Jackson Avery has a new love interest on Grey's Anatomy and it's Vic Hughes from Station 19. Now that the shows are more frequently crossing over (every week, according to TV Insider), there's so much potential there for this budding couple.
However, both Jackson (Jesse Williams) and Vic have a lot of emotional relation (Barrett Doss) ship baggage they need to sort through still before completely jumping into a new coupling.
Jackson broke up with Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) during the season 16 premiere after their disastrous camping trip in the fog. Soon after, he started flirting with Vic, who had actually been on scene to help find Jackson when he went missing on that camping trip. Jackson's not the only one fresh out of a long term situation, though. Vic recently lost her fiancé, who was firefighter Chief Ripley (Brett Tucker) over on Station 19.
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If you haven't been watching both shows, it can be hard to keep up with the crossover drama. But what you need to know is that Ripley was the station chief and began dating Vic in season 2. Ripley and Vic also got engaged but only as a sweet gesture in the moments before Ripley's death in season 2, episode 15.
Ripley had been hospitalized during one of the Station 19/Grey's Anatomy crossovers because he'd inhaled chemicals during a fire rescue and it aggravated a pre-existing heart condition of his. Maggie was his doctor and advised him to stay in bed until they could work out a treatment plan. Ripley ignored this directive and left the hospital in search of Vic so they could get engaged. He stopped to buy her flowers while she waited for him at a diner, but he never showed up. When his symptoms worsened, he fainted and was rushed back to the hospital. Vic (who initially thought he'd stood her up at the diner) learned of his accident and showed up to say goodbye, because there was nothing more the doctors could do. The couple had their brief engagement moment, and then Ripley died.
That traumatic moment happened in the third to last Grey's Anatomy episode of season 15, which means that when season 16 picks up, it hasn't been that long since Ripley's death. Jackson acknowledged during a lunch date with Vic that it was "probably not the very best time for either one of us to be starting something new." But Vic had a different outlook on things. "Yeah, probably not, because we're both supposed to just feel miserable for as long as possible," she joked.
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Both Jackson and Vic suffered a relationship loss not long ago, but she seems to want to put that behind her and Jackson didn't mind the idea either. Someone who very much does mind is Jackson's ex Maggie. The fact that Vic's fiancé was her patient and that she couldn't save him just makes Jackson and Vic's relationship even harder for Maggie. If she'd have saved Ripley, Jackson wouldn't be with Vic right now. He might even still be with Maggie. There's a lot of tension there between Jackson and Maggie that they'll have to deal with as they continue to work together.
As for Jackson and Vic, the may have chosen to put the past behind them, but it could crop up again. Maggie is still in Jackson's life (technically he's her step-brother), and the trauma of Ripley's death isn't just gonna go away for Vic. "I think it's going to have a really profound impact on her," Barrett Doss, who plays Vic, told TV Guide of Ripley's death. She added:
"I think she's going to have to rely on other people to help her get through this and that's not something she's used to doing ... I think there will be a process of certainly the grieving process, which will involve a lot of pushing away, and hopefully we see the [Station 19] team rally around her."
If Vic's method of grieving is pushing people away, that could end up happening to Jackson. At the same time, she may use him as a crutch to get her through the pain of things without dealing enough with her feelings head on. The timing is tricky with this new relationship, and it's probably not going to be all smooth sailing — but perhaps they can weather any waves together.