‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Fans Shocked by Nurse Olivia’s Return

Nurse Olivia returned to Grey’s Anatomy for a special visit and fans freaked out.

During Thursday’s all new episode, the doctors at the hospital are reeling from the news of allegations of sexual harassment by the late Harper Avery when Nurse Olivia (Sarah Utterback) returns with her son.

Jo (Camilla Luddington) takes a look at the former Seattle Grace Mercy West employee’s son who swallowed a whistle.

“Should we go to Trauma 1? Which is where? I’m so turned around it all looks different now,” Olivia says a mile a minute. “I used to be nurse here, another lifetime. Olivia Jackovik.”

Olivia brings up the Harper Avery situation, claiming she’s not surprised about the allegations given the doctors she dealt with at the hospital. A comment made at a bad time as Alex arrives and reunites with his ex hook-up in front of his now fiancee.

“Alex Karev… Perfect” Olivia says. “Is he still giving nurses syphilis or has he moved on to gonorrhea?”

Fans of the long-running medical drama welcomed back nurse Olivia, as well as feeling the awkwardness of the reunion.

Olivia later reveals she moved to Sacramento where she met her husband, she continues to throw digs at Alex. Olivia fills Jo in on her affair with Alex back when he was dating Izzie (Katherine Heigl).

Olivia was a nurse at Seattle Grace during the show’s first six seasons, but was laid off as the hospital was set to merge with Mercy West Hospital during season six. She was the nurse who slept with George (T.R. Knight), giving him syphilis after she contracted it after hooking up with Alex (Justin Chambers).

The season has had its fair share of returning characters as Kim Raver reprised her role as Teddy Altman and Justin Bruening has also made several appearances as April’s ex-fiance Matthew Taylor.

Ahead of her return, Utterback wrote about revisiting her character for Shondaland.com, particularly having the character of Nurse Olivia being married and with a son when she has not taken that step in her personal life.

“Even my character, Nurse Olivia, has lapped me: Spoiler alert, but in my return to Grey’s Anatomy, we find out she’s moved, she’s married, she’s had a child,” Utterback writes. “Naturally, this is what she’s been up to in her years since leaving Seattle Grace, so wouldn’t it make sense that I’d be up to the same?”

She continued: “Rather than looking down at what little I felt I had to offer, Justin helped me acknowledge my evident personal growth, the comfort I now feel in my own skin, the self-awareness and confidence and sense of purpose I now carry — all things that will make me a better partner and parent, if I choose to inhabit those roles in the future. Even if my life looks pretty much the same, I feel completely different, and though it’s not a conversation starter, it’s still a milestone.”

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.