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Grey's Anatomy Star Kevin McKidd Dishes on Year-End "Tension" Twist for Cristina and Owen

There's an unexpected and serious obstacle in the way, and it's not the baby dramz you're expecting

By Jennifer Arrow Mar 10, 2011 7:00 PMTags
Sandra Oh, Kevin McKidd, Grey's AnatomyEric McCandless/ABC

The course of TV love never did run smooth.

We just talked to fan-fave Grey's Anatomy star Kevin McKidd about Owen and Cristina's (Sandra Oh) path for the rest of the season, and there's an unexpected and serious obstacle in the way, and it's not the baby dramz you're expecting.

Could this pairing be in peril? Here's what McKidd just revealed to us exclusively:

"[The baby issue] gets put on the backburner," says McKidd. "I think it's something they both realize is a hot-potato subject for each other. They really do love each other, so I think they want to enjoy their honeymoon period, as it were, for as long as they can." But that procreation détente isn't enough to keep perfect peace in the kingdom.

"There's an added complication to the mix between Owen and Cristina that comes from left field in the latter part of the season as well, that isn't connected to babies," McKidd tells us. "A work-related issue comes up that adds tension again to their otherwise happy existence. There something else that comes along to that's a problem to them."

Hmmm…Could Owen and Cristina be in competition somehow, or might this work-related tension be related to the race for chief resident? McKidd tells us, "There is the element of competition there—she's not in direct competition with Owen, but Owen suddenly finds himself in the line of fire. I'll put it that way. But again that was unexpected I think. So not directly in competition with him but he's very much certainly in the line of fire." Mmmm...

ABC/BOB D'AMICO

But before we get to work drama, there's singin'! We know that McKidd will be singing in the musical episode, but what, oh what, is he performing? Will he serenade lovergirl Yang in the musical episode, set to air at the end of March? And most important of all, will there be tap-dancing? Or maybe a Rockettes-style kickline?

"I can't really divulge too much or I'll get hung from the nearest tree, but there is some serenading action from most people. I would say, [the singing] is more like a sort of fun diversion—because it's a very dramatic episode, and there's a section in it where there's some levity. But again there's a really great, unexpected payoff to that. I can tell you there's no tap-dancing, I can guarantee that. The episode being cut together right now…I'm as interested as anyone to see how it turns out."

McKidd also revealed that the musical episode was particularly time-intensive for the cast and crew, saying: "We're actually shooting episode 20 right now, and we're only doing 22 episodes this year—I think partly because the musical episode has taken the time it usually takes to shoot two, almost three, episodes, that's the reason we have three episodes to go."

As for his future, McKidd is hoping to visit his family in Scotland this summer, find a movie gig based in Europe and then return to work on the show this summer with his fingers crossed for another directing gig. He says, "The directing went really well this season. My episode was the highest-rated episode this season so far, although not by any of my design, which I am pretty pleased about. I don't think it had anything to do with me, but hopefully they'll let me direct more, because I've been bitten by that bug now. Hopefully I'll do that next year too." 

McKidd will also take some time during the hiatus to visit Mozambique with a friend who works for Partners for Pediatric Progress, a charity devoted to educating developing-world healthcare providers in cutting-edge pediatric medicine techniques. Good stuff, right?

What do you think is going to cause that "tension" between Owen and Cristina? Do you think they should have a baby together one of these days? Hit the comments with your thoughts!

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