Harry Shum Jr. Says Dr. Kwan Is in the Dark After Season 22 Firing
harry shum jr. said he is in the dark about whether Dr. Benson Kwan will return after Grey's Anatomy fired the surgeon in season 22. The character was removed in the penultimate episode, leaving the role unresolved as the show heads toward its next phase.
Webber Ends Kwan's Run
Dr. Richard Webber fired Kwan after discovering he had secretly administered an experimental hydrogel to Quinn Durston for liver cancer earlier in the season. Webber had already confronted him with, “I know it was you who injected the hydrogel and not her,” before adding, “Now, I want you to tell me everything that happened, starting from the beginning.”
The treatment was described as FDA-denied, and the fallout reached Dr. Miranda Bailey, who took the blame and defended Kwan by saying, “We work in a system where you can be forced out for one mistake, but that's not conducive to learning,” and, “Kwan is still learning, so don't go too hard on him while I'm out.” Webber's answer was blunt: “Well, that won't be a problem. He's fired.”
Shum's Read On Kwan
On May 14 at the Asian American Foundation's 2026 Heritage Month Awards Dinner, Shum told E! News, “I think it's good to see the doctors when they do make a mistake, but also with good intentions,” and, “It wasn't just because he was a bumbling mess.” He added, “It was very motivated in making sure that someone got to be able to choose life over death.”
He also said, “I'm just as much in the dark as audiences,” which makes Kwan's status a real production question rather than a closed storyline. Shum joined the ABC series as an intern in season 19, so the character has already moved through several stages of the show before this firing.
Quinn Durston's Outcome
On April 30, Meredith Grey said Quinn Durston was “doing quite well” after the injection and the later pulmonary embolism. That detail keeps the story from landing as a clean disciplinary exit; Kwan's decision was framed as medically reckless, but the patient was still alive and improving when the show last addressed him.
For now, the practical answer for viewers is simple: Kwan's future is still open, and Shum is signaling that the show has not told him whether the character returns to the hospital or stays out. Grey's Anatomy has turned an internal discipline story into a live casting question, which is where the uncertainty now sits.
