Grey's Anatomy season 22 premiere ending explained: Who survives the explosion?

Grey's Anatomy season 22 made a return on October 9, 2025, with its premiere episode titled Only the Strong Survive. This episode has a lot of shocking changes of events, sad moments, and scenes that will stop your heart. The new season will show what happened after the blast and how it changed the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

Spoiler alert: The article contains spoilers from Grey's Anatomy season 22 premiere episode. Reader’s discretion is required.

The episode starts right after the explosion in the operating room that was caused by a gas leak. The tone for the whole season is set by this blast, which hurt several doctors. In the season 22 premiere, Dr. Atticus "Link" Lincoln (Chris Carmack) survives the explosion. The conclusion of the episode reveals a shocking death that no one saw coming.

While fans feared the worst for Link, his survival was a relief. However, the true devastation came with the unexpected death of Dr. Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales), which changed the course of the episode.

What happened to Dr. Monica Beltran at Grey's Anatomy season 22 premiere?

A still from Grey's Anatomy season 22 (Image via YouTube/ABC)

A pediatric surgeon named Dr. Monica Beltran died at the end of the episode. She had been trapped under an overhead light fixture after the explosion and was trying to help another doctor, Dr. Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane), with a critical surgery when it became clear that Beltran's injuries were too bad for her to live.

In contrast, Dr. Atticus "Link" Lincoln managed to survive after an emotional sequence where his colleagues worked tirelessly to save him. Although he was critically injured and initially appeared to be on the brink of death, Link’s survival gave viewers a glimmer of hope.

His emotional farewell with his wife, Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), had fans holding their breath, but by the end of the episode, it was revealed that Link would make a miraculous recovery. There are a lot of questions about what will happen to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and the doctors who will have to rebuild their lives after what happened.

Also read: What time will Grey’s Anatomy season 22 release on ABC? U.S. release timings explored

How does Dr. Atticus "Link" Lincoln survive?

After the blast, the episode was mostly about what happened to Dr. Atticus "Link" Lincoln, who was one of the people who was hurt the worst. The orthopedic surgeon was badly hurt and bleeding when he was crushed by debris.

His colleagues, including Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), Dr. Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill), and Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), rushed to save him. The episode captured their frantic efforts as they navigated through the chaos of the hospital, trying to get Link to safety.

Even though Link had serious injuries, his condition seemed to get better quickly thanks to the quick thought of his coworkers. Link was able to call his wife, Jo Wilson, and say what might have been his last words. It was a sad moment.

While everyone worked hard to save him, Link's heart stopped for a moment, and it looked like he might not make it. But Link was fixed after a lot of surgery and emergency care. His family and the crowd were relieved that he lived, but they knew that his healing would be a long and hard road.

The fallout from the hospital explosion

The explosion at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital left more than just physical damage. The emotional aftermath was just as intense as the doctors grappled with the trauma of the event.

Dr. Amelia Shepherd, played by Caterina Scorsone, felt guilty because she thought that things she had done in the past might have caused the explosion. This emotional turmoil made the show even more complicated because Amelia had to deal with her sense of duty while trying to help her coworkers.

At the same time, Dr. Simone Griffith (Alexis Floyd) and Dr. Lucas Adams (Niko Terho) were having problems in their own lives. Simone told Lucas that she had slept with someone else after the explosion, which caused them to break up.

The bad news was that their relationship, which had been happy in the past, took a hard hit. This caused a personal conflict that stood in stark contrast to the life-or-death events going on in the hospital.

Also read: Grey's Anatomy season 21 finale ends with a shocking explosion that leaves fans worried about who survives

Other significant events in the Grey's Anatomy season 22 premiere

A lot of fans' favorite characters came back in this show, including Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Grey, who was very important in saving a new surgical intern. Meredith's return was important because she helped stabilize a patient who had been badly hurt in the blast.

Fans were glad to see that Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) and Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) were both okay in another part of the hospital. There is no doubt, though, that the explosion hurt everyone emotionally.

Catch all the new episodes of Grey's Anatomy season 22 every Thursday night on ABC or stream them the next day on Hulu.

About the author

Rajan is an Entertainment Writer at Sportskeeda with previous experience of 6 years in writing about the genre. While he has a Bachelor's degree in Computer Application, it was his passion for the domain that led him to pursue a career in the field. He firmly believes that research is key when reporting on any topic, and glances through a wide array of articles to produce informative and accurate content.

Rajan admires Robert Downey Jr., Bob Dylan, and John Mayer since he feels they are the best at their trade. He is passionate about music and has had the opportunity to interact with popular Bollywood music directors A. R. Rahman, Pritam and Vishal-Sekhar.

If he could go back in time, he would jump at the opportunity to be part of Coldplay's hit track, 'A Sky Full of Stars.'

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Edited by Rajan Bhattacharya