The Grey’s Anatomy midseason premiere revealed whether Camilla Luddington‘s pregnant character, Jo, survived — or died — after having to deliver her babies early in a premature C-section.
During the Thursday, January 8, episode of the hit ABC series, Jo remained unconscious after undergoing surgery to welcome her twins early amid heart issues. They were each put on ventilators in the NICU — with baby A thriving while baby B wasn’t in the clear just yet.
Link (Chris Carmack) watched over the newborns while also checking in on Jo, who wasn’t getting any better. There was concern that she would even need a heart transplant but the episode ended with one of the babies peeing on her own and Jo opening up her eyes for the first time since the high-risk surgery.
Elsewhere in the episode, Simone (Alexis Floyd) hooked up with Wes (Trevor Jackson) while Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.) navigated his new normal with Kavita (Anita Kalathara) as they figured out their situationship. Lucas (Niko Terho) helped Bailey (Chandra Wilson) on a case with Owen (Kevin McKidd) and Teddy (Kim Raver) also featured in the midseason return.
Grey’s Anatomy fans were originally worried about a fictional bloodbath following the season 21 hospital explosion.
“I’ve had conversations with some of the cast, but they all know it’s a Grey’s Anatomy cliffhanger and they know every year they never know what to expect. They’re here for it. They like to keep our stories exciting and fresh,” showrunner Meg Marinis told The Hollywood Reporter in May 2025. “But even in the last two seasons with what you saw this year, we had to reduce the cast a little bit [because of industry-wide budget cuts], and everybody has very passionate feelings about their favorite characters.”
She continued: “But if we can get the writers upset then we know we’re doing it right. It’s not as satisfying a story if people aren’t upset when someone leaves. It’s supposed to make people upset and sad, so I’m sure there’ll be some arguments. But I’ve been persuaded before to change my mind on things.”
It was previously reported that original cast members Wilson and James Pickens Jr. were contracted to return for the season. McKidd, Raver, Caterina Scorsone and Luddington were also under contract to appear — if their characters aren’t written off.
Luddington, meanwhile, exclusively told Us Weekly that she “had no idea” what would happen on screen.
“I have no idea. I have a text chain going on with so many cast members that are like, ‘What do you think?’ And we — nobody knows. No one knows, which is terrifying,” she shared in June 2025 about playing Jo since season 9 but always being worried about her character’s future. “We’ve seen too much, and we know too much. There’s not a single season I’m not worried about.”
Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.
