‘Grey’s Anatomy’: What Will Happen to Jo and Jackson in Season 17? The Characters Shocked Everyone in the Premiere
[Spoiler alert: Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 premiere.] Actor Camilla Luddington told fans the Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 premiere would be worth the watch — and she delivered. The extended episode updated fans on the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial. But the moments between Jo (Luddington) and Jackson (Jesse Williams) stopped every Grey’s Anatomy viewer in their tracks. Here’s what happened and what to expect moving forward.
What happened to Jo and Jackson in the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 17 premiere?
In a flashback during the Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 premiere, Jo asked Jackson for a “sexy favor” — aka a rebound hookup. As you probably remember, Jo got divorced after Alex (Justin Chambers) left Seattle to be with Izzie (Katherine Heigl) and their twins. So Jo asked Jackson to be “the bridge over the husband who abandoned me.” She also said she chose Jackson because he was someone who she could trust.
Later that evening, Jo went to Jackson’s house for their one-night stand. Jo was seemingly ready for the casual hookup. Meanwhile, Jackson went all-out, even making her a charcuterie board. But even so, both parties drew their boundaries, noting Jackson was simply acting as Jo’s bridge.
When the couple started kissing, Jo broke down in tears. They stopped and Jackson comforted his co-worker. Then in the present-day, Jo and Jackson experienced a few awkward moments together. Finally, Jo admitted she was mortified after she “snotted” in Jackson’s mouth. But ultimately, the Grey Sloan surgeons understood Jo wasn’t ready for the bridge. So Jackson and Jo ended the episode as friends.
Camilla Luddington explains what Jo felt in the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 17 premiere
In an interview with E! News after the Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 premiere, Luddington opened up about Jo’s headspace after Alex’s exit. The actor hinted Jo wasn’t OK in the flashback — but she’s getting there.
“I think that Jo is making her way out of this heartbreak, and it’s a slow process and I think that she’s trying to figure out what she needs,” Luddington said. “I think she truly felt like sex was what she needed. She needed the bridge — the sex bridge.”
Luddington also applauded Jo for “advocating for herself,” as she directly asked Jackson for what she needed. That said, Luddington noted her character wasn’t ready for it just yet.
“I think she wasn’t ready and that’s why she cried,” she said. “But I do think that she’s slowly navigating her way out of this heartbreak.”
Will Jo and Jackson end up together on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’?
Still speaking with E! News, Luddington teased what fans can expect from Jo on Grey’s Anatomy Season 17. But for now, Jo’s upcoming journey may or may not have anything to do with Jackson, as the actor hinted her character will be navigating through single life.
“I was thinking about how we’ve really never seen Jo single,” Luddington said. “I’m excited as an actress to play her in this new life of being a single girl. What does Jo Wilson look like single? What does she look like maybe dating around? I want to see that, and I’m excited to play that.”
Meanwhile, in an interview with Cosmopolitan, Luddington revealed what Grey’s Anatomy fans can expect from Jo and Jackson in season 17.
“What I’ll share is that I think it’s at least the seed of a friendship, because I think that they’ve shared something intimate, even though it didn’t go very far,” Luddingnton said. “I think they were both very vulnerable in that moment.”
The actor also pointed out that everyone needs someone to lean on amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“I think that in COVID, as well, you need to lean on people,” Luddington said. “I think that you’ll see them start to sort of find that, at least, in each other.”
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