Actress Ellen Pompeo, of the series "Grey's Anatomy," arrives at the 2013 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles, January 9, 2013.
Actress Ellen Pompeo, of the series "Grey's Anatomy," arrives at the 2013 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles, January 9, 2013. Reuters/Danny Moloshok

"Grey's Anatomy" Season 11, Episode 8, titled "Risk," airs Thursday, Nov. 20, on ABC. This week's new episode is also dubbed the "winter finale," which by Shonda Rhimes tradition means shockers and cliffhangers. Japril, Calzona, Jolex and Merder are all having some problems in varying degree. Rhimes tells fans, "(H)old hands, okay everybody?"

Spoiler alert: This update contains Grey's Anatomy Season 11 spoilers. Read at your own risk if you have not watched the Grey's 11x8 promo videos or seen the previous episodes.

Jackson and April (Japril to shippers) have been in the backseat for the most part of Grey's Anatomy Season 11 - until Episode 6, when April's mom comes to visit. (It would be recalled that this couple's story is the centre of the cliffhanger in last year's winter finale.)

In Grey's Anatomy Season 11, Episode 8, Japril is back in the centre, and Stephanie Edwards becomes instrumental to the discovery of a seemingly disturbing news. This is worse than "awkward," but from the promo video, it seems Stephanie's priority is knowing for sure that Japril's baby is okay.

Callie and Arizona (Calzona), meanwhile, are still living separate lives. They each have serious work issues to face in Grey's Anatomy Season 11, Episode 8. It remains to be seen whether they would have time to even touch the subject of divorce amidst their career challenges at the moment.

Jo and Alex (Jolex) find themselves in an emotional situation in Grey's Anatomy Season 8, Episode 6. Jo realizes that she would be homeless if her relationship with Alex fails. He assures her they are doing fine and she has nothing to worry about. Jo's reaction when Arizona announces she's staying at Alex's for a while spell upcoming trouble.

On top of Alex becoming Meredith's new person, Jo finds herself out of place when Alex is hanging out with his friends. This could mean bigger issues for this couple in Grey's Anatomy Season 12. (See a related Episode 7 still photo in Justin Chambers' Twitter post.)

Meredith and Derek (Merder) seem to have the biggest problem at the moment. Derek hints at losing control of his emotions in Episode 7. He and his wife have not been resolving their issues, prompting Callie to tell Mer that they've been using mere "band-aids" and things would soon get so much worse between them.

From the episode synopsis of Grey's Anatomy Season 12, Episode 8, Meredith and Derek will be forced by circumstances at work to face their marital problems. Fans should remember that this season is going to be Mer-centric, according to Shonda Rhimes. Merder, by extension, could be delivering some shockers.

"Maggie and Meredith disagree with Derek about the best way to approach a patient's case, which leads to a bigger argument between the couple," reads the ABC release on Grey's Anatomy Season 12, Episode 8.

"Next week's #GreysAnatomy...hold hands, okay everybody? See you then," Shonda Rhimes shouted out on Twitter a week ago. This week's new episode is expected to throw fans off with big twists and surprises.

Grey's Anatomy Season 11 airs Thursdays on ABC.