We’re now just over two months out from the return of Grey’s Anatomy for Season 22, and there are still many, many questions about what’s coming next on the landmark medical-slash-disaster drama. Chief among them? Who, if anyone, was hurt or killed in that surgical wing explosion in the Season 21 finale? There were several characters shown to be directly in harm’s way at the time of the blast… and others whose exact location was unclear.
One character whose fate seemed to be sealed was that of Piper Perabo‘s Jenna Gatlin, the desperate mother who held up an entire operating room with a gas tank and a flint striker to force Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) to perform a risky surgery on her daughter. After the operation proved to be successful, Jenna revealed she was bluffing, and the tank was empty. She was still arrested on the spot and carted away from the scene. Believing that the floor was safe, some other surgeons began to carry on as usual. However, Jenna’s husband revealed that the tank wasn’t empty, and soon after, the leaked acetylene ignited into a giant inferno.
Disney / Anne Marie Fox
Now that her actions have potentially caused a fatality, however unintentional, will we get to see Perabo return to reveal her character’s reaction?
TV Insider caught up with the actress to discuss her newest role — a much more intentional and overt antagonist — in the upcoming spy-thriller series Butterfly and asked if we’ll get to see her in Grey’s Anatomy Season 22.
“It was so fun when they called … I’m on a streak of just like evil, powerful women,” she said. “I literally was talking with the writers’ room about [that] — because it literally is, like, boom, season out — and so I was talking with them about the immediate aftermath because it’s not totally clear where everyone is in the building. When you see the explosion, it wasn’t clear which hallway certain people are in… So I talked to them a lot about that immediate moment, and also, is escape possible? Given the chaos of the explosion, could I escape?”
That’s not a full-on yes, but it’s not a no, either.
We’ll have to wait and see what’s in store for the fallout of the latest fiery Grey’s finale when the show returns this fall.
Grey’s Anatomy, Season 22 Premiere, Thursday, October 16, 10/9c, ABC