Camilla Luddington Reacts to “Horrifying” Grey’s Anatomy Fall Finale

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Spoiler alert!

Camilla Luddington was as surprised and upset by the season 22 finale of Grey’s Anatomy as many viewers were.

This isn’t the first time the ABC show has left viewers hanging with a cliffhanger at the end of a set of episodes.

Speaking to TheWrap on November 13th, after the episode ‘When I Crash’ aired, actor Nolan Luddington said crafting shocking midseason finales is what the show does best. He praised the writing, saying the script was exceptionally well-done and the cliffhanger ending was particularly impactful, highlighting the writers’ skill.

In a recent episode, Dr. Jo Wilson, played by Luddington, faces a life-threatening heart failure while pregnant with twins. Despite trying various treatments, her condition worsens, leading to an emergency C-section. The surgery is performed by Dr. Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill), who hasn’t done this type of procedure since his medical school days, and the episode leaves viewers uncertain about the outcome.

The fall finale also features a surprising reveal: Dr. Richard Webber, played by James Pickens Jr., learns he has cancer.

This article contains spoilers for the season 22 fall finale of Grey’s Anatomy.

Camilla Luddington is just as shaken by that shocking revelation.

It’s typical for Grey’s Anatomy to end storylines with suspense, and recently Dr. Link Lincoln almost died in an explosion. Now, just weeks later, his pregnant wife, Dr. Jo Wilson, is facing a serious health crisis of her own.

After the November 13th episode, “When I Crash,” actor Ashley Luddington told TheWrap that crafting shocking midseason finales is something the show does exceptionally well. She praised the writing, saying the script was fantastic and the cliffhanger ending left her stunned. Luddington credited the writers with being incredibly talented.

During the show, Jo struggles to breathe, and it’s discovered that she, a pregnant doctor, is experiencing heart failure. Despite attempts by her colleagues, Dr. Winston Ndugu and Dr. Ben Warren, to provide treatment, nothing works.

She’s currently recovering in the surgical wing, and Dr. Winston has to perform an emergency C-section. This is a procedure she was hoping to avoid, and he hasn’t done one since medical school. Viewers will find out if she survives in January.

Luddington stressed that the situation is incredibly precarious, and many people involved are facing a real struggle for survival. He warned that even a small error could have devastating consequences.

The fall finale of the show delivered another major surprise alongside Jo’s health crisis. Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) shares with Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) that he’s been diagnosed with cancer, shocking both her and the audience.

The actress described her approach to table reads, explaining that she only reads her own lines beforehand to get a feel for her character. She prefers to experience the entire script for the first time when it’s read aloud by the cast. She recalled being particularly surprised when they got to the part of Richard, saying she actually gasped.

The drama keeps building as Grey’s Anatomy returns on January 8th. Actress Camilla Luddington warns viewers to brace themselves, saying the upcoming episodes will be incredibly difficult to watch. She advises fans to “drink a lot of wine and try to mentally separate yourself from the show” because things are about to get even more intense.

Get ready for even more surprises at Seattle’s famous hospital! Let’s revisit some past moments that had viewers worried and reaching for the phone for a doctor—immediately.

The first episode of Grey’s Anatomy started with a surprise for new intern Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo): she discovered that the attractive man she’d spent the night with—played by Patrick Dempsey—was actually her new boss, the famous Dr. Derek Shepherd. Talk about awkward!

Viewers were as shocked as Meredith in the first season finale when Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) unexpectedly arrived at Seattle Grace and confronted Mer and Derek with the memorable line, “You must be the woman who’s been having an affair with my husband.”

During its second season, Grey’s Anatomy aired a dramatic scene after the Super Bowl where Meredith made the risky decision to put her hand inside a patient to prevent a live explosive from going off. Viewers breathed a sigh of relief when Kyle Chandler, playing the bomb squad chief Dylan, began to carry the explosive away, but then it detonated, tragically injuring him.

Viewers became invested in the romance between Izzie (Katherine Heigl) and Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as Denny waited for a life-saving heart transplant during the second half of season two, and many fell in love with their story alongside Izzie. When Izzie’s desperate attempt to get Denny a heart sooner backfired and led to his death in the season finale, it became clear that Grey’s Anatomy wasn’t afraid to break hearts and didn’t guarantee happy endings.

Season three’s ferry accident featured two shocking moments: Meredith being thrown into the icy water and almost drowning, and her surprising confession that she had actually stopped fighting to stay alive. Which was more surprising?

Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) joined Seattle Grace at the start of season three. Her arrival echoed how Derek first met Meredith – they had a chance encounter the night before she started – though their connection didn’t go as far. Lexie quickly introduced herself to George O’Malley (T.R. Knight) and revealed her family connection: she was Meredith’s younger half-sister, one of two daughters raised by their father, Thatcher, and his second wife, Susan. This added another layer to the already complex relationships at the hospital.

Over two and a half seasons after his character died, Denny Duquette reappeared on the show as a ghost—and in a bizarre turn of events, he had a romantic encounter with Izzie. This incredibly strange scene wasn’t just shock value; it was a way of hinting to both the audience and Izzie that she was seriously ill. It was eventually revealed she had advanced melanoma, stage IV, which had spread to her brain and other areas.

Honestly, everyone thought Izzie was going to be the one to die in the season five finale, but looking back, the fact that no one could locate George should have been a huge warning sign. It was heartbreaking when Meredith finally recognized the writing on the John Doe’s hand – ‘007,’ his old nickname – after he’d been hit by that bus while being a hero. She desperately tried to tell the surgeons, but it was already too late. He crashed, and they couldn’t bring him back. It was just awful.

The season six finale of Grey’s Anatomy is remembered as one of the show’s darkest moments. A grieving widower, fueled by loss and arriving after the hospital merged with Mercy West, entered with a gun and began shooting. Several doctors were killed or wounded, and the horrifying image of Bailey being pulled from under a bed remains incredibly disturbing. While Bailey survived, the ordeal tragically resulted in a miscarriage for Meredith and Derek, as she believed Derek had been killed in the shooting.

Just two seasons after a devastating shooting at Seattle Grace Hospital, Shonda Rhimes created another major crisis for her doctors. In the season eight finale, a plane carrying Meredith, Derek, Cristina Yang, Lexie, Mark Sloan, and Arizona Robbins crashed while they were traveling to Boise, Idaho for a surgery. The crash left them stranded and injured, and no one knew they were missing. Sadly, Mark and Lexie died, Arizona lost her leg, and Derek almost permanently lost the use of his hand.

As a longtime follower of Grey’s Anatomy, I was genuinely shocked by how they said goodbye to Cristina Yang at the end of season 10. Sandra Oh decided to move on, and the writers brought back a character nobody expected: Preston Burke! After leaving Cristina at the altar years earlier, he suddenly reappears offering her his hospital in Switzerland. Honestly, the biggest surprise wasn’t just him returning, but the fact that Isaiah Washington was brought back at all, considering his controversial exit from the show – and the hurtful slur he directed at T.R. Knight. It was a bold move, to say the least.

The season 10 finale of the show saw Cristina depart and introduced Dr. Maggie Pierce, played by Kelly McCreary, as the new head of cardio-thoracic surgery. In a surprising twist at the end of the episode, Maggie revealed to Richard (James Pickens Jr.) that she was the daughter of the renowned Dr. Ellis Grey. Richard wasn’t the only one shocked by this news – it was also a revelation that he had a daughter and that Meredith had another sister.

Everyone was shocked when Derek unexpectedly died near the end of season 11. He had just renewed his contract, making his death even more surprising. While killing off Meredith’s husband might have been the only way for showrunner Shonda Rhimes to remove the character without invalidating their long relationship, it was still a painful moment for viewers.

Mer had already faced so much, but in the twelfth season’s ninth episode, she experienced a terrifying attack by a patient. The assault left her jaw broken, requiring surgery and wiring shut to help regain her hearing. A particularly powerful scene featured Mer’s distress when her children weren’t able to visit her while she recovered, showcasing a brilliant performance by Ellen Pompeo.

The show addressed Alex Karev’s unexpected departure after Justin Chambers left by revealing he’d reconnected with his ex-wife, Izzie, years after she disappeared and filed for divorce. He discovered she’d been secretly raising their twins on a farm, and he chose to be with them instead of continuing his life in Seattle. It was a completely shocking twist no one predicted!

During season 17, viewers saw Dr. Andrea “Andrew” DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) tragically die. After working through personal mental health challenges, DeLuca had become an attending physician at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. However, consistent with the show’s dramatic style, his progress was cut short when he was fatally stabbed by someone connected to a human trafficking operation.

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2025-11-14 21:18