The One Grey’s Anatomy Character Shonda Rhimes Regrets K/i/l/ling Isn’t Who Fans Expect

In its early days, Grey’s Anatomy had so many guest stars that make first time viewers on Netflix go, “Hey! I know that guy!” Similar to Law and Order: SVU, Grey’s Anatomy is a procedural show many actors get their start on. But there was one guest star in its second season who was already quite famous, and his very short stint on the series made Shonda Rhimes want to keep him on longer.

One of the most iconic episodes of Grey’s Anatomy is Season 2, Episode 17, “As We Know It,” but a lot of fans simply refer to it as the “bomb in the body cavity episode.” The episode premiered in 2006 following Super Bowl XL as the second half of a two-part story, the first being “It’s the End of the World.” Although the first season of Grey’s Anatomy was a smashing success in the medical procedural genre, Season 2’s two-part event really put the series on the map as an intense drama where just about anything can become a medical emergency. The episode’s reputation was further elevated by two high-profile guest stars of the 2000s, Christina Ricci and Kyle Chandler. Sadly, Chandler’s character never got to see the outside of Seattle Grace Memorial Hospital again when he was blown up by the homemade bazooka.

Shonda Rhimes Didn’t Want to Kill Kyle Chandler’s Character

At the time of the episode, Meredith Grey was going through a rough patch in her romantic life when Derek Shepherd decided to work things out with his wife, Addison Montgomery. Chandler’s character, a defuser named Dylan Young, was sent to the hospital when a patient came in with a live homemade bazooka inside his body. For a while, it seemed like Dylan was going to stick around. Meredith and Dylan had a funny rapport between them that was sizzling with chemistry. He was the tough and assertive rule-follower, and she was the anxious intern who cracks a joke when she’s nervous.

It was disappointing when the potential for a new love interest exploded right when Dylan did. Over 10 years after “As We Know It” aired, Entertainment Weekly looked back on the episode with Rhimes, star Ellen Pompeo and episode director Peter Horton. The script, which was penned by Rhimes, included Dylan’s death as a simple explanation of “Dylan explodes.” But apparently, Chandler was toying around with the idea of Dylan surviving, or at least, not dying by an explosion:

Shonda Rhimes: “He would pitch me ideas on how Dylan, his character, could maybe not explode, and I would show him the line in the script that said, “Dylan explodes.” That’s literally all it said. He was written to explode.”

At the time, it would make sense that Chandler would try to change his character’s fate to possibly stick around for a little longer. Grey’s Anatomy was nominated for several Emmy Awards for its first season alone, and a regular role on the series guaranteed any actor’s career would take off. Plus, Chandler was a natural on camera, which may have influenced how Rhimes felt about killing off his character:

“But I did not expect to have Kyle Chandler. I didn’t want to explode him.”

Thankfully for Chandler, Rhimes and any viewer who was upset about Dylan’s abrupt death, the character did briefly return in Season 3. When Meredith “died” from drowning on an on-sight call, she woke up in an in-between state where she saw Dylan and Denny Duquette. Just as he was alive, Dylan was necessarily bullheaded enough to convince Meredith to return to life. Meredith and Dylan’s meet-up in limbo was a flawless conclusion to the character, even though his death ended his brief story at just the right time. However, his return to the series also stressed the missed opportunity of having a romance between Meredith and Dylan. But as Grey’s Anatomy fans know, Meredith only had her heart set on one person.

Kyle Chandler Was Never Meant for the Grey’s Anatomy Life

Kyle Chandler’s Most Notable Projects Outside Grey’s Anatomy
Friday Night Lights (2006-2011)
Super 8 (2011)
The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
Carol (2015)
MonsterVerse franchise (2019-2021)

Chandler’s guest appearance on Grey’s Anatomy earned him his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination. It became one of his most recognizable roles, until Friday Night Lights came around. When “As We Know It” aired in February, Chandler was already cast in the lead role of the sports drama series, based on the nonfiction book and 2004 film of the same name. While Chandler didn’t win the Emmy for his Grey’s Anatomy role, he did win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Friday Night Lights.

If Chandler and Rhimes had it their way and Dylan survived the bomb explosion, Chandler probably wouldn’t have portrayed Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights. Coincidentally, without Grey’s Anatomy, Friday Night Lights would’ve had a different Eric. In 2020, Chandler told Entertainment Weekly that Rhimes introduced the idea of pitching himself to Peter Berg, who directed the Friday Nights Lights film and developed the NBC series:

Kyle Chandler: “She’s the one who suggested I go over and talk to [creator Peter Berg] about Friday Night Lights. I said, ‘I’m not old enough to play Coach.’ And of course you know how that turned out.”

And the rest was history. Chandler was the only person who was right for Eric Taylor, switching between the roles of a supportive husband and a no-nonsense football coach in Texas. It’s easy to see some similarities between Dylan Young and Eric Taylor; both took their jobs seriously but knew when to be fair and sensitive. Maybe it was just meant to be for Dylan to move on to the Grey’s Anatomy afterlife too soon.

Why the Bomb Episode Is Still a Memorable Grey’s Anatomy Episode

Chandler could go on to star in a thousand movies and television shows, but Grey’s Anatomy fans will always remember him as Dylan, mostly because of how well-written his episodes were. The two-part event encapsulated everything that made Grey’s Anatomy the most eccentric medical drama on television. There was not one, not two, but three life-changing emergencies that the episodes perfectly balanced with the soap opera romance. Dr. Bailey went into labor with George O’Malley supporting her, as Bailey’s husband went into emergency brain surgery. Meredith wrapping her hand around live ammunition emphasized her own death wish, all while Izzie and Alex reignite their toxic fling.

“As We Know It” is often noted as one of the best Grey’s Anatomy episodes by numerous publications. It’s also one of the highest rated episodes of the series on IMDb, and for the right reasons. The episode had an outrageous medical case, thrills, great music, sex and ends with a really cheesy dialogue between Meredith and Derek. If that isn’t peak Grey’s Anatomy, then what is?