A Deeper Look at Jo's Recovery Is Coming to Grey's Anatomy

Thanks to some well-placed time jumps, Grey's Anatomy fans got to see Jo (Camilla Luddington) on the fast track to recovery after a traumatizing Season 15. Before the premiere, the last viewers saw of Jo was her checking into the Grey Sloan psych ward for more intensive treatment for her depression. Thursday's episode picked up where Season 15 left off, with Jo checking in, but then jumped ahead to her release and therapy to help repair her relationship with Alex (Justin Chambers).

The premiere episode made it clear that Jo still has some work to do to help process the fact that her conception was a product of rape, but Alex proposed again and she seems back on track. The creative team behind Grey's Anatomy doesn't want to make it seem like recovery is as simple as the jump forwards made it seem. In an upcoming episode, Grey's will revisit Jo's time in the ward to better illustrate how she began to heal from last season's trauma.

Discover your new favorite show: Watch This Now!

"We had her in inpatient treatment for 30 days in the premiere; we didn't spend a ton of time there. So, we do have an episode coming up in the first quarter of the season where we flash back and tell a little bit more of the story of her time there which I think will be really cool and interesting for the fans to see," showrunner Krista Vernoff told TV Guide. "I think it's really significant and important right now, in the world, to talk about mental health and the different ways that we can treat it, treat a health crisis, a mental health crisis."

The flashback is part of the Grey's mission to show Jo's story in full and play through what happened to her, and continuing process of healing after that level of devastation.

Grey's Anatomy continues Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.