If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: It’s a life-and-death situation when a young boy falls into water pipes beneath the city of Seattle. With the clock ticking, the firefighters of Station 19 jump into action to save his life. (TVGuide)
Writer: Tia Napolitano
Director: Milan Cheylov
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 43mins
Airs: Thursdays at 9pm on CTV (Canada)/ABC (United States)
“Under the Surface”starts off with Andy and Dean reluctantly leaving Grey Sloan after delivering a patient to go deal with Captain “Fire Grinch”Sullivan. Andy teases Dean for having a crush on the chief cardiac surgeon Dr. Maggie Pierce. They are interrupted when the husband of their patient Evan runs into the room asking for his son Max who has disappeared. The police are sent out on the search as Andy and Dean scour the hospital. Word gets back to Evan that Max may have left the hospital causing him to berate Dr. DeLuca and the only person who could help is in a coma.
At the station the team talks about their newest addition and how intense he is before mid-shift line up. Travis and Grant discuss trying to get him more time off to heal, but he just wants to get back to work. Pruitt enters his old office to discuss his future position at the station, but Sullivan brushes it off and suggests retirement for the old captain. While on patrol, Ryan finds Max, but he has to chase after him before Max falls down an open manhole. This is now a search and rescue mission.
At mid-shift line up, Sullivan grills the crew from Victoria’s missing button to questioning Ben’s ability to stick to a career. He ends up putting Ben on desk duty before Travis awkwardly walks in with donuts. Thankfully, he is saved by the bell as they are sent off to try to find Max. At the hospital, Dean and Andy answer the call and head out on the search and rescue with Evan in tow. DeLuca pleads with Maggie to try to help them make sure that Max is safe and they leave the hospital to go help on the scene.
On route, Andy receives a 911 text from her dad whose big emergency is a broken washing machine. At the scene, Jack teases Ryan for losing Max before Sullivan arrives to reassure Evan that they will find his son. Andy confides in Maya about moving out of her father’s place now that he’s doing better and Maya immediately agrees and offers to be her roommate. She asks about Sullivan and Maya says he’s keeping things moving and that’s exactly what Andy wants to distract from her breakup with Ryan.
After an awkward encounter between Andy and Ryan, Jack tries to console him by saying things will get better, but he feels offended and walks off. Back at the station, Travis shows Ben his scar before Pruitt comes in and they start to discuss the new captain. Travis wants more time off, but Ben and Pruitt warn him about the captain’s quick opinions. Speaking of the captain, he calls into the station asking for intel on blueprints and water flow so they can find this needle in the haystack.
DeLuca and Maggie arrive to help with the search with Sullivan putting Maggie on father watch. He also assigns Maya to the crane if they need to use it. Andy tries to get some orders from Sullivan, but all he wants is for her to drive. DeLuca goes on the search with Dean and Victoria where Dean starts to ask him about Maggie, but its cut short by arriving at the storm drain. Jack and Maya search another drain as they bond over her offhanded compliments.
Onto Andy and Sullivan who are not getting along. She does not like the authoritative style of his command. They call into the station for an update where Pruitt has nothing, but asks what her game plan is. She is rather quiet sitting beside her new boss causing her father to switch to Spanish and berate the captain’s delegation of assets. She comments on how bad he is, getting a glare from him in the process. Sullivan totally speaks Spanish. They get something on the scanner showing signs of Max in one of the storm drains and they are on the move. Sullivan tells Maya it’s time to get on the harness.
While they are having issues with the harness, Andy and Jack hear him below prompting her to jump into the pipes harness-free. She swims over to Max, but the current takes him down a fork in the pipes. They manage to pull her out where Maya and Jack berate her for her actions. Sullivan calls into station for some quick math and they are able to find the last point of interception.
They arrive at the access point, but it’s too small for anyone to fit through. Andy impulsively suggests getting the construction records and using a jackhammer. While Sullivan ordered she wouldn’t help in this rescue anymore, he agrees to this plan. Only problem is that they are above a gas line and it’s back to square one. Andy drops a walkie down the hole to communicate with Max who is obviously scared and she knows they don’t have much time. They bond over missing their moms making Andy emotional.
The team brainstorm and they have an epiphany as one-by-one they run off to execute their plan. They drop a floaty on a harness down to Max and convince him to grab it after his dad is finally honest about his mom’s situation. Sullivan criticizes Andy’s attempt at some big swings to be the hero before Dean calls her over. DeLuca bonds with Victoria over her love life by getting her the number of a firefighter from Station 23.
At the hospital, Andy and Maggie bond over loss while watching Max laying with his mother. Dean comes and grabs Andy when Maggie confronts him about his date proposition. She turns him down, but he says he will always be just 3 blocks down the street. Travis questions if he really wants more time off after being back and that starts an argument with Grant about his recovery.
Andy playfully talks to Maya about being roommates, but Maya is furious for Andy’s actions out in the field. Andy heads up to her quiet spot where she runs into Sullivan. He says he avoids mess hall to let them have their quality time because everyone fears him. She scoffs in Spanish and walks away before hearing him reply fluently back to her. He confronts her about being a rule-breaker that the team follows and he needs her to stay in line so they will. The episode ends as Andy confronts her dad and tells him that she is moving out.
Captain’s Log
- What is Robert Sullivan’s deal?
- Will his past with Jack and Dean cause problems?
- How long will Ryan and Jack be able to resist Andy?
- Will Pruitt be forced into retirement?
- Will Travis have a setback in his recovery?
- How long will Ben be on desk duty?
- How long until Maya makes up with Andy?
- Will Dean go out on a date with Maggie?
- Will Victoria go out on a date with Mr. Station 23?
Overall, this was a good episode. This crossover event was surprisingly early in the season and it certainly packed the emotional punch. The story revolving around running from your fears and the loss of family rippled through the various members of this team and their pasts causing more of the team to bond with each other. The layers of Sullivan are slowly being peeled away and it seems like he will be a nice fit for this station so long as he gives them a little bit of a chance and opens up. With Andy moving out of her father’s house, she has closed a huge chapter of her life and hopefully the emotional baggage that comes along with it so she can focus on what matters: being the best daughter, friend, and firefighter that she can possibly be.
Score: 8/10
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