Station 19 (4×05) Out of Control Review

For our review of the last episode of Station 19, click here.

Synopsis: Andy and Sullivan find a way to stay connected. Meanwhile, while off duty, the crew jumps into action to help a mother in distress, but their heroic efforts spark conflict with police officers who are less than eager to offer support. (IMDb)

The Shondaverse continues to bill some weeks as crossover events with this fall finale being one of them. However, it only references characters in Grey’s Anatomy making this just a normal week in the world of Station 19 rather than a full crossover story. This week’s finale though proves to be a very pivotal and deep storyline that will create a social divide in its audience.

The minor storylines of this episode are more or less relationships reconciling from Andy and Sullivan to Jack and Inara. It helps close the door on some open-ended will-they-wont-they stories that can finally move forward. The other underlying story is of course the fallout of Bailey’s mother passing from COVID last week. Ben is in charge of telling Tuck and he does not take it well, going as far as yelling at Ben that he isn’t his father. Thankfully through this episode, he starts to open back up to Ben and understand where he is coming from in this difficult time.

Meanwhile, the major storyline of this episode helps to deliver one of the greatest stories that Station 19 has tackled. After a day of work, the firefighters head to Maya’s for some off-duty drinking and celebration, but that is cut short by a nearby woman causing a commotion. Turns out she tracked her daughter’s Fitbit to a nearby house where an old white man (Michael Patrick McGill) might have her daughter and her friend captive.

Dean wants to intervene by any means, knowing the anxiety of having a daughter that could be kidnapped and Victoria understands. Things continue to escalate with the police arriving and siding with the homeowner. Soon the firefighters smell a gas leak and a fire erupts in the basement causing Dean and Sullivan to rush inside. They manage to save the girls, but the cops don’t see it that way and try to pin the situation on the girls starting a fire. Their mothers, irate, try to attack the cops, but Dean intervenes and the police on scene begin to beat down on Station 19 ending with Dean and Sullivan being arrested for a long list of bullshit charges.

The story itself is very powerful and manages to encapsulate the general feeling regarding police after a year of civil unrest and revolt against a broken system. The police’s inability to intervene in this situation because it is the word of a white homeowner against an unstable black mother who cannot control her child shows a ridiculous situation and yet it is the unfortunate norm that people deal with on a daily basis. They even try to convince him to finally admit it when the girls are near death because “kidnapping charges are a lot better than murder.”

The only thing that makes this story falter slightly is the acting. The firefighters are great as the mediators of the situation and determining the proper course of action (and ignoring their law enforcement counterparts), but the mother felt a little lacklustre. She is supposed to be over the top because of the emotions she is dealing with, but it just didn’t quite hit the point that was needed. It was missing that empathetic connection. Either way, it hit the mark it hoped and created a strong commentary on an issue that long predates the pandemic world they live in.

Captain’s Log

• Who will be the first firefighter to contract COVID-19?
• Will any of the main characters die during this pandemic?
• What will happen to Dean and Sullivan?
• Will Station 19 fight back against Seattle PD for their constant problematic choices?

What did you think of “Out of Control“? Let me know in the comments below!

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Dylan Phillips