Note: This story contains spoilers from “Grey’s Anatomy” Season 19 Episode 12.
“Grey’s Anatomy” wasted no time resolving the big cliffhanger from last week’s episode, and in the process featured one of the most ambitious opening scenes of the series.
Kevin McKidd, who has been a series regular on the ABC medical drama since Season 5 and is a frequent director, headlined Thursday’s Season 19 episode titled “Pick Yourself Up,” in which viewers saw a hit-and-run outside the hospital Seen immediately after the run. free clinic that endangered the lives of Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) and a pregnant OB-GYN fellow, played by Jess Gabor.
The opening sequence features Gray Sloan Memorial doctors rescuing the attack victims, from getting them out of ambulances, to the emergency rooms where they were treated, and as a one-shot as the doctors decide A detailed view was shown. Open the partner to get your child out and try to save both of their lives.
For McKidd, the elaborate opener was a manifestation of an idea he had been considering for years as a director on the show.
“I’ve been pitching this idea to writers for years. I always try to push the envelope in my directing of shows,” the actor told TheWrap. “It was challenging, and my character was in that entire one shot [scene], I have never worked as hard as I did that day as an actor or as a director.
The episode marked the closing chapter of the two-part event, in which Addison was confronted by Dr. Gray is seen returning to Sloan Memorial to help Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) training out-of-state OB-GYN fellows on procedures and techniques they cannot learn. In exactly the states where Roe v. Clinics and other providers of such care have been shuttered since Wade was overturned. Addison gained public notoriety since her last appearance on the show, as she worked across the country caring for street patients. But the meditation was targeted by anti-abortion advocates and ended in a hit-and-run.
The doctors were able to save Edison, the partner, and her child, and in the final moments Edison picked himself up and went to his mobile treatment center to continue his work.
Read below from McKidd about directing the opening sequence, what he hopes viewers will take away from the episode, and why he and his character Owen Hunt “have no intention of going anywhere” as the show prepares for its 20th season. Is.
TheWrap: Take me through the process of directing the opening sequence. How has been the journey of executing this vision?
McKidd: I’m pitching this idea to the writers like “Let’s do an episode where each act is one continuous shot. [we have six acts in each episode on our show], So an episode is written and directed as just one continuous flowing shot, no cuts – or maybe a hidden cut but really, ideally, just one long shot.
I read this episode and this scene was so immediate. It just screamed at me that this first task can be done in one shot. We have never done this in our show. so i pitched it [showrunner Krista Vernoff], I gave it to everybody I could catch and Krista heard me and she said ‘let’s do it.’ You know that if there’s ever a time to do that, it’s season 19 of the show.
I visualized and rehearsed it for a long time, and used stand-ins to polish it and make it better, and lost sleep over it. And we rehearsed it with the main cast for a whole half day before we actually shot it, because it was almost sort of a big theater-style rehearsal because every single piece had to be timed perfectly, because all the scenes were in one shot. Were getting along and there was no one to bite. And the Steadicam operator had to come in and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
So yes, that was the assumption. It was such an immediate, awe-inspiring moment to try to save this pregnant woman and her baby after being crushed. It seemed like the perfect moment to get this whole thing together, a very impromptu shot. It created this energy with all the actors and crew and everybody, there was this energy on set that was hard to describe… everybody was like, “We know we have to get this right. We’re not going to mess up.” We have to be on point. So the focus and the energy and the intensity was really evident. I think it pays off when you see it.
It was challenging, and my character was in that entire one shot. I have never worked as hard as I did that day as an actor or as a director.
It’s a testament to your ambitions as both an artist and an actor, as you were in the middle of all the action of the scene and directing it at the same time. How’s that multitasking going for you?
Usually it’s fine, I got used to it. In this instance it was really hard, because it was almost like I just had to fire off the firework I had created, and trust that it was going to play correctly. We actually only managed to do two takes. We got it right the first time and everyone was happy. I remember [executive producer Debbie Allen] Said, “I think we’ve got it. You don’t need to do another one.” But I said we should do another one. And secondly, there’s just some things that maybe nobody else would notice, but I noticed and improved it by 10%. So Joe Tech aired Happened that’s take 2 out of two takes that we did.
But it was very difficult, my eyes were everywhere. Whenever I was not on camera, my eyes darted towards the camera, making sure the camera was in the right position. And yes, my mind was very challenged.
Doctors saved Addison, the OB/GYN fellow, and her baby, a rare outcome for tragedies like Gray Sloan. What are you hoping viewers take away from the outcome of this two-part story?
I think it’s going to make people really pay attention to these issues that are happening right now. You know, it creates a dialogue for people, it shows the human side. What I love about our show is that we really show the cost — like during COVID — the cost that all these things that have happened in the world have on medical practitioners: the stress it can bring, the mental health Issues that can bring people who work in the medical field.
You’re one of the longest-running cast members in “Greys” history, going back to Season 5. How long do you see yourself and Owen on the show?
I don’t know I mean, I still love playing the role. I think [Owen is] A challenging and quite polarizing character, which I love. He’s not perfect and he makes mistakes and he can be strong-willed, but he also has a big heart. You know, that’s a contradiction. I love artists. I love the work environment here. And I’m just really, really proud of the show and what it stands for at this point, and the quality that we’ve maintained, so I have no intentions of going anywhere. And as you can see I love directing, wish this series goes on for a long time.
The show was renewed for season 20. Where do you hope to see Owen and the show overall go from here?
It is unbelievable for a show to run for so long. You know, that will never happen again in my career or in most actors’ careers. So I think it’s almost like we’re in uncharted territory now. We’ve done so much on the show that you know, it’s time to really think outside the box. Like doing full episodes of six one-shots, you know, things like that. I think we’re about to start to really have fun and really want to break the mold and take some risks creatively.
You’ve directed a lot of amazing “Grey’s Anatomy” episodes over the years. what is your favourite?
This is a really difficult question to answer. i really, really love [Season 17] The finale which was Maggie and Winston’s wedding. There were just such beautiful themes in the episode. I’m really proud of the way I shot it and some of the visual themes came out. And it was a very poignant episode, because by the time we actually showed that last episode, you know, some of the COVID restrictions were starting to lift and we could see that light at the end of the tunnel.
We all had this wedding scene where we all had to dance at the end. For the first time in a year and a half someone was in a group of more than 10 people, and we’re all in a tent on the beach, dancing and filming it with the sunset. So there’s something really special about that episode for me, I think for all of us. All I remember is the release of everyone dancing was very emotional, very special.
But really this episode, I feel creatively like I really took a huge leap forward and pushed myself. So those two episodes I’m proud of, but it’s especially because it’s so fresh in my mind.
“Grey’s Anatomy” airs Thursdays at 9 PM ET/PT on ABC.
