Grey's Anatomy star Kim Raver has spoken about why her monologue in the season 21 finale was so "liberating".
Over the season, Raver's character Teddy Altman has struggled with that fact that her husband Owen Hunt and patient Nora Young had feelings for each other.
An open relationship was considered, but in the end she decided to call an end to their marriage, even though Owen said he had chosen her over Nora.
Speaking on the Shondaland website, Raver explained Teddy's decision and dived in deep on the monologue.
"Teddy, for her whole life, has been putting the oxygen mask on everyone else at her own detriment," she said. "This is the first time in her life where she's putting the oxygen mask on herself. I don't know where it’s going to go, but I hope we'll see more of that.
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"But I hope that really resonates with a lot of women, and people in general. There is a certain point where you have to choose to take care of yourself in order to move forward."
She continued: "I found [the monologue] incredibly sad. I found it heartbreaking, actually. It is liberating, but in that moment I found it really heartbreaking. As an actor, what an incredible gift to be able to say those words.
"When I read it, I knew it was a big turning point for Teddy, and for Teddy and Owen. But it's interesting because I don't think you know in real time whether something's liberating or not.
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"Teddy, at that moment, jumped out of the airplane without a parachute. She's free-falling. We don't know what happens the moment after she turns the corner in the ICU."
As Raver mentioned, it's unknown where things will go next – not just in terms of Teddy and Owen's estrangement, but also which characters will survive following the season's cliffhanger ending.
After a bomb scare earlier in the episode, it was discovered that the hospital had been filled with a highly flammable gas. The last we saw, the hospital went up in flames, leaving many fates uncertain.
Grey's Anatomy season 21 airs on Thursdays at 10pm ET on ABC in the US. Previous seasons are streaming on Disney+ in the UK.
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Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he's covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I'm a Fish.
