SPOILER ALERT: The story includes details about the Season 22 finale of ABC‘s Grey’s Anatomy.

Grey’s Anatomy changed things up in Season 22. Instead of ending the finale with a cataclysmic event resulting in a life-and-death cliffhanger, this season’s closer ended with a heartfelt tribute to two longtime cast members who are leaving the series, Kevin McKidd and Kim Raver, complete with montage of their characters Owen and Teddy’s journey on the series.

The finale did keep the Grey’s tradition by kicking things off with a cataclysmic event when a major Seattle bridge collapsed. Teddy (Raver) panicked as a voice message from Owen (McKidd) put him on the bridge at the time of the collapse. She had the right to be worried — Owen was shown unconscious in his car as it was getting submerged.

But instead of a tragic death, the Grey’s writers opted for one final heroic act as Owen got himself out and saved the lives of a family trapped in their car, a fitting way to close out his medical arc that recalls the war incident that triggered his PTSD.

The scare shook Teddy up and she did an encore of her speech to Owen from last season’s finale but instead of the infamous “I choose me,” which ended their marriage, she said, “I choose us,” adding
“I needed some time to figure out what I wanted for myself and what I want is you and our kids. I want us.”

The two professed their feelings for each other, and Owen told Teddy that she should take the Paris research job she had been offered and he and the kids will go with her.

“You’re my life,” he said.

Somewhat inexplicably, they were both seen packing and leaving Grey Sloan that same day.

In Part 1 of Deadline’s interview with Grey’s executive producer and showrunner Meg Marinis, who wrote both the Season 22 and Season 21 finales, she spoke about the decision to have both Raver and McKidd, who directed their last episode, depart after 12 (across 2 stints) and 18 seasons, respectively.

She confirmed when the call was made, which was around the time rumors started circulating that Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 23 renewal would come with a significant budget cut. Marinis would not make a connection between the two, focusing on the creative reasons for Owen and Teddy’s exit, but spoke about the budget challenges network series are facing.

In Part 2 of the interview where Marinis dissects all the other finale bombshells, she touched on the subject when Deadline asked her whether Jen Landon, who has been recurring as plastic surgeon Toni, would get promoted to a series regular next season.

“I don’t know if I would use the word promote, because we are in a different time in our industry with the budget, but I would love to have her come back as much as we can,” she said.

DEADLINE: Why did you decide that Kim and Kevin would depart and why both together? Did you consider only one of them leaving?

MARINIS: First, I just want to say from the bottom of my heart, this was a very, very painful episode to write, and it was even more, it surprised me, even more painful to watch about the two of them leaving, because I love those characters so much, I love those actors so much, and they’ve given so much to the show.

It was not an easy decision. It was really tough. But when looking at the story and where their individual characters were in their lives, it felt like it was time. These two have been through the relationship roller coaster, and I think I was ready for them to have a happy ending, or at least we think they’ll have a happy ending.

We can visit with these characters again, hopefully in the future, as we often do with characters that leave the show. I think it made the most sense for them to find their way back to each other after everything they’ve been through this season.

DEADLINE: When was the decision about Kim and Kevin made? Was it the early in the season?

MARINIS: No, it was shortly after the New Year that we put those plans into motion.

DEADLINE: I have to ask because long-running shows like Grey’s get expensive over time, was there talk of you having to cut characters for budget purposes?

MARINIS: I think it’s not a secret right now what’s happening to shows across the board, in particular network shows, that has affected us clearly. It’s painful, and we have to do what we can to make sure the quality of the show on the screen looks the same. I would just say that any major show decision is always determined by story and creative, but we have not escaped what’s happening to all other shows over here.

DEADLINE: Did you ever consider a heroic death for Owen in the bridge collapse or was it always a happy ending for them?

MARINIS: When I sat down to write the episode, I knew I wanted a happy ending. I, of course, knew when we had to consider different ways to end the characters. You always think, Oh, is there going to be a heroic death? But for me, I wanted to be able to see those characters in the future. And I’m not the biggest fan of ghosts. I know we’ve had ghosts, but I didn’t really want to see Owen as a ghost.

And I just think that for that character who entered our show as a war hero, this episode and this storyline for him, there were a lot of easter eggs to his storyline of when his entire squad died in that car in that flashback episode that we did in Season 6, and I wanted this time for him to save the entire car rather than lose the entire car to show the growth of his PTSD as well.

DEADLINE: So there was no chance of only one of them leaving the show? Were Teddy and Owen a package deal?

MARINIS: That’s always a possibility, but I think that based on their family situation and them having kids, that becomes trickier for story as well. So that’s why they ended up going off together.

DEADLINE: You wrote both Teddy’s “I choose me” and “I choose us” speeches. Talk about the juxtaposition and how you came up with the ending of them going to Paris.

MARINIS: First of all, I just love that he’s following her now. She’s done so much for him, she’s moved for him. And even in one of the very first episodes that Teddy appeared, when she realizes that he has this girlfriend in Christina, she’s like, wow, I misread the situation, I thought you were calling me because you were ready to be together.

Also that scene in the scrub room is a callback to that scene where she’s like, Oh my gosh, you want me to go, I guess I misread the situation all over again. But then we continue the story and he’s saying, no, no, I’m going with you, and we’re going with you, just to show that growth.

I think that “I choose me” was a very powerful and beautiful speech that she gave at the end of last season, and I stand by that speech. I also think that when you choose yourself and you do all of that introspective work, you can discover that choosing you also means choosing to have someone in your life. You’re not choosing him to be your singular focus of your life, but she’s choosing him to be a part of it and to be a family. And so I think it’s not negating that speech of last season.

She told them that she wanted to consider the job, she did choose herself, and that turned him to choose her. So I really think it’s beautiful character growth for both of them.

DEADLINE: Grey’s rarely follows characters after they leave Grey Sloan, but any chance we will get a glimpse of Teddy and Owen in Paris?

MARINIS: Well, Kim speaks French pretty well, her husband’s French, so she knows the language very well, and she loves Paris. I would love to see them in Paris. Probably, if they visited as guest stars, it most likely would be Seattle, but you never know. If they’re sending anyone to Paris, I’d love to go.

DEADLINE: Did you film something with Sophia Bush’s Cass and Teddy for the finale? It was strange for Cass to pop up at Grey Sloan on what became Teddy’s last day and not say goodbye. Cass played a major part in Teddy’s life the last couple of years.

MARINIS: Yeah, they only interact at the very beginning. I think that, based on what Teddy was going through today with thinking Owen could possibly have been killed, and I don’t think she necessarily knew that this was going to be the day, that this was going to be the day when she was deciding to leave.

I would believe that off screen, those two characters would definitely have some sort of goodbye. But I think that, when you think that the love of your life and the father of your children could be dead, I think her priorities were different. I’m sure fans will be sad not to have more interaction, but maybe they’ll be surprised at the end or be angry when they see Cass with Amelia.