WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for the Grey's Anatomy and Station 19 crossover, "Things We Lost in the Fire."
The shocking death in the 2021 Station 19 and Grey's Anatomy crossover came as an unwelcome surprise, but it may have saved the character from an unsatisfying ending. Station 19, the popular Grey's Anatomy spinoff, returned with its fifth season in September and took a short three-week break towards the end of October. During the break, the show teased a major loss, but few were ready to say farewell to Dean Miller, who died in "Things We Lost in the Fire."
The crossover, Station 19, season 5, episode 5, follows the crew as they deal with a gas line explosion in a neighborhood near the station. During the emergency, Vic and Dean also have to handle their unresolved feelings. After realizing he was moving to Oakland, Vic confronts Dean about his decision to leave the station to implement Crisis One across the nation, and Dean asks her to come with him. She rejects the offer, officially ending the possibility of them ending up together. While at the scene, Vic is electrocuted by rogue power lines, and Dean gets caught in a house explosion. Vic survives, and Dean dies on his way to Grey Sloan.
While the death came as a surprise to many, it avoided a common Shondaland problem: keeping favorite characters too long and risking an exit that doesn't work, like Alex Karev's. By the end of season 4, Dean had completed his major character arcs, and he had few loose ends with the exception of Vic. The first episodes this season didn't build any tension for Dean either — Crisis One was going well, and his family life was stable. To keep it interesting, the writers would have been forced to create more drama for a character that had already completed their lifespan on the show. Forcing storylines to keep a character around is always difficult, and it would have made Dean less likeable. Additionally, the actor that played Dean Miller, Okieriete Onaodowan, asked to leave the show at the end of the last season. Keeping Dean around wasn't an option.
This gave Station 19 two options in saying goodbye to Dean - it could either kill the character or have him move on from the station like a few other lucky characters who left Grey's Anatomy. If Dean moved to Oakland, he could potentially return in a cameo or guest role down the road. This option is a popular Shondaland staple; one of the best-known examples is Cristina Yang from Grey's Anatomy, who left Grey Sloan Memorial in favor of research in Switzerland in season 10. While this seems like an idyllic ending for the character, it caused problems for the show's continuity. In the case of Cristina Yang, viewers expected to still see her around, which resulted in half-hearted attempts at keeping Cristina alive in the show without bringing Sandra Oh back.
Given how close Vic and Dean were, they would've had the same unsatisfying dynamic once he left. This leaves one possibility for Dean, and that's his death. The tragedy of the loss and the satisfying resolution to his story in season 4 solidifies Dean as a tragic hero. It also sets up an emotional storyline for Vic as she grapples with her best friend's death and Theo's jealousy. Dean's death was also a reminder to the audience that the stakes are high. Station 19 season 4 got too comfortable, and the characters didn't feel like they were in danger. Here, the tragic and unexpected death was a great narrative choice for both his character and the show. Dean's death on Station 19 saved his character from an unsatisfying goodbye like Cristina Yang after Sandra Oh left Grey's Anatomy; now, his legacy can live on in the series without the baggage of a potential return.