Grey’s Anatomy closed out season 22 with disaster, heartbreak, romance and two emotional farewells.
The ABC medical drama’s Thursday, May 7 finale, titled “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” centered on a catastrophic bridge collapse that flooded Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital with victims and left two major characters fighting for their lives.
Among them was Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), who became trapped inside a submerged car as water rapidly filled the vehicle, but he ultimately escaped unharmed. Meanwhile, Dr. Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman) was rushed into surgery after being injured in the collapse, leaving Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) terrified she could lose him.
The high stakes finale ultimately marked the end of an era for the long-running series, as Owen and Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) officially departed Grey Sloan together following their previously announced exits.
After saving an entire family during the bridge disaster, Owen reunites with Teddy outside an operating room, where she emotionally tells him everyone survived “thanks” to him.
The pair, who fought the night before over Teddy’s job offer in Paris, finally confront their future together.
“I choose us,” Teddy tells him. “I needed some time other than figure out what I wanted for myself. And what I want is you and our kids. I want us. I’m not going to go to Paris. I have lived all over the world, and the only thing that makes me feel like home is you.”
Though Owen initially insists Paris is “a great opportunity,” Teddy assumes he wants her to go alone. Instead, he surprises her by revealing he and the kids are coming too.
“I’ve never been clearer,” Owen tells her. “You’ve moved continents for me. You’ve changed jobs. It’s my turn to go with you. I don’t want to live in a world where we are apart anymore.”
He then tells Teddy she is “his life” before the two break down in tears, hugging and kissing in an emotional goodbye. The finale also delivers a major romantic twist for Meredith and Nick.
After Nick wakes up in the hospital, Meredith quietly whispers, “Marry me.”His immediate response? “How badly was I hurt?”
“Enough to make me think about all the people I lost and I really don’t want to lose him,” Meredith says. “It turns out me not being married to you hasn’t protected me from anything. And I love you and I love our life together. And I don’t want my fear to get in the way of that anymore.”
When Nick asks whether she wants a wedding, Meredith jokes that he’s “getting carried away” before clarifying she doesn’t want “flowers, white dresses or poems.”
Nick then admits he’s wanted to marry her since “the last time” he was in a hospital bed.
Nick, a transplant surgeon who first appeared as a patient in season 14 before becoming Meredith’s primary love interest following Derek Shepherd’s death, later accepts the proposal, closing out the finale on a hopeful note.
Ahead of the episode, McKidd and Raver confirmed in March that season 22 would mark their departures from the series.
McKidd, 52, first joined the show during season 5 in 2008, while Raver, 57, debuted as Teddy in season 6 before later returning as a full-time cast member in season 15.
Beyond portraying Owen for nearly two decades, McKidd has also directed close to 50 episodes of the series — including the emotional finale itself.
Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE, McKidd reflected on filming the massive bridge collapse sequence, calling it “like being on a big action movie.” “It was challenging because I directed it, and also physically it was very tough because I was stuck inside the car underwater,” he said. “I had to smash my way out, swim across the water to the bridge, and then save this whole family.”
The actor added that the episode served as a full-circle moment for Owen’s character arc.
“When we first met Owen, he was this traumatized guy who’d lost his platoon in Iraq,” McKidd explained. “So that story — saving this family — was kind of a metaphor for him healing that wound.”
Off-screen, filming the farewell proved equally emotional.
“There were a lot of emotional moments — especially with the crew,” McKidd shared. “Seeing how much the crew struggled with it — people giving me letters and cards — that was really emotional.”