The Pac North storyline is showing no signs of slowing down, so Owen will likely be over there until that section of the season comes to a close. Showrunner Krista Vernoff didn't give a deadline for when (and if) Alex and Richard would return to Grey Sloan Memorial. She told Entertainment Tonight that the new hospital would be a focus for "the early part of this season" and that it would likely last until Alex can turn the hospital's reputation around. After all, both Richard and Alex want to prove Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) wrong, so they can't quit on the job now. "They're really working together ... to do something that feels unimaginable and unachievable, and yet they're unstoppable because they're so determined in their own way to prove Bailey wrong for firing them," Vernoff said.