Viewers had a lot of strong opinions about Thursday's dramatic new episode.
Spoiler alert! Do not proceed if you have not watched Thursday's two-hour crossover event for Station 19 and Grey's Anatomy.
Grey's Anatomy fans are in mourning. The long running medical drama shocked viewers when a fan favorite doctor from Grey Sloan Memorial met an unexpectedly tragic end.
Thursday's two-hour midseason premiere event, a crossover between Station 19 and Grey's Anatomy, saw Dr. Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) trying to trail and capture a sex trafficker and ultimately getting stabbed in the chest.
At first, the injury seemed to be a brush with death, as DeLuca was saved in surgery and all seemed to be well. Then, in a moment of truly shocking TV, unforeseen complications arose in recovery and despite everyone's best efforts DeLuca ended up needing to return to the operating room where he ended up bleeding out.
Another poignant moment came when DeLuca, in the midst of dying, was transported to Meredith Grey's (Ellen Pompeo) "happy place," the idyllic, sandy beach where she's existed in incorporeally since being diagnosed with COVID-19 (and currently on a ventilator). Together, they shared some meaningful and touching words about love, life and moving on.
Series showrunner Krista Vernoff warned fans before the show began that Thursday's episode was going to be a tough one.
"Tonight‘s powerful 2 hour #GreysAnatomy and #Station19 crossover event is a full box of tissues situation!" she tweeted. "Due to the presidential address, there will be spoilers online because the shows will be on a delay in the US. Stay offline if you don’t want it spoiled! (You don’t!)"
Despite the warning, the gut punch of Dr. DeLuca dying after seemingly being saved was a tough one for fans. Many took to Twitter to share their shock, sadness and anger over the emotional and painful twist.
Meanwhile, Gianniotti took to Twitter to thank all the fans who supported him -- and expressed sadness over his death -- while also sharing his gratitude for the show.
"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. @GreysABC."
For more on this shocking season of Grey's Anatomy, check out the video below.
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
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