Station 19 Season 2 Episode 15 Review: Always Ready
Jasmine Blu
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Buckle your seatbelts, friends. I don't know what direction this review will go.
If there were ever any doubts about the Grey's spinoff being a Shondaland production, then Station 19 Season 2 Episode 15 put that to rest.
Oh, and they also put Lucas Ripley to rest along with the sweet love story that was Vicley.
While the first part of the crossover event, Grey's Anatomy Season 15 Episode 23 brought a lot of humor, the second part brought about pure absurdity, a heaping dose of flashbacks, and then all of the pain it could manage.
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The Station's portion of the crossover was weaker in comparison. In many ways, the crossover special could've been an hour and a half long episode of Grey's Anatomy with a handful of Station 19 characters guest-starring, and it would've have been sufficient.
It was absurd how long it took to track down Vic. In the age of technology where we're in constant communication with one another whether we want to be or not, it's ridiculous how the series dragged on Vic and the others finding out about Ripley.
They're first responders; it's their actual job to be available. They have no excuse for being unreachable at all.
Vic's moment helping the suicidal woman was a mere contrivance to keep her unavailable longer than she needed to be, and it also served as foreshadowing when Quinn gave her the toy car to remind her that she too was small but strong.
You're strong and you can handle this, OK? Just like the toy car. You're tiny but strong.
Vic
The hour also dropped a brief scene where Miller confirmed he knows about Maya and Jack. Everyone knows about Maya and Jack. They're terrible at hiding this relationship.
Plus, Jack lives with Miller, so how the heck did they think they were getting anything past him? Those crazy kids are something.
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Also, based on how intimate Andy and Sullivan were looking while at the hospital, Ryan now knows she and Sullivan are on the cusp of being a thing. Sullivan will seek comfort from Andy after the death of his (not) best friend.
So, the other 'ship that has been building for much of the season may be coming into fruition as the 'ship many fans have come to adore crashes and burns in a poetic and melancholic way.
From the sounds of it, the acid in his lungs due to the terrible chemicals in that fire he was in, meant he never stood a chance. The first time he goes back to his roots in firefighting, and this is what he gets in return.
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Fortunately, he checked himself into the hospital Miranda went to when she had her heart attack (which brought back memories for Ben and prompted him to leave a touching voicemail message to his wife). Maggie repeated history and charged into the hospital as if she owned the place and made her demands.
Maggie is exceptional, and I don't care what anyone says about her. She's a badass doctor, and she will raise hell and go to hell and back for her patients and her people.
Flashbacks introduced us to Ripley's sister Jennifer who Vic met before at their diner. We caught many glimpses of the happy couple on their first date, him talking about his previous marriages and why he wanted his third one to be the real deal, and some of their sexytimes too.
Holy crap they were such a smoking hot couple together. The final flashback where they exchanged "I love you" was the perfect knife twist though.
Vic and Ripley were a couple who had plans, and no one understood them as well as they understood one another. It's why Jennifer coming into the equation hot, angry, and ready to shred Vic was infuriating.
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She jumped to conclusions, and instead of focusing on her brother's health, she spent too much time being vindictive and cruel to Vic.
It's one thing to be pissed off at Vic for not answering the phone (and I'll admit, Vic's behavior was childish), but she shut the rest of the station out too. They are like a family, and she knew how her brother felt about them, the job, and Vic, but she did it anyway.
Vic: I was really ready to spend the rest of my life with you, Lucas Ripley.
Ripley: At least I get to spend the rest of my life with you.
I can't blame Vic for needing a moment to release her feelings. The callback to Meredith giving Andy a moment to scream and cry in a supply closet was a beautiful touch. Andy was able to repeat it with Vic while she stood guard.
Overall, the friendship displayed throughout the entire hour was beautiful and emotional. Andy was steady as a rock for Vic, and Montgomery and Vic's friendship remains one of the best parts of this series.
Montgomery knows what it's like to lose the person he loved most in the world. It has been years, and he still mourns the loss of his husband.
If anyone could get her out of the chair and taking those steps towards Ripley to say goodbye, Montgomery could. Even though she knew Ripley didn't stand her up, and he probably planned on accepting her proposal, she couldn't face him if it meant saying goodbye.
It was moving when Montgomery guided her to Ripley's room, and the scenes between the couple were gutwrenching. They had plans for their life together.
Sullivan: Hughes, he's asking for you.
Montgomery: Hey, it's time. Before it's too late.
Vic: I can't. I can't move.
Montgomery: Hold on to me. I got you. Just focus on me. You can do it.
He wanted to marry her, and they were happy together. Everything had fallen into place until it didn't. Their last exchange together was both heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time.
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Barrett Doss and Brett Tucker were phenomenal during their scenes. It didn't make the situation sting any less though. We had this buildup for this great couple, and then to have it ripped away in a way that felt more emotionally manipulative and enraging than anything else is frustrating.
While Ripley is a favorite of mine, and the pairing was adorable, his death felt needless. I can't find a reason for why he had to die so suddenly like this other than shock value.
It felt like something to wring out all the emotional angst possible, and since the series hasn't had an emotional death of this caliber before, they tried to follow in the footsteps of their sister show, and it didn't feel authentic for them.
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I can appreciate how great the acting was, and it was emotional, upsetting, and tragic, but it also was irritating as hell. I can't figure out if I'm sad right now or pissed off. I'm leaning heavily towards the latter.
This was supposed to be our beginning. I messed it all up.
Ripley
Ripley made peace with his impending death. He didn't seem to react to the actual news of dying at all. He also made amends with Sullivan.
It was nice to see the two men make up, even if it took Ripley to be on his death bed for it to happen. It sucks they never got their beer together, but then again, Ripley didn't get a lot of things he should've.
The most meaningful moments he had were with Vic and Sullivan, and I guess his special goodbye to his little sister happened offscreen. We could've sacrificed a flashback for some Ripley family time.
Jennifer didn't come across the most likable, and Sullivan had to be utilized to explain why she was mean despite it not justifying her behavior. Ripley didn't have close moments with the other members of the team, so their lack of presence made sense.
Sullivan: I wasted so much time being angry at you.
Ripley: You don't need to apologize.
However, the sweetest scene of the hour which made the situation all the more devastating was the team having a cuddle pile session with Vic. The shot of her in the center while her teammates/family surrounded her was a beautiful one.
I suppose you cannot have a series about first responders without losing a member of the team, but it was a frustrating death nonetheless. Not to mention how upsetting it was for this tragic love story.
We shall miss Lucas Ripley and his incredible head of hair and swoon-worthy smile.
Over to you Station 19 Fanatics. How do you feel about Ripley's death? Are you upset about Vicley coming to a tragic end?
Share your thoughts and reactions in the comments below.
You can watch Station 19 online right here via TV Fanatic!
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
