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‘Grey's Anatomy’ boss reacts after show kills fan-favorite character in devastating twist: ‘I look back...’

The ABC medical drama 'Grey's Anatomy' had previously killed off fan favourite character Dr. Monica Beltran, played by Natalie Morales.

The recently released Thursday episode of 'Grey's Anatomy' depended heavily on its emotional undertones to deliver a devastating death. Katie Rogers, played by Samantha Marie Ware, was introduced earlier on Season 22 of 'Grey's Anatomy.' Furthermore, she was able to instantly strike a chord with the audience, as the latter kept hoping for an optimistic outcome in her stage two gastric cancer diagnosis. 

Despite rooting for Katie's recovery, fans were shocked to bear witness to her tragic death. Although her death was depicted off-screen, its impact was equally felt. The show had already established that in her final days of battling cancer, Katie had moved in with Niko Terho's Lucas and Simone, played by Alexis Ford. All she wanted was to get hospice care and have some comfort in her final days. During her final moments before death, Lucas lay beside Katie on her bed, and the two affectionately spoke about the life they could have had together in New York City, with him having a residency and her being a therapist. They even shared their feelings for each other. 

Simone and Lucas eventually ran into an argument as Lucas wanted to extend Katie's medical care, trying to keep her alive for some more time. Simone, on the other hand, recognized that such a measure would only prolong Katie's pain, and she hid the medicine canisters from Lucas. Upon learning about this, Lucas hurried to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital to arrange more canisters. Unfortunately, by the time he returned, Katie had already passed away. Speaking in an earlier interview with TVLine, Terho had foreshadowed Katie's death when he commented, "I always had it in the back of my mind that it was going to happen. But it didn't really become real, and the whole devastation of it didn't really hit until it actually arrived."

The ongoing Season 22 of the ABC show has been particularly remorseless in terms of killing off characters. Apart from Katie, the show has also killed off Dr. Monica Beltran, played by Natalie Morales, in the wake of the massive explosion that shook the hospital towards the finale of the previous season. Creator Shonda Rhimes, who has recently stepped away from deciding the major course of events on 'Grey's Anatomy', recently spoke with Craig David on his 'Glass Half Full' podcast. During the course of her conversation, she reiterated that serving the interests of the greater story was her priority. Rhimes added, "I look back on some of the deaths of some characters, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I can’t believe I did that. Now, in perspective, at the time, it was what the story dictated to me so clearly that there was no other choice."