Season 22 of “Grey’s Anatomy” premiered on October 9, picking up on the previous season’s cliffhanger with a gas explosion that left several characters in danger. Here’s a warning before continuing to read: this post will contain SPOILERS.
Season 21’s ending left six characters at risk, including original cast members like Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.).
Atticus ‘Link’ Lincoln (Chris Carmack), Lucas Adams (Niko Terho), Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane) and Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales) were also put in harm’s way due to the explosion.
SPOILER: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season Premiere Ends In Character Casualty
ABC/DisneyThe premiere ended with the show’s newcomer, Morales’ character Monica, succumbing to the injuries she sustained during the explosion. Morales joined the show in season 20, portraying a pediatric surgeon.
Monica was crushed by a machine in an operating room but stayed alive for some time. She helped coach Jules, a surgical intern, who was forced to finish the surgery of a child on the operating table.
Fans were left devastated by the character’s death.
“I have so much to say about this but I fear I can’t stop crying,” one user said on X.
“SHE DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER,” another person wrote.
“Do not expect me to ever get over this,” said another.
“Monica gone…oh I can’t do this,” one fan wrote on X.
Castmate and Showrunner Speak out on Monica’s Death
ABC/DisneyChris Carmack, whose character Link barely survived the explosion, shared he loved working alongside Morales on set during an interview with TV Line.
“I loved working with Natalie so much,” he said. “She’s such a light, funny, wonderful, kind, great actress.”
“Link and Beltran don’t have an extensive history together on screen, but Natalie made a huge impression in the time that she was working on the show, so it definitely hurt to see that Beltran didn’t make it.”
Link got trapped under the rubble from the explosion, leaving his survival up to his coworkers.
Fans were given a scare when Link flatlined, but ultimately, the doctors were able to stabilize him.
“Grey’s Anatomy” showrunner Meg Marinis spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, saying after the season 21 cliffhanger, the writers decided they couldn’t save everyone.
“I didn’t want to kill anyone. I didn’t want to kill anyone!” she said. “Even when we were choosing the VFX for the finale, post was like, ‘If you choose this one, there has to be someone who is dead. This is a huge explosion.’”
Marinis still maintained hope that everyone could be saved.
“And then I sat down in the writers room and I was like, ‘We can’t save everybody. We just can’t. It doesn’t have as much of an impact if everyone is saved.’”
Showrunner Meg Marinis Said the Decision was ‘Very Difficult’
Marinis revealed there was some back and forth in the writer’s room about which character would die after the explosion. She told The Hollywood Reporter one morning she woke up and decided it was Monica.
“I wanted to see someone die selflessly saving someone’s else’s life, and she was not only was saving that little kid on the table, she was saving Jules,” Marinis explained. “It really speaks to the kind of character Monica was.”
“It was very difficult. It was very painful,” she continued. “I cried on that phone call. I love working with Natalie Morales.”
Marinis revealed that Morales took her character’s ending well.
“She loved being on the show, but she understands story. She’s a writer and director herself, so she understands storytelling.”
Marinis added that the writers did consider Link being the character who didn’t survive, but they ultimately felt they “were not ready to go there yet.”
“Grey’s Anatomy” airs on ABC on Thursday nights at 10:00 p.m. ET and is available on Hulu the following day.
