‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 9 spoilers: Death comes knocking … again

Stop us when this one sounds familiar: someone on “Grey’s Anatomy” is getting set to meet their maker. (Odds are, you have probably stopped us already.) However, unlike the epic and sad season 8 finale, this time around the death-dealer known as Shonda Rhimes is not waiting until May to throw our jaws on the floor.

According to a brand-new report from TVLine, there will be a longtime character who passes at some point in early 2013. The kicker? The is really no clue as to who this character is just yet. It is not necessarily a series regular, but is someone that we have come to know very well on the show over the years.

At the moment, the sad thing is that we really don’t have any indication that anyone is knocking on death’s door. Some characters are obviously older and in poorer health than others, but if there is one thing that this series has taught us over the years, it is to expect the unexpected. Who would have predicted that we would have lost both Mark and Lexie within the span of a few episodes? Whatever happens here, all we hope is that there is some sort of light that rises out of the darkness. The biggest issue that this season thus far has faced is occasionally an absence of hope. Everyone seems to be on varying levels of misery, and when there is no reason to smile, it is incredibly hard to be excited about what is coming up for the characters. (This is why we are hoping so badly that Derek’s surgery goes off without a hitch.)

There is no new “Grey’s Anatomy” season 9 episode Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.