After seven seasons, Station 19 will be saying goodbye, and there’s good news and bad news heading into it: Andy (Jaina Lee Ortiz) is captain, but Jack’s (Grey Damon) life is hanging in the balance.
The ABC drama returns on March 14, and if you’re having trouble facing that this will be the last premiere, you’re not alone. Ortiz knows how hard that is, for herself and for fans. When TV Insider caught up with her recently, we talked to her about that, what’s to come in the final season, and how she thinks it will all end.
Talk about getting ready to say goodbye to Andy.
Jaina Lee Ortiz: Oh goodness. That’s really hard to talk about without getting a little emotional because I feel like she has been such a huge part of my life for the last six years, and so I think the one thing I look forward to is seeing Andy achieving her dreams and making everyone proud and being the captain that everyone knew she could be.
I love that Andy’s captain. How is that going this season?
She’s handling it like a boss. Obviously there are some new challenges and obstacles that are coming her way, but I feel like she has so much experience, number one, with having her dad as captain and growing up in the firehouse. But number two, just having all the ups and downs in the prior seasons is what led her to have this confidence and stamina for the last season.
Jack’s fate is up in the air after last season. What can you preview about what we’ll see in the premiere?
I can’t give away details without actually giving away the details. Look, this is Shondaland. It’s a life-or-death situation. Someone is always either in danger of dying or in a really bad situation, and we don’t know which direction it’ll take us. So I think I’m just going to have to keep that as a secret and wait for everyone to see. But no, Jack is definitely in the hospital, and we get to explore a side of Jack that we’ve never seen before.
What’s Andy’s most important relationship this season?
I would say Andy’s most important relationship is not with a person, it’s with a thing. I think her most important relationship is with her career, and I’ll just leave it at that.
What can you preview about Episode 100?
We get to call back on some of the things in the very beginning of Season 1. I think it’s very exciting. It’s very emotional, heartwarming, and obviously you’re going to go through the rollercoaster that you go through normally in every episode, but I feel like it’s a celebration. It’s a celebration of our characters and our stories, and it honors first responders in a beautiful way.
Do you know anything about how the series ends in general?
I actually have no idea how it’s going to end. I have a feeling we’re going to end on a high note because I don’t think anyone wants to grieve any more than they’re grieving right now because this is a lot of people’s favorite show. And I think that we’re grieving the finale in itself. I honestly have no idea. We may have a cliffhanger, but I know for sure that Station 19 will not shut down. It will still exist, which is very beautiful and hopeful and promising.
