‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 22 premiere kills off major character

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Grey’s Anatomy season 22, episode 1, “Only the Strong Survive.” 

The doctors on Grey’s Anatomy are mourning one of their own yet again, after the hospital explosion at the end of last season resulted in the death of a major character.

Dr. Monica Beltran, played by Natalie Morales, died from her injuries.

At the start of the season 22 premiere on Thursday, though, Beltran was hanging on — and then some. Not only does she dismiss the painful injuries she had sustained, but she directs surgical intern Dr. Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane) on how to treat an injured young patient herself while they were trapped by the blast.

During the emergency surgery, Beltran explains to Millin how her first solo surgery, on a 4-year-old boy who loved Spider-Man, had gone. “I was so terrified, I almost passed out,” Beltran says. “But then I got to tell his parents he was okay. There is nothing better than the hug you get from a grateful mom. I mean, that, that makes you feel like a superhero.”

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The injured doctor was giving instructions up until the moment she stopped speaking, saying, “Wait for them to get us the hell out of here, and we hope everybody else is okay.”

When Millin calls out to Beltran a few minutes later, Beltran doesn’t respond. Millin rushes over and presses on the wounded physician’s chest, but there was no reviving her.

When the emergency workers bust in the door, Millin tells them flatly, “You’re too late. She’s gone.”

Afterward, Millin gets that hug from the patient’s parents. She also breaks down in uncontrollable tears.

Morales, who’s also appeared on The Grinder, Girls, and Parks and Recreation, joined the long-running medical drama in 2024.

In an interview with Deadline published Thursday, Morales said she found out Beltran was being killed off when showrunner Meg Marinis called her about returning for season 22. “I got the phone call to come back, and I said, Oh, I thought maybe she would have died. And then Meg was like, Well, I have something to tell you,” Morales said.

The actress felt “a mix of things” after getting the news. “I’ve been so lucky to be a part of this show, and I feel very grateful to have been a part of it. I think the fandom of this show has been so kind to me and so welcoming, and I think those people that have been welcoming to me are going to be pissed. I’m sorry about that,” she said. “But I also think that Meg is an incredibly talented writer and showrunner, and I will say one of the best people I’ve ever worked with, truly. She was so kind and so on top of it all the time that when she told me the plan, I was like, Oh, that feels right. I get why you’re doing that, and it makes sense to me. Although I’m sad about it, it really works for the story.”

Chris Carmack, who’s played Dr. Atticus Lincoln on the Shonda Rhimes show since 2018, told TVLine in a story published Thursday that he loved working with Morales. “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 Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.