Who Will Die in the Explosion?

SPOILER ALERT: This interview accommodates main spoilers from “How Do I Reside,” the Season 21 finale of ABC’s “Gray’s Anatomy.”

“Gray’s Anatomy” is not any stranger to surprising season finales. However for the Season 21 finale of the venerable ABC medical drama, showrunner Meg Marinis wished to pay homage to a few of “Gray’s” biggest hits — a perpetrator holding medical doctors hostage in an OR throughout a life-saving process; {couples} falling out and in of affection in the course of a medical emergency; a superior sleeping with an intern earlier than realizing they had been an intern; and, in fact, a probably catastrophic explosion on the surgical flooring of Gray Sloan Memorial Hospital.

“Up to now, we’ve had individuals threaten the hospital — we’ve seen Gary Clark within the shooter episode [at the end of Season 6],” Marinis tells Selection. “However we had been like, ‘What does it seem like when a destroyed mother does it?’ So we did a twist on this story and wished to do a nostalgic ‘Gray’s’ finale the place you don’t know who lives and who dies.”

Thursday’s finale revolved round Dr. Amelia Shepherd’s (Caterina Scorsone) newest “inconceivable case”: Dylan Gatlin (Sophia Kopera), a 9-year-old affected person who, following issues from surgical procedure to deal with a cavernous angioma, was recognized with locked-in syndrome. After changing into fed up with Amelia and Dr. Beltran’s (Natalie Morales) repeated insistence on ready to see whether or not Dylan’s intracranial bleeding would resolve by itself, Dylan’s mom, Jenna (Piper Perabo), determined to take issues into her personal arms, stealing a tank stuffed with acetylene from her husband’s truck and threatening to explode the hospital if Amelia didn’t save her daughter.

With an help from her nephew, Dr. Lucas Adams (Niko Terho) — who might solely watch helplessly as Jenna held an explosive to his ex-girlfriend Dr. Simone Griffith’s (Alexi Floyd) chest — Amelia is ready to cease Dylan’s bleeding. (Ellen Pompeo’s Dr. Meredith Gray, who is not any stranger to hostage conditions or potential explosions within the OR, even jumps in to ship some contemporary frozen plasma to assist save Dylan.) In a state of equal components reduction and disbelief, Jenna fell to her knees and let go of the tank, and he or she was promptly arrested.

The police verified Jenna’s assertion that the tank had been empty all alongside, however for some motive, nobody had thought to verify whether or not the valve had been opened. Within the closing two episodes of Season 13, Meredith witnessed an explosion that brought on a hearth on an higher flooring of the hospital from the car parking zone. The ultimate moments of Season 21 parallel that second, with Meredith once more trying up in horror from the car parking zone after one other explosion wipes out a part of the surgical flooring.

Beneath, Marinis breaks down all of the developments in that jam-packed finale, together with what Meredith’s new cope with Catherine (Debbie Allen) will imply for Pompeo’s future involvement with the sequence. Having joined “Gray’s” in 2006 as a author’s PA who has risen by way of the ranks to grow to be the present showrunner, Marinis additionally opens up about her working relationship with Pompeo, in addition to how she is approaching probably bringing again extra beloved characters for the present’s record-extending twenty second season, premiering this fall.

Piper Perabo delivers a heartbreaking portrayal of a mom whose desperation leads her to carry hostage the medical doctors who’re chargeable for her baby’s care. The character might have simply been characterised as a pure villain, however viewers will inevitably really feel these fleeting moments of sympathy for this girl who has clearly spiraled uncontrolled. How did you consider crafting Jenna’s multi-episode arc, and what stands out to you about Piper’s efficiency?

It gave me the chills each time they arrested her, which is a tribute to Piper’s efficiency. Clearly, once we had been in discussions of casting her, we crammed her in on your complete story and let her know that it might be the deterioration of a personality that you just see in her eyes. After we see her in that first episode, she is put collectively and he or she’s bought make-up on. Her child is having surgical procedure, so she’s anxious. After which within the second episode — and Piper was very concerned on this — she had them take curls out of her hair, and he or she had darkish circles and fewer make-up.

However we couldn’t go too far along with her efficiency till the final episode the place in Act I, when she turns and also you see that look on her face, you’re like, “Oh, that’s the second she makes the choice that she’s going to take this hospital down.” Piper was an amazing collaborative associate, and I’m so grateful that she joined our present for 3 episodes as a result of she’s so proficient. She is somebody who appears to be like just like the lady subsequent door, however then in a second might simply flip. She gave that efficiency that you just see within the lower, even when the digicam was on the opposite individuals. She did it 35 instances in a row.

In a primary for “Gray’s,” this season, Teddy (Kim Raver) and Owen (Kevin McKidd) determined to experiment with an open marriage with a purpose to save their marriage. Teddy tried exploring her attraction to Dr. Cass Beckman (Sophia Bush) however in the end referred to as off their fling. Owen, nevertheless, connected along with his childhood buddy, Nora (Floriana Lima), who later turns into Teddy’s affected person. The place did the inspiration for the storyline come from? Did you at all times know that you just had been going to finish with Teddy wanting to separate from Owen?

No, we really thought it was going to finish otherwise. And with the performances that Kim and Kevin had been giving, they blew me away all season lengthy with these tough marriage conversations that that they had. Our design originally of the season was that this marriage hasn’t been traditionally completely satisfied, so let’s really see it play out in actual time and see what usually occurs, which is individuals use band-aid options to repair one thing that’s damaged in itself. I feel that open marriage has labored for some individuals, however on tv we regularly see that it’s a mistake.

It additionally was a enjoyable strategy to get different attention-grabbing visitor forged to focus on and illuminate what Teddy wasn’t getting from Owen and what Owen wasn’t getting from Teddy. Quite a lot of it’s that Teddy now has the job that he used to have. That energy dynamic has been tough for them. They’re two full-time, high-stress working mother and father with two babies. They don’t prioritize their marriage, and that is the consequence of that. And when different individuals had been prioritizing them, they noticed, “Oh, there’s something mistaken right here. It’s not essentially that we wish to be with these individuals, however we’re one another not the best way we needs to be one another.”

Teddy has spent years and years selecting Owen — generally on the expense of her personal job and her personal happiness. What epiphany did she have in these previous couple of episodes that has allowed her to succeed in the conclusion that she has to decide on herself over Owen for as soon as? Did seeing Owen and Nora collectively within the hospital mattress give Teddy any sort of readability?

I feel when she sees the 2 of them collectively on the finish of the [penultimate] episode, after which she had the surgical procedure to carry out, it’s this second of, “Can I do that?” I feel the second that she realized that she might do the surgical procedure and that she might do something, she realized, “OK, I might stroll away. I got here up with this wonderful surgical procedure. I saved the girl that slept with my husband. I’m sturdy sufficient.” I feel earlier than this second, there was concern that she wasn’t sturdy sufficient to do it. And on this episode, she realizes that she can do it. It’s very exhausting and painful, however that speech is so sturdy. I hope ladies watch it in every single place and make the appropriate determination for themselves. She’s such a robust character, and I feel that generally she places herself second for him.

Owen was clearly blindsided by this dialog, however to be honest, he had it coming. The place do you see them going from right here?

I don’t suppose they know but. Clearly, the dynamic could shift, figuring out what occurs within the hospital on the finish of the finale. Clearly, [what takes priority is] who’s injured, who’s taking good care of whom, and the way Teddy navigates that as chief. I feel it’s going to be tough, however I do suppose that as writers we’re curious about seeing what it appears to be like like when the 2 are aside for a second. It doesn’t imply that they received’t finally discover their means again to one another, as a result of that is “Gray’s.” We might go on for one more decade!

Within the penultimate episode, shortly after Lucas had simply dumped her, Simone connected with a good-looking stranger (Trevor Jackson) at Joe’s Bar — and, naturally, that man is now one of many new surgical interns at Gray Sloan. What new issues will that new intern create for Simone and Lucas going ahead?

Properly, Lucas has to seek out out first, proper? And the final time we noticed Lucas, he was working down a hallway making an attempt to stop an explosion. So we’ve to seek out out what occurs there, however I feel that is actually, actually messy for Simone. That is Meredith Gray messy. I feel that it’s even messier, as a result of from the little that we’ve seen of this new character, he does have a vanity that may rival different medical doctors within the hospital. He is probably not the best, most agreeable, most obedient intern, so that may throw one other wrench into the sport.

Have you ever named this new intern already, or are we going to seek out out his identify subsequent season?

You’ll discover out his identify subsequent season.

Following the tip of “Station 19,” Ben Warren (Jason Winston George) returned to Gray Sloan to work as a probationary surgeon, however Bailey (Chandra Wilson) reveals that Teddy just isn’t recommending him to proceed his residency on the hospital attributable to his tendency to interrupt protocols. What issues did you wish to create for Ben in his return to the medical area? And on condition that cliffhanger, will he actually be leaving Gray Sloan?

He was outdoors the hospital when that explosion went off, so we all know he’s alive. However he doesn’t have a job, so he’s going by way of an emotional explosion. What we wished to see for him coming again was that it wasn’t going to be as straightforward as he assumed, and in addition the problem of getting to work side-by-side together with your spouse who’s ready of authority over you. I feel they had been capable of navigate that pretty nicely. There have been a number of bumps within the highway, however we wished to inform a narrative the place Ben didn’t wish to ask for particular therapy from Bailey.

And since he did it his means, the renegade means, it brought on him to finish up in a load of hassle. However the one that made that call was Teddy, and Teddy has had an emotional yr. So I feel there’s one thing to be stated, now that she’s lastly ready to decide on herself and put that a part of her life apart: Did she make the appropriate determination? And the way useful will Ben be on this chaotic second when the hospital is basically on hearth?

Winston (Anthony Hill) and Jules (Adelaide Kane) was a brand new, probably romantic pairing that appeared to return straight out of left area this season. What did you wish to accomplish by pairing the 2 of them collectively?

Since Meredith and [Patrick Dempsey’s] Derek and the early years of the present, we’ve probably not had that energy dynamic in a romantic relationship. [Camilla Luddington’s] Jo and [Justin Chambers’] Alex had that just a little bit, and that’s clearly frowned upon in at this time’s world. Winston is a youthful attending, so it’s not like there’s an enormous age distinction, however there is a distinction in that he’s an attending and he or she’s an intern. So we had been actually curious about exploring that in at this time’s world and calling out that it’s mistaken.

Winston is aware of that it’s mistaken and he tries to do the appropriate factor, however what he thinks is doing the appropriate factor is definitely on the expense of her training. We had been like, “Properly, she has to name him out on that.” Should you look intently, there’s debate on whether or not we expect that is one-sided. Jules pauses very intentionally earlier than she says, “The traces had been very clear for me.” Should you watch that episode the place she takes him to the rooftop, I really feel like she was crossing the road there for him. So there have been some moments the place I’m unsure it was simply one-sided, however Winston was actually making an attempt to remain behind the road as a result of he’s a standup man.

Jo and Link (Chris Carmack) additionally bought married within the penultimate episode, and we be taught after their little hospital honeymoon that they’re anticipating twin women — however, in fact, Hyperlink is working on a affected person proper earlier than the explosion occurs.

With Jo and Hyperlink, that they had identified one another for 20 years, however their relationship fast-forwarded actually shortly. It went from, “Oh my gosh, we do wish to be collectively” to a month or two later, “We’re pregnant?!” And swiftly, it was twins and so they had been combating the best way they checked out having children otherwise, after which she had a complication. And at last, they bought on the identical web page and determined to get married. So I really feel prefer it’s the calm earlier than the storm once more for them. We’re “Gray’s,” we’re imply! It’s a cliffhanger, however we discover out they’re having women, which is such a pleasant second. That they had a phenomenal wedding ceremony, and he or she was a phenomenal pregnant bride.

Meredith decides in opposition to promoting her shares within the hospital and as an alternative makes a brand new cope with Catherine that may enable her to spend extra time in Seattle and again at Gray Sloan — all whereas persevering with her Alzheimer’s analysis. Does Meredith’s new cope with Catherine imply that we are going to be seeing just a little extra of her subsequent season, or is Ellen nonetheless set to look in seven episodes?

We’ll see her as a lot as we are able to get her. She’s at all times welcome to return with us. She’s household. We beloved watching her get a star on Hollywood Blvd. — very, very deserved. I wished to see Meredith not solely persevering with her analysis on Alzheimer’s, which is tremendous necessary and related proper now, however I additionally miss seeing her within the OR — and never essentially doing probably the most groundbreaking surgical procedure of all time. I missed simply seeing her within the OR and educating, and particularly with this class of residents that she selected, it was additionally a strategy to get her again into Seattle with a purpose to see that aspect of her. Clearly, we’ll get to see Scott Speedman, as a result of Meredith and Nick are nonetheless collectively.

You’ve deliberately chosen to jot down multi-episode arcs for Meredith, quite than giving her a bunch of one-off appearances. How do you navigate these conversations with Ellen about her future on-screen involvement with the present?

The multi-episode arcs are additionally a lot better for her schedule, so she is aware of when she’s going to be there and when she’s not. We converse originally of the season, and I share along with her what the present is doing as a complete. If I’ve shared it with Shonda [Rhimes] and Debbie [Allen], our producing director, I’ll share what I can with Ellen — she’s an govt producer — and we’ll have an amazing dialog about it. We verify in with one another all through the season on the cellphone, through textual content. She does the voiceover. She’ll name me and be like, “Is that this the appropriate tense within the voiceover?” And I’m like, “It’s the appropriate tense.” We now have a really shut relationship and we converse usually, so once I know {that a} block of episodes is coming down the highway for her, I’ll name her whereas I’m writing them and I’ll stroll her by way of the story.

Ellen spoke with me recently ahead of her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, and he or she was very candid about how she has discovered herself pushing again in opposition to among the new writing on “Gray’s” that appears at odds with the Meredith character that she and Shonda had created collectively. She was particularly referring to a current storyline involving Lena Waithe’s character, which she vehemently disagreed with. How have you ever, as a showrunner, navigated these sorts of disagreements along with her? And the way tough is it to include Meredith into the present when she comes out and in as a lot as she does?

I wouldn’t say that it’s tough to include her coming out and in. Clearly, it’s the choice of whether or not to point out her in Boston or present her in Seattle that’s exhausting to generally get organized and work out. However for years, she has at all times wished to be part of the storytelling — and he or she has been. Quite a lot of wonderful tales which have aired have come from a collaboration between us and Ellen, and that’s why she’s been part of the present for thus lengthy. She cares a lot. She’s performed this character for 21 years, so she has a historical past with this character greater than I’ve a historical past with this character. I’ve watched her for 21 years and I’ve written for her for a number of years, however I might hope that she would converse up if one thing didn’t really feel natural.

And I used to be there that day for that exact story. I knew it was tough, and I knew it was not fairly what Meredith would do, however that’s what me in it. She and I walked by way of it and made some line modifications, and I really feel like you may see on display screen the emotion that went into the story, and it was a phenomenal efficiency. For me, it was wrapped up in the truth that she has a a lot totally different relationship with Alzheimer’s illness than any of our characters, and now she has Nick in her life and a special relationship with organ recipients and that a part of drugs as nicely, in order that’s the place [the story] got here from. I do know it was an extended dialogue on set, however we bought to a phenomenal place, and I recognize when she does that. These individuals have performed these characters for thus lengthy. In the event that they didn’t converse up, it might be bizarre.

Will you be casting a brand new class of interns between seasons?

We could meet them, however we’re nonetheless invested on this now-second yr class of residents. As a lot as I might like to have a forged of 30 sequence regulars, I don’t suppose that’s doable for the story and price range. However hopefully, we’ll see some in possibly a recurring function or one thing like that.

Ever since she left the present in 2014, Sandra Oh has maintained that she doesn’t have any want to return again to “Gray’s.” However in a recent interview, she admitted that, as a result of individuals nonetheless have a lot love for Cristina Yang, she has no less than been moved to barely soften her stance. What did you make of her saying that? And whereas I’m not saying that you’ll deliver Cristina again per se, how are you approaching any conversations with former forged members about probably returning to the present at some point?

Oh my gosh, I hope she does — and I hope I get to jot down the episode! She and I’ve run into one another a few instances at social occasions, and he or she has a lot love for the present; she has a lot love for the followers. I might hope that at some point she’d return, however I feel it’s additionally exhausting to return to one thing the place you suppose you’ve closed that door.

What’s so nice a few 21-season present is we are able to shock the viewers [by] bringing again a fan-favorite. There are such a lot of fan-favorite characters that may nonetheless come again, even when they die, and the writers’ room is at all times pitching totally different individuals. We attempt to not do it an excessive amount of, as a result of then it wouldn’t be as particular. They’re all very busy, however I feel one of many joys of having the ability to work on this present is that there’s this pool of very proficient, beloved characters and actors that, if the timing is true, would come again, particularly now that we’ve this new class of interns. We are able to play off them as, “Oh my gosh, Addison’s [Kate Walsh] coming to show us,” or “Jackson’s [Jesse Williams] coming.” It’s additionally enjoyable to have them work together with the brand new forged members. We nonetheless have nice relationships with all people, and if we are able to afford it and in the event that they’re out there, we’ll deliver them again!

This interview has been edited and condensed.