'Grey's Anatomy' Major Character Death Explained; Is DeLuca Returning On the Show?
"Grey's Anatomy" has just killed one of its major characters.
On its latest episode, Andrew DeLuca, the surgical attending at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, the brother of Carina and the ex-boyfriend of leading role Meredith Grey, was killed on Thursday night's episode.
He is a murder victim by the hand of a henchman in a trafficking ring.
DeLuca, who Giacomo Gianniotti played, was stabbed by a human trafficker he and his sister had chased through Seattle.
Doctors and nurses at Grey Sloan tried to save DeLuca, but unfortunately, he succumbed to his wounds.
However, DeLuca's efforts didn't go in vain because, in the end, the traffickers were arrested.
Giacomo Gianniotti on His Character's Death
In an interview with Variety, Gianniotti said that upon finding out that his character was going to die, he wanted to ensure that DeLuca would look "very brave and noble," as he went out as a "pillar of representation for people struggling with mental health."
In the series, DeLuca has bipolar disorder, and it was shown how he was medicated and had been getting his life together by seeking professional help.
"It wasn't that he was unmedicated and unrested, and that's what led him to put himself in a dangerous situation," he said.
"This was the most DeLuca thing DeLuca has ever done."
"Grey's Anatomy" fans were left in shock, in rage, and in tears after being "blindsided" by Thursday night's mid-season premiere.
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DeLuca has been on the show since 2015, returning as Andrew DeLuca for seven seasons.
Fans have questioned why him? Why DeLuca?
Why 'Grey's Anatomy' Killed DeLuca
Writer Krista Vernoff explained the decision about killing Andrew DeLuca in an interview with TV Line.
She revealed, "This one was the first and most powerful one that came to my mind sort of wholly realized. I knew what this story was, what we were doing, and why we had to do it."
When she was asked why now and why not last season, Vernoff explained, "I very much did not want to kill DeLuca last season because he'd been through a mental health crisis, and he'd come through it."
She told the Hollywood Reporter, "I wanted to show that a person can go through a mental health crisis and come out the other side and be a functional, contributing member of the hospital staff."
Not Goodbye
However, it may not be the last of "Grey Anatomy" fans seeing DeLuca because, in an interview with Deadline, Gianniotti hinted that he might return.
"We've continued to see those people in flashbacks, in dreams, in all kinds of different scenarios, and so, just because DeLuca has died, it doesn't mean that there are not other ways for us to see clips and other manifestations of DeLuca in the future."
He added, "I definitely think there's a possibility to see DeLuca in the rest of the season, but I don't know exactly how and can't comment on how."
