It was such an incredibly heavy hour with a subject they handled beautifully.
Jaina Lee Ortiz deserves nothing but praise for her incredible performance throughout Station 19 Season 5 Episode 15.
Her powerful performance coincided with an equally powerful hour of Station 19 and one of the series’ best.
Sexual assault is an issue that’s difficult to capture on television in a manner that feels authentic and raw but not exploitative, and fortunately, the hour captured the right tone.
From the opening moments to the shocking and dramatic ending, we were right there with Andy as she endured another traumatic event that shouldn’t hit so close to home but always does.
Why? Because as the statistics go, one in every six women has been the victim of sexual assault.
Truthfully, it’s like a sick, twisted rite of passage of womanhood because if one is fortunate enough to have never been a victim of it, you can typically bet that they know someone who has.
It was a topical subject to explore, and the timing couldn’t be any better as April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. And Station 19 pieced together a well-written hour that realistically and gracefully covered the topic.
One of the strongest aspects was how they interweaved what Andy experienced in the present with flashbacks to her past.
The events of both timelines unfurled and then intersected. We learned a lot about Helena in those flashbacks, and it was interesting to see her in a flattering light which contrasted with Pruitt.
Memories are a hell of a thing, and sometimes it requires the fog of childhood to life before we can see things clearer. Andy’s perception of her mother has always been warped, and she’s often thought the world of Pruitt.
The flashbacks added more context to things, and it worked seamlessly with the rest of the hour. You didn’t doubt for a second how much Helena loved Andy.
Her reaction to a young Andy scuffed up was so visceral that you knew it came from a darker place where she experienced her own things.
Life isn’t fair, mija. You should know that by now. You’ll figure that out eventually.
Helena
I loved when she shut down the notion that the boy that pushed and hurt Andy did it because “he liked her.” It’s such a pervasive and disturbing notion that’s so deeply embedded into the fabric of society that no one bats an eye at it.
Why do we teach young girls that a boy expresses his love through violence and violation? And in the same breath, judge women when they’ve internalized this warped view of love?
It’s so misogynistic and the epitome of upholding toxic masculinity and stripping men of accountability, restraint, and self-control.
Helena wasn’t having any of it, and she put Andy in self-defense courses so fast that her head spun. Pruitt didn’t seem to understand, and his reaction to it was alarming. It was evident that Helena experienced some form of violence, and she wanted her daughter to be able to fight back, likely because once upon a time, she could not.
And that stuck with Andy, muscle memory in a time of need, longer than her mom did. The flashbacks added texture and gravitas to the rest of the hour beautifully.
But it was such a difficult watch. The episode didn’t hold back on capturing how the system can fail victims from top to bottom.
It’s no question that Andy did everything right, but the second those outside of her friends got involved, it was like she was placed on trial.
The initial cops who responded to her were abysmal. They could have found two more insensitive men to interview Andy. It was evident that they were not trained to speak with survivors of sexual assault.
They lacked sympathy and compassion and, in many ways, respect. It was another subtle way of exploring what the series has continued to touch on: lack of training across the board in first responder fields.
If Ben weren’t there to advocate for Andy when she was still in a state of shock, things could’ve worsened, and they probably wouldn’t have taken a sexual assault kit or any evidence.
All you could think about in those scenes were how so many real-life people endure this and get this awful treatment — they get violated and invalidated all over again. They fall through the cracks.
Think of how many other sexual assault cases never went anywhere because those two officers never told a confused, troubled victim what was available to them and what the process was?
She did what I couldn’t do. She did what many of us can’t do.
Carina
It’s already bad enough those rape kits will sit in evidence rooms collecting dust too many times to count, but because untrained cops can say they aren’t prepared for this like hospitals are, any shot of justice or control gets washed down the drain when a victim isn’t walked through all the steps.
Like so many aspects of this hour, each scene was more powerful than the next. The depiction of Andy taking the sexual assault kit was enough to give you chills.
One appreciated how Carina and Helm walked Andy through the process and informed her that they would ask her consent for each part of it. It’s an important part of that process, but Carina brilliantly explained why when she informed Andy that this is their way of giving it back after control was taken from her.
It was one of the most poignant lines of the installment.
Consent is an ongoing negotiation, it’s not a contract that you’re locked into.
Carina
In those moments, all the care, tenderness, and attention were directed toward Andy and making sure that she felt safe and as comfortable as possible.
And since we know the state Carina was in before that moment, it was more touching that she pushed through her own trauma and triggers to be the professional and friend that Andy needed.
Unfortunately, while sexual assault isn’t something that exclusively affects women, it’s an ever-present part of womanhood that, if you haven’t experienced it, you’re aware and afraid that you could.
Carina didn’t go into all the details, but it was heartbreaking to learn that she, too, is a sexual assault survivor. And worse yet, she still carries the complicated myriad of emotions that came with her not fighting back.
In a few seconds and a couple of lines, the shame she felt because of that was palpable, and you wanted to reach through the screen and hold her, remind her that she did nothing wrong.
And while she could’ve confided in other people during that brief moment, it worked out that it was Jack. Not only has their unique friendship become an appealing aspect of the season, but Jack has become a bit of a safe space.
It was also essential to hear that he, too, was a survivor. Male victims of sexual assault are rarely acknowledged. They managed to address that, which gave us more insight into Jack’s background as a street kid without detracting from Andy.
But because of Jack’s general compassion and empathy, it felt natural that he was one of the people who could provide Andy the most comfort after the ordeal.
Andy, control was taken from you tonight. We’re giving it back to you.
Carina
He gave her space when she needed it, but he knew her well enough to provide physical comfort and a feeling of safety, lying in that bed with her when she needed that, too. And all without saying a word.
It’s moments like that when you’re reminded of how close and in tune the two of them are with one another. And much like when the squad rallied around Vic, lying there in silence with her, they did the same with Andy in the most beautiful scene of the hour.
The visual shot of them crowded in that room, holding space and radiating comfort, was enough to move you to tears.
At its core, Station 19 is about this family, and you can always count on them coming together when times are tough.
And they have some seriously tough times ahead of them. They should’ve called another unit to the scene when they learned about Jeremy, but it’s understandable why they poured all their energy into keeping him alive.
How sad is it that despite the circumstances and the evidence that this man attacked Andy, everyone instinctively knew that the system isn’t designed to protect victims immediately?
Andy fought for her life, reacted, resorted to fight, then flight, and there’s still a chance that she’ll catch hell for killing this man.
It’s one of the reasons why I appreciated that the series depicted her assault the way they did. His attempted rape was still sexual assault.
Too often, people diminish what sexual assault entails and assume that if it doesn’t play out in a specific way, it doesn’t count.
Not only did the hour showcase that what Andy endured constitutes sexual assault and is valid, and had all of our protagonists treat it as such. But it sadly will also lead to the realistic depiction of what survivors like Andy have to endure when the system attempts to paint it as “murky.”
You could already hear the way the authorities wanted to speak about it. The cops mentioned that “she thought” she was about to get assaulted instead of acknowledging that she was. They had already questioned her about her drinking.
In one of the most disturbing moments, they asked her why she didn’t call an ambulance for her attacker or run away from him if he was “already down.” In their minds, her job as a paramedic and firefighter should’ve superseded her reaction as an assault victim.
Sullivan: If you could do it over again, would you do it differently?
Andy: No.
Sullivan: Good. Because he’s the bad guy.
Andy will barely have time to process her trauma because now she has to fear that she could go to jail because Jeremy died.
Sullivan, Vic, and Maya defying Beckett and continuing with their treatment of Jeremy will have consequences. The homicide detectives were already on their cases and painting them negatively because of that.
It was infuriating that the homicide detectives reacted and jumped into this responding to Jermey’s death quicker than Andy’s assault. The whole thing is a potential mess for the station.
But my heart is shattered for Andy right now. The sexual assault arc was dark enough, but the element of her potentially facing a manslaughter trial — seeing her survive something so brutal only to get read her rights by the end of the hour — it’s too much to bear.
Additional Notes:
- That Sullivan and Andy scene with him reminding her that she didn’t do anything wrong and why she wouldn’t change anything was fantastic. No matter what happens between those two, that love will always be there, and it’s touching.
- Sullivan laying his threats down to Beckett was hot.
- Speaking of Beckett, when will we be done with him? He’s like the dispassionate babysitter with issues and no depth.
- In news that is surprising to no one, Jack agreed to be the sperm donor, and now we have some weird triad baby. It didn’t feel right to delve into this during this installment, but they’ve missed the mark with this storyline.
Carina: Is, is that a yes?
Jack: I think so, yes.
Carina: Are you sure?
- I adore Jack with my whole heart, and he’s smart enough to know that he would want to be involved with his child. But he deserves more than getting pulled into a married couple’s family.
- It’s incredibly frustrating that Pru is right there to be the station child, but a same-sex couple can’t simply have a baby of their own without unwittingly sending the message that they can’t be a family without the addition of a man. I’m at a loss with the direction of this.
- And it’s not comparable to Grey’s Anatomy’s Callie, Arizona, and Mark situation because Arizona came into it as a stepparent. If Jack knocked up one of them, fine, but there’s literally no reason for this.
- Humor is important to break up the tension, but Travis and Theo’s drunken antics were a bit cringeworthy and downplayed the seriousness rather than breaking up some of it.
- ‘The actress who played young Andy was fantastic.
Over to you, Station 19 Fanatics.
Was this a powerful installment? Are you shocked by that ending? What do you make of this Carina/Maya/Jack baby situation? Sound off below!
All-new episodes return on May 5. if you need to catch up before then, you can watch Station 19 online here via TV Fanatic.
The RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline is 800.656.HOPE (4673), or you can go to online.rainn.org.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.