If you would like to read my review of last episode of Station 19, click here.
Synopsis: As the team gathers for a Friendsgiving celebration at Dean’s, a violent windstorm touches down in Seattle. As the storm picks up speed, creating dangerous fire conditions, the crew must put the festivities on hold and report for duty, leaving some of them in a life-threatening situation. (TVGuide)
Writer: Stacy McKee
Director: Oliver Bokelberg
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 43mins
Airs: Thursdays at 9pm on CTV (Canada)/ABC (United States)
“Weather the Storm”starts off with Sullivan and Andy trapped in the aid car looking for a place to go, but nowhere is safe and as the wind picks up they slowly start to move. Flashback to earlier when Sullivan and Andy have their coffee date as Sullivan explains that he wants to feel more in sync with the team and she suggests he open up more. Don’t pour your heart out, just give us something, but when she asks about his people, he shuts down and leaves.
Ben arrives at the house, despite their separation, to board up the windows before his shift. At the lakehouse, Dean complains about his house slowly becoming a hotel, but everyone starts showing up for Friendsgiving. First is Grant and Travis, then Ben and Maya followed by Pruitt, Ryan and Greg. Pruitt complains that he hasn’t been invited over to enjoy the views when Victoria arrives and is questioned for her lack of plus one. Pruitt goes to Ryan, who received a state-wide FBI warrant for his father, but he suggests that the storm could be his excuse to have a sort-of holiday with his father. Finally, Andy arrives and wants to apologize to Ryan, but he doesn’t want to get into it.
She rants to the girls about all the awkwardness with Ryan and Sullivan, which Maya questions, but Friendsgiving is delayed when D-shift gets stranded and they need to fill in. Ripley runs the team through protocol when the aid car is called. Sullivan and Andy both tag in, but they can’t find the victim until they see she was thrown from the vehicle. They rush over and assess her injuries. They want to put her leg in a splint and move her to the aid car, but their supplies are flying around so they decide to act fast and just run her to it then work on her injuries.
While working on the victim, she remembers a necklace she left in her vehicle which prompts Sullivan to grab it from her car. He’s called back by Andy who is having problems with the victim. They try to radio in, but dispatch is down and with no viable options Sullivan and Andy have to cut open her leg to save it. They patiently wait for the all-clear order while sharing a meal together which prompts Sullivan to open up about his trauma. Suddenly, the wind picks up and the vehicle slowly starts to move. They decide to ignore their orders and rush to the nearest hospital.
At the station, the team goes through inventory as Ben complains that Friendsgiving was ruined, but the remaining party guests arrive at the station to bring the festivities to them. Greg questions Travis about his ring, assuming he and Grant are married, but they play it off as a promise ring. Ripley runs into Victoria and apologizes for having to be at Station 19, but they want to keep it professional at work. Jack walks in on them and after an awkward, silent interaction, she talks to Jack about the situation and makes it even weirder.
Victoria confronts Ben about Jack and his on-edge behaviour, but they are interrupted by a call that sends the team out. Jack breaks down about feeling trapped on desk duty, but Pruitt sees something is wrong and tries to reassure him. Pruitt and Greg talk about the last big storm to hit that prompts them to suggest a card game to ease everyone’s minds. Ryan still can’t get over his feelings of cop versus son as Pruitt tries to keep him level-headed for the rest of the day. Greg notices Ryan is being too quiet and brings up a story from the past that upsets Ryan and Jack decides to intervene and get physical with Greg.
While Victoria is obviously feeling awkward about Ripley’s involvement in the day, Travis questions Grant’s reaction to Greg’s question. That is until their vehicle is impaled by a flying tree trunk. Luckily everyone is safe, but they can’t make it to their call without getting rid of the tree in their path. Victoria and Ripley take chainsaws to the fallen tree while the rest of the team run on foot to the victim, who is trapped in a car under a collapsed roof. He went outside to get some peace from his family, which is blatantly understandable, but with the roof inching closer to the ground they need to act fast.
They cut through the boards and pry open the door while the man gets in a heated argument with his wife about his mother’s prying nature. She hears the grandmother meddling in their parenting techniques and decides to go back to the house, but not before tripping over a live electric wire that sparks one of the roof lights. Ripley and Victoria start to get over their issues of professionalism when they start to smell smoke. The rest of the team does too and they rush over to see the roof of the house is on fire.
With ashes flying through the air towards the trapped car, the team needs to act fast and get both him and the rest of the family out of there. Ben and Travis enter the house and they find the mother and the babies, but the grandmother didn’t follow behind them. Ben opts to go back in without air to find her, but she’s unconscious and the only exit becomes blocked by the raging fire. He covers the victim with his jacket and secures the room as he sees the trucks pull up.
Victoria and Maya manage to pull them out with the mother berating her husband for crowding the woman she was just complaining about. Ripley makes the call to the stations that Seattle FD is officially grounded, telling all crews to make their ways to stations or shelters. The team returns where Travis confronts Grant about not being concerned about the ring when he explains he never really saw himself getting married which visibly concerned Travis. Victoria and Ripley talk about the day and decide to be unprofessional and share a moment alone.
Pruitt confronts Jack about his behaviour, but he screams at him and wants to sleep. Greg comes to Ryan about dinner, but he brings up the warrant. Everyone sits down for dinner and Ripley says he has a special announcement. As Victoria dreads her world collapsing around her, it’s revealed that Maya will be promoted to Lieutenant and transferred to Station 23. Maya goes off to call Andy about the news, but she doesn’t answer her phone. The episode ends as its revealed that Andy and Sullivan’s aid car never made it to shelter, and they swerved off the road and down a treacherous cliff.
Captain’s Log
- Will Sullivan continue to open up to the crew?
- Will Maya leave Station 19?
- Will Ryan take in his dad or let him go and give up the relationship?
- Are Victoria and Chief Ripley going to reveal their relationship?
- What will Dean do going forward about his family troubles?
- Is Ben going to continue his careless decisions until he has something to live for?
- How long until Ben and Bailey are back together?
- Will Jack seek help for his problem?
- What is the fate of Andy and Sullivan?
Overall, this was a great episode. The idea of Friendsgiving really showed the family aspect of this crew and the lengths they are willing to go to in order to protect their own from Ben’s selflessness on the call to Jack’s protection of Ryan. The ongoing struggles of these firefighters, both professionally and personally, has both taken a toll on their psyche and helped them grow stronger bonds. With decisions looming for Ryan and Maya, the biggest cliffhanger is the fate of the two biggest characters on the show and whether or not this trauma will cause this group to become even closer or break under the pressure.
Score: 9/10
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