One of the strict rules in a firehouse is never to use the Q-word. So, when Chaos Kate tempts fate in the barn and suggests, "Maybe it'll be a quiet” shift, we understand why the entire team reacts in abject horror: their shift will now be anything but quiet. In “Trouble Man,” Station 19’s 99th episode, we see just how right the team was. The 24 hours that follow Kate’s casual curse are grueling and exhausting and just might be the thing to tear the team apart.
In short, this episode is phenomenal. It prioritizes emotions over big explosions, and it’s fantastic to see those interpersonal moments through the lens of director Stefania Spampinato (Station 19’s very own Carina DeLuca) and co-writers Sybil Azur and Mellow Brown. All three of them crafted and navigated the arcs of this episode beautifully, which is even more laudable knowing it was both Spampinato’s and Azur’s network TV debuts. From the impactful use of dialogue - often in place of big action sequences, to the intentional evolution from wide shots to close-ups of each character within scenes, “Trouble Man” is a masterclass in storytelling. It achieves a perfect balance between dynamic action and further development of character arcs - not an easy feat within its 43-minute runtime. It keeps viewers on the edge of their seats and cursing as the episode draws close. This is Station 19 at its finest hour. Or, rather, its 24.
Don’t Say the Q Word…
From the very start of "Trouble Man," tensions are simmering, and each call throughout this hell shift only brings them closer to a boil. Time passes differently this week, thanks to a brilliant choice by Azur and Brown, who heighten the overwhelming chaos of the 24 hours by structuring the episode with big, block timestamps that take up the entire screen. It adds to the frantic and disjointed feeling viewers get watching the team interact throughout the episode; their day feels frantic and choppy, yet their shift still feels eternal and relentless. We’re both relieved by the passage of time and accosted by the lackthereof. Let’s break it all down:
9:09 AM: The timestamp appears, and instantly we have the feeling Station 19 is in for a very stressful ride. Sullivan all but confirms it with his prescient “[it’s] one of those days…,” which he delivers to the room as the crew unloads the trucks from an early morning call. It’s okay, though, right? Andy congratulates the team on a job well done and Beckett’s newly sober and happy to be back. This is fine!
But as Andy says, it’s a full moon, which means anything and everything could happen. We cross our fingers for the team, but it’s not even 9:30am when Travis picks a fight with Ben about the state of his back, which Ben refuses to be honest about, and when a remorseful Theo rushes after Vic, seemingly apologizing for the 100th time, riling her up so much that she snaps at him in front of the rest of the station. This isn’t high school - she’s “fine” with the fact that Theo kissed Kate, though the tone she uses to let the whole barn know this suggests “fine” is something she definitely isn’t. But it’s not until Kiss-Me-Kate’s Q-word kiss of death to the team’s easy shift that we’re sure things are about to go south, and go south spectacularly. It’s only a matter of how long it takes.
Turns out, it doesn’t take long. Andy’s summoned to Chief Ross’ office where she gets a stern reprimand, Ross reminding her that she can’t have the best of both worlds with “one foot in the locker room and one foot in the Captain's office.” She has to set boundaries between herself and her team and do it quickly, otherwise she’ll jeopardize her job and the station. This is often the bitter side of the coin of any Captaincy promotion at 19 (Maya was ostracized for taking a role that wasn’t "hers," Theo made his own bed by over-managing, and Beckett and Sullivan never prioritized the Kumbaya family-type dynamic). Previous captains have had to find a balance between their roles, and it's time for Andy to do the same.
But not all previous captains had to contend with also making a 10% budget cut to the station’s annual budget, which Ross and Andy both know means layoffs are imminent for the station with three lieutenants. Letting go of any of them, especially after losing Jack, sounds and feels impossible, and Andy wears it on her shoulders like the heavy burden it is as she’s sent out to another call.
11:55 AM: The team returns from the Seattle Sewage Treatment Plant, where they got down and dirty—or at least Theo did, which naturally earns him some teasing. Ben and Travis literally step away from him on the line up that Andy calls, and it only plants the seeds for Theo’s feelings of exclusion that only grow throughout the episode. Theo stands separated from the rest as Andy tells the crew that they'll be expected to do a full inventory audit on top of the hectic day they're already having. Groans abound, but what can they do.
Andy has a lot going on, and it shows. She's tense and short, distracted when talking to Travis about his concerns about Ben and brusquely brushing off Vic's inquiries on the audits being budgetary. But Vic isn’t in much of a better mood, so perhaps it’s luckily for both of them that Vic’s questioning is cut short by a call for a possible jumper with Crisis One.
Kate and a freshly-dressed Theo are in the bunks when she propositions him for another go while they’re alone. It’s the only kind of connection Theo is really offered in this episode, but it’s the wrong kind, and he turns her down with a scoff. He’s gotten so boring, she says, and should really return to his old, fun self and leave the seriousness of 19 behind. She’s moonlighting with a new privatized agency that offers much more money and flexibility, and encourages him to consider it. But, as he assures, he belongs with 19.
The team gets another call.
5:51 PM Instead of the incident itself, we see Chief Ross is in her office at 19, fielding a multitude of calls and scrambling to stretch resources, including the aid cars that Andy requests for the gruesome and bloody derailed streetcar and multiple vehicle crashes that the team arrives at offscreen. Ross reluctantly and woefully shares that she can only commit to sending an aid car and more help if 19 can confirm there are enough survivors to warrant it. A tense and frustrated silence from Andy on the other end of the radio fills the space around Ross, until it doesn’t. Suddenly, there’s an influx of information, and while we don't witness the scene firsthand, what we see is perhaps more powerful. The camera is close up on the Chief as she takes in the anguished voices of 19: "We're recovering what we can of the driver," "There's a massive loss of blood," "Got bodies over here…two kids…requesting time stamps of death." She grips her radio tighter. She sits down. She covers her face with her hands with a shaky exhale. It’s a rough scene, and Spampinato expertly captures the palpable raw emotions. The scene culminates with Andy’s ragged voice: cancel the request for the additional aid cars. Call the coroner instead.
19 is visibly rattled upon their return. Travis vomits, Beckett breaks down in tears, and Ben’s physical pain appears to have escalated. Sullivan and Beckett have a nice moment, both in recovery, as they voice the hardships and coping mechanisms needed to survive this job while staying sober. Andy mentions setting up counseling for the team; however, any processing is short-lived, as they're summoned to their 18th call of the shift shortly after.
11:08 PM: Another call means another opportunity for Ben to lie about his injury, and it sparks another heated confrontation between him and Travis that quickly escalates into yelling. Can't we all get along? No? Well, alright.
Speaking of not getting along, a confrontation looms between Vic and Kate. It's not explosive, but it feels dangerous. Vic offers Kate a cutting, backhanded compliment, suggesting that Kate's indifferent attitude results from her being "dead inside." Ouch. This uncharacteristic cruelty further hints at Vic's struggles. It’s surely trauma that’s tilted Vic over the edge that has been building over the years, worsened by the stresses from work and her personal life. Vic retreats to the bunk room, lies down, and tunes out the world. She was bound to burn out at some point. Perhaps that point is now.
Theo finds Beckett and Sullivan in an impromptu meeting in a bunk room and is quickly shooed out. Another thing Theo’s not welcome in. Great. But it’s for a good reason. It's great to see Beckett and Sullivan be able to lean on each other as first responders and as addicts in recovery. They both want to stay committed to their sobriety, even on days as bad as these. It’s not the first time the two of them connect this episode, and we hope it keeps going.
Things are looking up, until Ben realizes their hydraulic spreaders - aka the Jaws of Life, one of their most important and expensive tools - are missing. A blame game erupts across the whole team, pushing everyone to their breaking point. It only stops once Andy is forced to give the team an angry and impassioned wake-up call. Her body language says everything: are you f****** kidding me? They can’t make mistakes like this, she admonishes. She's trying to stretch every cent they have to keep them together, and she's fed up. She’s trying to save their jobs, she yells.
The explanation washes over the station like a freezing cold shower, but they're quickly called away, leaving no time for further discussions. Or for anyone but Theo to realize Vic isn't with them.
3:32 AM: The final call of the night arrives, but tensions still linger. Interestingly, this is the first call in this episode (nearly 20 calls later) that viewers actually experience on screen. Is it for pacing? Because a Station 19 episode feels wrong without it? Or the show’s budget simply didn’t allow for the number and scale of the calls depicted prior? We’re unsure, but it’s effective. It unfolds with a small diner fire, where a frantic restaurant owner begs 19 to rescue his father trapped inside the restaurant’s freezer. Andy begins to assign positions for her team when she notices Ben grimacing in pain as he struggles to lift his gear. He can't go in. And he lied. So, she leaves him out to handle any necessary medical care, but not before confronting him. He had joked about tweaking his back in “True Colors,” blaming it on his old bones not working. But is it his new reality?
The team discovers a gas line issue that led to the unexpected explosion and as per usual, jumps in with gusto and creative thinking to get it done. But soon the only way to finish the job and save the dad is with the Jaws of Life, which they don’t have. They can’t do anything, and it pains Andy to call that in to Chief Ross. This doesn't happen often to 19, needing to rely on another station to bail them out on their own calls. The team pulls out when help arrives, all looking dejected.
7:14 AM: Vic stands in the empty barn in her turnouts, ready to go on the call she realizes she slept through. She knows she messed up. The eye contact she makes with Andy as the disheveled and distraught team pulls into the station is loaded, and Vic has the look of someone preparing for certain death. It can never happen again, Andy asserts. Vic and viewers both really, really hope it doesn’t.
Despite Theo's earlier insistence that he belongs with 19, after a day filled with chaotic calls and feeling like an outsider, he presents Andy with a solution. He submits his resignation and announces he'll have his paperwork completed by the end of the shift.
The episode’s final shot is of Andy in the Captain's chair, baffled and exhausted. It leaves us wondering what her legacy at 19 will look like. 19 is her family. Her Captaincy is what she's fought for over the years, and it's finally here. So why does it feel more bitter than sweet?
Meanwhile, at the DeLuca-Bishop’s…
Rest assured, we haven’t forgotten about Maya and Carina. Dispersed throughout the crew’s day are moments with them who are having a trying time of their own. The pair attempt to navigate the beautiful messiness of their new reality: being fast-tracked new parents with a house in disarray. It’s worth noting here that Spampinato is directing herself, which she unsurprisingly does so seamlessly. It’s a gift to get to see her shape and color the world of her own character, and we can’t help but feel like these “Marina” scenes were a little extra special.
We first see them in the nursery, and Maya is hyper-fixated on what she can fix: all the potential hazards surrounding baby Liam. Seeing a tool-wielding Maya Bishop doing everything she can to protect her family is endearing, but Carina may not see it the same way with the constant noise mixed in with Liam's cries. Covered in baby pee, she yells for Maya to put down the drill and please fetch new diapers—a scene familiar to many parents.
After finally getting Liam down for a nap, Maya and Carina briefly celebrate, only for Liam to start crying again. In the following scenes, it becomes clear that Maya and Carina have fundamentally different approaches to parenting. Carina doesn't believe in coddling children, established years ago on Grey's Anatomy. So, her desire to have her son self-soothe makes sense, as she urges Maya to let him cry it out for a few minutes to give him agency. Maya, however, counters with the research she’s done, advocating for attachment style. They reach an impasse for the moment. The conversation continues in the nursery, where Carina questions if Maya's desire for attachment parenting is linked to her upbringing. Maya’s body language goes stiff, betraying the walls her mind is quickly building up. Carina notices and calls her out for becoming defensive. Maya manages to get her own jab at Carina's upbringing before shutting down. The climax of their confrontation comes from Carina: "...you're actually going to suffocate [Liam] by shoving your insecurities down his throat." It's the final straw for Maya, and she walks away.
Maya and Carina's arguments are nothing new. We've seen them nearly every season, often resulting in the couple's most destructive and painful moments. This time, something feels different, and it should; they're in a better place overall. It's not to say that after this argument, things are all settled; they nearly resume again right after Carina sees Maya through the window coming back home, and she comes running out the door, ready for round two. Carina was left alone with a newborn, presumably for hours. She needs to release this pent-up energy. She needs to yell and fight. The tension is short-lived, though, as they quickly realize they're locked out of their house and nearly immediately hear Liam crying inside. The scene leads to a beautiful diffusion of tension and some comedic relief at the end.
As the sun rises, the two share a quiet moment. Maya breaks the silence by admitting that she's freaking out with all the new changes. She proposes a game of Truth or Scare, in which they both have to say something that scares them, and it has to be the truth. Their conversation opens up moments of vulnerability they've needed this episode - and in recent years. Carina is scared that the system might not let them adopt Liam; she's worried that she can do everything right but still mess things up. And she admits that after days like they've had with disagreements and exhaustion setting in, she fears that Maya won't want to have another baby. This last fear also reminds viewers why she was upset after Maya walked out earlier. Carina has lost almost everyone she's ever loved, and the family they're building is her greatest love. She's scared that one day, Maya might not want this life they've built. However, Maya quickly reassures her that she wants it too.
Maya voices her fear that Liam will grow up in a world full of hate, a nod to seeing her brother protest their family in "True Colors." She shares her last one with a lump in her throat: she could die on the job and never come home, leaving Carina to raise Liam alone. We can hear Carina's loud intake of breath, and the silence that settles for a moment is thick. It's a reality that Carina had to accept when she fell in love with a firefighter, but things change when you have children. It's at this moment that they both let it sink in, perhaps really for the first time. Their greatest fears are losing what they've built, their family, and their future. Though a single conversation may not completely alleviate their worries, it is a starting point towards facing their future together, stronger than ever.
Words: Mariana Weber (she/her)
Watch Season 7 of Station 19 on Thursdays at 10/9 central and the next day on Hulu or the ABC App.
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