Grey’s Anatomy just recently concluded its twenty-first season on ABC. Can you believe it? The season 21 finale left us stunned, especially with the dramatic twist at the end. A fire broke out at Grey Sloan Memorial, putting several characters’ lives at risk. Now, fans are left anxiously waiting to see who survived and who didn’t. But we won’t find this out until the medical drama returns for season 22 this fall.
Although it’s widely understood that no one in Grey’s Anatomy is truly safe, we suspect most characters will make it through the fire. There might be one or two deaths, but probably not much more. That said, this is purely speculation. Grey’s Anatomy has a history of surprising viewers with both unexpected losses and departures we anticipated, but that still hit harder than anyone imagined.
With the suspense surrounding the latest season finale, it’s made us reflect on some of the most heartbreaking character deaths in the show’s history. Among all the losses, one death still stands out as the most gut-wrenching, reminding us just how powerful Grey’s Anatomy can be when it pulls at our heartstrings. OG fans probably already know exactly who we’re talking about. It’s the tragic death of Denny Duquette, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. He passes away in the season 2 finale titled “Losing My Religion.”
Denny made his first appearance in Grey’s Anatomy season 2 episode 13. A longtime patient of Dr. Burke, Denny arrives at Seattle Grace Hospital for a heart transplant. He was suffering from a severe heart condition known as viral cardiomyopathy and was in desperate need of a transplant to survive. While under the hospital’s care, he meets surgical intern Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) and there’s an instant attraction. Their relationship quickly blossoms into a deep romance, despite the complications and hospital rules against such relationships.
Unfortunately, Denny doesn’t end up getting the heart and leaves the hospital. However, he’s eventually brought back in after his condition takes a turn for the worse. He experiences heart failure, and despite the medicine, his condition only continues to worsen. While all of this is going on, he and Izzie only grow closer. Izzie becomes so emotionally attached to Denny that she’s willing to risk her career and his life to try to save him.
This eventually leads her to make the drastic decision to cut his LVAD wire, a dangerous and unethical move meant to worsen his condition just enough to move him up the transplant list. While the plan initially works and Denny gets the heart, the happy ending Izzie had hoped for never comes.
Shortly after the successful transplant and after Denny proposes, he tragically dies from a sudden stroke. Izzie finds his pale, lifeless body lying in the hospital bed. She then gets into the bed in her red prom dress and cuddles up next to him. The other doctors eventually find her and try to get her to pull away, but she refuses, overwhelmed by grief and unable to let go. This part right here broke me as a viewer.
Izzie looked so out of it. She thought that with the transplant, everything would be different and that she and Denny could have an actual future together. But when he suddenly passed away, it shattered all her hopes in an instant. As Alex removes her from the bed, Izzie’s cries echo through the hospital room. The scene becomes even more emotional due to “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol playing in the background.
I still often think about this scene. How deeply it captures the rawness of grief, the helplessness of losing someone you fought so hard for, and the crushing reality that sometimes, love isn’t enough to save them. Shonda Rhimes and her team of writers definitely knew how to hit us right in the feels with this moment, and for that, they deserve all the praise for delivering one of the most unforgettable and heart-wrenching scenes in Grey’s Anatomy history.
Grey’s Anatomy season 22 is set to air on ABC sometime this fall.
