Grey's Anatomy: Kevin McKidd Reacts to Amelia's Shocking Decision

Are Amelia and Owen beyond repair on Grey's Anatomy?

On Thursday's winter finale, Owen (Kevin McKidd) came home to patch things up with Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), only to discover that it's apparently too late: All that's left in the house is a note from her saying she's left him, and asking him not to come after her.

For Grey's fans, it seems rather obvious that Owen's not going to let Amelia go without a fight, but according to McKidd, it's more complicated than that.

"There comes a time where enough's enough," he tells TVGuide.com. "This kind of on-again-off-again thing can't go on forever."

Check out our full Q&A with McKidd to find out why Owen's confession to Riggs (Martin Henderson) is so cathartic, as well as what Owen's next move will be.

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TVGuide.com: Before we get to Owen's discovery at the end of the episode, talk about what prompts him to go back home to Amelia in the first place, rather than going for a beer with Riggs.
McKidd: Through the medical case that happens this week, he realizes that now's a very critical moment. He feels kind of torn, because the prospect of going out for a beer with his [former] buddy who's potentially going to be his buddy again is very comforting to Owen. When he turns Nathan down, it's very genuine. He very genuinely says to him, "I really do want to go for a drink with you. I'm not blowing you off. But I have to do this right now. I have to go and try and reconcile and be with the woman I love." Nathan totally gets that. but then when he goes home, there's just a piece of paper with words written on it by Amelia saying, "I've left." So, it didn't go the way Owen wanted it to go. He probably went straight back to the bar after he read the note, but the episode ends right there. So, yeah, it's kind of a shocker for Owen.

What's going through Owen's mind at that moment?
McKidd: She's running away again. She was almost a runaway bride at the wedding, and now she's running again. At a certain point, Owen's starting to worry, like, is this person really in this thing with me, or is this just going to be my life forever? Me always having to drag her back in. He doesn't want to drag anyone in. He wants Amelia to, through thick and thin, work through it with him. But he knows only too well how much damage has been done to her. So he's obviously sympathetic, but also he's getting stressed about it.

Amelia tells Owen not to come after her and try to fix this, but we know that goes against his instincts. Is he going to listen to her, or go after her?
McKidd: He tries to find her. In the initial day after, he tries to give her some space, because sometimes that's what people need. But there comes a time where enough's enough. You saw where he spent years hunting for Megan, so he's definitely somebody who would search. So, yeah, he definitely will try to uncover Amelia's whereabouts. And when he does, he's going to probably confront her in some way and have that big talk, like a dealbreaker talk. Whether she's willing to talk or able to talk, I'm not sure yet. But I think he will state his position on it all, which is, this can't go on. This kind of on-again-off-again thing can't go on forever. Which is very sad. Very sad but very true, and it's going to be interesting to see what Amelia does with that.

Grey's Anatomy: Kevin McKidd reveals what's next for Amelia and Owen

It's a big moment for Owen when he shares with Riggs that he cheated on Cristina. Is him judging Riggs for cheating on Megan also a way of judging himself?
McKidd: Yeah, I think so. I think that's exactly what is going on. I think people do this in life a lot. They react negatively, or more negatively than they should, to people's shortcomings because it's actually something they don't want to look at inside themselves. So it's a huge moment for Owen and Nathan's reconnection and deepening of friendship. Because in the scene, Nathan basically starts to unpack in front of Owen his guilt feelings about what happened with Megan. ... It's a very healing moment, I think, for both men to speak those words to each other. It's a very significant step for Owen and Nathan.

After this, is there any hope for Owen and Amelia?
McKidd: I don't know. Again, we're only at a point right now where she's still missing. I'm still shooting the scenes where he's still searching for her. So I really don't know. They're obviously on the rocks. I don't know what's Shonda [Rhimes'] intent for them, whether they're going to break up, whether they're going to reconcile. I really, really don't know. I hope they reconcile, because I love working with Caterina. But what I've learned on our show is that, usually when the couples break up they actually end up working more together in a strange way, because there's more stuff to deal with. So, I don't know so far where it's headed, but it's going to be exciting to see what happens with them. I wish and pray for Owen that they can fix this. But sometimes in life, it takes two to tango, and if there's too much damage done to somebody and they can't meet the other person halfway, then sometimes somebody has to call it. ...I hope they can make it, but it definitely looks like it's on the bubble at the moment. It looks like this is a dealbreaker, obviously, for both of them.

Grey's Anatomy returns with new episodes in January.