The following contains spoilers for aaa Season 6, Episode 17, “All These Things I’ve Done,” which debuted May 11 on ABC. The following also contains mentions of suicide.
Sean Beckett has been a contentious figure on Station 19 since joining the cast in Season 5. In Season 6, Episode 12, Beckett was removed as captain and sent to a rehabilitation program when he was caught drinking on the job. Beckett was generally disliked by fans for the disrespectful way he treated the first responders under his command, so many fans were relieved to see him sent away. Beckett was absent for several episodes but returned in Season 6, Episode 16, “Dirty Laundry,” when he announced he wouldn’t be seeking his captaincy back.
With Beckett’s return, Station 19 completely subverted audience expectations. The Beckett who viewers had come to know was self-involved and did not care about comradery between any of the other members of the firehouse. Most notably, he was attached to his position as captain as he clearly enjoyed being in command. However, the Beckett who returned to Station 19 not only didn’t want his captaincy back but admitted fault for what he had done and even gave Theo an ax that his old captain had given him. After focusing on rebuilding Maya and Carina’s relationship through Mays’s mental health recovery, Station 19 turned its attention to Beckett’s mental health.
Station 19’s Beckett Revealed His Humanity
In Season 6, Episode 17, “All These Things I’ve Done,” Vic came to suspect that Beckett was planning on ending his own life. By way of intervention, she decided to show up at his house and spend the day with him. Beckett begrudgingly allowed her to help clean out his garage, which led to the pair bickering and then bonding. Vic and Beckett’s scenes during Episode 17 were very moving and humanized Beckett in a way that he never had been before. Before Season 6, Episode 16, Beckett had been written as a fairly one-dimensional character. He had been portrayed as not caring about others such as when he targeted Maya amid her emotional crisis or refused to extend sympathy to Jack when Jack was lost and depressed.
The Beckett presented in “All These Things I’ve Done” was a much more complex and fully human character. The audience got to see him as a person who collects records and enjoys playing basketball instead of just a cranky captain who is rude to his fellow firefighters. It was also revealed that he had experienced trauma that he had been carrying around with him for years, trauma that had led him to emotionally withdraw while on the job. Beckett told a heartbreaking story of finding two deceased children while on the job, a story that would make almost any viewer feel sympathy for him. Underneath the rough exterior, there had always been a character with depth.
Beckett’s Redemption Had an Inspiring Message
At the end of the episode, Vic got Beckett to agree to check back into his program so that he would not go through with ending his life. While Beckett may not have always courted popularity, he was struggling with alcoholism and, as Vic discovered, was suicidal. Beckett needed to show accountability for his actions, as he had done real harm by drinking on the job. But it was just as important that the show portrayed Beckett as worthy of redemption.
Station 19 reminded the audience that everyone is deserving of a second chance. Vic may not have liked Beckett before he was removed as captain, but that didn’t stop her from being there for him when he needed it. Because the audience learned to root for Beckett over the course of the episode, viewers can learn to extend compassion to those who are struggling but haven’t always made the best choices. Just because Beckett made mistakes doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get the chance to start over.
Station 19 very easily could have kept Beckett as an antagonist. Instead, the show made the more challenging but rewarding decision to depict the humanity behind a character who the audience had come to hate. While Season 7 of Station 19 will have new showrunners, hopefully, it will continue to highlight mental health struggles in a meaningful way.
