Grey’s Anatomy’s residents are 100-percent right when they guess that “someone big” is headed to Grey Sloan in the Thursday, Oct. 15, episode. As you’ll see in the above sneak preview (which aired after Thursday’s episode, recapped in full here), that someone is none other than Kate Walsh’s Addison Montgomery, who is quick to introduce herself to “the group that’s been screwing up the [residency] program.”
And the Private Practice alum is just getting warmed up for her return arc. When Richard interrupts the surgeon mid-procedure to report that the AC is out, she initially balks at cutting short the operation. But since the AC controls the hospital’s air-filtration system, the patient will be at risk of infection if Addison doesn’t close and fast.
“Find a way to double your speed,” Webber says. “Find me a set of hands as experienced [as mine],” Addison replies. Then, suddenly, a light bulb goes off over her head and she tells Richard, “Get me Meredith Grey.”
Longtime viewers will recall that Walsh made her Grey’s Anatomy debut in the Season 1 finale as Derek’s surprise wife (well, at least she was a surprise to Meredith). Addison would continue to be a major player at the hospital for two more seasons, leaving in 2007 to front the Grey’s spinoff Private Practice, which ran until 2013.
Back in 2017, Walsh spoke to TVLine about a potential Addison comeback, admitting at the time, “I feel like we wrapped it up.” She then added, “I’m not saying if [series creator] Shonda [Rhimes] was like, ‘We’re gonna do a very special episode of Grey’s where… ’ But… we did it all. We had the spinoff, and we had all that. It was an amazing experience and journey.”
To watch the video, press PLAY on the clip above, then hit the comments with your hopes for Addison’s visit to Seattle.