone gets hurt. She’s investigating; she’s trying to figure out if her behavior is erratic, what the symptoms are and if they’re happening. She’s trying to figure out if she can see the scans and the history of the tumor then maybe she can ask for help. She’s trying her best, I think, to save her. There is no warm and fuzzy relationship between Arizona and Dr. Herman. She’s not doing it because she’s her friend. She’s doing it because Dr. Herman is in trouble, and she saves and helps people that are in trouble.

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How is Stephanie handling April and Jackson’s troubled pregnancy?

Jerrika Hinton: There’s a lot of guilt because she’s the one that found it out, so that makes it messy for her internally. I don’t think there’s any sense of, “This is some kind of karmic thing.” This is a genuinely horrible thing to happen to somebody. On some level, I feel like there’s a sense of, “Well, God. I thought this was going to be worth it in a way.” Like even for Stephanie, “If you’re going to go off and do this, I thought you were going to be able to have your fairy tale.” 

Who will Jackson lean on?

James Pickens Jr.: I hope so. That would be nice if he did. I may even present that to them to see if they’ll go for, if he wants to come to me during this time for some advice or just a sounding board.

Can Maggie and Richard work out their drama to have some sort of father-daughter relationship?

Kelly McCreary: Over time, once Richard gets over his embarrassment and Maggie gets over her sense of distrust, I think they will come together. Richard has left the ball in Maggie’s court and she’s got to get over her stuff and come back around to him — and she will.

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How will Richard and Maggie come together?

Pickens: He’ll try to become more of a mentor to her — and if along the way she wants more of a relationship, then he may become more than that. At this point, he’s not so much going to try and become her father; he just wants to establish a relationship that’s going to be special for him and Maggie.

Are Maggie’s adoptive parents coming?

McCreary: Not yet. I hope so down the line eventually, but we do sort of see glimpses of her sad, inner life now that she’s in Seattle.

Will Alex be there to support Arizona more now that she moved into his house?

Justin Chambers: It’s a little bit like what Alex has been dealing with with Meredith. In a sense, he’s kind of become Arizona’s person, too. She’s opening up about things that are going on in her personal life that we’ve never really seen them talk about them before. Alex also seems to be the voice of reason for her, too. I think it will deepen their friendship as well. It’s also a nice place to see their friendship.

The TGIT lineup returns Jan. 29 on ABC. What are you looking forward to seeing?

Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit