Grey’s Anatomy: Is This The End of Japril?
It’s been a season of interrupted arguments and awkward tension for April and Jackson, and Thursday night we finally got to see what caused the implosion of their marriage. In “Unbreak My Heart”–or rather #JaprilTheMovie–the Grey’s Anatomy writers led us through Jackson and April’s relationship. We’ll sort of. In a backwards, somewhat confusing, Memento-like rewind kind of way we got to see some of their greatest moments, and also some of their worst.
After letting it all sink in for a while–and trying to understand exactly what I just watched–I’m still not exactly sure how I feel about it and what it all means.
One thing I am sure of is that Jackson never really got over little Samuel’s death. April was able to run away from her feelings and eventually get past them by leaving it all behind, including Jackson. Jackson never found what he needed to get over it. What Jackson needed–or at least what he believed he needed–was April. He needed her there with him. He needed to work through all of his feeling with her, but he never got that chance. She ran away and he has never been able to forgive her for it.
It was heartbreaking to watch him continue to struggle with it all and for her to just not get it. Why couldn’t she understand what he needed? Why didn’t she see that he was still hurting? He said that he hid his feelings to protect her, but in the end hiding those feelings is what hurt him the most. In fact, it’s what ruined their marriage.
April fought to the bitter end to save her marriage. She did everything that she could think of. But it seemed like no matter what she did, Jackson wasn’t going to change his mind. Talking didn’t work, therapy didn’t work and the inappropriately timed sex definitely didn’t work. I really do get the feeling that nothing would have helped, ever. Jackson had his mind set from that first interrupted dinner. He wanted a divorce and nothing was ever going to change that.
One thing that didn’t work for me in the episode was the storyline of the burn patient and Jackson fixing her face over all those years. Was it really necessary? I feel like the only reason they did it was to upset fans at the beginning when it looked like he was about to marry her. I know I upset for a few minutes. Not cool Grey’s Anatomy. Not cool. I think that it would have been better to just leave that storyline out completely and focus solely on Jackson and April. There’s no need to mess with your fans like that.
Now let’s talk about that ending. At first it looked like Jackson and April were officially over. They went through all the necessary steps and had signed their divorce papers. They’re done. And then came along that tiny curveball. APRIL’S PREGNANT. And she knew before she signed the divorce papers. So what does this mean? Why didn’t she tell Jackson before signing the papers? Is she hoping this could give them the chance to start over? How is Jackson going to react to all of this? So many unanswered questions…
I’ve been a huge fan of Japril’s from the very beginning. I’ve loved watching them grow and change together and my heart broke along with theirs when Samuel died. I’ve hated watching them fall apart, but after this week’s episode it does make a little more sense. I hope that this can be a new beginning for them. I don’t want to see them dating anyone else and you know that’ll happen if this doesn’t save them.
Extra Grey’s
- Did they film this episode over the entire season? It’s easy to change April’s hair with wigs and extensions but could they have done the same with Jackson’s. If they did kudos to the Grey‘s hair department. It looked real to me.
- How great was that baby dance party? It was so nice to see them at a time where they were all so happy and I loved seeing everyone else join in.
How did you feel about this week’s episode? Were you confused by all the rewinding? What do you think April’s pregnancy means for Japril? Can they be saved? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below. I’d love to hear them!
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and 7 p.m. ET on CTV.
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About The Author
Christy Spratlin
Christy is a self proclaimed and proud TV Junkie. Her love for TV began at an early age with shows like Degrassi, Alias, ER, Buffy, The X-Files & Friends. You can now find her watching, ok obsessing over, shows like When Calls The Heart, Saving Hope, Arrow, Outlander, Grey's Anatomy and many many others. You can catch Christy on Twitter at @ChristySpratlin where she will likely be live tweeting her favorite shows and talking about everything TV.
I thought the storyline of Jackson & Tatiana, his patient, was very appropriate. It ran parallel to the April/Jackson storyline because it showed how well that relationship turned out because they both stuck with each other no matter the hardships & setbacks. It was a direct contrast to April cutting & running when Jackson needed her the most. He was trying to give April what he thought she needed &, she was just thinking of herself. Jackson was right when he told April they had different ideas of what a marriage should be. In contrast, Jackson gave Tatiana all the support she needed &, she returned his trust by sticking with him. The two storylines showed why one relationship had a happy ending &, why one did not. I was very happy when the divorce papers were signed because I find Jackson very supportive & giving. I find April very high maintenance & a taker. In a relationship where there is a giver & a taker, the relationship only lasts as long as the giver is willing to give & not receive in return. Once the giver tires of that, the relationship is over &, that is what happened here. I HATED that they made April pregnant because that means she & Jackson will get back together &, I think he deserves so much better.
On a separate note, I was very disappointed that your website did not do an article on the episode in which Meredith was attacked. I found that to be a very powerful episode that had me in tears on a couple of occasions &, I’m not a crier. I thought it was more than worthy of a write-up.