Why ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Fans Think [Spoiler]’s Death Was Just Confirmed

Grey’s Anatomy fans have been waiting to find out who didn’t survive the hospital explosion — and one death might have just been confirmed.

Ahead of season 22, which premieres on Thursday, October 9, TVLine reported that original cast members Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr. are contracted to return. Kevin McKidd, Kim Raver, Caterina Scorsone and Camilla Luddington are also under contract to appear — if their characters aren’t written off.

The only major player not on the list is Chris Carmack. The season 21 finale ended with Dr. Atticus Lincoln (Carmack) finding out about wife Jo’s (Luddington) surprise pregnancy shortly before a hostage at the hospital led to an explosion that only Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Warren (Jason George) officially survived — for now.

“I hope we get to next season, right?” Carmack, 44, exclusively told Us Weekly in May. “I mean, hey, I’m not gonna give anything away.”

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Carmack’s onscreen wife Luddington, 41, meanwhile, said she was holding out hope for Link.

“I just hope he’s alive,” she shared with Us in June. “And if there’s injury — what that is and what that looks like — I have no idea. So I feel like that is on my mind.”

Luddington continued: “I just hope that my [onscreen] husband is OK. Because [Jo’s] gonna need that support and they need it from each other. So I think it’s gonna throw a wrench in things and it’s gonna be a lot. They have two kids and two kids on the way.”

At the time, Luddington teased that she “had no idea” what would happen, adding, “I have no idea. I have a text chain going on with so many cast members that are like, ‘What do you think?’ And we — nobody knows. No one knows, which is terrifying.”

Luddington, who has played Dr. Jo Wilson since season 9, is always worried about her character’s future. “We’ve seen too much, and we know too much,” she concluded. “There’s not a single season I’m not worried about.”

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While showrunner Meg Marinis wouldn’t confirm who was injured in the blast, she made it clear that almost no one was guaranteed to return for season 22.

“But even in the last two seasons with what you saw this year, we had to reduce the cast a little bit [because of industry-wide budget cuts], and everybody has very passionate feelings about their favorite characters,” Marinis told The Hollywood Reporter in May. “But if we can get the writers upset then we know we’re doing it right. It’s not as satisfying a story if people aren’t upset when someone leaves. It’s supposed to make people upset and sad, so I’m sure there’ll be some arguments. But I’ve been persuaded before to change my mind on things.”

Grey’s Anatomy returns to ABC on Thursday, October 9, at 10 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.