'Grey's Anatomy': Jessica Capshaw was 'shocked' by Arizona amputation

By the end of last night’s Grey’s Anatomy, Mark Sloan was dead, Meredith and Co. were no closer to stepping onto a plane ever again, and it was revealed that plucky pediatric surgeon Arizona had lost a leg following the plane crash that derailed their lives. If your jaw was on the floor and your heart was aching, Jessica Capshaw understands what you’re going though.

“[Executive producer Shonda Rhimes] told me she was so excited about this story, and when she told me what it was, I think I felt about it like everyone did last night, which was totally shocked,” she says. “It was something I’d never even pondered, which is why she’s the master storyteller. It took me a while to wrap my head around.”

Almost the entire episode played coy with Arizona’s outcome (Why is Callie crying?!) but now that the secret is out, Capshaw says the next episode will delve into the situation that led to the amputation and explain the anger that Arizona is harboring toward her wife. “She’s pissed,” she says. “She’s sad; she’s mad. She’s lost something and she thinks she’s lost something at the hands of the person who’s supposed to be the most important person in her life and take the best care of her.”

But while Calizona fans might cringe watching the two at odds, Capshaw says it’s in the name of great drama. (“The beginnings of it and finding this journey is going to be really dark and complicated,” she says) She’s also confident that the hostility won’t last. “It can’t go on forever,” she says. “Callie is her partner, Callie is her support, Callie is her person. Karev is her person. Those people will be absolutely instrumental on every level but there will also be someone who comes in and helps her.”

Who exactly? She won’t say. But it’s not someone new. “[This person] will be someone who is not in her immediate circle [but] is a new person to her,” she says.

In all, Capshaw says, “I don’t think anyone is intending to tell a story of defeat. She will rise. But again I hope it’s going to be a very authentic and heartbreaking portrayal of how you do that.”

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