We already knew that we were going to lose one member of Grey’s Anatomy for an extended time. However, there are other dropped characters now and then, and sometimes, you won’t even notice.
During Grey’s Anatomy season 22, episode 2, Amelia went to Webber to ask if she could take a sabbatical. It’s time to deal with her mental health, and I’m all here for that. After this, we learned that Caterina Scorsone will miss eight episodes, and the reason is purely budgetary.
Well, it’s not the only budget decision going on. Two characters were quietly written out of Grey’s Anatomy season 22, episode 3, and you wouldn’t have even recognized.
Owen and Link were missing from Grey’s Anatomy season 22 episode 3
Both Owen Hunt and Atticus “Link” Lincoln were missing from the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Neither of them had a reason for them being missing, and that’s what makes it one of those things that you likely overlooked. Plus, it's not like either of them are a fan-favorite, especially one particular doctor!
In fact, both of them were mentioned during the episode, thanks to their partners (well, ex for one of them) spending time with each other and connecting. They both brought Owen and Link up.
Jo and Teddy spent time at the dealership, with Jo sharing that she had put the situation off, hoping that Link would be able to take care of it. However, he wasn’t ready to be discharged from the hospital, and that meant Jo had realized that she was down to the wire on making a deal.
Teddy knew that Jo wouldn’t be able to deal with the situation alone, and she also didn’t want to stay in the hospital since Cass was there. It turned out that Cass had seen Owen the night before at a pizza joint, and Teddy later confirmed that Owen had the kids that night as well, and Teddy was staying in a hotel.
The two will be back in the next episode of Grey’s Anatomy
The decision to write the two out of the episode was purely for budget reasons. The Grey’s Anatomy cast is huge, and there isn’t the time or money to have every single series regular in the show at the same time. This isn’t the first time characters are absent for an episode, and it won’t be the last.
The good news is that both Link and Owen will be back in Grey’s Anatomy season 22, episode 4. They are both in the promo for the episode, with Link sharing that he is being discharged from the hospital. With some hope, he’ll be back in the OR soon, because there’s sure to be trauma and fear surrounding that.
Meanwhile, Cass is also back in the episode with Teddy. It looks like Teddy and Owen will have to deal with their problems at work very soon.
Grey’s Anatomy airs on Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.