Jessica Capshaw and Rhimes on Grey’s Anatomy Premiere Shockers: Death Legs

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Grey’s Anatomy fans were shocked to learn of some pretty big changes in the cast when the series returned this past Thursday for its ninth season. Not only did we learn Mark Sloan did not survive being stranded in the wilderness – it’s been public knowledge somebody was going to die in between the Season 8 finale and this premiere – but the show came back revealing Arizona Robbins had lost her leg, drastically altering that character, not just in a physical sense, but emotionally. She, quite literally, lost a part of who she is and that pain revealed itself when she lashed out at Callie, who is apparently being blamed for Arizona’s new life as an amputee. Shonda Rhimes took the time to talk about Mark’s death while Jessica Capshaw spoke up about Arizona’s loss of limb.

Rhimes is not one to usually regret killing off a character, but when it came to Mark, the decision to end his life was a particularly difficult one. Rhimes told TVLine she tried as hard as she could to find an alternate solution, one that could allow the character to leave the show while still remaining alive. But no matter what scenario Rhimes and the writers came up with it always seemed like he would be left grieving for Lexie for the rest of his life and walking away from his daughter, neither of which would’ve worked for the character. Rhimes even thought of sending him off to reunite with Addison on Private Practice, but that move would have messed up not only Grey’s storylines, but Private Practice’s as well. As for Lexie’s death, Rhimes revealed Lexie wasn’t originally intended to be a part of the plane crash, but would have died miles away back at Seattle Grace. She was ultimately put on the plane so she could say goodbye to Mark before passing away.

Being able to keep such a big a secret like losing a leg from fans, especially when you’re as chatty as Jessica Capshaw, is an impressive feat. Capshaw also spoke to TVLine, remarking how hard it was to stay tight-lipped because she enjoys going on Twitter and answering fan questions. But the possibilities the amputation allowed for her character was enough to give her the strength to keep the secret, which she learned shortly after giving birth. We’ll see in the second episode of Season 9, where we flashback to see the plane crash survivors being rescued, Arizona tells Callie “Just don’t let them take my leg,” but that’s exactly what they do. Arizona feels like she needs to blame someone and that one small statement makes Callie the perfect target. But as the season continues, we’ll learn who actually was responsible for deciding to take off Arizona’s leg.

Capshaw is in awe of the special effects team, saying those guys “are amazing. I don’t know how they do what they do. Because, obviously, we’re filming the scenes with my leg there, and then they have this whole process by which they digitally remove my own leg and then they create something — and that’s what the residual limb you saw was.” Things are going to be pretty dark for Arizona and Callie simply because Arizona has had one too many bad things happen to her. She’s pissed right off and tired of always having to rise above crappy situations.