**SPOILER ALERT: Details from Episode 2202, “We Built This City,” of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy**
The deadly explosion in the Season 21 finale of *Grey’s Anatomy* left all of the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital reeling. No one felt the impact more than Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone), whose patient Dylan’s mother was responsible for the devastating blast.
Struggling to cope despite an intervention from Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary), Amelia announced at the end of the episode that she is taking a sabbatical. [You can read Deadline’s full recap here.]
This sets a lengthy hiatus for longtime *Grey’s Anatomy* series regular Caterina Scorsone. According to sources, Amelia’s sabbatical will span the next eight episodes, with Scorsone expected to return in 2026.
Starting in the 2024-25 season, *Grey’s Anatomy* reduced the minimum episode guarantees for its veteran cast members from 18 to 14 episodes per season. This cost-saving measure, similar to those employed by other long-running series like the Dick Wolf dramas, means the show’s veteran actors typically do not appear in four episodes each season, which are usually spread throughout.
This pattern will continue for the 2025-26 season, with the veterans scheduled for 14 out of 18 episodes—except for Scorsone, who will appear in only 10 out of 18 episodes. This reduction has been incorporated into Amelia’s storyline as she goes on sabbatical, with her absence believed to be consecutive episodes.
This move is specific to this season only. Scorsone remains a series regular, and Amelia Shepherd—first introduced in Season 7 of *Grey’s Anatomy* after debuting on the spinoff *Private Practice*—remains a fan-favorite character. As the sister of Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and sister-in-law to Meredith Grey, Amelia is deeply rooted in the show’s mythology.
In an interview following the Season 21 finale, Deadline asked *Grey’s Anatomy* executive producer and showrunner Meg Marinis about Amelia’s plans for Season 22, especially since the character was overdue for a strong story arc after having limited screen time last season.
“She was very medical this season,” Marinis said. “We’ll see if her strive and desire to keep taking on medical cases continues after what happens to Dylan. I think that’s a moment of hubris for her. She took on something that, there’s a possibility she shouldn’t have operated on that girl to begin with.”
This remark gets to the heart of Amelia’s emotional struggles. She blames her decision to operate on Dylan’s case for everything that followed, including the death of her friend, Dr. Monica Beltran.
Adding to her grief, as revealed in the recent episode, Dylan remains locked awake in her body after two surgeries—unable to blink and facing a likely life in a long-term care facility. There is hope that Dylan will improve later this season, either before or after Amelia’s return.
Stay tuned for more developments as Amelia’s story continues to unfold in the upcoming episodes of *Grey’s Anatomy*.
https://deadline.com/2025/10/greys-anatomy-catarina-scorsone-amelia-hiatus-return-1236589898/