Grey’s Anatomyfans are mourning the loss of a beloved character.
During Thursday’s two-hourcrossover premiere event withStation 19, the doctors of Grey Sloan Memorial fought hard to save the life of Dr. Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) — who was stabbed in his attempt to pursue and expose a sex trafficker. But things quickly took a turn after an emergency surgery, and DeLuca died on the operating table.
As Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) worked together to save the young doctor, fans saw DeLuca come in and out of consciousness while visiting the same beach Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) has been experiencing during her dream sequences whilebattling COVID-19.
“We tune it out,” he said. “Then we go back to work, and we pretend that what we just saw or that article we just read is somehow normal or acceptable. The people who take to the streets screaming out for change, they’re written off as crazy, they’re written off as extreme. It doesn’t make any sense. It makes no sense. What you did, Meredith, risking your medical license to save that little girl, that makes sense. And what I did — following that women and not letting her get away with it, not letting her get away, not letting her harm another single human being. Yeah, it was dangerous, but it made sense. It’s the only thing that made sense. So I don’t regret it.”
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Giacomo Gianniotti as Andrew DeLuca.Gilles Mingasson/ABC via Getty Images
Meanwhile, DeLuca’s sister Carina (Stefania Spampinato) was struggling with the idea of her brother dying before Hunt and Altman revealed that his surgery was a success.
Awake and lucid, DeLuca seemed to be on the mend before suddenly taking a turn, forcing him back into emergency surgery for the second time.
“I don’t know what happens from here, Meredith,” he said during his dream sequence. “No matter what happens, I want you to know that I’ve never felt seen the way you saw me. I’ve never felt inspired the way you inspired me. You made me want to be not just my best self, but better. And yeah, I felt small around you sometimes. I felt insecure. I wanted something from you that I needed to give myself. But here, now, on this beach with you, I get it. I don’t just get it, I feel it. I know who I am, my strength.”
During their emotional conversation, DeLuca saw his mom, who was calling out to him in the distance.
“I’ll miss you,” Grey told DeLuca. “If I go back and you don’t, I’ll miss you.”
“You’ll be okay, Meredith,” he responded. “I have to go.”
Giacomo Gianniotti/Instagram
As he ran over to his mom and embraced her, the dream sequence ended and flashed back to DeLuca on the operating table.
“His heart won’t restart,” intern Reza Khan (Nikhil Shukla) told Altman and Hunt, who were both desperately trying to revive him. “He’s been down for 40 minutes,” he added, before calling DeLuca’s time of death.
“I’m a little bit of an exception when it comes to having a happy place, because the hospital has always been mine,” Grey said in a voiceover towards the end of the episode.
“Maybe it’s because of where I grew up. But if you’re not like me, you’re going to want somewhere else,” she concluded, as fans watched DeLuca walk off into the sunset with his mom.
“So much I could say… but all that comes to mind is thank you,” he wrote. “Thank you to all the fans who loved Deluca as much as I did. Telling his story was and will be one of the great honors of my life. Thank you.”
In February, Gianniotti — who first appeared as Dr. Andrew DeLuca in 2015 — revealed that he would bedirecting an upcoming episodeof the medical drama.
Gianniotti also reflected on hisGrey’s Anatomyjourney in the caption of his post, noting that he was in high school when the series first came out.
“If you woulda told me then, that 15 years later I’d be sitting here. In this position, at this age. Living out my dreams, doing what I love every day. I woulda told you, you were nuts,” he wrote. “Time sure does fly when you’re having fun. Here’s to another 15. Who knows where I’ll be standing then.”
Earlier this month, Gianniotti posted a sentimental photo marking the wrap of his directorial debut.
“10 days of beautiful, fast paced, red eyed glory,” he wrote. “Wouldn’t change it for the world. Thank you so much to my whole team at @greysabc for the support. My brother in arms and DP Steve Fracol. My writer @juliewong2017 for such a great script.”
“And really most of all, our crew. Our incredible crew of hardworking men and women who every day from sun up to sundown, busted their ass to make this beautiful art,” he continued. “Thank you thank you thank you. Grateful is a massive understatement.”
Grey’s Anatomyairs Thursdays (9 p.m. ET) on ABC.
source: people.com
