Grey's Anatomy EP Defends Killing [Spoiler] In Season 22 Premiere: 'I Wanted To See Someone Die Selflessly'

When crafting the Grey's Anatomy Season 22 premiere, which picked up in the immediate aftermath of an explosion at Grey Sloan Memorial, showrunner Meg Marinis was given the unenviable task of deciding which beloved hospital staffer wouldn't live to see Episode 2.

After all, "it doesn't have as much of an impact if everyone is saved," Marinis explains to The Hollywood Reporter. Virtually every character was on the chopping block, but after much internal debate, Marinis says, "One morning, I woke up and went to the writers' room and I said, 'It's Monica.'"

"I wanted to see someone die selflessly saving someone's else's life, and she was not only saving that little kid on the table, she was saving Jules," Marinis says of reluctantly killing off Natalie Morales' character. "It really speaks to the kind of character Monica was. I didn't want to. It was very difficult. It was very painful. I cried on that phone call. I love working with Natalie Morales. ... But also, just going through the impact and consequences on Jules and Amelia, that is where we landed."

As Variety points out, Monica's death also technically plays into TV's long-standing "Bury Your Gays" trope, as romantic tension had been building between Monica and Amelia. Marinis insists it wasn't her intention to go into that trope, but she is "aware of it."

"What I would say is that I didn't want to lose the character," she adds. "It's where the story was going. Unfortunately, that relationship will not pan out, but it will have an effect on Amelia, and we will be honoring the character. Her death is not just over in Episode 1. We'll also continue to honor that character and honor that community by continuing to have those kinds of relationships depicted on the show."

Morales tells THR that she "wasn't too surprised" when she found out Monica wouldn't survive the blast, adding "but I was surprised and also excited to have a big, dramatic Grey's death. That seemed fun. I have really enjoyed working with the people on this show, so it's a little bit sad in that sense. Could they have dragged out my death two or three episodes? Sure. But I understand why they did it, and I think Meg is such a talented writer and showrunner, and I understood the storyline. It made sense to me, as somebody who watches the show."

When TVLine spoke with Chris Carmack, whose character did survive the explosion, he shared his personal disappointment with the loss of Monica: "I loved working with Natalie so much. She's such a light, funny, wonderful, kind, great actress. Link and Beltran don't have an extensive history together on screen, but Natalie made a huge impression in the time that she was working on the show, so it definitely hurt to see that Beltran didn't make it."

Grey's fans, how are you feeling about Monica's death now that we've had a night to sleep on it? Do you feel that her passing served a greater purpose, or are you disappointed that we won't get to see Amelia and Monica pursue a relationship? Grade the premiere in our poll below, then drop a comment with your thoughts.