In the wake of her harrowing, near-death delivery, April Kepner is “groggy, recovering and glad to be alive” when we meet up with her in tonight’s Grey’s Anatomy premiere (ABC, 8/7c), Sarah Drew tells TVLine, noting that the episode picks up mere “moments” after last May’s finale. “She’s on pain medication and barely strong enough to even hold her baby. It’s an interesting spot to start the season in. She’s feeling powerless and helpless after doing this incredible thing to bring this little girl into the world.”
Luckily, her complicated, strained relationship with the baby’s daddy, Jackson, is not dragging her down further. “Her life-threatening situation brought some tenderness between the two of them,” Drew says. “But they’re still not together. They’re figuring out how they’re going to do this co-parenting thing when they’re not romantically together.”
First up on their to-do-list: Picking a name for their daughter. “The first scene with Jackson and April is them discussing that,” she previews. “It’s a sweet little scene. But you don’t actually find out what her name is until a few scenes later.” (Drew hints that the moniker they ultimately settle on is a “strong and powerful” one.)
Is it fair to say that her monster in-law Catherine (Debbie Allen, who appears in the premiere) will have an opinion about her granddaughter’s name? “Hurricane Grandma likes to come in and stir stuff up,” Drew teases with a chuckle. “We get to see April take her power while also being a bit powerless, but in a way that is light and not emotional or intense or depressing.”
