‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Head Writer Meg Marinis Explains Why She Killed Link So Soon After Her Wedding
The season 21 finale of Grey’s Anatomy left fans stunned when a gas explosion hit Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital while Dr. Atticus “Link” Lincoln (Chris Carmack) was performing surgery — leaving his fate in doubt. What made the twist even more devastating was that just one episode earlier, Link and Jo (Camilla Luddington) had just gotten married and discovered they were expecting twins, opening up a hopeful future for the couple.
So why Link? Why did the writers choose the happiest moment to create such a dark plot twist?
In an interview with Parade, Meg Marinis candidly shared:
“We’re Grey’s Anatomy, and we’ve always had a tradition of… twisting happiness. Episode 17 is a beautiful story: they get married, they’re happy, there’s a sweet moment in the instrument room, and then they find out they’re having a daughter. And then — of course — you can’t just be happy forever.”
When asked directly, “Why did we do this to Jo?” Meg replied:
“We didn’t do anything to Jo. But they’ve had a really happy season, and in the iconic Grey’s style, there’s always a new challenge. The question is: Will she be strong enough to overcome it?”
Interestingly, according to Meg, the explosion involved many other characters. Not only Link, but Nurse Linda was also near the incident site, and Teddy was completely missing. Meredith and Ben are the only two characters confirmed to not be at the hospital at the time.
When asked if the writers have decided who will live and who will die, Meg admitted:
“Oh, yeah. We’ve decided for sure.”
The end of season 21 of Grey’s Anatomy left a series of unanswered questions, leaving fans anxiously awaiting what happens next. Will Link survive? How will Jo cope? And who among the cast will never return? All will be revealed in season 22 — which is already one of the most anticipated seasons in Grey’s Anatomy history.
