What you need to know
Warning: This story contains spoilers for the Oct. 9 episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.”
Chaos ensues as doctors deal with the aftermath of the devastating explosion at Gray Sloan Memorial.
The Season 22 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy picks up right after Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Simone Griffin (Alexis Floyd) are taken hostage when the patient’s mother, Jenna Gatlin (Piper Perabo), accidentally leaves the gas valve open and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) watches as flames engulf the building.
Lucas Adams (Nico Terho) informs Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) that they decide the hospital needs to be put on lockdown again. Meanwhile, police did not allow Meredith to enter the hospital, but Meredith took matters into her own hands and broke the glass door. “The clinic is open,” she announced, walking in with a new class of interns behind her.
Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), Ben Warren (Jason George), and Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) also jump into action to save Atticus “Link” Lincoln (Chris Carmack), who panics when he discovers that part of the ceiling has penetrated his collarbone.
Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales) also had her pelvis partially shattered by falling equipment.
life is in danger
The doctors find themselves having to improvise to save Link with the elevator stuck after the explosion. As Link continues to bleed on the operating room floor, Owen tells the others, “I’m going up the stairs.”
While transporting Link, Bayley realized he would need a “Plan B” as he continued to bleed profusely. As the situation becomes even more dire, Bailey gives Link a phone to talk to Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), who is pregnant with twins.
“I love you. I love our children,” he said. “I think it’s really stupid that it took me this long to formulate my opinion to say this.”
“Hey, it’s okay, but just in case the password book is in the second drawer from the left of my desk. Get the dog,” he added before passing out. And Joe burst into tears.
Disney/Nino Muñoz
Doctors rushed to resuscitate Link and determine if he had sustained any other injuries after the explosion. Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) finds him in dire condition and tries to jump in to help, but the other doctors refuse because she has a son named Scout. As she begins to panic, Owen says, “Get me out of here right now.”
“I lost my father when I was a child. The defining fact of my life is his relentless absence. I don’t want that for Scout,” she said, breaking down in tears.
Ben Warren (Jason George) recommended that Link’s surgery be performed at Gray Sloan rather than transferring him to another hospital. Once her condition stabilized, Bailey told Joe: “I haven’t seen anyone do that much in a long time. He didn’t want to leave you.”
“He has been my best friend for 20 years. He means everything to me. Thank you,” she replied. When he held her hand after the surgery, she found a glimmer of hope.
Ben also received praise from Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), who questioned his return to medicine last season. “I used to be a lot like you. I used to be a risk taker, make decisions based on instinct, and second-guess everything, but now I’m wearing a suit and I’m more cautious. I shouldn’t force that on you,” she said, telling him that he could finish his training at the hospital.
has passed
Beltran’s injury leaves Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane) operating on a six-year-old patient with limited resources while awaiting evaluation from the operating floor.
Realizing that he might be bleeding internally, Bertrand told Jules that he needed to restart the patient even though the anesthesia was starting to wear off.
“We do that all the time. You always go into a panic spiral and I always pull you out of it. And right now we really don’t have time for that,” she said. “So if you don’t want to see that cute boy die, you better open up now.”
Disney/Maarten de Boer
Jules tried to stop the bleeding, but soon realized Beltran was unconscious and began CPR. In the end, they were unable to save her and Beltran died in the operating room.
Devastated by the experience, Jules cries and runs off to seek solace from Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill).
Winston then breaks the news to Amelia, saying, “Monica…she’s trapped on the operating room floor. She couldn’t make it.”
End of the road?
Simone Griffin (Alexis Floyd) is forced to work with a one-night stand and new intern, Wes Bryant (Trevor Jackson), while treating fellow intern Dani Spencer, who sustained blunt force trauma to the abdomen while trying to take a selfie in the operating room on her first day.
After trying to avoid talking to Wes at all costs, she finally tells him:
“You were my boss,” he interrupted.
Disney/Anne Marie Fox
After having another awkward encounter with Wes and deciding they needed a “fresh start” as they worked together, Simone ran into Lucas Adams (Nico Terho), who confessed his feelings for her after their breakup in the season 21 finale, and gave him the bad news.
“I don’t think we should get back together… We almost died in a hostage situation. That’s not real life. I think we need to take time from each other and focus on work,” she said, adding that she then “slept with someone.” Then he walked away.
Never miss a news. Sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to human interest stories.
Grey’s Anatomy airs every Thursday at 10pm ET on ABC and will be available to stream on Hulu the following day.