'Grey's Anatomy' : Kevin McKidd Opens Up About Owen's Fate After Bombshell Confession

This post contains spoilers from Thursday's episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Kevin McKidd has some thoughts about the decisions of his character, Owen Hunt, on Grey's Anatomy.

Speaking with PEOPLE, McKidd, 48, opens up about his character's recent confession — and the consequences that may follow.

"I love the character of Owen, I play him," McKidd says. "But also, I sometimes get mad at him. I'm like, 'What are you doing, dude? Like, why did you do that?' But that's part of why I love Owen."

During Thursday's episode of the ABC medical drama, Owen came to face to face with a harsh reality after surviving a near-fatal car crash. While reuniting with Cormac Hayes (Richard Flood) at the hospital, Owen asked a big favor of the doctor, who also survived the crash.

"You could thank me by forgetting what I told you," Owen said after Cormac expressed his thanks for urging him to escape the vehicle.

Moments before the car slid down the cliff, Owen confided in Cormac, telling him that he had administered medication to a patient to help him die. Cormac is unsure of whether he can forget their exchange, explaining to Owen, "If I do that, then I'm an accessory to a crime."

"Noah was dying, you know that," replied Owen. "He qualified for a Physician-Assisted Death."

"So you stole drugs and planned to pass them out like candy?" asked Cormac. "You saved my life and I have to spend what's left of it looking after my boys. I can't go to prison. Come forward. Tell Bailey what you've done, what you plan to do next. The longer you hold this secret inside, the worse it's going to get. Tell the truth so I don't have to."

McKidd tells PEOPLE that Owen confessed in the "heat of the moment" because he didn't think he would survive the crash.

"He genuinely did not expect still being alive after that fall," he explains, adding that, "I understand why he did it."

"He's very impulsive and goes with his gut. Sometimes that's a great thing, and sometimes that gets him and the people around him in trouble," he continues. "I do get that he really wanted to honor the promise he made this veteran who served his country and Owen's very connected to that promise."

The longtime Grey's actor acknowledges Owen may have gone about things in the wrong way — and admits things could get messy for him, especially when it comes to his relationship with Teddy Altman (Kim Raver).

"You have to go through the correct protocols and Owen is not exactly going through the correct protocols, the way he's been handling this," McKidd shares. "He's kind of not just broken the rules, but he's also put his own family, and Teddy, and everybody kind of in jeopardy if it ever came out. And that causes big, big problems for him and Teddy."

"It will take some time for them to work through, because rightfully, Teddy is like, 'Why are you doing this without even consulting me, your wife?'" he notes. "Which is, again, a very valid point. So we'll see that coming unraveling as this season progresses."

RELATED VIDEO: Grey's Anatomy and Station 19 Kick Off Winter Premieres in Shocking Crossover Event — Watch the Trailer!

Though he doesn't always agree with his character's actions, McKidd is beyond grateful for Owen and the experience he's had working on Grey's Anatomy.

"Most actors dream of having a job that's going to last three years [and] this thing lasted all this time," he says of the series, which he's starred on since 2008. "I've been here for so long that I can't imagine life without this. Obviously, it will at some point end, but the way I feel about it is I'm just going to savor it until that day comes and really try and be conscious of what blessing this is because this will probably never happen again in my career."

"Grey's Anatomy has had this global reach and everybody loves it and it really can affect some change, too," he adds. "It creates conversation, it teaches people about certain issues. It does so many things. I'm proud to be part of it."

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursday at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.