Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers for Grey’s Anatomy’s April 6 episode, “Cowgirls Don’t Cry.” Consider yourself warned!
Ellen Pompeo’s decision to step back from Grey’s Anatomy in its 19th season was shocking to longtime fans, but even in the aftermath, the hits have kept coming. Showrunner Krista Vernoff announced she’d be handing over the reins after the current season, and then Kelly McCreary announced that she was also leaving, after portraying Meredith Grey’s half-sister Maggie Pierce for nine years. Heading into McCreary’s final episode as a series regular, Grey’s Anatomy just set up what’s causing Maggie to leave Seattle, but one big question looms — Will her husband Winston Ndugu follow her?
“Cowgirls Don’t Cry” saw Maggie and Winston (Anthony Hill) struggling in couple’s therapy, where Maggie described an amazing opportunity she’d been offered at the Heart Center of Chicago. However, Winston pointed out that he’d already relocated across the country for her. Maggie was ultimately called out of the room for a trauma — a teenage bull rider who the surgeon related to when people kept trying to keep her away from the thing she loved — and her mind seemed to be made up; Maggie was going to Chicago.
She vocalized that decision as she and Winston continued arguing after their long day, as Maggie pointed out that a marriage could survive her taking a job in Chicago, but their issue was how he had given up when working together became difficult. She told him:
Even when you wanted to quit cardio, supposedly to save our marriage, that was you quitting. That was you retreating. That was you giving up your gift so that you could avoid direct conflict, and that is what I don’t respect. It isn’t your heart, Winston, it’s your cowardice. And the pizza in Chicago is the best in the world. So I’m gonna go there. And I’m gonna take my extraordinary passion, and I’m going to use it to build hearts that will save thousands of lives. And you can stay here and you can pretend like it was you who was abandoned, but we both know the truth.
Shout out to Chicago pizza, which is NOT “quantity over quality,” as Winston blasphemed earlier in the episode.
So that sounded pretty cut and dry, and with the way they’ve acted around each other this season, it doesn’t seem like they’re in a strong enough place to survive a big move like that. But not so fast. Next week we’re getting back-to-back episodes (Is Kelly McCreary getting a bigger sendoff than Meredith?), and the preview seems to indicate there might be hope yet for the couple. Check it out below:
Despite their recent troubles, Maggie and Winston have always shared such a passion for their specialty, and it looks like the episodes “Shadow of Your Love” and “Mama Who Bore Me” will see the estranged couple sharing the OR for a big surgery. Maggie presumably tells Winston, “You challenge me, you inspire me,” before asking him to come with her to Chicago. Will he?
We’ll have to tune in to find out. Grey’s Anatomy returns at 9 p.m. ET next Thursday, April 13, for back-to-back episodes on ABC. You can also check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what premieres are coming soon.
