“Grey’s Anatomy” resolved one of its most high-stakes finale cliffhangers in a while, after an explosion at the hospital all but destroyed the hospital’s surgical floor — and claimed the life of one of its beloved doctors.
Plenty of the ABC medical drama’s characters were left in peril by the explosion, caused by the disgruntled mother of one of Amelia’s patients (Caterina Scorsone) bringing an explosive into the hospital that inadvertently went off after the initial chaos subsided. Trailers for the episode teased that lives were at stake — particularly that of Link (Chris Carmack), Jules (Adelaide Kane), Lucas (Niko Terho), Monica (Natalie Morales) and OG fan-favorite Bailey (Chandra Wilson).
In the end it was peds surgeon Dr. Monica Beltran who died, succumbing to blunt force injuries after ending up pinned to the ground with a crushed pelvis in an operating room that had been sealed off by debris alongside Jules and a patient open on the table.
“As sad as I am to go, I feel like it is earned and it doesn’t feel like it came out of nowhere,” Morales told TheWrap. “Monica got to do some good stuff at that hospital, not only with the patients but also with the interns and the people she met along the way. I’m very proud of that character and storyline.”
“Grey’s Anatomy” showrunner Meg Marinis told TheWrap the writers’ room pursued a few different ideas for who would die in the Season 22 premiere, titled “Only the Strong Survive” — though she admitted Bailey was never really in consideration.
After the storylines charted for the rest of the season led to Monica’s demise, Marinis ensured she would have an iconic “Grey’s Anatomy” ending, which inspired how she guided Jules through a solo surgery on their young patient while they waited to be rescued from the rubble. By the time Jules completed the procedure, Monica had gone unconscious and was pronounced dead on the scene.
Monica’s death will reverberate across the ensemble, as well as the rebuilding process of the hospital which Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) pledged to help through after committing to spend more time in Seattle at the end of last season. And though Link barely survived his injuries, his road to recovery will come alongside Jo’s (Camilla Luddington) due date for their twins.
And of course there’s the relationship dynamic shifts, including Teddy (Kim Raver) and Owen (Kevin McKidd) officially separating, and Simone (Alexis Floyd) and Lucas breaking up after she confessed to sleeping with someone else — that person being new surgery intern Wes (Trevor Jackson).
Below, Marinis breaks down all the big moments from the Season 22 premiere and teases next week’s new installment, which marks the 450th episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”
TheWrap: The explosion at the hospital was a huge cliffhanger for fans and now we know what went down on the surgical floor. How did you and the writers go about crafting this season premiere?
Marinis: We knew we really wanted to pick up immediately, because sometimes due to production needs we haven’t been able to do that. But I really wanted to go all in and show the destruction and people literally getting up off the floor. Our art department really, really delivered. If you had gone over to the set and seen what they had created, it was phenomenal.
I wanted to see them rushing up those stairs to find Bailey. I wanted to see literally people opening their eyes, which clearly we see with Jules. And I wanted to see all the lighting changes and the power going out and things like that. To me, that’s what makes it even more high stakes and old school “Grey’s.” And also, I wanted to see Meredith Grey large and in charge.
Monica Beltran was the biggest casualty of the explosion, but she helped Jules save baby Parker before succumbing to her injuries. Why kill her off?
It was not this predetermined decision … And you know, I didn’t want anyone to die. I love our characters and all of the people who play them. But I knew that I wanted whoever died to have an iconic “Grey’s” death where they were saving someone’s life until the very end.
We went down all the different scenarios. I did a lot of thinking about it and judging on what I was looking for with the character of Jules and the character of Amelia. The story led to Monica, as painful as it was for me as a writer and as a person, because Natalie Morales is a dream performer to work with. She’s not only an actor, but obviously a writer and a director too. So she really understands storytelling. We went through each beat together and crafted it in a way that I think will be a really memorable character death on the show.
The trailer for the episode hinted at other lives being in question, most notably Link and Bailey. Was there anyone else that was in the realm of possibility to die?
I feel like everyone on that floor was in the realm of possibility. I did not consider killing Dr. Miranda Bailey, I am not going to be the person that does that.
I don’t want to go into specifics on who were the other strong contenders, because they may not know about it. But clearly the people that were seen on that floor — Link and Jules — were obviously up there. But there were some pitches from the writers for characters that we didn’t see on the floor, just to mix it up and make it a very surprising, shocking season premiere. But based on the stories that we were talking about for the rest of the rest of the season, this is where we landed on.
Link was almost a goner too, but the doctors are able to save him and now he begins a long road to recovery. What does that look like for him?
I took him right up to the brink. We flatlined him, but he made it back. So now, we’re not going to see him operating as a surgeon for quite some time, because not only does he have a huge physical recovery, but Jo is getting close to that due date.
So Link’s story is really about himself getting back into physical and mental shape. And just really trying to be there for Jo, because she is in a high-risk pregnancy, and she’s already had one pregnancy complication. It’s going to be really rough for him to not be our typical jovial, positive, strong, Link. We’re going to see a different shade of him.
Amelia blames herself for the explosion given the events of the finale, so Link’s injuries and Monica’s death will hit her hard — beyond her personal connection to both. How does that set up her journey for this new season?
It’s going to cause her to really rethink her life, her decisions and her relationship to work, and also think about who she is as a mother, who she is as a friend, a sister. We are not going to just brush this side of the story. We’ll really see her getting in the middle of it in Episode 2.
After this tragedy, it’s really about how she comes back from it and who gets her through it. Amelia’s story for this season is really focusing on herself and looking inward. Who is Amelia Shepherd, not just a surgeon. I think once she discovers that, then I think she’s open to someone new.
Meredith certainly has a big premiere as she saves one of the new interns and is committed to helping the hospital through this latest crisis. How much Meredith will get to see this season?
She made this deal with Richard and Catherine at the end of last season. And now the OR floor is destroyed. But even though there may not be as many surgeries, she’s not going to give up on her deal. She’s going to stay to help take care of the hospital, take care of the people that run it.
We’ll see her in the first several episodes in Seattle, but we’re not going to drop her research storyline as well. So it’ll look fairly similar to the amount [of episodes] of last season.
As you said, the OR floor is kaput, which takes a big piece of the show. But every time the hospital gets destroyed, it ends up looking better. What does this renovation journey lead to and what does it mean for these doctors to not have the floor where surgery happens?
We pick back up with that construction immediately in Episode 2, and it’s not without complications, but it’ll be done in pieces. And it’s not that we won’t see our surgeons operating, but they’re not operating where they normally operate and it’s a lot more emergent cases than elective, scheduled cases.
Jules has really been through it in the last couple seasons, but she still has a moment with Winston before she pushes him away. Where does she and this potential relationship go from here?
She’s definitely experienced a huge trauma in Episode 1, and I think she wants to move forward, but that is much easier said than done. She’ll struggle with being able to move forward after not only having to operate on someone under duress, but seeing somebody die in the room with you. It’s one thing to be a doctor and the patient to die in the room with you, but it’s another thing for a peer to die in the room with you. And that is just not something that someone can easily get over.
As for Winston, he’s a stand-up guy. He knows the boundaries at work, so he’s not going to seek her out unless he feels like there’s been an invitation there, and that invitation has not necessarily happened. There’s a power dynamic, and it’s a much different time than it was 22 years ago, and he wants to respect that, and he’s a good person, and he doesn’t want to jeopardize anyone’s career. She kind of called him out on it before. So if that relationship is ever going to be anything, the ball is in her court.
But there is definitely some joy coming for Jules. And probably the first little pocket of joy that she’s going to get is from her co-residents being there for her.
Simone and Lucas are over after she told him about sleeping with someone else. But her chemistry with the new intern is palpable. Is a love triangle brewing?
I think so. I think that Simone is going to try to deny this attraction for as long as she can, because she just got out of a messy relationship at work. She doesn’t want to have to deal with another messy relationship, particularly with an intern. Nobody wants to be the second year sleeping with a new intern class, so she’s going to try to focus on work and she’s going to try to focus on friendship. But clearly, that man works there and it’s going to be hard.
While the premiere’s chaos unfolded, we met some of the new class of interns. How big are their roles moving forward?
We won’t get to know them as much as Wes, played by Trevor Jackson. But we’ll see them from our second years’ perspective, teaching these new interns, watching these new interns mess up and it being their fault, getting to watch our second years throw a little sass back at somebody else now that they’re not on the bottom, and seeing our residents as teachers — which is going to be really hard for Bailey to watch.
Teddy and Owen are also separating, and Teddy seems to be launching into her own road of self-discovery. What’s next for these two?
These two are going to try to do it apart for a while, and that doesn’t mean they won’t have scenes together. They have children together, they’re linked for life and they have this history of a decades-long friendship, and they obviously still work together.
There’s going to be some bumps in the road for that, but they are really going to work hard on not being the same way that they have been in the past, trying to kind of grow and evolve. And ideally, we’ll see those two at least try to become the friends that they were at one point.
Thankfully Jo didn’t lose Link, but she is still in the middle of a high-risk pregnancy and now her partner is sidelined? What’s next for her?
Well, those babies are going to come out this season … she’s been pregnant for like three seasons now.
Episode 2 marks the show’s 450th episode. What can you tease about this milestone installment?
I’m a little in disbelief that we’re here. It feels like just yesterday it was 350 or the 400th and to be able to get to a milestone like that in today’s world of streaming and everything. It’s a huge honor, and we’re all just very, very grateful. Shonda Rhimes has gotten us here, and it’s amazing, there’s so many people that have worked here for almost the entire run, so it really feels like we’ve all grown up together. It really feels wonderful to be able to celebrate as a work family like that.
As for the episode itself, it was always going to be tricky, because we’re coming off this big premiere, and now we have this 450 milestone. But what I’ll say is it still has high stakes — not exactly the same high stakes as the premiere — but much more emotional high stakes. You’ll see a little bit of nostalgia in the episode, celebrating the show and what it’s stood for for so long, but also it really fits as the second episode following this premiere, with the aftermath of how everyone’s doing post-explosion. And our interns will have their first day.
Are you ready for 100 more episodes?
Oh yeah, bring it on!
“Grey’s Anatomy” airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
