The actor tells TheWrap about filming his tense winter premiere scenes, and teases an Amelia “surprise” when she returns
“Grey’s Anatomy” circled back to a high-stakes cliffhanger for Dr. Jo Wilson with Thursday’s winter premiere, an emotional roller coaster for her new husband Dr. Atticus Lincoln that ended with a sigh of relief.
Episode 7, titled “Skyfall,” followed the immediate aftermath of November’s big midseason finale cliffhanger, which left Winston (Anthony Hill) in charge of performing an emergency C-section on Jo’s twins as her heart gave out during surgery. The tense procedure worked out, leaving Link (Chris Carmack) to juggle decision making on his new babies’ care as he and the rest of the doctors hoped for Jo to wake up.
“It’s one of the most emotional pieces of television I’ve personally been a part of,” Carmack told TheWrap in an exclusive interview.
The winter premiere is just the latest in a series of challenging moments for Link in Season 22, which Carmack called “a gift” storyline after playing the “generally enthusiastic” ortho surgeon since 2018. After barely surviving the hospital explosion that ended Season 21, Link has been benched from the OR and struggling to find solace as he recovers from his injuries — and then complications in Jo’s high-risk pregnancy added more pressure.
“It felt like such a one-two punch, where he was just starting to recover and just starting to feel like himself, and then he’s met with these new challenges that involve his new wife, his twin daughters,” Carmack said. “I didn’t know where that was going, but (showrunner Meg Marinis) assured me. She said, ‘Trust me, this is going to pay off,’ and it did in such a big way … that story had been so thoughtfully and meticulously crafted.”
Link was pushed to his breaking point during the episode, leading to some big scenes with Teddy (Kim Raver) and Richard (James Pickens Jr), who faced his own demons during the episode after revealing a prostate cancer diagnosis to Bailey (Chandra Wilson) in the winter finale.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the doctor, as the episode ended with the babies showing signs of improvement — including a heartwarming “she peed!” celebration in the NICU — and Jo opened her eyes in the final shot.
Below, Carmack talks through the winter premiere’s biggest moments, what’s next for Link, Jo and their new babies, and teases a surprise ahead when Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) returns from her sabbatical. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
TheWrap: We were left with a huge cliffhanger last year, and the winter premiere catches us up to the aftermath and Link juggling being by his wife’s bedside and his kids. What was your reaction to how things would unfold with this episode?
Carmack: I didn’t really know what was coming down the pipe, but Meg, our showrunner, kept assuring me it’s going to be big. And then of course, the midseason finale script came and I was just blown away. I thought it couldn’t get more exciting than that, but the midseason premiere is just incredible. It’s one of the most emotional pieces of television that I’ve personally been a part of.
We see Link as he tries to juggle all the decisions needed to tend to his kids, and being there while waiting for Jo to wake up. How did you approach the emotional journey he goes on in these scenes?
The first part of the answer to that question is where credit is due. The writers have done an incredible job with the whole show. But of course, I’m a very Link-centric guy and this year, it’s just been one intense thing after another. It started with the injury and the death of his colleagues and his patient, and trying to recover from that, and it led straight into the tragedy that’s happening with Jo.
It felt like such a one-two punch, where he was just starting to recover and just starting to feel like himself, and then he’s met with these new challenges that involve his new wife, his twin daughters. It felt so natural to play these scenes because they had really been built up to. Even a few episodes ago, the conversation about faith with Link and Jo, I didn’t know where that was going, but Meg assured me. She said, “Trust me, this is going to pay off,” and it did in such a big way when Link finds himself alone in the chapel, grappling with his feelings and his faith and his hope and looking for answers, and Richard finds him, and the emotions of that scene were just there that day in a very special way, and it’s because that story had been so thoughtfully and meticulously crafted.
When we shot that scene, I sat in the pews for pretty much the whole scene, between takes and everything, because it was just so strong and so powerful and so present. I couldn’t break it even to go get a bagel. We had this beautiful director, Allison Liddi-Brown, the lights were streaming through this stained glass in the chapel and the crew was fantastic. The mood was set, and I was really allowed to be Link and feel those feelings.
Link was justifiably overwhelmed in this episode, leading to some great scenes with both Teddy in the NICU and Richard in the chapel. And then by the end of the episode he gets some release and joy after one of the babies pees, a sign that they’re on the mend.
It’s funny that scene at the end, when she pees, it is such a relief to Link. It’s the first thing that has gone right in ages. It’s the first sign that his daughters might come out of this.
I remember on camera, my first reaction I was so excited. And of course, everyone came in, they were like, “Just remember, it’s the NICU.” I had to layer that onto that moment. But it was a moment of exuberant joy.
By the end Link gets that big win and we see him telling Jo about it, and then she wakes up in the last shot of the episode. How was it to be in that moment during filming?
That scene comes right on the heels of the peeing, and then he gets a text to come down to Jo’s room and his first feeling is of dread. Because the rug has been pulled out from him. Every time he leaves a room, something bad happens in these last two episodes. So Link walks into that room with an absolute feeling of dread, but he gets the news that her heart is recovering, so he’s taking another breath. He’s riding high on that success, but he’s still so worried. And he’s talking to Jo. He wishes she was there. He wishes she could share these moments with them. They haven’t even named the babies. He’s calling them Baby A and Baby B, because if he names them without her and she wakes up, he knows he’s going to be in trouble.
He can’t do anything without her. He’s paralyzed without her, she’s the love of his life. He’s in this purgatory of not being able to help, not being able to do anything, even if he was allowed to help surgically. He’s got a bum arm. He feels powerless, and he’s been looking for a higher power.
In this moment her eyes flutter open, and he feels as though his prayers have been answered.
What’s next for this couple and their growing family after this big moment?
For Link and Jo, obviously we have to find out how Jo’s doing. We have to find out how the babies are doing. This is No. 1 priority. It’s all been so intense. They also have to process everything that’s happened. Link isn’t even done processing the explosion and his injuries from it. So I think everybody’s going to have to take a step back and examine their priorities and that’s going to be its own battle.
Link has been on a tough road this season, kicking off with barely surviving the hospital explosion and he’s very much still in recovery. How has it been to explore a darker side to Link’s story and personality?
It’s been a gift. Link is a generally enthusiastic guy. He likes sports, he likes to crack jokes. He likes to play guitar. He lives very happily, sort of in the moment and and lives for helping people, lives for making people laugh, lives for keeping the moment light. But I think behind everybody we know like that, there’s some still waters that perhaps remain unexplored because they don’t want to explore them. And he’s faced with the necessity of doing that and has been this entire season.
He just wants to get back to work. He just wants to lift his kids and play with them. He just wants to be the old Link, and he’s not given a second to do it. Even going forward, I think he’s going to try to find some levity and some moments of joy, but there’s definitely this cloud hanging over Jo and Link and their entire family.
The great thing about a show like this, where you’ve, as an audience, experienced what these characters have experienced is that you don’t always have to play the heaviness for the audience to know it’s there. And that’s a real gift. As an actor, you get the opportunity to have moments of levity as well.
We’ll be excited to see Link back in the OR, of course, whenever that happens. Is he going to have the sling much longer?
Time does pass and he does get better. The sling comes off. Off the top of my head, I’m not sure which episode though.
Fans are excited for Amelia to come back from her sabbatical soon. How was it to have her back on set?
I’ve been instructed that the Amelia storyline is a surprise for another day.
