It was an emotional moment for Grey’s Anatomy fans as the show said goodbye to fan-favorite Katie Rogers who is played by Samantha Marie Ware in the March 19 episode and it left many viewers heartbroken.
Shonda Rhimes reacts
Katie’s death is not the first heartbreaking loss of Season 22. The season kicked off on October 9 confirming the death of Dr Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales) after the massive explosion at the end of Season 21.
Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes who is no longer running the show recently talked about the difficult decisions she made over the years to kill off some of the series’ most beloved characters including Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and George O’Malley (TR Knight).
“I look back on some of the deaths of some characters, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I can’t believe I did that,'” Rhimes admitted on the March 10 episode of Craig David’s Glass Half Full podcast. “Now in perspective, at the time, it was what the story dictated to me so clearly that there was no other choice.”
“My job is to be the keeper of the story. My job is not to be the keeper of the fans. My job is not to be the keeper of my friendships with actors. My job is to do what the story dictates. That is really hard to do. But it’s also really important because if that’s not where my mind is, then I’m not telling the best story I can,” she added.
How did Katie Rogers die?
Katie had stage two stomach cancer and spent her final days at Lucas and Simone’s home where she received hospice care.
In her last moments, Lucas lay beside her as they talked about the life they could have had in New York with Katie as a therapist and Lucas doing his residency. They also confessed their feelings for each other.
Later, Lucas and Simone argued because he wanted to keep treating Katie and save her, while Simone didn’t agree. She even hid some medical canisters from him. Lucas then rushed to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital to get more but by the time he came back, Katie had already died.
Katie was introduced earlier in the season and quickly became a fan favorite, with viewers hoping she would get better.
Katie’s passing joins a long list of gut-wrenching goodbyes that have defined Grey’s Anatomy over its 22 seasons.
