Jackson Skipped Town On 'Grey's' & He Might Not Be Back Anytime Soon

Nothing gold can stay on Grey’s Anatomy, so even the most diehard of Jaggie fans should have figured that there would eventually be some trouble in paradise at Grey Sloan. After an almost marriage proposal and a lot of talking about “the future” and “his path” and “what is life,” Jackson Avery just up and went with barely a goodbye. Where is Jackson on Grey’s Anatomy? His departure leaves the gang with many questions and not so many answers.

Remember that time that Jackson and April’s baby died and April went to the Middle East to go help people because she felt sad and impotent and out of control? This is probably Jackson’s version of that, except at least he is not married and didn’t go without consulting his husband. Of course, Jackson emailed the entire team at Grey Sloan to tell them he needed to take a leave of absence — leaving, according to Deluca, the whole plastics department in shambles at his quick exit — but, unfortunately, Jackson left one very important person off of his email chain, and that would be Maggie. Maggie, the woman he allegedly loves, got a voicemail, which is so 1997, and in the voicemail, Jackson basically told Maggie that he was going away for a while. The house has been boarded up. The doors. The windows. Everything. He’s at the Comfort Inn. Room 112.

Maggie, being Maggie and also a jilted lover, isn’t taking this well. Who would? Jackson is on some journey of self-reflection, and he couldn’t even give her the courtesy of a face-to-face meeting to tell her that he was bailing on her for a little while. She’s pissed, and rightfully so, but the biggest question is — why doesn’t Maggie know that she’s really not for Jackson?

Sorry, Jaggie fans, but Jackson’s reaction to the events of last year is pretty textbook — there have been huge, seismic shifts in his life, and his ex-wife (the real love of his life) has just run off with her first fiancé (now husband) to live a life of giving back. Jackson is going through a lot, and as Maggie suggested to him in the season premiere, well, maybe he should talk to someone about it. I mean, he fake proposed to her because he wanted to be “spontaneous” like April. Damn, Maggie. Then he took it back! You should run for the hills!

In some strange dimension, Maggie and Jackson could work out. But as of today, he’s going through too much to handle a relationship now. Where’s his daughter? Who is taking care of her with these parents running amuck across the world? He should have other priorities right now, specifically taking care of this Eat Pray Love thing he probably has going on. Maybe he’s inspired by April and off doing the good works, even though he’s not particularly religious or philanthropic. Maybe he just needed to get away for a while. Maybe he’s just not coming back. At present, viewers (and Maggie!) don’t know where Jackson is on Grey’s Anatomy, but he has to find himself before anyone else can do it for him.