What in the world happened to Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo)? The Seattle Grace doctor was very much alive and well when Season 12 left off, yet a promo for “TGIT’s” February return released on Friday featured Meredith bloody and in pain on the floor of the hospital.

The video didn’t reveal exactly what happened, but led many fans to believe that an explosion rocked the halls of Seattle Grace — again. However, the cast of the ABC medical drama teased that that might not be the case. Maggie actress Kelly McCreary revealed at the Television Critics Association panel in Pasadena, California, on Saturday that Meredith will be “attacked.”

“Meredith is attacked, and it is as terrifying and as shocking as you would expect for it to be,” she told the audience. “Get ready to have your guts feel like they’re coming out of you, because it is truly harrowing.”

Tantalizingly, McCreary added that fans might know Meredith’s attacker. The actress told Entertainment Weekly that the character “gets attacked by someone you would least expect.”

When “Grey’s Anatomy” left off in the Season 12 winter finale, Meredith was feuding only with Amelia (Caterina Scorsone). The sisters-in-law had a nasty fight after Meredith promised to keep Owen’s (Kevin McKidd) secret about Riggs (Martin Henderson). Things got so ugly between Meredith and Amelia that Meredith actually kicked Amelia out of her house.

As EW reports, Amelia won’t be responsible for Meredith’s current situation — but she’ll certainly feel like she is.

“She often takes it all very personally when someone she’s close to is hurt,” Scorsone told the site. “When we come back, Amelia is at a very, very low point.”

But it sounds like Meredith might need Amelia now more than ever. The doctor has survived explosions, plane crashes and more in the past. But the Season 12 midseason premiere is different.

“In this case, she’s physically impaired in a way that she has not been before,” McCreary added while at the TCA panel. “As bad as things have gotten for Meredith, this is bad in a whole different way.”

The “Grey’s Anatomy” Season 12 midseason premiere will air on ABC Thursday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m. EST. The episode will be directed by Denzel Washington.

RELATED STORIES