Well, it finally happened.
After over two seasons, I finally felt an emotional connection to Jack.
There have been moments here and there where I sympathesized with the guy, but Station 19 Season 3 Episode 4 knocked it out of the park.
Now I am officially on #TeamJack, and maybe even weirdly on #TeamJack when it comes to him and Andy.
After a devasting and heart-wrenching, last time on Station 19 Season 3 Episode 3, this episode continued the trend of me needing to have a box of tissues at the ready.
Sullivan: Andy, there was a lot to consider in this decision. You only get one shot at the job. One shot to impress. One shot to move up. I thought you should take some time to … to process your grief.
Andy: Process my grief? Copy, sir.
Sullivan: This is not an order.
Andy: Understood. Is that all, sir?
The flashbacks to a young Jack went from sweet and touching to heart-breaking in one fell swoop.
Frequent viewers know Jack grew up in the foster care system and bounced around a lot, but this episode shined some light on what was supposed to be his forever home.
He came so close to getting everything he ever wanted — parents, siblings, a safe place to call home — only for it to get ripped apart.
Not only did he lose the closest thing he’s ever had to parents in a devastating fire, but he and his foster siblings ended up getting separated after their parents’ death.
It was a one-two punch if there ever was one.
So, naturally, he would be affected by the young siblings’ plight, who he found living together in a homeless encampment.
He related to what those children were going through on a deep level and seeing everything unfold must have triggered some bad memories from his childhood.
However, unlike how he dealt with his PTSD from the skyscraper fire in Station 19 Season 2 — refusing to deal with it head-on until he was finally forced to confront his inner demons — this episode saw Jack taking a more proactive approach.
Jack: I can’t believe he chose her as captain. I can’t think of a worse leader.
Ben: Stalin? Mussolini? Kim Jong-Il?
Jack: Well, you wait. She’ll put them to shame.
Ben: Come on, man. Bishop’s good at her job. She’s a little intense, yes, but she’s not a monster.
Jack: And she basically stole the job from her best friend.
Ben: No, no, she got promoted. That’s not stealing the job.
Jack: Look, Maya is a team of one. The only back she has is her own.
Ben: You sure this isn’t about you and Maya?
Jack: That has nothing to do with that.
While it’s probably a good idea for him to call his therapist, he did open up to Andy about some of what he was going through
He didn’t tell her the whole story about what happened to him as a child — although it’s possible she already knows — but he did bring her to the place he used to call home.
That, in a way, was more powerful, as Jack openly shared something painful about his past with Andy.
When the series first premiered, one of the reasons I didn’t love the Andy/Jack pairing was because they had little chemistry and no foundation to build their relationship on.
Viewers were told they had been together for six months before Jack was set to propose, but we never saw any of that.
We just had to trust The Powers That Be, and by that point, they hadn’t earned our trust.
Now, Andy and Jack are in a place to rebuild that relationship from the ground up.
Though Andy is hung up on Sullivan and grieving Ryan and Jack is still sleeping with Eva, there were hints that something could happen between them in the future.
Jack: I hate that Ryan died. I hate it for the world. He was a good dude, a good cop. And I hate it for you.
Andy: Thanks. Me too.
Jack: And I hate that it cost you your promotion.
Andy: Mm. Story of my life: Men who think they know what I can and cannot handle. We saved a woman this shift. She was having a heart attack. I was there, pumping her chest, watching the blood rush back into her lips, and I felt nothing. What is that?
Jack: Some days, the job breaks you, and some days, life breaks you. Sometimes, it’s too much to feel at all. Or to feel any of it.
Like I’ve mentioned, I wouldn’t be opposed to them trying again, especially when we get to see it from the beginning.
Also, they’re now bound in a way few can understand: They’ve both suffered incredible loss.
That sort of pain will form a unique bond, and it seems like they will be leaning on each other for support.
While living together may not prove to be the best idea, but it’s the best thing for both of them right now.
At this point, Andy and Jack are sort of all the other has.
It’s both sad and comforting in a weird way.
Andy, of course, is mad at Sullivan for promoting Maya over her and angry at Maya for accepting the position.
Sullivan may have thought he was making the right call, but Maya proved to be a terrible captain her day out.
Jack: Yes, that was me on the Wheaties box. Thanks for noticing.
Travis: Boy, you’re awfully blonde for a captain.
Vic: I’m tall, and I’m serious. I haven’t smiled since 1990.She was more like a coach training athletes for the Olympics than a fire captain.
It’s clear that while she’s a fierce competitior, she doesn’t understand the limits of those around her.
Just because Maya can push herself past her breaking point, doesn’t mean she should force that upon others.
Yes, there are certain things that firefighters are expected to do, such as running practice drills and staying in shape, but the way Maya handled the entire situation was hard to watch.
It felt like she needed to prove to those around her that Sullivan made the right choice in promoting her, so she tried to overcompensate in every way.
Maya also probably felt like she needed to prove that to herself, as she expressed serious doubts over whether Sullivan promoted her because she was the most qualified, something that wasn’t helped when the battalion chief didn’t answer her question.
If Maya doesn’t shape up, she’s more likely to crash and burn than succeed. In that event, it could be Andy’s time to step up to the plate.
Someone else who was forced to step up was Dean when a pregnant JJ showed up on his front door.
Until JJ takes a paternity test, I’m not entirely convinced Dean is the father.
Station 19 exists within the Grey’s Anatomy universe, and on Grey’s Anatomy right now, Amelia is dealing with her own storyline regarding the father of her unborn child.
With Krista Vernoff at the helm of both shows, nothing should be off the table.
Regardless of Dean being the father or not, JJ’s return will cause chaos in his life, especially when his parents find out.
Dean’s parents are not going to be happy that their son is having a child out of wedlock with JJ, a woman Dean’s mother has yet to give her stamp of approval.
Their first impulse will probably be for Dean to take a paternity test, and if he is the father, they’ll most likely insist Dean get married.
All of that family drama should make for some interesting content.
Lastly, Dixon continued to his reign as worst new character.
He wouldn’t even consider giving Pruitt workers’ compensation, just so the poor man could have something to leave his daughter, and tipped off the press and police about the fire department’s “community service.”
Too many cancers aren’t being covered for guys my age. We spend our lives running into burning buildings, breathing in toxic fumes, ingesting carcinogens every day, absorbing them through our skin. We do it knowingly and willingly. We do it to save lives, but when we go down for it, it should be covered.
He’s generally unlikable in a way Sullivan never was.
When Sullivan got introduced, he was the tough as nails captain who went to great lengths to distance himself from the team.
He was hard on everyone, especially Andy, but he never went out of his way to be cruel.
Over time, he opened up, but I can’t really see Dixon softening.
The new fire chief hopefully won’t be around that long, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he stays for the rest of the season.
At some point, he’ll most likely be dethroned, and that day can’t come soon enough.
Some stray thoughts:
- Kudos to the writers for the continuity. I liked how this episode revisited some past plot points and shed some light on them, such as how Jack knows sign language, as revealed in Station 19 Season 2 Episode 17, and the real reason Pruitt sold his house.
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With more people learning of Pruitt’s cancer, the former captain is running out of time to tell his daughter the truth before she learns it from someone else, most likely Sullivan. When that happens, expect things to hit the fan
