Grey's Anatomy Explosion Kills Off Beloved Character In Season 22 Premiere: 'Didn't Want To Kill Anyone'

Following the massive explosion at Grey Sloan Memorial in the Season 21 finale, caused by a leaking acetylene tank in an operating room, it was no surprise there were fatalities in the hospital.

While showrunner Meg Marinis insisted she didn't want anyone to die, she knew that couldn't happen.

"I didn't want to kill anyone. I didn't want to kill anyone," she told The Hollywood Reporter.

"Even when we were choosing the VFX for the finale, post was like, 'If you choose this one, there has to be someone who is dead. This is a huge explosion.' I said, 'It's going to be fine. We're going to save everybody!' And then I sat down in the writers room and I was like, 'We can't save everybody. We just can't. It doesn't have as much of an impact if everyone is saved.'"

As for who died ... SPOILERS BELOW!

Natalie Morales' character Dr. Monica Beltran passed away after being pinned to the wall of an OR by surgical equipment, while Link --Chris Carmack's character -- came very close to dying from his injuries but didn't.

Right before Dr Beltran died, she did manage to save another patient's life by walking Jules -- played by Adelaide Kane -- through the surgery of a boy the duo had been operating on.

"As sad as I am to go, I feel like it is earned and it doesn't feel like it came out of nowhere. Monica got to do some good stuff at that hospital, not only with the patients but also with the interns and the people she met along the way. I'm very proud of that character and storyline," Morales told The Wrap.

Marinis, meanwhile, told The Wrap the team went down a lot of "different" scenarios before deciding on killing Dr Beltran.

"I did a lot of thinking about it and judging on what I was looking for with the character of Jules and the character of Amelia," she began. "The story led to Monica, as painful as it was for me as a writer and as a person, because Natalie Morales is a dream performer to work with. She's not only an actor, but obviously a writer and a director too. So she really understands storytelling. We went through each beat together and crafted it in a way that I think will be a really memorable character death on the show."

Fans of the long running series took to social media to air their grievances with the show's decision, with many wishing it was another character instead.