‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Kills off Season 22 Character in Heartbreaking Death

Grey’s Anatomy fans just suffered another heartbreaking loss.

Thursday’s episode of the ABC medical drama was an emotional one, as Katie (Samantha Marie Ware) ultimately succumbed to gastric cancer while Lucas Adams (Niko Terho) and Simone Griffith (Alexis Floyd) cared for her at home following the cancellation of her experimental treatment due to government cuts.

In the final hours of Katie’s life, she and Lucas shared a heartfelt moment in which they imagined what could have happened between them if she hadn’t gotten sick.

Simone, however, was concerned that Lucas was more concentrated on keeping Katie alive than on keeping her from suffering. After she hid the supplies for a drainage treatment, Lucas rushed to the hospital to retrieve more equipment, but by the time he returned, Katie had already died off-camera.

Terho told TV Insider that Lucas’ anger towards Simone in the wake of Katie’s death was him being “so caught up in the emotions” of losing someone he “cared so deeply about.”

“The emotions are so raw and present within him that you know you’re just gonna say the first thing that pops into [mind]. Your filter is gone,” he told the outlet. “So, whether he really blames her or not in that moment, he needs something to put it on because he’s already put it on himself enough. He’s already blamed himself enough. He needs someone else as an outlier to help with that. And that’s just the way he’s coping with it or dealing with the grief. But he’s not aware, and he’s not thinking logically. It’s all emotional.”

Moving forward, Katie’s death will take “a toll” on Lucas. “You’re not going to see the same Lucas pre-losing Katie as you’re going to see immediately after losing Katie,” the actor continued. “That’s all I can really say right now. But as you can imagine, the grief takes a toll, and you can lose a bit of yourself in your grief.”

Grey’s Anatomy airs at 10 p.m. ET on ABC before streaming the next day on Hulu.