I Loved Seeing Jackson Avery Back On Grey’s Anatomy, But His Return Set Up Another Character Hiatus

Spoiler alert! This story discusses the October 30 episode of Grey’s Anatomy, “Goodbye Horses,” which can be streamed with a Hulu subscription if you need to catch up.

Jackson Avery’s face is always a welcome one at Grey Sloan Memorial, and that was certainly true this week, as fans continued to enjoy a season of Grey’s Anatomy that’s already given us several guest appearances from favorite former cast members. Jesse Williams reprised the role in “Goodbye Horses,” and my only complaint is that his story set up what could be another long hiatus for one of the doctors.

The preview for the October 30 episode teased tension between Jackson and Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey, and we got possibly more than we bargained for when they not only bumped heads over the publication of Tom Koracick’s biased Alzheimer’s research but over the big medical case Jackson was in Seattle to do. By the episode’s end, Meredith agreed it was time to continue her own research, and she agreed to accompany her colleague on his private jet back to Boston.

Well, thanks a lot, Dr. Avery. Just when we got Meredith back in the operating room, imparting her vast wisdom on the young Grey Sloan doctors, she gets whisked away to go cure Alzheimer’s and, oh yeah, maybe see if she remembers what her children’s faces look like. OK, I guess we shouldn’t be too mad at him.

Ellen Pompeo has made it pretty clear she doesn’t ever intend to return as a series regular on Grey’s Anatomy, so it’s really to be expected that Meredith wouldn’t get too comfortable in Seattle. Also, it was known ahead of Season 22’s premiere on the 2025 TV schedule that budget cuts were forcing lower episode counts for its cast members.

However, this latest character exit — even if it’s temporary — comes so soon after Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) decided to take a sabbatical to deal with Monica Beltran’s death and the hostage situation that preceded it.

Deadline reports that Caterina Scorsone will miss eight of Season 22’s 18 episodes, returning sometime in 2026. As of this writing, it hasn’t been confirmed how long it will be before we see Meredith again, as she hits the lab to figure out why estrogen in female mice prevents Alzheimer’s treatment from being as effective as in male mice.

Honestly, that sounds like some pretty heavy lifting, so I’m thinking she might be gone a while. At least we have the comfort of knowing she’s with Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman) and her children, unlike with Amelia, who gave no real indication of how she was planning to spend her sabbatical.

Jesse Williams’ return marks the third big character comeback, as Kelly McCreary appeared as Maggie Pierce and Kate Burton reprised her role as Meredith’s mom Ellis Grey, who continues to haunt her daughter from beyond the grave. Cass Beckman (Sophia Bush) and Nora Young (Floriana Lima) are also back as love interests for Teddy and Owen, respectively, now that they’re officially separated.

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I guess my only other complaint about Jackson Avery’s return is that he did not provide us an update on April Kepner, but in this case I’m going to assume that no Japril news is good Japril news.

Will these Grey’s Anatomy blasts from the past continue? Will the show keep writing the actors’ hiatuses into the script, and if so, who’s next? Tune in to find out when the medical drama returns at 10 p.m. ET Thursday, November 6, on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu.