It has been an eventful season of Grey's Anatomy.
The series is in its sweet 16th season, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
It celebrated another milestone with its 350th episode, which served as an ode to Meredith Grey and the series and all it has offered.
The series is about to fully expand its universe by choosing to meld the Grey's Anatomy world with that of its spinoff Station 19.
It's an exciting venture, and it'll bring some of our favorite actors and characters from both series together more.
One of whom we had the privilege to speak with about what's coming up with the series and her character.
We caught up with Jaicy Elliot best known as Taryn "Hellmouth" Helm, and discussed the upcoming crossover event when the series returns, the trajectory of her character, and why Helm shouldn't be "the New Meredith Grey."
It's Elliot's first television role, but she has a background in theater. She was a big fan of the show, but she mentioned it was a friend of hers who recommended she audition for the role of Helm.
She mentioned that she sees a lot of herself in Taryn and the character resonated with her.
She joked that she hoped she wasn't as sarcastic as the woman she played, but while Taryn can at times come across a bit cold and sarcastic, Elliot is all warmth and friendliness.
She's passionate about her craft and this character, and she's so thoughtful in how she speaks about and understands Taryn.
We discussed how she ushered in a more diverse batch of interns -- the most diverse bunch we've seen to date.
It included Vik, their first notable South Asian character on the series, Dahlia who, notably wore a hijab, Sam, who was a DACA kid, Levi, of course, the first gay male series regular on the series, transgender veteran Casey, and Taryn, of course, who plays a driven woman who likes women.
Elliot stated she is proud to be part of such an inclusive series.
She came in at a rewarding time, both participating in Greys Anatomy: B-Team, the Emmy nominated digital series short about the new interns' first day, and she was able to celebrate two big milestones for the series.
She described the experience of celebrating the 350th episode as exciting.
Grey's Anatomy Season 16 Episode 8 served as an ode to Meredith Grey after half of the season was dedicated to Meredith taking on a flawed healthcare system.
Elliot had nothing but praise for the series for exploring these pitfalls in the healthcare system and wanting to address them.
She herself is a celebrity ambassador for Valley Community Healthcare, whose primary goal is to provide quality healthcare for all, especially those who cannot always afford it.
Taryn is known for being the biggest Meredith fangirl out of the bunch, so Meredith being fired from the hospital had an effect. "Many of these residents, they came to learn from Meredith Grey. She's an idol -- they look to her as a mentor."
We delved into Helm's well-known crush on Meredith, and it has more to do with who Helm aspires to be as a doctor than simply romantic, according to Elliot. Meredith is why Helm is at Grey Sloan. She went there to work with the best, and for her, Meredith is the best.
Meredith's absence was hard on Helm because of her inability to work with her mentor. It also caused some tension between Helm and Levi. The two of them are great friends.
I asked her about the unfortunate manner in which Levi was being treated by the others, and while she admits that Levi was doing his job "there's a loyalty at Grey Sloan."
She mentioned how fundamental loyal seems to be at this hospital with these people. It's "part of the culture," and "Taryn is loyal. She's not wavering. She's always firmly in support of Meredith."
It seems Taryn's loyalty to her mentor supersedes even her friendship to Levi, but from the sounds of it, it's nothing the two can't get past.
Elliot admits that Helm's Meredith crush stems from Taryn's admiration of who Meredith is as a person.
Meredith is passionate about her job "and doing what she feels is right. She's not afraid to fight for what's right, and that's something I think Taryn appreciates and respects."
It's a fine line between wanting to be with Meredith and be Meredith, but Helm's feelings for Meredith are leaning more toward the aspirational.
As we can recall with that famous "New Meredith Grey" line, Taryn wants to model her career trajectory off of someone like Meredith, and they share similar values.
Taryn has been making some great strides this season. For starters, she had her first major surgery opportunity. "She was the first to perform such an advanced surgery. I was so excited for her."
It was a standout moment for Taryn, but it didn't exactly go according to plan.
"Taryn was a bit full of herself --um, too self-assured, maybe. She got too confident. She couldn't succeed in it outright, but it was humbling. Taryn has a naivete, and she needed that experience -- it was an important reality check."
But Elliot is excited about what the second half of the season has in store for us.
They've been working hard on the series, and from the sounds of it, when the show returns, it's going to be crazy insane!
With Kristen Vernoff at the helm of both Grey's Anatomy and Station 19 now, we can expect both series to blend into each other more.
They'll be linked more than ever. Jaicy reminded us that it wasn't uncommon for characters from both shows to pop up here and there, but they'll be working more cohesively hand in hand now.
It sounds like the timelines will match up more now compared to before. The world of Grey's Anatomy and Station 19 will become one universe for our enjoyment.
And the second half of the season promises more mixes and matches with character interactions and more.
We discussed it further along with her thoughts on exploring Taryn's romantic/personal life and much more.
When the series returns, there's going to be a crossover event. It seems like we're headed more into bridging the Grey's Anatomy world with the Station 19 world.
What's it like working with both sets? Does it feel different working between the two? The crossover seems like it's going to be very action-packed, so what's that like shooting?
Jaicy: Usually, they include a lot of people and a lot of hours onset. Because, you know, everyone's there. It takes longer and it's more intricate, and there's a feeling of like, of, we're really in the thick of it and working long hours. So there's a very exciting aspect to it. I always feel like a child when I'm on set.
Because I'm like, it's like stepping into Disneyland because of all these sets and all these people. We can talk and hang out, and act, and, you know, it's always a great time. To shoot these scenes it feels kind of like a boot camp, we have a lot of fun.
It sounds like it. It looks like you guys have a blast!
Mhmm.
Now, do you think we're going to learn more about Helm's personal life? Do you think she's going to get a romance? Is it something you'd like to see? Because some people would like to see it and others don't.
I mean, I would love for Taryn to fall in love, um, and it sounds super corny, but I think I would like her to fall in love with herself first, and I think that might go along with her blooming into the doctor that she wants to be.
Every time we learn a little bit more about Taryn and who she is and where she comes from and all of that, I feel like she's so focused in her work, I want her to get a little break from that, a little success in that and find a little confidence.
I think any relationship that might trigger, like, somebody's interest or her being interested in someone who is a little more accessible, but she's also like so fully committed to Meredith that I don't see her being interested in anyone else, but I'm -- I would be excited for her to find someone, but one step at a time.
I think I would be more excited to see her as a good surgeon first.
Right. Right. I know everyone cracked jokes about her when she said the line about being the new Meredith Grey, but my first instinct when she said that was "learn to be a badass Taryn first."
Right, yeah!
I mean, it's not really about Meredith in the end for Taryn. It's about finding out who you are and going through that, and I agree, I think that would be a really great journey for her.
I do like how laser-focused and committed she is. Now, you were a fan of the series before, so have fans ever made the comparisons between your character and any of the previous interns?
Um, not that I've seen multiple times. I've definitely had little moments where I've said "Oh, that feels like something that person would say" but it feels to me like Taryn is very a mix of a lot of different things.
You know, for a long time I felt like Taryn was a little cold, and this one scene when she sees, I think it was last year when she showed this vulnerability, and it sort of made her into a different person.
As I'm finding out more about her, I'm seeing that she's very much her own person. I'm having kind of a hard time comparing her to anyone that has been on the show. I mean, I know for a while I was hoping that she would be a little bit of a Cristina, but she doesn't feel like a Cristina to me.
She has a little Cristina in her with the dedication, but I agree.
Yeah, she does have a little bit of that, but she does come out as her own person.
And I love how, you guys have so many -- you guys have such a huge cast, and there are so many storylines, but you do see the growth, and development, and the characterization of your character. I love her journey she's taken from when she first arrived. She has, as you said, mellowed out a lot. And you can see her journey.
Yeah, and I feel like that's kinda been my experience this year.
At first, she came in a little, um, how can I say this, a little bit full of herself, not full of herself, but naive in a sense that she thought that she would come in a rule the day.
But she comes in now, and she's like, OK, let's just do the day to day work and then eventually I'll get to a place where I'm comfortable. She feels a little bit this year like she knows what she's doing.
When you're scared, it's very easy to act like you're not being affected, or you're a certain way, and I feel like now she's a little bit more like an actual human being.
[Laughs]Yeah, she's still confident, but I think she lost some of the arrogant edge now that she has more experience.
Arrogant. Arrogant is what I was looking for, thank you.
Yeah. She's more grounded now than when she first came in. You said you brought a lot of yourself to the role, do you have any similarities to her?
Oh yeah, we have tons of similarities. Sometimes I wonder if the writers are just telling me how to live my life ...
[Laughs]
Or if they're actually basing the character off of me. But from like starting this show too, we [Jaicy and Taryn] started the huge, new job at the same time, so that in itself, we were both put into this same situation.
We both had to adapt and learn how to deal with our own emotions, like maybe dealing with feeling intimidated and not really knowing how to stand, or when to do something, so from our experience to like, traits that we have.
I think she has a lot of compassion, and I like to think that it's something I have in my life that the writers wanted to add to the character. Um, we also, like. she's a little more sarcastic than I am.
Which, I hope that I'm not as cut and dry as she is, but we have that, and I know the writers, we talk a lot about that. Some of her personality, maybe they've grown these traits into making her more of a defined person. I feel very close to her like maybe she can be my cousin or my sister.
Sometimes I feel like I have split personalities ... And she gives me advice, and I give her advice, and it can be very confusing. But yeah, she's very close to me, and I have a lot of compassion for her.
That's so cool. I always find that so fascinating. The process of playing someone, you know? How much of it is you, and how much of it is what you aspire to be or what you don't aspire to be, you know what I mean?
Oh yeah, I understand. And also, they make her very funny, and like, I hope I'm funny, but like, I don't have as much repartee as she has? {Laughs}You know?
[Laughs].OK, I don't want to get you in any trouble with giving out spoilers.
Right!
But basically, to sum it up, when Grey's returns it's going to be huge, and exciting, and we won't want to miss it, right?
I think the main idea for the next half of the season is that, um, we're really merging Station 19 and Grey's. And I think, if you think about what that might bring, it means new stories and a lot more ground to work with, and that's really kind of the main event.
And then it's everyone has their own little evolutions. For Taryn, again, I think this year is going to be a defining year in the sense that she's, I feel like she thinks she's finally part of the hospital.
With Grey's there's always drama, and there is DEFINITELY drama in the next part of the season for everyone, and also for Taryn.
Well, it wouldn't be Grey's without the drama!
Yup!
Grey's Anatomy returns with a two-hour crossover special with Station 19 on January 23.
Until then, if you need a refresher, you can watch Grey's Anatomy online.
Also, if you haven't checked out the spinofff yet, you can watch Station 19 online too, right here on TV Fanatic!
Edit Delete
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
Read more from the original source:
Grey's Anatomy's Jaicy Elliot on the Station 19 Crossover Event and Helm Falling In Love With Herself! - TV Fanatic