We still have a ton of questions about that Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 finale — primarily, who (if anyone) died in that massive gas explosion in the surgical wing — and we’ll have to wait until Season 22 arrives this fall to find out the answers to them. Apart from addressing the finale’s biggest cliffhangers, though, we’re also starting to wonder what else Season 22 might have in store for us. Particularly, will there be any more surprise returnees from seasons past?
Season 21 saw the (brief) return of Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) in the season premiere episode to confront Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) about her Alzheimer’s research publication. The season also brought back Sydney Heron (Kali Rocha) to fill in for Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), like she’d done when Miranda was on maternity leave back in the olden days of the show, Season 2.
Before that, Season 20 brought back Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) for a risky fetal surgery, along with Nico Kim (Alex Landi), who was consulting with the obstetrics department about his surrogate with his new boyfriend.
Season 19 brought back Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) again — she also appeared in episodes of Season 18 — and Season 18 also saw the return of Jackson and April Kepner (Sarah Drew), as well as Ellis Grey (Kate Burton). Season 17 was a biggie, with Meredith’s Covid coma resurrecting all kinds of dead characters in her fever dream, including Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), George O’Malley (T.R. Knight), Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), and Mark Sloan (Eric Dane).
The list goes on: Season 16 brought back several of Meredith’s former patients, including Katie Bryce (Skylar Shaye) who also returned for a new surgery in Season 12; Season 15 brought back Derek’s mother Carolyn (Tyne Daly) and sister Nancy (Embeth Davidtz), along with Thatcher (Jeff Perry); Season 14 saw the return of Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) after several seasons away, and Nurse Olivia (Sarah Utterback), who’d been gone since Season 6; Season 13 briefly reunited fans with Leah Murphy (Tessa Ferrer), while Season 10 brought back Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) to explain Cristina Yang’s (Sandra Oh) exit.
Suffice it to say, long-gone character returns are just part of the fabric of Grey’s Anatomy at this point, so it would be more surprising not to see a big return or two throughout the events of Season 22. The question is: Who?
Will it be some of the still-alive originals who we haven’t seen in years, like Yang (who Sandra Oh is reportedly open to bringing back now), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), or Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl)? Could it be one of the other recurring characters who’ve departed Seattle but are still alive in the series canon, like Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Penelope Blake (Samantha Sloyan) or Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith)? Perhaps you’d like to see someone who’s left more recently like Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson), Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton), or even Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) return for an update. Or maybe you’re in the mood to see some more resurrections, with more ghostly cameos by the likes of Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Dylan Young (Kyle Chandler), or Bonnie (Monica Keena). Also possible? The return of characters who left the hospital worse for the wear, like Hannah Davies (Christina Ricci), Ava a.k.a. Rebecca Pope (Elizabeth Reaser), Eliza Minnick (Marika Domncz), or Hillary Boyd (Alanna Masterson). With 21 seasons of characters coming through the hospital, there are tons of potential options.
Make your pick by voting in the poll below, and, if your favorite option isn’t listed, tell us in the comments who you hope Grey’s Anatomy brings back for Season 22!