When Grey’s Anatomy returns for Season 22 this fall, there may be reason for fans to grieve another character loss. There were several surgeons in danger of being in the blast zone of the giant explosion that took place in the Season 21 finale of the medical drama — with some doctors in more apparent peril than others.

The firebomb ignited after a desperate mother, Jenna Gatlin (Piper Perabo), held an entire operating room hostage — with a striker and a gas tank — in order to force Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) to perform surgery on her child. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who was there to sell off her shares of the hospital and instead made a deal to spend summers in Seattle in exchange for research funding, helped to talk the mother down. However, Amelia still did the procedure with success, and after, Jenna claimed the gas tank was actually empty the entire time because she never intended to hurt anyone. However, her husband, whose truck she lifted the tank from, revealed — clearly, too late — that it did have gas in it, which meant it’d been leaking in the surgical room the whole time.

The final moments of the Grey’s finale revealed the whereabouts of most of the doctors. Fans can count Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Simone (Alexis Floyd), and Blue a.k.a. Benson Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.) among those who were nowhere near the blast. Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill) was on the elevators last we saw him, and Owen (Kevin McKidd) was on the recovery floor. Ben Warren (Jason George) was outside of the hospital when it happened but ran inside to help with his firefighting skills immediately afterward.

Meanwhile, Lucas Adams (Niko Terho) was the one who learned about the gas in the tank and ran to warn everyone, so his exact location wasn’t clear; and Teddy (Kim Raver) was possibly in the vicinity as well. Also unknown were the whereabouts of Catherine Avery (Debbie Allen) and Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.). One character who was definitely in the area of the explosion was Link (Chris Carmack), who was performing surgery at the time. Also shown to be on the surgical floor were Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales), and Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane).

So, the ones who were most likely to be injured or killed by the eruption were Link, Miranda, Monica, and Jules, with Lucas, Teddy, and Ben also possibly in danger.

Which of these characters’ deaths would shock you the most, though?

Link just got married to Jo, who’s pregnant with their twin babies. During their wedding, which took place during the penultimate episode of the season, he chose to deliver his vows in song to make them extra meaningful and, thus, his potential loss that much more gutting. Miranda also had an emotional moment just before the boom, telling Ben that she wished she would’ve supported him more as he grappled with setbacks while trying (unsuccessfully) to return to surgery. Jules had just declared her disinterest in dating Ndugu in another big speech, and Teddy ended things with Owen … again. Lucas responded to the hostage situation by declaring himself to Simone (who’d secretly hooked up with a man who turned out to be a new intern during their break).

So, of the potential characters who could’ve been hurt or killed by the blast, whose death would shock and/or upset you the most? Weigh in with our poll below and hit the comments with your thoughts!

Grey’s Anatomy, Season 22 Premiere, Fall 2025, ABC