Is it October 9 yet? We’ve been counting down the days until the season 22 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy on ABC ever since last season’s literal bombshell of a finale, during which the desperate mom of a sick 9-year-old took several doctors hostage and caused a massive explosion at the hospital.
In case you forgot what happened, Jenna Gatlin (Piper Perabo) — out of her mind with grief and helplessness — demanded that Amelia and Simone perform an incredibly risky surgery on her daughter Dylan or else she’d light the tank of flammable acetylene she snuck into the OR. The docs miraculously succeeded, and an under-arrest Jenna revealed she’d been bluffing; the tank was empty. Turns out it wasn’t, though! It wasn’t long after this information became known that the hospital floor was blown to smithereens.
Oh, and during all that drama? Meredith sold her shares in Grey Sloan back to Catherine, Simone discovered that the guy she hooked up with right after breaking up with Lucas was an intern, Teddy saved Nora’s life before finally ending things with Owen, Jo revealed to Link they were having twins, and Bailey told Ben he couldn’t keep working at the hospital. Drama galore!
Now, it’s almost time for us to find out what’s next for our Grey’s Anatomy crew — that is, at least those who’ve made it out alive after that jaw-dropping ending. Here’s what we know so far.
Meredith Grey
Status: Alive
You didn’t think Grey’s would do Mer dirty like that, did you? The doc is assured of being safe and sound because she was standing outside the hospital when the explosion happened.
Miranda Bailey
Status: Unknown
It’s impossible to imagine the show killing off an OG like Bailey, but she was inside the hospital looking at the scheduling board at the time the tank blew up. Could it be?! We certainly hope not.
Richard Webber
Status: Unknown
Like Bailey, Webber is such a Grey’s Anatomy staple that his potential death via an explosion feels unfathomable. Still, he was inside the hospital and had recently talked about retiring (for real this time), so it’d be a fittingly tragic end.
Amelia Shepherd
Status: Alive
Although we didn’t see Amelia during the explosion, a recently released teaser image of Grey’s Anatomy’s upcoming premiere featured the neurosurgeon alive, if not exactly well. As Winston (also alive!) held her back, a distraught Amelia cried out, presumably over a hurt or dead loved one.
Catherine Fox
Status: Unknown
We know Catherine was in the hospital since Richard was going to find her at the time of the explosion. Would Grey’s have her survive cancer only to die in such a violent way? Unlikely, but this is Grey’s, after all; anything is possible.
Jo Wilson
Status: Alive
Jo was the sole lucky doctor to not be anywhere near the hospital when the tank blew up. She’d headed back home earlier in the episode after spending hours having sex with Link and telling him about the twins. Speaking of which …
Atticus “Link” Lincoln
Status: Unknown
We gotta say, things are not looking good for Link. Not only was he in the hospital, but he was also performing a surgery involving a very flammable tool. Plus, he’d just had a sweet talk with Jo about becoming a dad and committing to her forever … so all we can say is yikes.
Owen Hunt
Status: Unknown
Owen was already having a tough day thanks to an impending divorce, and getting blown up would really be the icing on the cake. He was last seen on the hospital’s recovery floor with Nora, so it’s certainly not out of the question.
Teddy Altman
Status: Unknown
Teddy’s also at risk since she was looking for Webber in the hospital when the tank ignited. Fingers crossed that she makes it out alive, since she’d just had both a huge surgical win by saving Nora’s life and a personal win by, finally, choosing herself.
Ben Warren
Status: Alive
Ben’s alive! Like Meredith, he was shown to be outside during the explosion, having just chatted with Bailey about his surgical future. That said, he ran inside the hospital immediately after the event (like a true firefighter!), so it’s possible he headed straight into trouble.
Winston Ndugu
Status: Alive
Good news for Ndugu fans (aka all of us, right?): He survived! The cardio doc can be seen in the teaser photo holding back Amelia while presumably tending to victims of the tragedy.
Jules Millin
Status: Unknown
Jules was on the surgical floor prepping for a procedure alongside Monica Beltran, leaving both women in severe danger. Here’s hoping these two make it out because this intern class can’t take another trauma!
Monica Beltran
Status: Unknown
Like we said above, the talented pediatric surgeon is certainly in harms way as well. The children need Dr. Beltran!
Benson Kwan
Status: Unknown
Last we saw him, Kwan was in the hospital but not near the surgical floor, so while his fate is still up in the air, he does have a better chance of survival than most.
Lucas Adams
Status: Unknown
Lucas was hunting for Richard at the time of the explosion, since he’d just learned that the gas tank wasn’t actually empty. That doesn’t leave us feeling optimistic, although we don’t really expect Grey’s to kill yet another member of the tragedy-stricken Shepherd clan.
Simone Griffith
Status: Alive
At least two interns are confirmed to be alive: Simone, who appears in a teaser image across the elevator from the new intern, her sorta new love interest/surprise hospital colleague. With the romantic drama about to come her way, though (that is, if Lucas were alive to find out that Simone slept with someone else), she might wish she were in a coma.
