How Kevin McKidd Really Feels About Owen Hunt's Grey's Anatomy Ending

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I've been watching "Grey's Anatomy" since the very beginning, and for 18 out of 22 seasons, I've suffered through numerous interminable storylines centered around the show's all-time worst character, Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd). With all due respect to McKidd, a capable and solid performer whose Scottish accent only bled through sometimes and who proved to be a dependably good director on the series to boot, Owen sucked, and I'm so glad he's gone. So what does McKidd have to say about the whole thing?

McKidd opened up about his exit in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter after the Season 22 finale of "Grey's Anatomy," which sees Owen and his on-again, off-again love interest Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) reunite and move to Paris with their children for Teddy's career. It also marked Raver's departure from the series. "I've been thinking about my character's exit for quite a few years," McKidd said. "I've been noodling it in my head and wondering how it should be." So what conclusion did he reach? "And my concept for Owen's exit from the show was that I always imagined he would die in some heroic fashion," McKidd said.

I'm inclined to agree, but not for the reason McKidd thinks (or intended). "That he would save somebody or save a bunch of people and lose his life," he continued. "And the reason I see that is because Owen came into the show as this traumatized, kind of broken person. He was basically a broken man. He had lost all his platoon in Iraq, and carried that wound." 

I, personally, wanted Owen to die a horrific death because he was very annoying. Anyway, why does McKidd say he's okay with Owen surviving?

Kevin McKidd thought Owen Hunt should have a huge, classic Grey's Anatomy death

Kevin McKidd stuck to his guns when he talked to showrunner Meg Marinis about Owen's ending and insisted that the character should die ... but she shot him down. "[Marinis] was very adamant," McKidd told THR, recalling that she wanted Owen to survive. He continued:

"It took a minute for me to be convinced, because I really was attached to the idea that Owen should die in a heroic way. But Meg was like, 'Listen, there's been quite a few exits of characters in the last few years of deaths.' She strongly felt that the fans didn't really have the stomach for that again. It's a lot of loss and a lot of grieving that fans have to go through when you lose character in that way. And also, it feels like the world is kind of a dark place and quite scary. So I think Meg made the absolute right decision."

I understand, but if I can provide a rebuttal to both Marinis and McKidd, I can think of no better morale booster in the world than watching the demon that was Dr. Owen Hunt fall into a pit of vipers, or get torn apart by hungry bears, or fall off a cliff and hit every single bump on the way down. (These sound wild, but "Grey's Anatomy" has seen dumber deaths.) In fact, that Season 22 finale, the aptly named "Bridge Over Troubled Water," makes us think Owen might die while he's commuting on a bridge that then collapses; instead, he makes it out unscathed and reunites with Teddy. (Boo!) So what does McKidd think about Owen and Teddy's big move to Paris? 

Kevin McKidd loves Owen Hunt's ending ... and hasn't ruled out a return

Kevin McKidd said that, ultimately, Meg Marinis sold him on Owen and Teddy's ending, and he's proud of it. "I'm really proud of the message we're sending with Teddy and Owen walking off into their new chapter of life together, with Owen finally following her," he said. "It feels like Teddy has followed him a lot over the years. Finally, Owen's evolution is that he realized it's his turn to follow her and let her take the lead. That's a big step forward for the character who's sometimes been a little self-centered in the past." This is an excellent point; throughout "Grey's Anatomy," Teddy basically orbited around Owen. It's nice to see the tables turn.

So what about Owen's destination? "I joked to Meg that I don't think Owen's going to like Paris. He's a little rugged," McKidd laughed. (God! Another reason to hate Owen!) McKidd went on to say that Owen is making this big move for Teddy and her career ... and even though he'll "struggle with learning the language at first [...] and he'll be looking for McDonald's on every street corner," he'll "fall in love with [Paris] because he loves her, and he's committed to her and to making it work." (Sorry for another parenthetical, but Paris has McDonald's. It's actually better, too.) He also dropped a hint about how Owen and Teddy could return as guest stars eventually. "Why not? I can see that happening. Maybe they're on a sabbatical or coming home to see his mom. Who knows?"

While I don't appreciate the threat of Owen Hunt's dreaded return on "Grey's Anatomy," that's all well and good for McKidd. You can stream "Grey's Anatomy" on Netflix and Hulu.