After years of not knowing the truth, Jo finally learned why her mom abandoned her as a baby. And it all happened during the emotional March 28 episode of Grey’s Anatomy. First, the episode opened with Jo at work, during which she was hoping to pitch Bailey on a new grant for her fellowship before Alex’s term as interim chief ended the next day. And in the process, Alex thought she was avoiding him, but she insisted she just had work that needed to get done. Then, the episode flashed back to the moment when Jo met her mom, Vicki (guest star Michelle Forbes), which we believe happened during last week’s episode. Anyway, Jo saw that Vicki was seemingly living a great life with a beautiful home, a nice husband, two kids, and a dog. But once Vicki learned why Jo had sought her out, she freaked out a bit. However, Jo assured her that she only wanted “one conversation”, which they could do at a nearby diner, and then Vicki would never hear from her again.
Fortunately for Jo, Vicki actually showed up to the diner. And after complaining that she was late to work, Vicki asked Jo if she needed money. “I don’t need your damn money,” Jo shot back before demanding to know answers about her past and why she was abandoned at a firehouse when she was a baby. Jo also admitted that she always thought her mom was someone who didn’t have a lot of money and likely worked at a diner worse than the one they were sitting at. She certainly didn’t think her mom would have the life that she actually has (one with a lot of money). “That would make it OK that I left you?” Vicki asked. “I wanted you to have a better life than I could give you.”
But Jo didn’t have a better life, and she made that very clear to Vicki. “I lived in foster homes so bad, it was better to live in my car,” she said before also revealing that her first husband beat her so bad that she feared if she left him, he’d kill her. Vicki obviously felt very uncomfortable and almost left the diner, but Jo said she didn’t go there to punish Vicki. Instead, she wanted to find out more information about herself than she could find from spitting in a tube. And when Jo asked where she could find her father, Vicki revealed that that wouldn’t be possible because “he’s dead.” He was killed in a motorcycle accident. And as it turned out, he wasn’t a good guy either. Vicki told Jo that she was date-raped in college by a T.A. and nine months later she birthed Jo.
“Of course you deserved better. I didn’t have better to give you.” #GreysAnatomy pic.twitter.com/BvSqsa8oRg
— Greys Anatomy (@GreysABC) March 29, 2019
Obviously, it was a traumatic experience for Vicki, but Jo still didn’t understand why her mother had never reached out to her. And to that, Vicki said it was nearly impossible for her — because Jo was a constant reminder of the night she got raped. “I resented you so much for it,” she told Jo. And Jo said that she could have at least found an adoption agency and made sure she was place in a good home, which Vicki agreed with. “Of course you deserved better,” Vicki acknowledged, but she also said she wasn’t in her right mind after the incident, and still isn’t.
After that, Jo revealed that she had actually gotten pregnant by Paul — something she’s never told anyone (not even Alex) — but after he beat her when she was 7 weeks along in her pregnancy, she had an abortion. Jo said she couldn’t have raised a baby in all that fear and danger. “I did what I had to do,” she said. And before Vicki left, Jo asked her if she looked like her father. “You have my father’s eyes,” Vicki replied. “The hair is all mine… and maybe the fire in the belly.” Then, Vicki apologized again and left the diner.
“What you did today, with Abby, that was not protocol… It should be.” ❤️ #GreysAnatomy pic.twitter.com/9mZc2G6vQq
— Greys Anatomy (@GreysABC) March 29, 2019
Back in the present day at the hospital, after Jo worked tirelessly to help a victim of sexual assault, she just wanted to go home alone and go to sleep. But Alex couldn’t figure out why she wouldn’t talk to him and share what happened upon meeting her birth mom. “I can’t talk about it,” she told him. “I wanna go home alone… and sleep. Please.”
And in the only other plotline this week, Ben and Bailey learned that Tuck was “talking” to a girl, which Bailey later learned meant that he was dating her. So Ben made sure he talked to Tuck about consent and knowing when to call “time out” during moments of fun (ie. stuff with a sexual nature).
Want more? New episodes of Grey’s Anatomy air Thursdays at 8pm on ABC!