Grey's Anatomy Season 22 bid farewell to several major characters, including two longtime mainstays who laid the groundwork for a major change at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. ABC's long-running medical drama series has had its fair share of major cast departures over its two-decade run on the network, including Sandra Oh's Cristina Yang in Season 10, Eric Dane's Dr. Mark Sloan in Season 9, and Jake Borelli's Dr. Levi Schmitt in Season 21.
Season 22 was no different, showcasing a major, shocking death at the start of the season, an unexpected firing for a reckless act, and the heartbreaking departure of a pair of franchise staples.
All episodes of Grey's Anatomy Season 22 are now streaming on Hulu.
Every Major Character Who Exited Grey's Anatomy After Season 22
Kevin McKidd - Dr. Owen Hunt
Kevin McKidd made his debut as Dr. Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy in Season 5 in 2008. The actor has been with the ABC medical drama for 18 years, and it's only fitting that he had a proper swan song in the Season 22 finale despite the drama and a tragic accident that almost cost him his life.
The penultimate episode of Season 22 ended with a major bridge collapse, leaving Owen's fate in the air. The finale confirmed that Owen survived with minimal injuries. As the chief of trauma, combined with his war veteran background, Owen used his expertise to save a family trapped in another car before reaching Grey Sloan to monitor their recoveries.
This near-death experience completely changed Owen's perspective about life and how he would want to spend the rest of his days with Teddy. Owen declared that it was his turn to follow Teddy to Paris, confirming that he would be willing to relocate the kids and start fresh with a new opportunity in a different country.
Kim Raver - Dr. Teddy Altman
Kim Raver first appeared as Dr. Teddy Altman in Grey's Anatomy Season 6 in 2009, and she left at the end of Season 8 before returning to the cast from Season 15.
The penultimate episode of Season 22 showed Teddy receiving a prestigious research job offer in Paris. As she contemplated whether to move forward, this opportunity was the perfect pivot she had ever wanted, given that she had been grappling with her identity and choices in recent seasons.
While Teddy initially planned to turn down the offer, the massive crisis forced her to reflect, and Owen's approval of their move to Paris was the final domino to fall, confirming her eventual exit from Grey's Anatomy.
Hunt and Altman's on-again, off-again romance in the show culminated with the pair walking off in the sunset, finally achieving their happy ending after various ups and downs.
Natalie Morales - Dr. Monica Beltran
Grey's Anatomy Season 22 opened with a tragedy by featuring the shocking death of Dr. Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales) in the premiere.
The character's death happened due to the massive explosion at Grey Sloan that took place in the Season 21 finale, leaving Beltran and five other Grey's Anatomy cast members in danger of leaving the show.
Beltran was in the operating room when the blast happened. The explosion caused heavy surgical equipment to fall and pin her, crushing her pelvis and causing severe internal bleeding. While she stayed conscious to guide the resident, Dr. Jules Millin, through completing the surgery on their patient, Beltran lost consciousness and was pronounced dead.
Anita Kalathara - Dr. Mohanty
Grey's Anatomy Season 22 introduced Dr. Kavita Mohanty (Anita Kalathara), a plastic surgery fellow who got romantically entangled with Dr. Kwan.
Mohanty made a critical surgical mistake during a procedure with Dr. Millin by improperly stitching a flap over the patient's blood supply, which led to serious complications.
While Mohanty tried to pin the blame on Millin, she eventually came clean about her mistakes. This led her to take a leave of absence and leave for Boston, ending her brief stint in the series in Episode 14.
BONUS: Harry Shum Jr. - Dr. Kwan (fired but fate undecided)
Earlier in Grey's Anatomy Season 22, Dr. Benson "Blue" Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.) secretly administered an experimental, unapproved hydrogel treatment to save a patient. Even though he managed to save his life, this was a serious ethical and procedural violation.
Dr. Bailey initially took the blame to protect himself, but Chief Richard Webber confronted Bailey, benched her from surgery, and fired Kwan in the penultimate episode.
In the finale, a major bridge collapse forced an all-hands-on-deck situation at the hospital, prompting Dr. Altman to recruit Kwan to help with patients, even though Kwan had been fired. Despite his efforts and a speech highlighting his value to the program and his role in saving lives, Chief Webber did not reinstate him.
Kwan's firing might have been deemed definitive by many, especially after some fans pointed out that his arrogance reigned supreme. Kwan assumed he knew better than the system designed to protect patients from exactly this kind of hubris.
Despite his firing, Grey's Anatomy showrunner Meg Marinis told Deadline that Kwan's fate is "still undecided," meaning that there is still a chance that the character could return in Season 23:
"His fate is still undecided. Blue is scared out of his mind, so we’ll just have to see when we come back in the fall. He doesn’t have a job at Grey Sloan right now, so we’ll have to see what happens to him."
Some are hoping for Kwan's redemption, but fans are in a wait-and-see mode ahead of Grey's Anatomy Season 23 this fall.
