Chasing Life finale: Italia Ricci previews a new side of April

When Chasing Life first premiered, April Carver was a young professional whose life was uprooted by an unexpected health crisis. Flash forward two seasons, and April’s health is only one of the difficult things she has to deal with. Now a widow, April has a best friend who’s pregnant, a family that’s full of secrets, and to top it all off, her health still isn’t where she’s like it to be.

And according to star Italia Ricci, the season 2 finale is only going to insert more drama into April’s life. “We’re going to find out why Olivia is trying to publish this book,” Ricci said. “There’s going to be another terrible Uncle George-dad secret dropped. There’s going to be a surprise visit from somebody in Brenna’s life. There’s going to be a very intense moment between Dom and April.”

Speaking of Dom and April, it’s finally time that April make a decision about her love life now that Leo’s gone. “She’s struggling in the finale with, does she want to tell him that she still has feelings for him even though she’s not ready OR does she not tell him and wait until she’s ready and risk him leaving Boston or finding somebody else,” Ricci said.

And yet, Dom and April won’t be the only couple at the center of all the drama. As Ricci put it, the No. 1 priority heading into the finale is figuring out Beth’s baby daddy.

From there, we will also find out more about the current state of April’s health. “We find out how the clinical trial is working and if she’s ready or not for a bone marrow transplant,” Ricci said, adding that Natalie will be making an appearance (which hopefully is a good sign).

Regardless of her health, her location, or even the status of her love life, Ricci teased that fans are going to see “a side of April that you’ve never seen before,” she said. “It made me uncomfortable to read and very nervous to play but after really appreciating why she was doing what she was doing, I respect it. I’m angry about it still but I understand it and I respect it and I’m scared of it but I am so interested to see how the fans are going to react to it.”

And if Ricci had to assign a hashtag to the hour? #WhatTheHell! (Exclamation point, not question mark.)

Chasing Life airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC Family.