Grey’s Anatomy: what do Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver think of the end of Owen and Teddy?

The medical series said goodbye this week to two historical figures from Gray Sloan Memorial, at the end of season 22… But how did Owen and Teddy end up? We explain everything to you.

After 17 seasons for one, 14 for the other, Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver are turning a huge page in Grey’s Anatomy. With the finale of season 22, Gray Sloan Memorial says goodbye to two of its iconic doctors: trauma surgeon Owen Hunt and “cardio goddess” Teddy Altman.

Arriving in the series in 2008, during season 5, McKidd will have spent nearly 18 years in the ABC medical drama. For her part, Kim Raver joined the series a year later, before leaving at the end of season 8 then making a definitive return from season 15. And finally, the two characters leave together. “They ride off into the sunset,” sums up the actor in a long interview with Variety.

Spoiler alert!

After a disturbing voicemail message suggesting that Owen died in a bridge collapse, Teddy realizes that she doesn’t want to live without him. Owen comes to the same conclusion after saving a family from drowning. In a moving scene, Teddy then accepts the position that was offered to him in Paris at the head of a surgical innovation incubator… and Owen tells her that he will leave with her, accompanied by the children.

A happy conclusion that Kevin McKidd had not really considered, he who campaigned for a more tragic departure: “I always thought that Owen should die in a great heroic gesture” he confides to Variety. Saving people and losing their lives in the process, because that’s how he got on the show. But in the end, it was more just to move towards something positive. There have already been a lot of deaths in the series in recent years, and Meg (the showrunner) felt that the public did not want to see another one. The world is already dark and scary enough right now. It’s good to send a message of hope, renewal and new beginnings.”

Kim Raver claims to have always believed in a reconciliation between Teddy and Owen, despite all the storms experienced in recent seasons:

“Kevin and I talked a lot about our characters. We would often sit on the set of Joe’s Bar and talk about their storylines. When the idea of ​​open marriage came up, we spent hours debating it. It was funny to see how seriously we took it. Despite all their mistakes and chaos, we felt that the end result would be for them to come back to each other…”

The actress also praises the writing of Shonda Rhimes, who according to her allows her characters to be imperfect: “Shonda lets her characters be totally messy, make huge mistakes, learn and evolve. Teddy needed to understand who she really was and what she wanted. She also grew enormously through her friendships with Bailey and Amelia. She learned to assert herself and defend her needs.”

Because this season again, the couple came very close to the definitive breakup: divorce papers signed, separation, crisis around open marriage… before finally finding each other again. So, are Owen and Teddy really meant to end up together? Kevin McKidd responds without hesitation:

“For a long time, I thought Owen would end up with Cristina. But over time, Teddy and Owen earned their place as the true final couple. They went through so much, tried so many things, failed, broke up… and finally realized they couldn’t live without each other. Even though I’ve always believed in the Cristina/Owen couple, today, seeing Teddy and Owen ride off into the sunset together seems right.”

Same romanticism on the side of Kim Raver who proclaims: “Of course they end up together! After all these years, all the pain and happy moments they went through, it made sense.” Despite everything, she wanted this sentimental happy ending not to be to the detriment of Teddy’s career:

“It was important to me that Teddy didn’t get lost in this love story. For a long time, women were written as characters who had to sacrifice everything for others. Teddy learned to love herself before she could experience true love. She had to go through all these mistakes, including having an affair or maybe even marrying openly. Today, she has become a much stronger woman.”