Check out Kevin McKidd wearing a lot of hats, and very little clothing, on tonight's Grey's Anatomy on ABC.
'Grey's Anatomy': Can Cristina and Meredith Save Their Marriages?
Executive producer Betsy Beers tells THR that the abortion will shine a light on the couple's other issues.
Owen (Kevin McKidd) taking Cristina (Sandra Oh) for an abortion won’t be the end of the couple’s problems on Grey’s Anatomy but only the beginning, executive producer Betsy Beers warns.
The couple traditionally has had their fair share of issues – where they were going to live, their views on children – but Cristina’s abortion won’t erase the problems that have cropped up for the couple.
“Their relationship is definitely in transition and [how the abortion impacts them is] going to be a focus,” Beers tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Beers notes that the abortion, which Cristina decided without consulting Owen, will bring into focus the other problems that exist between the couple.
“How they agree, how they disagree, what works, what doesn’t work: [the abortion is] more a manifestation of those issues,” she says. “There have always been ongoing things between Cristina and Owen, clearly this is another one. But this is one more thing that’s contributing to can Cristina and Owen keep it going.”
Meanwhile, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) are going through their own version of hell after Meredith’s baby-napping adventures costs the couple Zola.
“Where we left last week is pretty heavy,” Beers says, noting that the couple weren’t yet on firm ground in the wake of Meredith’s tampering with Derek’s Alzheimer’s trial.
“What’s going to be incredible to watch with them is once again, can they get over these things that keep raising their heads: Meredith’s desperate need to do what she thinks is right despite the repercussions and Derek always wanting to be able to trust,” Beers says. “That’s hard for him and that’s the meat of their relationship.”
Grey's Anatomy's Shonda Rhimes: The Love Between Cristina and Owen Is Still There
September 28, 2011 by Natalie Abrams Source: TV Guide
"I didn't want to create situations this season where something happened and they broke up," she continues. "What's adult about this is to give our characters impossible situations and see how they make their way through it together."
That's not to say Cristina and Owen, who rushed into marriage in the aftermath of the Seattle Grace shooting rampage, won't have a falling-out as a result of the abortion. "They were in an impossible position where he wanted one thing and she wanted another, and he gave her what he felt she needed," Rhimes says. "It's going to put them in a strange position with one another for a while."
"They're going to shut down their feelings about it for quite some time," McKidd adds, noting that becoming chief is a blessing in disguise for Owen. "He has this very convenient environment where he can become so consumed with work that they can try and brush it all under the carpet. I'm not sure it's going to work. He genuinely tries to put that to bed and go, 'OK, this is the woman I love. This is the person I married.' But whether he can manage that in the long-term is going be the big question mark over Cristina and Owen."
Though Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) was the one to persuade Owen to give Cristina his blessing, so to speak, McKidd believes that will come to a head in coming episodes. "Meredith supports her because it's her decision, in the same way that Owen supports her because it is her decision," he says. "I think Meredith is there for her, but what her true feelings are are going to come out later."
Kevin McKidd Says Grey's Anatomy 'Has Written Cristina Into a Box' – and He's Thrilled
by Michael Ausiello August 29, 2011 Source: TV Line
There are a number of ways Cristina’s abortion dilemma could play out on Grey’s Anatomy this fall, but one thing appears fairly certain: If she terminates the pregnancy, her marriage to Owen is kaput. “That’s a very good point,” reasons the baby daddy’s portrayer, Kevin McKidd. “Is it just a bump in the road, or is it a real block in their relationship? That’s addressed in the early part of the season.”
The very early part. As series creator Shonda Rhimes recently revealed to TVLine, the question of whether Cristina goes through with the abortion is answered by the end of the two-hour season opener, airing Sept. 22.
McKidd acknowledges that “the writers have written Cristina into a bit of a box,” but adds that that’s not necessarily a bad thing. “[T]he really good juicy stuff gets going when they go, ‘OK, we’re going to make this as difficult as we possibly can for this couple. They fought to get together, with the Teddy of it all in Season 6 and then the PTSD, and now it’s like slam, we’re going to give you the hardest problem of all.’
“It just gives us an opportunity to tell a better story and a more important story,” McKidd continues. “And it’s really tough. Network shows aren’t dealing with that topic of conversation about abortion. I think it’s cool that they’re not skirting around it, they’re going head on into it.”
'Grey's Anatomy's' Kevin McKidd Critiques Owen and Cristina's Choices and tells us what lessons he's bringing to his second stab at directing an episode on Season 8.
When Season 8 of Grey's Anatomy rolls around Cristina (Sandra Oh) and Owen (Kevin McKidd) will be mulling over their growing dilemma. She’s pregnant and doesn’t want to be a mom, but he’s totally ready to daddy up.
'“They’ve had lots of bumps in the road,” McKidd tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Since they’ve met, it’s been rocky for them to say the least, but this is like the big one really. This is going to define how or if the relationship moves forward in the next couple episodes.”
Cristina and Owen’s relationship has been characterized from the very beginning by their fiery passion. Yet, McKidd seems to have a much more analytical mind than his hot-blooded character and his spitfire of a wife.
“They should have really checked in with each other before they got married about the baby question in my opinion,” the Scottish actor tells us. “They made a big mistake. They really should have crossed those ‘Ts’ and done their due diligence before they jumped into the marriage thing. They’re paying for that right now by being completely on different pages with the children issue.”
Yet, McKidd says that the couple’s discord makes his job much more enjoyable. “Those characters are more fun to play when they’re struggling with something,” he says.
Within the first two hours premiering Sept. 22 on ABC, we’ll know what Cristina is going to do and McKidd says that the show doesn’t veer away from the controversial subject of abortion.
“It’s definitely not something that is sidestepped,” he tells us. “I’m not going to say what happens… [Creator Shonda Rhimes] and the writers will go head on right into a subject matter that’s usually kind of avoided… They just do it and do it in a very clever way.”
Besides his rocky storyline with Cristina, McKidd also has his second stab at directing coming up. He has revealed he’s doing Episode 6 on the upcoming season. So, we wondered what he learned after his first go-around last season that will make this one better for him.
“I think I’ll enjoy it more this time,” he says. “Because I was so terrified [last time]. Didn’t sleep at all. I’m going to sleep more and have more fun.”