Grey’s Anatomy’s Pregnant Jo Goes Into Labor After Religion Fight, Simone Suffers Personal Loss

Grey’s Anatomy‘s Jo and Link found themselves at odds over the concept of “organized religion” before the possible arrival of their twins — while someone else in the hospital suffered a surprising personal loss.

During the Thursday, November 6, episode of the hit ABC series, Jo (Camilla Luddington) and Link (Chris Carmack) found out they had different views on religion before the arrival of their twins. Jo wanted to make plans to baptize their children while Link was strongly against it. They took turns fighting about it — in between pregnant Jo delivering a patient’s baby — before agreeing to table the conversation.

The couple were on their way home when Jo realized her water broke. Elsewhere at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, Simone (Alexis Floyd) was treating a patient who turned out to be her late mother’s best friend. They formed a connection while Simone learned more about her mom while admitting she still blamed herself for her death.

Simone tried to keep Regina stable but the patient ultimately died. She got some support from ex Lucas (Niko Terho) before going home. There was also Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.), who enlisted Jules (Adelaide Kane) on a home visit that turned into a patient’s toe falling off. They weren’t able to stabilize the situation so Bailey (Chandra Wilson) showed up to help.

Thursday’s episode also featured some absences from Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), Owen (Kevin McKidd), Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), Teddy (Kim Raver) and more. This came after Deadline reported that Grey’s Anatomy is reducing the minimum guarantees for its veteran cast members to 14 out of the show’s 18 episodes per season.

While some fan favorites won’t be missing for more than four episodes this season, Scorsone’s absence was doubled after her character, Amelia, chose to take a sabbatical. Deadline subsequently reported that Scorsone’s break will last until 2026.

Showrunner Meg Marinis previously hinted that not every character would be safe this season after a hospital explosion.

“Well, I feel like a lot of people are probably sitting in operating rooms,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in May. “So unless you saw them and where they were when that explosion went off, I don’t think we can say anyone is necessarily safe.”

Marinis noted that she spoke with the cast about what to expect, adding, “I’ve had conversations with some of them, but they all know it’s a Grey’s Anatomy cliffhanger and they know every year they never know what to expect. They’re here for it. They like to keep our stories exciting and fresh.”

At the time, no decisions were yet made on who would return — and who wouldn’t.

“But even in the last two seasons with what you saw this year, we had to reduce the cast a little bit [because of industry-wide budget cuts], and everybody has very passionate feelings about their favorite characters,” Marinis shared. “But if we can get the writers upset then we know we’re doing it right. It’s not as satisfying a story if people aren’t upset when someone leaves. It’s supposed to make people upset and sad, so I’m sure there’ll be some arguments. But I’ve been persuaded before to change my mind on things.”

She continued: “I definitely have thoughts. Whether or not those thoughts change, that can always happen. I haven’t put pen to paper yet, but it’ll be very soon that I do.”

Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.