Not much has changed in six months.
We got a six-month time jump on Station 19 Season 6 Episode 1, and we spent most of the hour catching up with where the characters are now while they battled a twister that ripped through some parts of Seattle.
There were attempts to set up arcs for a few characters, but it’s still early in determining where they could head.
Coming off Station 19 Season 5 Episode 18, Jack had a heartbreaking turn of events and potentially one of the most promising storylines entering the new season.
We didn’t get as much of him as one would hope, but with the conversations that Andy had about him and the response to his whereabouts, hopefully, his story arc can head somewhere meaningful.
It’s off to an underwhelming start, though, only in the sense that we’ve done the usual bit of Jack handling things by tossing himself beneath inappropriate women dozens of times.
If this is only the opening bit of segueing him into a more robust story arc that helps the character evolve and grow and does him justice, then so be it.
Andy: You can stop now, you won.
Sullivan: I always do.
However, it was disappointing that instead of the more interesting route of Jack in Kansas City tracking down his foster sister, we got a classic Jack Gibson rock bottom moment of him shacking up with Vasquez’s widow.
It wasn’t a particularly appealing storyline the first time it happened, so dipping back into that well to hit home the Jack Gibson shame spiral into his worst hits was uninspired.
Of course, if it goes somewhere, this time is the bigger question. He’s one of the main characters who is rife with so much unaddressed trauma, unexplored storylines, and potential that’s gone unmined.
Now that Andy has made it her mission to “save” Jack, be there for him the way that he stood by her throughout her sexual assault arc, in particular, one hopes that we can delve into the work of Jack facing his demons, getting his shit together, and realizing that he has a family who loves him.
The man deserves to be mentally and emotionally healthy and happy. I hope his arc leads him into that, and at least we know that he’ll always have a home and place at Station 19.
Two notable things about his absence were that he was only staying with Vasquez’s widow for three out of the past six months.
Could that mean that Jack did go searching for his foster sister at some point, and this latest descent into poor choices is a response to whatever happened? Hopefully, we’ll find out.
Also, with Jack’s absence and the first round not taken, it seems Carina and Maya are no longer using his sperm for their child. It quickly and quietly puts the kibosh on that messy angle that plagued so much of Station 19 and allows Carina and Maya to focus on the bigger issues in their marriage on their own.
Carina may be angry at Jack and declare him dead to her, placing her back in Jack hate territory (unnecessary to me, but I digress), but most viewers should be content with the untangling of that trio.
It allows Carina and Maya to focus on the unresolved issues in their marriage, and they dove into them hard.
Carina does not feel supported in this process, and the fertility struggles are putting a strain on them, but that’s such a realistic thing to happen that you can appreciate that tension even if it’s not fun for the Marina shippers.
These are the type of everyday couple issues that they should dig into more. They are multiple rounds into this expensive procedure, and it hasn’t taken yet. It’s stressful.
Carina is nearly 40, which makes her chances rougher. The process isn’t the most romantic and can get so perfunctory and discouraging that it changes intimacy for a couple.
And Carina’s concerns about Maya are valid. It genuinely does come across as if Maya can’t allow herself to be happy without fixating on the next thing.
Anger and the demotion have fueled her for so long that it has consumed her, and she’s neglecting every other aspect of her life. It isn’t healthy, and if they’re starting a family together, it’s fair that Carina wants Maya to sort herself out and fix her issues before they bring a child into the world together.
Carina should not feel like she’s the only one who wants this and is unsupported. And Maya shouldn’t feel that way, either.
Carina: We were happy, and you created chaos. We were making a baby, I had just gotten my green card. We had happiness, and you needed to wreck it. You need to look into that, you need to–
Maya: I need to what?
Carina: Fix it! You, I can’t live like that. I can’t make a baby with that.
Maya: Oh, with that.
Carina: Yes, with you, like that. If we’re going to have a baby together…
Maya: If? Carina, you could be pregnant right now.
Carina: Yes. I could be. And that’s why you need to get help, for us, right now.
At least with genuine arguments between the two, they communicate and address their issues. It’s a sizable blow that Carina jumped into her wife’s battles without all the knowledge. She was shocked by the blackmail revelation.
It’s like everyone is in this endless circle of being reactionary to previous slights and offenses, and it never lets up.
Beckett was punishing Maya for blackmailing Ross and Sullivan, whom Maya blames for perpetuating the sexism that kept her demoted despite Maya breaking the rules and getting demoted for her actions, regardless of how well-intended.
We’re six months after Maya laid down a gauntlet, and she’s still angry. At this point, it’s not even about whether or not she was right or had reason to be, but isn’t she exhausted?
Maya: Look at you. So much wisdom, so much empathy for Beckett and not for me. Why is that? Why am I still being punished for my ambition by you, by Ross, by Beckett.
Sullivan: Blackmailing the chief of the fire department is not ambition, okay? it’s a crime. Now reporting a suspicion that you consider to be out of bounds? That’s valid. But threatening to report that suspicion in exchange for a promotion? Come on, you’re lucky you still have a job at all.
Maya: It was an impulse.
Sullivan: Yup, an impulse that didn’t go your way, and now you have to live with it. You did this to yourself, Bishop, okay? You burned your own bridges, and nobody is punishing you but you.
At some point, you have to strike hard and get your desired result or let it go and move on. Maya’s impulsive blackmailing maneuver backfired, but despite that, she still works with these people in the job she loves.
Sullivan was smug and cocky when he claimed that he always won, and he was the last person Maya wanted to hear anything from or get advice from, but he wasn’t wrong.
By now, Maya punishes herself more than anyone else with her relentless, dogged obsession. It’s taking over too much. It seems she does regret the blackmailing incident and even can recognize that leveraging that to get her way was awful.
But she also still does that weird thing where she conflates her situation with Beckett’s, making her appear self-absorbed and short-sighted.
Beckett’s suspected alcohol abuse on the job is very serious and potentially jeopardizes their lives on every call. It’s not the same as a consensual sexual relationship between a chief and her subordinate.
With this issue, Maya’s impulsivity, anger, and self-absorption are worrisome because she’s a married woman in the process of starting a family and has to think about how her actions affect her family.
We’re still in the dark about Beckett’s alcoholism. He claims that he has stopped cold turkey, and the whole thing with the mints seems to be an oral fixation to curb his cravings for alcohol. But alcohol is one of the hardest and scariest addictions to kick.
It still feels weird that he’s running things like it’s no problem, and they all have to accept his word that he’s kicking a habit without any impact on his position.
And, of course, all this drama has led to things cooling off between Sullivan and Ross. Andy seemed to take notice of that, too.
Other Thoughts:
- Ben and Carina’s interactions are awesome.
- Ben being on the other side of someone going rogue and now getting how crazy he drives everyone was hilarious. We love a self-aware king.
- They have addressed the deal Ben had to make, and now he’s riding desk duty. The poor guy is going nuts.
- Travis was a total hero who showed Dixon up during that tornado, and I loved every second of it.
- Travis trying to walk the line as an Independent by not getting to express his opinions on anything isn’t sustainable, even if he does get great press as Mayor Zaddy.
Wow, I have three kids and a wife. I have a beautifil three year old who already lost her dad. I am following the rules. I am on desk duty most of the time because I don’t want her to lose another dad. I may get taken out by an act of God anyway.
Ben
Over to you, Station 19 Fanatics. Can Andy get Jack back on track?
What did you think about Carina and Maya’s argument?
Sound off below!
You can watch Station 19 online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.