DeLuca's death in Grey's Anatomy helped break mental health stereotypes, allowing the show to evolve for the better

Since its debut in 2005, Grey’s Anatomy has been a consistently popular medical drama that is still running. Over the course of its long run, a number of regular characters in the series have been killed off for the sake of the plot and other reasons. One such major death in Grey’s Anatomy was that of Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti).

DeLuca’s character was introduced in Grey's Anatomy Season 11, and he was shown to be struggling with mental health issues. He had bipolar disorder, which severely affected his life and often led to people not taking him seriously, ultimately resulting in his death.

DeLuca’s death in Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 stood as a testament to his battles with mental health and how he overcame them and emerged stronger. The conclusion to his character proved that despite having a lifelong battle with manic episodes, that was not something that defined him.

The fact that he was stabbed by one of the human traffickers connected to the case he was investigating made his character bigger than the manic episodes he had struggled with all his life.

Speaking about DeLuca’s end, Giacomo Gianniotti, the actor who played the role, told Variety that he wanted DeLuca to be remembered as:

“a pillar of representation for people struggling with mental health.”

He further added,

“It wasn’t that he was unmedicated and unrested, and that’s what led him to put himself in a dangerous situation. This was the most DeLuca thing DeLuca has ever done.”

Let us now explore in detail how DeLuca died and what his ending meant for Grey’s Anatomy.

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How did DeLuca die in Grey’s Anatomy?

DeLuca died in Grey’s Anatomy after being stabbed while chasing Opal (Stephanie Kurtzuba), a human trafficking kingpin. Since DeLuca had struggled with mental health issues since his introduction in Grey’s Anatomy Season 11, no one believed him when he first pointed out his suspicions about Opal’s involvement in human trafficking.

Moreover, his observations about Opal and the suspicion of a human trafficking ring emerged in Season 16—a time when his manic episodes were worsening. Despite being certain about what he was saying, he could not earn anyone’s trust because of his past behavior during manic episodes.

However, in Season 17, DeLuca proves himself right—though at the cost of his own life. When he spots Opal again, he is shown to be medicated and in a better state, and he decides not to let the opportunity slip away. While tracking Opal down, DeLuca is stabbed. Despite being treated at his own Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, he loses his life.

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DeLuca’s arc in Grey’s Anatomy addressed mental health issues in a positive way

While DeLuca’s death was devastating for fans, it served the greater purpose of portraying mental health issues in a more realistic and meaningful way. While his struggles with mental health had previously affected both his personal and professional life, including his romantic relationship with Meredith Grey, his ending proved that he was more than his condition—and that anyone suffering from similar challenges has hope.

When Krista Vernoff and Debbie Allen, the showrunner and executive producer of Grey’s Anatomy, told Gianniotti about his character’s ending, he mentioned in an interview with Deadline:

“And I just thought it was a beautiful storyline, I thought it was a beautiful way for the character to exit as a hero.”

Ending the arc of a character who had previously been sidelined because of his struggles with mental health helped Grey’s Anatomy portray such issues in a more thoughtful and nuanced way.

Grey’s Anatomy can be streamed on Hulu.

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