How Will Grey’s Anatomy End? Creator Shonda Rhimes Says…

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Grey’s Anatomy hasn’t flatlined just yet.

The show is currently in its 22nd season, but creator Shonda Rhimes – who also oversaw the show for the first eight seasons – has already been considering how it will eventually end. After 450 episodes of the medical drama, she’s working to determine the perfect conclusion.

Shonda Rhimes recently told Craig Melvin on NBC’s *Today* show that she had a general idea of how the show would end around episode 150. However, with the show now at episode 450, she admits she has no idea how it will ultimately conclude. She wasn’t even confident they’d make it past the fourth or fifth season, so reaching season 22 feels incredible to her.

The 55-year-old also mentioned that deciding to end the show isn’t just up to her. It will also depend on what the fans and the original cast – including stars like Ellen Pompeo, James Pickens Jr., and Chandra Wilson – want.

Shonda added, “I want everybody to end in a really positive, great way.”

Honestly, we, the fans, are the reason *Grey’s Anatomy* has lasted as long as it has, according to the show’s creator! It’s just… we keep watching, and that’s why it’s become the longest-running medical drama *ever*. I mean, it’s amazing, right?

Shonda was thrilled that viewers have continued to watch and enjoy the show, remaining excited and engaged throughout.

Oh my gosh, it wasn’t like any other medical show, and that’s what I loved! Shonda Rhimes actually said it herself – it was all about these young doctors who were still figuring things out. It felt so real, and it was like we, the audience, were learning right alongside them. It was brilliant!

She also explained that it seemed to focus more on the doctors’ feelings about their patients and jobs, rather than simply being present with the patients.

The show’s focus on romance also helped its popularity, as people enjoy watching love stories, she explained.

Honestly, Shonda is a genius! She’s said it herself – she doesn’t care if we *love* a character or even ship them with someone else. If a storyline needs a heartbreaking twist, if it’ll ultimately make the show better, she’s not afraid to just… *kill them off*! It’s brutal, yes, but it’s what makes the show so amazing, you know? She’s not afraid of making the tough choices, and I live for it!

She explained that she’s focused on the overall narrative, not individual characters, and that this approach leads to characters being killed off.

The show continues to explore this emotional theme, most recently with the departure of Dr. Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales). She died from injuries sustained in the hospital explosion that concluded the previous season, and her death was shown in the season 22 premiere.

Even though the current head writer and producer of *Grey’s Anatomy*, Meg Marinis, initially didn’t want to kill off any characters this season, it turned out to be the right choice for the story’s progress.

After the show premiered, she told Deadline that watching the finale again helped her realize where the story was ultimately headed. She said, ‘It just clicked – that’s where everything was building to.’

For a look back at more of Grey’s Anatomy’s most jaw-dropping moments, keep reading.

The first episode of *Grey’s Anatomy* started with a surprise for new intern Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo): she discovered that the attractive man she’d spent the night with – played by Patrick Dempsey – was actually her new boss, the famous surgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd. Talk about an awkward beginning!

Viewers were as shocked as Meredith when Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) unexpectedly arrived at Seattle Grace and confronted her and Derek with the famous line, “You must be the woman who’s been sleeping with my husband.”

In its second season, *Grey’s Anatomy* aired right after the Super Bowl and immediately grabbed viewers’ attention with a dramatic scene: Meredith stuck her hand inside a body to prevent a live explosive from going off. Just when everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Dylan, a bomb squad chief played by Kyle Chandler, carried the explosive away, it detonated, tragically injuring him.

Viewers became invested in the romance between Izzie (Katherine Heigl) and Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) as Denny waited for a life-saving heart transplant during the second half of season two, and many fell in love with their story alongside Izzie. When Izzie’s risky attempt to prioritize him on the transplant list tragically backfired and led to his death in the season finale, it became clear that *Grey’s Anatomy* wasn’t afraid to shatter expectations and wouldn’t always deliver the happy endings fans hoped for.

The season three ferry accident featured two shocking moments: Meredith being thrown into the icy water and almost drowning, and her even more surprising confession that she had actually stopped fighting to stay alive. Which was more unexpected?

At the start of season three, Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) joined Seattle Grace Hospital as an intern. Her arrival echoed how Derek first met Meredith – they had a chance encounter the night before she started – though thankfully, it didn’t lead to a similar immediate connection. Lexie quickly introduced herself to George O’Malley in the intern locker room. As it turned out, she was Meredith’s younger half-sister, one of two daughters raised by their father, Thatcher, and his second wife, Susan, adding another layer to the hospital’s complex relationships.

Over two and a half seasons after his character died, Denny Duquette reappeared on the show as a ghost—and had a romantic encounter with Izzie Stevens. This bizarre scene wasn’t just for shock value; it was a way of subtly hinting to both Izzie and the audience that she was seriously ill. It was later revealed she had stage IV melanoma, which had spread to her brain and other parts of her body.

Everyone thought Izzie was going to die in the season five finale, but the mystery surrounding George’s disappearance should have hinted that something was wrong with him. When Meredith discovered the unidentified patient hit by a bus – who had been trying to save a woman – was writing ‘007’ (a nickname from earlier seasons) on his hand, she tried to warn the surgeons, but they couldn’t save him. He died on the operating table.

One of the most shocking moments in *Grey’s Anatomy* history happened in the season six finale. A grieving widower, fueled by loss and arriving after the hospital merged with Mercy West, came to the hospital with a gun. The result was devastating: several doctors were killed or hurt, and the horrifying image of Bailey being pulled from under a bed is unforgettable. While Bailey survived, the tragedy wasn’t over. Meredith and Derek’s baby, who was shot, didn’t make it, and Meredith believed the baby had died, resulting in a traumatic miscarriage.

Just two seasons after a devastating shooting at the hospital, Shonda Rhimes created another major crisis for her doctors. In the season eight finale, a plane carrying Meredith, Derek, Cristina Yang, Lexie, Mark Sloan, and Arizona Robbins crashed while they were traveling to Boise, Idaho for a surgery. They were left stranded and injured, and no one knew they were missing. The crash resulted in the deaths of Lexie and Mark, Arizona lost her leg, and Derek almost permanently lost the use of his hand.

When Sandra Oh decided to leave *Grey’s Anatomy* after season 10, the show found a dramatic way to say goodbye to her character, Cristina. They brought back Isaiah Washington as Preston Burke – the man who left her at the altar years earlier – and had him offer her ownership of a hospital in Switzerland. Many were surprised by Washington’s return, considering he had been fired from the show after using a deeply offensive slur against his co-star, T.R. Knight.

The season 10 finale of the show said farewell to Cristina and introduced Dr. Maggie Pierce, played by Kelly McCreary, as the new head of cardio-thoracic surgery. In a surprising reveal at the end of the episode, Maggie told Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) that she was the daughter of the renowned Dr. Ellis Grey. Richard wasn’t the only one shocked by the news – it was also a revelation that he had another daughter and that Meredith had a previously unknown sister.

Everyone was shocked when Derek unexpectedly died near the end of season 11. He’d just rescued a family from a car accident when he was fatally injured in a collision. The death was especially surprising because Patrick Dempsey had recently renewed his contract. While Shonda Rhimes may have felt it was the only way to remove the character without invalidating their eleven-year relationship, it was still a painful moment for viewers.

Already facing numerous challenges, Mer suffered a violent attack by a patient in season 12, episode 9, resulting in a broken jaw that required wiring shut to protect her hearing. A particularly powerful scene featured Ellen Pompeo portraying Mer’s panic when her children were unable to visit her during her recovery.

The show addressed Alex Karev’s unexpected departure after Justin Chambers left during season 16 by revealing he’d reconnected with his ex-wife, Izzie, years after she disappeared and filed for divorce. He discovered she had been raising their twins on a farm, and he chose to be with them instead of continuing his life in Seattle. It was a completely shocking twist that no one predicted!

During season 17, viewers saw Dr. Andrea “Andrew” DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) tragically die. After battling and overcoming mental health issues, DeLuca had become an attending physician at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. However, in line with the show’s dramatic style, his progress was cut short when he was stabbed by someone connected to a human trafficking operation.

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2025-10-13 23:50