Andy Herrera has been through a lot lately.
Station 19's leading lady, played by Jaina Lee Ortiz, lost her best friend, then she lost her dad, then she discovered that her brand new husband Robert Sullivan (Boris Kodjoe) had a drug addiction and had been stealing pills from work, and then she found out that her mom was actually alive after 20 years of being thought dead. Again, it's a lot!
Andy's mom made her return in the season three finale back in May, and now as season four begins we get to find out exactly how she's still alive and what it means for Andy.
"It will be shocking but it will also be what everyone kind of needed," Ortiz told E! News of what Andy's in for in season four. "I feel like Andy's going to go through a journey of recovery and liberation and growth. Because she's been through the wringer. It's been traumatic, to say the least, but I feel like you have to kind of like, dig into the bone to kind of like, truly, let it heal. And it has to burn."
On top of all that, Station 19 is diving into real-life events and dealing with the pandemic head-on. The stress is real.
"I feel like if [Andy] can't admit herself into Grey Sloan Memorial for a psych evaluation, at least go to therapy," Ortiz said. "Bring back the therapist from season three! There's nothing wrong with seeking help and seeking therapy and knowing it's okay to not be okay. And I feel like the other characters at Station 19 have similar personal issues, so maybe the could come together and cry it out because there's nothing better than a cry party and a dance party, especially this year. Like, wine, crying, and dancing? Let's just have it all."
Ortiz said that for all of the characters, their storylines will be changed "dramatically" by the pandemic, and we'll see them all get used to wearing masks.
"It's this new world," she said of how the pandemic hits. "It's this new normal we all have to get accustomed to."
Andy will also have to get used to a new normal with Sullivan, who lost his job at the end of last season when he turned himself in for stealing pills. Here's what Ortiz could say about their relationship this season, which will face "more challenges than season three:"
"Sometimes in a relationship, you need to part ways and let it breathe for it to repair itself if that makes any sense," she said. "And I think that that's the journey that Andy and Sullivan are going to go through in this season."
For more on what to expect in season four, hit play on the video above!
Station 19 returns alongside Grey's Anatomy Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.