Entertainment News

Home

Movies

Streaming

Music

Quizzes

Newsletter

'Grey's Anatomy' kills off yet another beloved character in spring premiere

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 3/12/21

While Grey's Anatomy faithful were left to worry about the fate of titular character Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) as she was placed on a ventilator to combat her severe COVID-19 case in December's winter finale, they were hit with a different loss in Thursday's spring premiere titled "Helplessly Hoping." Spoiler alerts ahead.

The episode opened with Dr. Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) bloody and panicked in the back of ambulance. It was soon revealed that he had been stabbed while confronting a child sex trafficker that he had been chasing since last season. DeLuca went into surgery to treat a Hemothorax. While in limbo, he visited Grey on her dream-like beach—previously occupied by the beloved deceased characters Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and George O'Malley (T.R. Knight)—where they both wondered aloud if they were dead or alive.

Ultimately, DeLuca died, and walked away with his long-deceased mother. As pointed out by The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg, "became only the fifth series regular in Grey's Anatomy history to have their storyline end in a fatality and the first since Patrick Dempsey's shocking exit nearly six years ago."

Gianniotti, Grey and showrunner Krista Vernoff were among many who addressed the shocking exit on Twitter:

So much I could say... but all that comes to mind is thank you. Thank you to all the fans who loved Deluca as much as I did. Telling his story was and will be one of the great honors of my life. Thank you. @GreysABC
— Giacomo Gianniotti (@GiacomoKG) March 12, 2021

Thank you for watching @GreysABC sorry for the heartache ...making the show and characters leaving is equally heartbreaking for us
— Ellen Pompeo (@EllenPompeo) March 12, 2021

But you know this is what we do https://t.co/aL4jO8Ag3u
— Ellen Pompeo (@EllenPompeo) March 12, 2021

pic.twitter.com/zI90e8H4vo
— Krista Vernoff (@KristaVernoff) March 12, 2021

Gianniotti and Vernoff discussed the decision to kill off DeLuca in more depth with Goldberg. While DeLuca won't be revisiting Grey on the in-between beach, Vernoff said, "you will see him again." Gianniotti added: "Even though his life has come to an end, there's many ways to show our characters who have passed. I look forward to tell some other stories in those ways. Maybe there's flashbacks or other scenarios where we can see DeLuca. That's about all I can say. But it's not a drill; he's definitely died."

Grey's Anatomy is in its 17th season and remains ABC's most-watched program, despite its position as the longest-running primetime medical drama in history. Pompeo previously disclosed as part of Variety's October Issue cover story that this year is the last of her contract.

More recently, Vernoff told Variety's Kate Aurthur earlier this week that she still does not know when the series will end: "I wish I knew. It’s a source of frustration at this point. And it sort of doubles my job, my workload, because I have to plan for both contingencies. But I am. And God willing, I’ll know soon."

For now, Grey's will pick up the pieces next Thursday.

More must-reads: