Station 19 (2×16) For Whom The Bell Tolls Review

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

“For Whom The Bell Tolls” starts off with Andy and Maya taking care of Victoria, but when they bring her breakfast they find she is gone. Maya suggests that Andy and Maya talk about the elephant in the room, but Andy is a bit preoccupied. Each of the firefighters are seen coping with this loss from Ben and Jack looking over the water, Sullivan working out and Vic at her and Ripley’s diner. Sullivan is tasked with the eulogy, but he cannot come up with anything. This is interrupted when the wildfires of California have pushed north towards Seattle.

While preparing for shift, Jack finds Maya crying and asks her to open up, but she deflects. They overhear Dean talking to his mom, who has decided to appreciate the things he has in life. Everyone is in the mess hall discussing the wildfires when Victoria arrives and the room goes silent. She tells everyone to get over their staring, but when Travis offers her a place to stay she lashes out. Through this conversation they learn that she is deciding not to attend his funeral and the team questions her, but she deflects and races off to do chores.

Travis confronts her about this and says how cathartic the funeral was for him, but she believes she isn’t important as the secret girlfriend and tells him to stop. Ryan swings by the station to tell Andy that him and Jenna are going to San Diego for a tactical paramedic training program. He asks about her and Sullivan, but she quickly shuts that down, but is confused by his decision. En route to their call, Andy tells Ben about the structure of a firefighter funeral. She opens up about how Pruitt gave her mom a similar honour when she passed.

They break into the house to find their patient on the floor with a chandelier piercing his chest. Ben manages to saw off the excess pieces, but the patient Nate (Phillip Garcia) continues to go unconscious and makes it so they cannot move him. They manage to get him to the car, but again Nate flatlines and they need to stop the vehicle to save him. With blood leaving his body, CPR isn’t helping so Ben decides to remove the piece on the spot. He blocks the wound and manages to get a pulse allowing Andy to drive the vehicle to the hospital.

Sullivan asks Travis what he said at his husband’s funeral, but he never said a word and Ripley actually gave the eulogy. Pruitt pulls Victoria aside and tries to give his wisdom to her about attending the funeral, but she ignores his suggestions. Sullivan decides to call in Jennifer to convince Victoria to come, but she continues to ignore anyone’s advice. She cannot survive a day of being professional and honouring him.

Maya continues to cry in front of Jack and Dean and she cannot make it stop. Dean hears them bickering and calls them sea anemones, two creatures stinging each other. He gives it to them straight and they accept his words of wisdom. Meanwhile, at the hospital Andy starts to break down about the whole situation and Ben helps her calm down by relating it to surgery. Sullivan continues to feel stuck on his eulogy and asks Andy for some help. He opens up about his wife’s funeral, but Andy tells her the best option is to speak from the heart and to him.

Everyone prepares to get ready for the funeral, but Victoria is nowhere to be found. Travis confronts her on the catwalk and gives her some tough love, but she does not want to hear it. She chastises him for not listening to his own advice and still grieving over his own loss before running off. She gets stopped at reception by Dr. Schmitt who has brought flowers by for her. He gives her Ripley’s “Spending the rest of his life with her”flowers and gives his condolences. This prompts Victoria to get ready for the funeral as they decorate the firetruck.

The funeral begins with bagpipes and a massive procession with Station 19 at the centre of it to honor their fallen Chief. Victoria stands beside Jennifer as they mourn their loved one and she tells her to stay at the front with her. As the team sits down in the church, Maya opens up to Andy about being a sea anemone and they manage to patch things up. Sullivan talks about Ripley’s accomplishments, but then pushes his papers aside to talk about the man, Lucas, who he knew for so long. They ring the bells and the funeral is over.

That evening, the team goes out for drinks to honour Chief Ripley. They notice Travis has taken off his wedding ring and Dean has opted to schedule his next date with Nikki (Chelsea Harris) during this bar night. Ryan sits down with Sullivan and applauds his eulogy. Andy and Maya question where Victoria is while they discuss her potential flame with Sullivan. Travis decides he wants to try to make a bad decision this night, but when another firefighter starts to talk badly about Victoria, he punches him on the spot. Victoria heads to the diner she is always at and decides it is time to tell the manager (Shawn Patrick Clifford) who has been so kind to her and Ripley the truth of the situation.

Captain’s Log

• Who will become the next Fire Chief?
• Is there something between Andy and Sullivan?
• How will this continue to affect Victoria?
• Is Travis okay?
• Will Ben stretch himself too thin?

What did you think of “For Whom The Bell Tolls”? Let me know in the comments below!

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Dylan Phillips