Is Richard Webber Dying in Grey’s Anatomy Season 22? ABC Teases Devastating Twist md06

Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s cliffhanger ending set up Link as the character most in danger from Grey Sloan’s explosion, but several clues have appeared about Richard possibly dying, especially in the context of what’s to come after Grey’s Anatomy season 22’s premiere. The explosion came as a shock after the hostage situation had already been resolved in season 21’s finale.

With several characters unaccounted for or seen in the vicinity of the OR floor in Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s ending, plenty could be in mortal danger. Grey’s Anatomy season 22’s premiere will inevitably have to address the explosion’s aftermath, but the possibility that it might be an original character to die is supported by clues in the trailer and beyond.

Grey’s Anatomy Clues That Richard Is Dying In Season 22 Explained

Image via ABC

Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s ending didn’t explicitly highlight how Richard could be in danger, but the closer we get to season 22’s premiere date, the more we get new information. Richard notably doesn’t appear in Grey’s Anatomy season 22’s teaser trailer, nor its full version. However, there are more worrisome clues that point to his death being likely to happen.

Songs always meant a great deal in the context of the medical drama, with only one Grey’s Anatomy episode not sharing a title with a song. A cover of “White Flag” by Dido can be heard in the trailer, which ends with one specific line from the song, “I will go down with this ship.”

Ever since Grey’s Anatomy’s beginning, Richard Webber could be likened to the captain of Grey Sloan Memorial, having been its chief for years and its residency director too. The explosion being perceived as Grey Sloan sinking, and Richard being its honorary captain, can work as a metaphor hinting at Richard suffering the hospital’s same fate.

Grey’s Anatomy’s 450th episode, which coincides with season 22, episode 2, is titled “We Built This City,” hinting at the original Grey’s Anatomy characters who built Grey Sloan and the drama. Its synopsis explicitly mentioning hospital renovations could be willfully concealing moving on after a key character’s death, with his funeral potentially happening in that episode perfectly fitting the bill.

Why Richard Dying Makes The Most Sense In Grey’s Anatomy Season 22

Every milestone episode in Grey’s Anatomy included an important event, life-changing for its characters or Grey Sloan itself – episode 400 notably involved the residency program being shut down. Grey’s Anatomy’s 450th episode taking place after season 22’s premiere would let it take its time to address the main character’s death and move on with a funeral the next episode.

Grey’s Anatomy not killing major characters off for four years made it imperative that someone important dies in season 22, and Richard would be the perfect character to die this close to Grey’s Anatomy’s 450th episode. Setting up the demise of an original Grey’s Anatomy character would especially make the milestone episode about Grey Sloan and the show simultaneously.

Among the remaining original characters, Richard’s would be the death that makes the most sense. Bailey or Meredith’s storylines still have much to say. Moreover, Grey’s Anatomy season 22’s trailer showcased the key reactions of characters important to Richard by showing Catherine asking about fatalities and Amelia, Ndugu, and Meredith being distraught, making Richard’s death the only one that works.

With only three remaining original characters, Grey’s Anatomy might nevertheless be unwilling to kill off one of them just to shock viewers, making Richard’s death far-fetched, no matter how many clues season 22’s trailer effectively dropped. Even without ridding the medical drama of its longest-serving doctors, Grey’s Anatomy still needs to kill off someone consequential after season 22’s high-octane trailer.

According to Grey’s Anatomy season 22’s confirmed cast, the onus to break the medical drama’s recent trend of not killing characters will seemingly fall on Monica Beltran, as Natalie Morales isn’t among the confirmed cast to return for season 22. With Amelia and Winston both being close to her, their reactions in the trailer would also fit such a development.

Despite being more consequential than that of Mika’s sister, Monica’s death still doesn’t hold a candle to Richard’s, which would affect everyone who ever walked through Grey Sloan Memorial’s halls. Her death is also completely off base in light of some of the clues from Grey’s Anatomy season 22’s trailer, making some of the teaser’s choices puzzling in hindsight.

How Richard’s Death Impacts The Future Of Grey’s Anatomy

Killing Richard in Grey’s Anatomy season 22 would be so unexpectedly shocking to make the medical drama mirror its golden years. Indeed, with everyone expecting Link to die after season 21’s ending clearly established his whereabouts, Richard’s death would subvert expectations and still be central enough to have ramifications for several characters in the drama.

Richard’s death in Grey’s Anatomy season 22 would effectively mark the end of an era. The character taught all of Grey Sloan Memorial’s interns, shaping more than just those in Meredith’s class. His death would also be extremely heavy on the other Grey’s Anatomy original characters, his mentees Bailey and Meredith.

In short, Richard’s death could easily be the one to have the biggest impact among all those likely in terms of shock value, importance, and lasting changes to the medical drama as a result. It would reduce the ranks of its original characters and set up Grey’s Anatomy season 22 to be something unexpected and unlike anything before.

Grey’s Anatomy season 22 premieres on ABC at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 9, 2025.