Station 19 Season 2 Episode 6: Last Day on Earth Review

If you would like to read my review of last episode of Station 19, click here.

Synopsis: Just when Ryan agrees to talk it out with his dad, Greg Tanner makes an unexpected visit to Station 19, leaving Ryan and others confused. In an effort to connect with his crew, Capt. Sullivan enlists the help of an unlikely source for some bonding tips. (TVGuide)

Writer: Phillip Iscove

Director: Steve Robin

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 43mins

Airs: Thursdays at 9pm on CTV (Canada)/ABC (United States)

“Last Day on Earth”starts off with the various couples dealing with their situations. Ben is running, trying to keep his head up about Bailey and Victoria sneaks out of Ripley’s place while he’s in the shower. At the station, Ben arrives early to find Jack on the floor. Apparently neither of them can sleep, but Ben diverts the conversation away from his problems to help Jack with his stretching. Andy meets Ryan for breakfast where his father is supposed to show up, but he doesn’t want to wait.

As the station fills up, they discuss their relationships and swagger which Victoria and Ben both avoid chiming in on. Andy confides in Maya about worrying what the fallout will be for yelling at Sullivan and she has no positive comments to cheer her up. Sullivan calls them out to lineup as they discuss what Andy’s punishment may be. He walks down the line and stops out Andy, gives her a glance, but then turns his attention to Ben. He asks if he wants to sit out the shift because he worked an overnight with D shift who are apparently really weird, but Ben declines and says he’s good to go.

Sullivan puts everyone on cleaning duty, except Andy who he calls into his office for a private meeting. As he brings it up, a call comes in that Andy has to take and their conversation is conveniently delayed. During cleaning, Victoria opens up to Jack about her complicated situation without naming names to see what he thinks is the best course of action and he says to talk to the guy about it. Jack wants info on who this mystery man is, but Victoria won’t reveal anything.

Maya and Andy return from their adventurous aid car call to find Pruitt is there to talk with Sullivan so again their conversation is delayed. Andy doesn’t have much time to react though as Ryan’s father Greg enters as a walk-in looking to be checked out by Pruitt. Turns out he planned to meet them that morning, but he got into some trouble. He won’t let them do an exam and continues to ask for Ryan, but Andy won’t bug and plans to figure out the truth.

Sullivan brought Pruitt in to ask for some advice on how to connect better with the team. He suggests joining them for meal times, ask about their personal lives and find whoever the glue is because if they are on his side the rest will follow. Meanwhile, Ryan arrives at the station to question his father who gives him a very sketchy excuse about being jumped by some teens. Pruitt comes out to see the group chatting and he shows his feelings towards Greg instantly. With him out it means Sullivan is free to chat, but another aide car call sends Andy out the door.

Travis, Dean and Ben receive a call where an overly anxious woman got her hand stuck in a garbage disposal. She’s constantly second guessing them so this possibly can’t go wrong right? The woman is talking with her rebellious teen daughter, who reveals a fresh tattoo that enrages her. The daughter turns on a blender to frighten them all before walking off. She talks about needing her other half to feel complete in these situations and that obviously hits Ben hard. Dean treats the daughter’s infected tattoo and tries to reason with her that her mother is trying her best. With Dean back helping, the three of them reassure her that she’s doing the best she can with her daughter as they manage to free her hand.

Andy and Maya arrive at their call where a man named Clark has fallen off a running trail and can’t get up. They ask him to turn up his music so they can find him and they see he’s been impaled and is bleeding pretty badly. They act fast to rescue and treat him, but he needs an air evac. Problem is their walkies aren’t working so Maya improvises and they use the car’s mechanical tow hook to pull Clark up the cliff to the road and get him the helicopter he needs.

Pruitt continues to treat Greg as Ryan chastises his father’s decisions. As things get heated, Pruitt asks Ryan to help him grab some ice. Andy returns to the station and gets into a heated argument with Greg about his destruction of Ryan’s trust, but Ryan overhears. Luckily, she’s able to leave the conversation to another aide car call. Ryan wants to hear the truth from his dad, stop with all the lies. Greg reveals that he’s in trouble in Florida and is a wanted man. He’s using this borrowed time to try to make things right with his son before it’s too late. As his father leaves, he learns that he was telling the truth about intervening and being attacked by a group of teens. Greg does not make it too far as Andy and Maya find him unconscious in the elevator. Ryan anxiously watches while they manage to treat Greg and bring him to a stable condition, but he’s admitted to the hospital.

Back to Victoria and Jack as it’s his turn to open out about his re-emerging insomnia, but they are interrupted by Sullivan who tries to start a conversation about their hobbies and personal lives. This awkward encounter is interrupted by a call, but Sullivan says they’ll continue in the car. At the end of the call, Jack starts to have a panic attack reliving the events of the skyscraper, but when he snaps out of it neither Victoria or Sullivan were aware of his episode.

In the truck, Travis asks Ben why he’s been overworking and overrunning himself and he reveals to them that Bailey asked him to leave for her health and sanity. After earlier saying he isn’t a hugger, Dean grabs Ben the moment they get out of the car and embraces him. Victoria asks if Jack hopes to get some more sleep, but he diverts to ask about the mystery man. She seems interested, but hesitant because of how complicated it is. He calls and Jack noticed the name on the phone, but he doesn’t make a big deal about it.

Andy and Maya reminiscence about their day as Andy sees it as most likely her last day on earth. Victoria cheerfully joins in, but their conversation is cut short by Sullivan summoning Andy to his office. She talks first and tries to defend her passion for the job. Sullivan explains how he could have punished her, demoted her, but he thinks this should be a growing and learning experience for the both of them. He wants the respect of his team and it starts with her so he asks her for a coffee date and she accepts. The episode ends with Dean and Jack inviting Ben to live with them and the three of them going for runs.

Captain’s Log

• Will Sullivan continue to open up to the crew?
• Will The Beast within cause Maya to cause a rift between her and her team?
• Will Ryan forgive his father before it’s too late?
• Are Victoria and Chief Ripley going to try to make their relationship work?
• What will Dean do going forward about his family troubles?
• How long will Ryan and Jack be able to resist Andy?
• How long until Ben and Bailey are back together?

Overall, this was a good episode. The fate of Andy’s confrontation with Sullivan was the big cliffhanger looming over last episode and in typical TV fashion that mystery was drawn out for the entirety of this episode. Luckily, the way it was drawn out seemed justified as it shows that these characters don’t just sit around and talk to each other all day, but actually work a pretty demanding profession. The drama surrounding some of the relationships on the show became known to others on the crew which shows how tightly knit this firefighting family is. The biggest development was seeing Sullivan’s change and hopefully this removes the unnecessary tension between commander and team making for a more cohesive unit at Station 19.  

Score: 7.5/10

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