Station 19 Season 3 Episode 11 Review: No Days Off
Jessica Lerner
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Who knew a day off could still be so crazy?
Instead of getting to enjoy some quality downtime, most of our favorite characters found themselves in uncomfortable situations, to say the least.
It was an engaging hour, as Station 19 Season 3 Episode 11 once again proved this series is worth a second viewing.
Even though there was barely any firefighting, Station 19 demonstrated it doesn't need the procedural background 'emergency of the week' format to continue to hit it out of the park.
This installment, it substituted any sort of emergency -- save for the last few minutes -- and decided to tackle the issue of immigration and ICE in this country.
It was a change of pace, and before watching, I was skeptical.
The series tried something similar on Station 19 Season 3 Episode 10, when firefighting was swapped out for therapy time.
That attempt yielded mixed results, so it's easy to understand any sort of uncertainty when the tried and true formula is broken.
However, the deep dive into immigration was stellar.
It was a simple enough setup: The owner of a restaurant where Andy, Sullivan, and Pruitt were eating called ICE on an undocumented worker.
Andy: Robert and I would like to tell you that…
Pruitt: You got married?
Andy: What dad?
Sullivan: No, no sir.
Andy: We wanted to share with you that we’re dating. We’re…
Sullivan: We’re in love, as we know you’ve long suspected. So, I’m in love with your daughter.
Pruitt: In love? What’s that got to do with me?
Sullivan: Well, we wanted to come to you first before we go to the department out of respect.
Pruitt: What’s your plan?
Sullivan: Well, I’m going to report our relationship to Dixon, and then I will request a transfer to another battalion.
Andy: What, what battalion?
Sullivan: Yeah, we talked about that.
Andy: When?
Sullivan: Months ago. You were yelling at me.
Andy: That was way before we… OK, we’ll figure it out. Um, we will do whatever we need to do to be together, just like you and Mommy.
Pruitt: What, that’s different.
Andy: How?
Pruitt: We were in training, and I was never her authority.
Andy: I guess you made sure of that by knocking her up.
Pruitt: For the last time Andrea, I did not force your mother out of the academy. It was her choice.
Andy: What choice? What was she going to do, carry 80 pounds of gear up the stairs while nine months pregnant?
That incident alone led to a very polarizing conversation between the trio about ICE.
It was surprising that Pruitt didn't hate the federal law enforcement agency outright.
While he agreed the agents had taken things too far in the past, he still felt they deserved respect as they were government employees.
That is a take we've all heard before, as was Andy's comparison to ICE agents being the equivalent of Nazis.
From there, everything seemed to be playing out as expected until Sullivan revealed his grandfather was a Nazi.
I can't have been the only one that did a double take, as that is something I could have never seen coming.
That experience of learning his grandfather was involved in committing atrocities against a group of people solely based on their religion informed a lot of Sullivan's actions, specifically the lengths he went to save the worker from getting deported.
Many of us would have sympathized with the worker's plight, but how many of us would have dared to intervene in that way?
Ben: State of the art trauma bay on wheels – x-ray, ultrasound, auto adjusting surgical lights. Oh, oh, and ECMO.
Teddy: Wow, Ben this is going to save so many lives.
Ben: Thank you. I agree, and I need someone to run it with me, to be my partner. You made a face.
Teddy: I didn’t make a…
Ben: Uh, just a little.
Teddy: Well, it wasn’t on purpose. Man thank you, but I am running the cardiothoracic department with Pierce.
Ben: So you’re telling me you miss trauma.
Teddy: Hearts are my greatest love, and you know, my baby girl Allison is a close second.
Sullivan's bravery was enough to inspire Andy, Pruitt, Ben, and Jackson into action as all of them worked together to prevent a man who had done nothing wrong from getting deported.
Opposing those two ICE agents could have had severe consequences, including being arrested, but that didn't stop them from standing up for what's right.
Though fictional, their actions should be applauded as we should all strive to achieve that level of bravery and decency.
It was such a heroic feat that it made me like Sullivan a lot more, but then he had to ruin it with that proposal
Yes, Sullivan, sort of, low-key proposed to Andy as the pair was on their way to a five-alarm fire.
He didn't get down on bended knee or pop the question outright, but he did float the idea of marriage as a way for both of them to keep their jobs, with the added bonus of Pruitt getting to see his only child walk down the aisle before he dies.
It's a pretty crazy idea since they've only been together, officially, for a few episodes now.
While it's clear they are in love, it seems as if Sullivan wants to fast track their relationship, and Andy's in this weird enough place that she just might be willing to say yes.
Guy: Hey ladies. Name’s Todd.
Carina: Hi Todd, bye Todd.
Guy: Oh man, you’re going to go break my heart like that?
Carina: Mm-hmm.
Guy: No, you see we were just stopping by to see if we could buy you all some drinks.
Maya: We have our own drinks, thanks.
Guy: Ah cool. So you two on a girl’s trip?
Carina: Something like that.
Guy: Sweet, just blowing off a little steam.
Maya: Look man, we’re just trying to have a nice time so would you mind…
Guy: Oh, you having a nice time is all I want.
Carina (in Italian): Without fail, men are idiots.
Guy: What’s that, Spanish? I took Spanish. Hola, cómo está?
Maya: OK Todd, you want to have some fun?
Guy: Hell yeah.
Maya: If you can do more pushups than me, you can buy us drinks, but if I can do more pushups than you, you buy us drinks, then leave us the hell alone.
Guy: I like a feisty woman. I’ll do it with one hand just to keep it even.
Carina: Oh, I want to see this.
Maya: Another round of drinks on their tab, please.
Carina: And fries and mozzarella sticks, thank you.
Maya: You were right. Vacation is fun.
She's still dealing with the grief of losing Ryan and grappling with her father's impending death, so when this man that she loves brought up the idea of getting married was she really going to say no and risk losing another loved one?
The sudden proposal also adds some validity to Pruitt's notion that Andy might be replacing him with Sullivan.
It's not like Andy's swapping out one loved one for another, but the fear of being all alone might prove to be too great.
There are still so many conversations that need to be had and so many more milestones that need to be checked before the possibility of marriage should be discussed.
Again, Andy's in a weird place, and Sullivan is still dealing with his addiction.
They're barely ready to be in a healthy romantic relationship, let alone a healthy marriage.
I'm not against them getting married at some point done the road, but this idea could prove to be their undoing.
I'm also reminded of what Travis told Vic during Station 19 Season 2 when Vic was grappling with whether she should marry Ripley just so both of them could keep their jobs.
Travis was right then, and he's right now, that marriage is more than a get-out-of-jail-free card.
It's about love and devotion and commitment and shouldn't be taken likely or done just because it's convenient.
Jackson: You plan on doing plastic surgery in this thing?
Ben: Of course not but you never know when a guy’s face will get chewed off by a bear. Don’t worry man. We got a traditional bovie here to go for all things trauma. And uh look, I know trauma’s not your thing usually, but I’ve seen you in the pitt. In a crisis, you get calmer and that’s what I need in a partner.
Dispatcher: PRT 19 requested. 2924 Center…
Jackson: Wait, is that us?
Ben: Oh, that’s us, and don’t worry. It’s normal to get excited about injured people. You change on the way.
Jackson: Now? Oh, can I go down the pole?
Ben: We’ll talk about it.
It could end up being a non-issue as Andy has yet to give Sullivan an answer, but based on her history of impulsiveness, they may be heading to City Hall before the season's up.
Along with job security, they also have a ticking clock over their heads if they want to get married before Pruitt dies, so if it does happen, it will be sooner rather than later.
And speaking of marriage, that's exactly where Emmett's girlfriend, Alicia, wants to be heading with her boyfriend of six years.
It's too bad he's gay and refuses to let her know or at least have the decency to break things off, as per Travis' point of view.
It was an uncomfortable situation all around when Dixon invited Travis to have lunch with him, Emmett, and Alicia.
Travis couldn't exactly say no, as it was his boss asking.
He was forced to watch Alicia gush over how much she loves Emmett and where she sees their future going, all the while knowing the truth about the situation.
Though Travis had a holier-than-thou attitude about Emmett not coming clean, he seemed to forget that his hands weren't entirely clean.
Travis: Chief, Travis Montgomery.
Dixon: Oh yeah, right.
Alicia: Oh my god Travis. You’re the one mentoring Emmett. Ah, it’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard such lovely things about you.
Travis: Oh good, and you are?
Alicia: Sorry, I always do that. I hug people before I even introduce myself. I’m Alicia, Emmett’s girlfriend.
Travis: Oh right of course. It’s so great to finally meet you.
Emmett: Well it was good seeing you.
Dixon: Montgomery, we were about to go to lunch.
Alicia: Oh yes, yes, I’d love to hear some stories. Emmett never tells me anything.
Emmett: Well, dad it’s his day off. He probably…
Dixon: I’m sure he’d love to sit down with his boss, right.
Travis: Yeah, yeah.
It was Travis, after all, who kept hooking up with Emmett even after learning that the fire chief's son had a girlfriend.
Even if Emmett is living a lie, their relationship is very real to Alicia, and Travis was the man with whom Emmett was cheating.
In both this episode and on Station 19 Season 3 Episode 10, Travis has been somewhat open about his disdain that Emmett hasn't come out the closet yet.
While Travis isn't the type of person to out someone, he does seem to resent Emmett for not coming out to Dixon.
It's somewhat infuriating, as Travis seems to forget that his coming out caused a schism with his father when Travis no longer wanted to his father to tiptoe around his sexuality wile he was planning his wedding to Michael.
Emmett has the same fears about not being accepted by Dixon and disappointing his father, yet Travis doesn't seem to take that into consideration.
Before that lunch, Travis might have been able to ignore the fact that Emmett was seeing someone else, but now that he's met her and taken a liking to her, he can no longer stand by and continue this clandestine relationship with Emmett.
Owen: It’s a window into the whole body in the palm of your hand.
Ben: See this, this is the new stethoscope.
Owen: I raided the Pac North supply closet before I left. They spent a lot of money there before Catherine bought it. It’s yours.
Ben: Thank you man. You ready for the tour?
Owen: Wait tour? I was hoping for a test drive.
Ben: Yeah, if we get lucky, but you’re not trained yet so no sticking your hands in any bodies.
Owen: I can’t promise that, but wait, when do I get to slide down the pole?
Ben: Don’t tell anybody.
Owen: Really?
But instead of admitting that he's partly responsible for what's happened between him and Emmett, Travis doubled down and let Emmett have it.
No, Emmett shouldn't be stringing Alicia, a perfectly nice, if not a little insensitive, woman, along for six years, but there's no one right way to handle coming out.
It's a scary thing to do and something that Emmett isn't ready to do.
But instead of supporting Emmett, it seems Travis wants to drag Emmett out of the closet for his peace of mind.
It's also possible that Travis' anger is tied up with Emmett's refusal to come clean to Dixon about not wanting to be a firefighter.
Emmett has repeatedly demonstrated he's not cut out for this job but won't tell his father for fear of anger and disappointment.
Unlike the lies about his sexuality, this matter does put people's lives -- both victims and other firefighters -- in jeopardy, and those around Emmett need to be able to count on him to do his job.
If he can't, then people will die.
It seems like Travis can't separate his anger over that from Emmett being in the closet.
He doesn't seem to have taken Dr. Diane Lewis' words to heart, unlike Dean, who is struggling with his feelings for Vic.
There has been a lot of change recently for Dean, from finding out he was going to be a father to JJ abandoning him and Prue.
Jack: You guys look not good.
Vic: I need a bath, and I need an omelet, and I need a triple latte. Did I say bath already?
Dean: I need so many things, but first, here take this.
Jack: No, no.
Dean: Take her.
Jack: You know me and babies are not…
Dean: Take the baby. We’ve been getting more sleep on duty than off duty, bud.
Jack: Oh, hey look at that. She stopped crying. I think she likes me. Yep, I’m in love.
With so much on his plate, Dean, most likely, didn't even consciously voice how he felt about Vic until Diane forced him to confront his feelings, whatever they may be, head-on.
Now, Dean is questioning everything and trying to create some distance between him and Vic, which is hard since they're playing house.
Dean claims he doesn't want Prue to be confused, but the truth is he doesn't want to.
With Vic helping raise Prue and prancing around in a towel, it can be easy for Dean to forget that what he's imagining isn't real.
So to help him clarify things, he's trying to push Vic away.
However, Vic is just confused by everything going on, as she has no idea what Dean's feeling.
She thinks she's helping out a good friend, while Dean is starting to catch feelings.
Some stray thoughts:
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We've known Maya is intense and a workaholic, but it was still surprising that she had a panic attack about not being able to respond to a five-alarm fire. There's a difference between being dedicated to your job and it being your No. 1 priority.
And it seems that Maya is more dependent on her work than we thought. She was ready to travel a thousand miles just to respond to an incident. It wouldn't be a bad idea for her to try to make sense of why that is in therapy.
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Ben tried to find a fellow surgeon to partner with on the PRT, but he came up empty. Maybe it'll become a thing where the doctors at Grey Sloan just rotate through, which would be a treat for viewers. Or maybe, someone else will fill that role at a later time.
So what did you think Station 19 Fanatics?
Will Sullivan and Andy tie the knot before the season's over?
Why is Travis so angry at Emmett?
What are your thoughts on the ICE subplot?
Don't forget to hit the comments below to let me know what you thought of the episode. If you missed the latest episode, remember you can watch Station 19 online at TV Fanatic.
Jessica Lerner was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in October 2021.
