Good grief, this series knows how to keep us in our feelings.
If Station 19 Season 5 Episode 8 wasn’t anything else, it was an emotional rollercoaster. You didn’t realize how much we needed a win until we spent most of the hour holding our breaths and hoping that Terrence would survive and the sweet, devoted husband and father would survive to spend Christmas with his family.
Ben was the most relatable character of them all when he took a moment to break down a bit after hearing the good news after such a close call.
It was a Christmas miracle in more ways than one, if you count the fact that Sullivan and Andy were able to have a cordial conversation with each other.
The former couple managed to communicate and have a genuine heart to heart that they’ve desperately needed for ages now. They were long overdue for it, and it made you miss the old days when they were a picture-perfect couple.
Sullivan: Andy, you’re not your mom, alright?
Andy: No, I’m not. And you’re not my dad.
They both have their fair share of baggage. It took a harrowing case and riding in the truck together to cast aside the bitterness and acknowledge how they failed their marriage.
Accountability is a hell of a thing. Andy was overdue to mention how she sought to repeat the same cycle of her parents’ marriage with her relationships in the past and with Sullivan. While it felt like she talked herself back out of that fact by the end of the discussion, it felt like some progress for her.
And for Sullivan’s part, you could feel the love he still has for Andy when he mentioned that she’s like a flame to him. What about these two makes you not want to let go of them yet?
Andy told him about the divorce papers and how she finally took them out of the freezer. We still don’t know where their future stands, as it feels like they say some things, but their chemistry implies something else. But for now, it feels like the cold war between them thawed, and they’re at a ceasefire.
It’s better than the alternative. Even Andy’s body language and aesthetic gave off more relaxed vibes like she was at peace with some things. She looked gorgeous, and her hair was everything!
It’s all the progress we could ask for when it comes to these two, and while Beckett is unfazed by serving as an obstacle or point of contention for them, maybe the door on Andy and Beckett is closed, too.
Meanwhile, Theo and Vic are struggling the most right now. You have to feel for Theo here. Not only did he learn that Vic and Jack kissed, but he’s feeling like he’s competing with a ghost right now.
Vic is emotionally inaccessible to him, and no matter how much effort he puts in, she shuts him out. The problem right now is that it has always felt as if Theo cared about and was invested in Vic and their relationship more than she ever was. It has always felt like Theo was more in love with Vic than she ever was with him.
Hughes, this program that you fought for, it’s all we have left of him! I’m not going to let you sabotage his legacy. Go home!
Jack
Dean’s death only exacerbates that, especially now that she’s facing that Miller was in love with her until the day he died. It’s bringing up so many things about what might have been, and as much as she claims she wasn’t in love with Dean, she keeps bringing all of this up.
Understandably, Theo cares enough about Vic that he wants to be there for her, but he’s also tired. His emotional needs aren’t getting met here either, and it sucks that he’s around people who are closer to her than they are him. He doesn’t have anywhere to turn when voicing his frustrations with Vic.
And he’s trying to be sensitive to Vic’s feelings, but she’s not giving him anything to work with here. He had every right to ask her point-blank if she wanted to break things off with him. She kept bringing up that she’d understand if he didn’t want to be with her anymore because of her grief and the thing with Jack.
But Theo saw through it, and he could sense that she was putting it off on him.
Whether she realized it or not, she kept putting it off on him as if it was his choice if the relationship ended, and he’d become the bad guy if that happened. It made it seem like she wants an out from him, but she’s too nice and doesn’t want to be the one to call it quits, so she hopes he does it instead.
Vic: I don’t want to push you away.
Theo: But you are.
Vic spirals when she’s grieving, and the hour was evidence of it. Things were incredibly awkward between her and Jack, but most of it fell on her, who couldn’t check back into the job and do things as she should have. It was her first day off of desk duty, and it didn’t seem like she was ready.
As much as she’d like to think the makeout with Jack prompted him to bench her, Vic’s behavior during that crisis call was unsatisfactory and dangerous. The whole point of the response team is to deescalate situations, and Vic did the opposite.
You felt for her and Amy. You could tell it was a domestic abuse situation, and they had to move cautiously; otherwise, they’d endanger Amy and the baby more than provide aid. But Vic’s temperament and emotions got the better of her, and she exacerbated the situation rather than diffused the issues and followed protocol.
When she snatched the baby and refused to give it back to the father, the call got out of hand. And her panic attack outside the homemade you want to reach through the screen and hold her. Vic is not okay, and no one expects her to be, but she can’t pull it together right now, and Jack had every right to ream her out about it.
Theo: Are you in love with him?
Vic: Gibson, no.
Theo: No, not him, Miller.
He seems to be better at compartmentalizing. Initially, it seemed like he would be the one who would turn into his first day back on the job in poor shape. His drinking is concerning, and it’s bound to catch up to him at some point.
Once he shared why he was as angry as he was, you sympathized with him, too.
Pru’s custody is still up in the air, and if it doesn’t go in Ben and Bailey’s favor, it could mean that none of them will get to see that darling little girl for some time. She’s a part of Dean that they won’t have access to, but the Crisis One program is Dean’s legacy on the job.
It’s the one thing Jack to cling to that reminds him of his brother, so there’s no way in hell he wants anyone, including Vic, screwing that program up when it took so much blood, sweat, and tears to get it off the ground in the first place.
Vic’s grief is not only tearing her apart, but it’s impacting her close relationships. By the end of the hour, Vic at least seems aware of her downward spiral, and she can own up to how much she’s struggling.
The turning point in her relationship with Theo is interesting, and while there was no direct answer on how they left things, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they couldn’t salvage their relationship. Vic isn’t in the best place for a serious relationship right now, which leaves her in an intriguing position.
Will she continue to spiral a bit and make some questionable choices, and where does someone like Jack fit into the equation since they’re both having a hard time? It’s a Shondaland show, so it’s doubtful they’d introduce a Jack and Vic element if they don’t intend to give it some legs and play with it more.
You have to give a shoutout to this show for the two queer couples serving as the stable, loving, happiest, and healthiest ones. Even if Emmett’s painting of Travis in bed was not, Travis and Emmett are the cutest.
They’ve hit a stride in their relationship, and it warms the heart when you consider how long it took them to get to this point. And now that their storyline involves Travis’ family, there’s a permanence to their relationship that’s assuring.
And Carina and Maya are the It couple of this series, and nobody else can compete. They’re just so freaking happy together; it’s infectious. Their scenes leave you beaming long with them, and when everything has been so emotional this season, it’s a relief that we have this slice of happiness with these two.
Their announcement to the other was sweet, and it was the perfect end to their day, especially after that case.
Every and now and then, you get so emotionally invested in a call it makes your stomach twist and knots. Terrence was one of those cases. He was funny, kind, and sweet. All you wanted was for this man to survive and make it back to his family.
If he died, I would’ve been inconsolable. He had that effect on almost everyone there.
It physically hurt to see him pinned between those cars, but every second he spent talking about his beautiful wife and family had you wishing and hoping that he’d make it out of this alive. It had you supporting Ben in every choice he made.
It’s no question they needed the PRT, and Carina continues to be a godsend put to use well when she’s at the station or on the scene, and she gets to show off her medical skills. It was the first time we’ve ever seen her perform a general surgery outside of her skill set, and she and Ben made a hell of a team.
After Dean’s death, no one wanted to watch another father die, and indeed not around Christmas. Ben would’ve made the call and performed that surgery whether he had the clearance to do it or not, and while his willingness to break the rules and risk his career gets old, this time, you rooted for him.
Upon learning that Terrence died, his reaction was enough to tear the viewer. It was so much that tied into that particular case and Terrence, and after everything they’ve gone through over the months, they simply needed that win.
That siren means life, okay? In this situation, In this moment, that siren means life. He’s alive.
Maya
But there also seems like there could be more trouble on the horizon. Beckett shared that the captain had to step down, and now there’s a woman in charge. We don’t know who it is, though.
She was the one Beckett talked to when they needed to get the okay to implement the PRT. And she’s supposed to drop by and check things out soon. But as of now, she’s a virtual unknown, and those never bode well.
The hour proved that they didn’t have to rely on a massive cliffhanger to pull off an engaging midseason finale.
Over to you, Station 19 Fanatics.
What did you think of the winter finale? Do you think there’s still a chance for Sullivan and Andy? Is it the end or Theo and Vic? Hit the comments below.
Station 19 doesn’t return until February. 24 If you want to relive the drama until then, you can watch Station 19 online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.