Fans still vehemently fight for this canceled series to find a new home anywhere.
Putting that aside, Station 19 Season 7 Episode 5 was a special hour that celebrated a milestone: the 100th episode of the series. And there was plenty to appreciate about how they went about it.
If you would love to read more about my thoughts on the hour, don't forget to check out my Station 19 Review: My Way.
But now we're turning it over to our round table to hear their thoughts on Andy's ceremony, that Tully proposal, Vic's outburst, and so much more.
Join TV Fanatics Haley White Whitmire and Sara Trimble and Station 19 fans Ellie MV and Heater M. as they discuss the episode!
What are your general thoughts on the 100th episode? Did you enjoy the little Easter eggs, montage, etc?
Ellie: Can I say that episode kind of sucked? When a show gets its milestone of 100th episode, as a fan, you expect something huge. Station 19 has not delivered it. It was just a normal episode with action and drama, so I didn't enjoy it much.
Haley: I liked it! I was so happy to hear Jack's voice that I teared up a bit. It was great to see him at the pinning ceremony, too.
The Space Needle is a massive landmark, so having an emergency there was pretty huge. The montage was lovely; seeing how young Andy looked in earlier episodes was wild. Maybe it's time for a rewatch!
Sara: I loved that they found a way to keep Jack as part of the show, even though he's no longer a firefighter. I enjoyed the eggs and montage, but it really made me miss the way the show used to be.
It reminded me of why I'm glad it is ending. Maybe I'm not the same. Or perhaps it's the writers. The times. But I have been unable to relate emotionally in a few seasons, and it's been heartbreaking.
It's great that they reached the 100th episode milestone, but I wonder if it cost too much. Things have become such a mess that there's not much meat left for a reboot.
Heather: I did enjoy this episode and the little Easter eggs. Some of the throwback lines made me cry.
This episode, though, felt too reminiscent of the skyscraper episode from Station 19 Season 1 Episode 2 I didn't really enjoy the montage because it just took up time and was still a way to force the "Andy is the best" theory on us. As Sara said, it also made me glad the show was ending.
Andy chose Maya for the pinning ceremony. How did you feel about that and the entire ceremony?
Ellie: Am I the only one truly bothered by the ceremony? Maya and Andy stopped being best friends in Station 19 Season 3, so Andy choosing Maya for the pinning was cringeworthy. Andy should have chosen Jack because he is truly her best friend, more than Maya.
I hated the ceremony because the writers made Andy the hero of the show and 19 and Maya the villain. I remember very well how everyone treated Maya when she was promoted to Captain, and Andy got all the credit. I'm not buying this as a fan.
Haley: I felt like this was a good moment for their friendship. They've been through a lot together, and their relationship has taken some hits, but they've repaired it and gotten closer in the last season or so.
It was a testament to that growth that Andy asked Maya to pin her. The ceremony was emotional and just right for one of the final episodes. Natasha's mentions of Pruitt were nice, too; I love that they're honoring his legacy.
Sara: I also agree that it was strange for Andy to choose Maya. I would have assumed Jack, too.
The ceremony seemed rough, halfway, because no one supports Andy Herrera being Captain. It's a typical case of nepotism. If you finally become Captain after getting passed over several times for other captains, is it a success when you get the position?
It's like you're all that's left to promote. That doesn't mean she's the right person for the job. I don't know that I'll ever like Andy in the role. And I wonder if she would have gotten it this season if the show wasn't getting canceled. She is not ready, and I don't know that she'll ever be.
Heather: I feel exactly the same here. It's another friendship that has felt forced for some time now. The idea is sweet, but the way things have been between them these last two years didn't feel impactful.
It was strange, the ceremony. The first version was just the firefighters in the house.
The second, we get all these other people except Vic. And Ross's words made Andy sound like the greatest ever. It's not that Andy didn't deserve what Ross said because, in some ways, she does. But it just felt like it was overdone.
Did you like the big Space Needle crisis?
Ellie: Yes, because it showed Vic is good at dealing with some crises.
Haley: Definitely! Again, the Space Needle is a real-life big deal. So, having it as the center of a crisis in the show was super dramatic.
The elevator was super stressful, and Vic handled it like the professional she is. She's always been amazing in chaos. While she's struggling a lot right now, it was good to see her in her element.
Sara: I enjoyed the storyline revolving around the Space Needle. Not only seeing Vic Hughes push her private breakdown to the side and remain professional while dealing with mounting situations.
But I also loved the scene between Maya and Beckett, not just when she apologized, which bothered him. But when she literally saved his butt and proved that she had his back. Now that Beckett is sober, there's the potential for a good friendship there.
Heather: Again, too reminiscent of the skyscraper episodes. Also, the storage facility episode in Station 19 Season 3. Two people look like they will die; there's an explosion as they are trying to put the fire out, the one guy arguing with the firefighter that he should be let out first.
It's not that I didn't like the story of the Space Needle. I enjoyed watching Vic's work and some of its more sentimental parts. But they used too much material, which has already been done.
Something else that bothered me was when everyone came out safely, and we saw they all survived; it was in slow motion, and their words were echo-ish. I hate when they do that when someone is saying something meaningful. We should've gotten that scene or parts of it at regular speed.
Ben survived another near-death experience, but he's taking syringes of drugs. What are your thoughts and theories?
Ellie: Are we getting an addict Sullivan 2.0 storyline? That storyline feels like it came out of nowhere; like, are you telling me that Ben Warren, an ex-doctor, is using syringes of drugs for his pain?! I'm sorry, but that's completely out of character for him, so I'm struggling with this storyline.
Haley: Yeah, I'm with Ellie on this. Ben taking drugs makes zero sense. I know he's worried about losing his career, but I can't wrap my head around this storyline for him. Especially not this close to the end of the series. Maybe it's not what it looks like, and he was prescribed steroids or something and doesn't want anyone to know. One can hope.
Sara: I have an entirely different viewpoint on this potential situation. Ben may be using a narcotic pain injection, which is an overused storyline. Please do not ruin the final season any further with that BS.
But I think it's more likely that he's using steroids, maybe a Cortisone shot, to relieve the pain in his back. It's not illegal or frowned upon, but it can cause damaging side effects.
It's entirely possible that the fall damaged something, and the steroids are hiding the symptoms. I think the secret is that he doesn't want anyone else to think he's too old and out of shape to do his job anymore.
Heather: Sara has said exactly what I've been thinking it is. I believe it's steroids. I don't think they are headed to another addiction storyline but a storyline to end Ben's firefighting career. I also can't wait to see him and Bailey deal with this. I'm probably going to love what she has to say.
Ross finally said yes to Sullivan. Thoughts?
Ellie: It was about time because it was getting dragged out.
Haley: It was a sweet moment! I was pretty sure they were about to kill Sullivan off in the Space Needle, so I didn't expect this outcome.
I love Sullivan, but killing him off might have been the kick in the pants that Natasha needed to stop being a power-chasing butthole and tell the mayor where to stick it. Losing something important to her would make her fight harder against critical resources being slashed from the department's budget.
At any rate, with the series winding down, I expected another major character death, and the setup was there. I guess we're getting a wedding instead!
Sara: I agree with Haley. I thought we were going to be saying goodbye to Ben and Sullivan. I won't lie. I had a Kleenex in one hand and a paper bag in the other. Hyperventilation moment!
Alas, the writers weren't that cruel (yeah, I'm referring to you folks over at The Good Doctor). I like the way they played out the proposal.
Like Ellie, I was over the repeated proposal attempts. They had that man looking thirsty AF, which was not a good look on him. But by having Ross be the one to bring up his asking, they put the man out of his misery and redeemed Ross for seeming so savage during his numerous previous attempts.
It's messed up that it took him almost dying for her to say yes though.
Heather: Lol, yawn! It pissed me off a bit:
With what Haley and Sara said about believing Sullivan was going to die, well, the brain trust of Station 19 social media had already posted photos of the proposal, so when they were in the Space Needle, those pictures led me to believe he wasn't dying. Sorry, you had to go through that stress, Sara.
Natasha Ross made that whole proposal scene about her and her career again. Everything about them is about her career.
She was scared he was going to die and decided then that she'd been holding back on them.
It was almost a repeat of the firefighter ball when Sullivan thought she would die. I tell you, these writers suck with the sentiment.
What's your reaction to Maya's big return to the station? What are your thoughts on her apology to Beckett and his concerns she wouldn't have his back?
Ellie: When I watched the apology scene, I wondered if the writers remembered and watched the episodes they had written.
It was funny to see Maya Bishop apologizing to Beckett for the bottle of whisky but not Beckett apologizing AT ALL to Maya for bullying her for months when he was Captain. What kind of writing is this?
And the concerns scene? I felt it was more so, "Let me do it because I'm a man; I'm stronger than you" rather than a concern. And Maya was a little too soft with him when he apologized for not trusting her.
She is a lieutenant, and she should have reminded him of this. Andy should have punished him for acting like a man with a fragile ego and not trusting Maya.
Haley: Beckett was completely out of line and could have gotten himself killed.
If he was so worried, he could have asked Maya to switch positions with him and be the one to repel down to the elevator. He made an incredibly unsafe call and should absolutely be reprimanded for it.
I totally agree with Ellie; where was the apology that Beckett owes to Maya for how he treated her?
Sara: I'm a big believer in redemption stories, and I've had a soft spot for Beckett all along despite his abhorrent behaviors as a captain. He and Maya have both been wrong against each other.
I appreciate that Maya apologized for her actions because that was a bad call. I hated seeing the writers make her into that kind of person. I lost a lot of respect for her over the last few seasons, from how she acted as a captain to her anger and refusal to get help.
Her narcissism has not been one of my favorite storylines, and I appreciate how she's mellowed out since getting a second chance with Carina DeLuca. But she came back far too bubbly and soft for my liking.
The best thing about her has always been her badassery. She's a new mom. While happy and proud, she should have seemed exhausted and ready to return to normal. The old Maya would have called out the tense situation rather than ignored it and went to Andy.
I would like to see Beckett make amends with her regarding his behavior. It's actually expected now that he's out of rehab and working on sobriety. Ever heard of the 12-step program? That's part of rehab.
One of the steps is to make amends for those you've wronged. While that was the entire Station 19, Maya deserves her own personal apology.
However, I agree that he was 100% wrong in his rushed behavior and could have gone entirely wrong. But I see where the writers were headed and how the scene played out, so it made sense.
Heather: I appreciated those scenes between them and Maya's growth. She didn't seem to expect an apology back. But his not trusting her at the scene was reminiscent of something they had done already, Jack and Rigo.
I get why they went with that. I wasn't expecting Maya and Beckett to work well together at first, but his trust issue didn't make sense to me because both are professional.
She had already wronged him terribly before, and she sincerely tried to apologize for it. I do think that as he progresses, as Sara says, we'll get an apology from him. I hope they don't regurgitate another storyline to give it to us.
Crisis One has officially been cut, and Vic has reached her breaking point. Discuss her public outburst, Theo's concerns, her being sent home, missing the ceremony, etc.
Ellie: I was expecting someone to be fired, but definitely not Crisis One being cut, so I completely understood Vic's reaction. And she was right. Crisis One is a good program that saves people in crisis. Cutting it for budget is a big mistake.
There are five episodes until the final, and I hope she will get better because she has been going through too much in this last season.
Haley: I love Vic so much. All I want is for her to be happy. Watching her lose her ability to stay silent at the mayor's press conference was hard, especially seeing Travis yell at her to try and save her from herself.
I hated that she missed the pinning ceremony; it didn't feel right without her there.
I'm still rooting for her and Theo to reunite, so I hope she'll let him help her. I'm so sad Crisis One was cut. They really did some great work, and it's an insult to Dean's memory to watch it fall apart.
Sara: I hated the way the writers portrayed Vic this season. Ironically, the person who handles the mental health issues is the one having the mental health issue with no one to help her.
Normally, Ben would be the one coming to the rescue but the writers have him in his own chaos. I don't know if the writers will write off Miller's memory like that, with this being the final season.
I can see them finding a way to get it back in the budget or finding an alternate funding source, such as relocating it to Grey Sloan.
It seems like many firefighters are starting to find alternative careers outside of Station 19. I could see a storyline where Vic's outburst gets her fired.
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Giving her the opportunity to take Crisis One elsewhere outside the city government's purview.
I didn't like seeing Vic lose her cool on camera as she did. They made her seem like she had a public mental breakdown, and that's not flattering. There were more effective ways to out the mayor for his actions.
Making her miss the pinning ceremony will be another wedge in the family dynamic of the Station 19 crew. She's been a bigger supporter of Andy's than Maya.
Oddly, the writers had her not there as support. I expected to see Andy offer a bit more sympathy and see that something is going on with her big time.
Heather: Again, Haley, you said exactly how I feel about it. They keep making things worse with Vic's storyline.
I also thought that Andy sending her home in front of everyone and saying she was lucky to have a job was very unprofessional and cruel.
That is a closed-door conversation. I like what Sara said about Vic missing the ceremony and being a bigger supporter of Andy. I find that to be true, too.
Carina doesn't have viable eggs, but Maya stated they can use hers. What are your thoughts on this big decision, their plans for their future family, and more?
Ellie: As I said from the beginning, I'm not a fan of Maya & Carina becoming moms, and so far, this storyline has been too predictable with them, so all I will say is that they will get their happy family ending on the finale.
Haley: Reciprocal IVF is the technical term for what they're describing, and it's amazing! I have lots of queer friends who have done RIVF. I love that it'll be represented on the show.
That said, finding out you can't have biological children is a devastating experience, and I wish they'd given Carina more space to grieve that. I'm excited to see them grow their family. We need a good happily-ever-after for an LGBTQ+ couple.
Sara: The writers are so invested in the family storyline with Maya and Carina, so I'm not surprised they added more drama by making Carina infertile.
It's also unsurprising that the couple would consider doing an egg swap. Several shows have done the same storyline with their queer couples.
It's always interesting to see how Shonda incorporates less well-known topics, such as the struggles of IVF and Reciprocal IVF.
I can understand why Carina is so concerned with having their own baby since they don't know if they can adopt Liam. They deserve a big family, so I hope things work out on the adoption and IVF fronts.
Heather: Can we please stop dragging all of this out? We only have five episodes left; they decided to start a family in the first part of Station 19 Season 5, so why are we dragging all of this out until the very end and continuing to pile the roadblocks on this late in the game?
We've wanted them to start a family for a long time, and the struggles of this process could have been written about more in episodes in the back part of Season 5 when we didn't get good storylines for them.
I love Maya offering up her eggs, which they had previously spoken about.
What was your favorite moment, storyline, character, quote from the hour? Do you have any additional thoughts you'd love to add?
Ellie: This last season feels like such fan service, and I'm incredibly disappointed.
I can't wait for the end of the show because I hate when a show becomes a fan service to make fans happy instead of making a great last season. And I can't deal anymore with the writing from this last season; it's SO bad.
Haley: I got misty-eyed when Carina told Liam she wished he could have met Andrew.
I loved seeing Carina balance being a mom with being a badass medical professional — she made sure her baby was taken care of and helped save lives simultaneously.
Carina asking a stranger to comfort the baby stressed me out, though; what if he'd taken Liam or something?? Regardless, she did the best she could given the situation, and using extra diapers to help stop bleeding was a genius move.
Sara: Seeing Carina have to decide to leave her child crying so she could administer medical help was an awesome moment.
But it might have made her realize she might want to step away from work to focus on being a mom. I fully agree about having a stranger -- a jerk at that -- watch her baby. There are too many freaks in the world, and you don't know if that man had any illness or mental instability.
It's so hard to find stuff to like about this season of Station 19, and I agree that I'm ready for it to end.
Everything has been off, from the calls they go out on to the character development to the dialogue. It was hard to pick out anything I enjoyed about the episode besides sightseeing the Space Needle.
Heather: I did like the guy watching Liam and the dumb things he said to him. It added a nice little comedic moment.
I was also glad to see that Travis and Ben made up. They really never fight, so I was uncomfortable with them last episode. I am also finding it hard to find things I like this season. There were moments in this episode I teared up for, but it still isn't enough to make up for some of this bad writing.
Over to you, Station 19 Fanatics!
Do you agree with our round table? Do you disagree?
Hit the comments with all of your thoughts.
Station 19 returns to ABC Thursdays with all-new episodes on May 2. You can stream on Hulu in the meantime.