SPOILER ALERT! This publish accommodates particulars from the one centesimal episode of Station 19.
After final week’s grueling 24-hour shift, Station 19 followers had been most likely hoping for a heartwarming story to have a good time the collection’ one centesimal episode milestone. Nicely, that’s not precisely what showrunners Zoanne Clack and Peter Paige had in thoughts.
When the episode begins, everybody continues to be reeling from their final shift. One thing is clearly nonetheless occurring with Vic, Ben and Travis are nonetheless on the outs, and Maya is attempting (and failing) to elevate everybody’s spirits. To make issues even worse, Andy informs everybody that Theo has left Station 19.
However wait, that’s not all. Actually minutes later, Natasha tells Vic that the Seattle Hearth Division is eliminating Disaster One as a part of their finances cuts. Someplace in there it’s additionally revealed that Ben is probably taking steroids, presumably for his again harm. That’s positive to come back again to chew him.
At this level, it’s possibly 5 minutes into the episode and, simply whenever you suppose it couldn’t get extra grim, it does. Andy’s pinning ceremony, which must be a contented affair, is interrupted by an influence outage and a name that the Area Needle is on hearth as a result of an influence surge on the sub station throughout the road. Nobody is absolutely in the best way of thinking to be dealing with this, however they rush out to the scene anyhow.
Vic and Travis head for the elevator, the place there’s a group of individuals caught mid-air. One younger man is having a panic assault and, as Vic is propelling down to assist them, the girl inside begins to have a seizure. She requires backup however, in the intervening time, it’s simply her attempting to handle a reasonably chaotic scenario. Tensions develop between the husband and the younger man having a panic assault, as a result of the younger man retains taking Vic’s consideration away from his spouse. Finally, Maya and Beckett arrive as backup, however they’ve bought their very own points, as a result of Beckett doesn’t appear to belief Maya all that a lot.
In the meantime, Robert and Ben are headed into the fireplace. Earlier than they will handle it, the fireplace surrounds them and the hose they had been utilizing runs dry. It’s trying fairly bleak for them and, after an explosion within the room, everybody on the bottom begins to panic. Andy, who had been struggling to handle the scenario and was positively doubting her place as captain after that final tough shift, jumps into motion and leads her staff inside with extinguisher spheres, saving the 2 males on the eleventh hour.
After all the things is beneath management, Mayor Osman holds a press convention exterior the Area Needle to thank the SFD for his or her laborious work and guarantee the general public that all the things is okay. Besides, all the things isn’t nice. Vic blows up (figuratively, after all) in entrance of the gang, telling them that Disaster One is the explanation she was capable of assist these folks within the elevator, and Mayor Osman is attempting to get rid of it. Again on the station, Andy orders her to go dwelling and minimize her shift early.
In the course of the commotion after his rescue, Robert drops the engagement ring he’d gotten for Natasha, and she or he finds it on the bottom. Again on the station, she lastly lets him suggest to her.
And as if all that isn’t sufficient, Carina’s been coping with a disaster of her personal all day after an impatient driver tried to hurry round her in a parking storage solely to slam into one other automobile and significantly injure the folks inside. She helps them out and, simply as she’s decompressing from that, she’s knowledgeable that her eggs aren’t viable, so she gained’t have the ability to do IVF. She’s devastated, however Maya means that they use her eggs to get Carina pregnant as an alternative.
Lastly, the episode ends with Andy’s pinning ceremony. This time, there’s not a name to interrupt the particular second.
Deadline spoke with Clack and Paige about crafting the one centesimal episode and what to anticipate as the ultimate season of Station 19 attracts to a detailed.
DEADLINE: When you considered what you wished the one centesimal episode to be, what had been a few of your objectives?
ZOANNE CLACK: Our objectives had been to be an iconic episode for an iconic milestone, coping with an icon of Seattle. So we actually wished to provide justice to the town that we’ve got been defending for all these a few years and simply actually make it action-packed and a number of staff constructing. That was sort of the purpose, but in addition we had a earlier thought that Peter likes [to share].
PETER PAIGE: I believe the purpose was with the one centesimal, we wished to be the most effective of all the things that the present is. You need to be essentially the most action-packed, essentially the most emotional, you need nice humor, you need nice character progress, with all of these issues working at their very, very, very highest degree. So you might want to put the staff in a extremely attention-grabbing, difficult scenario. We talked first about going to Korea. Two of our characters are half Korean. We thought that will be actually attention-grabbing private alternatives, and we are able to create a firefighter alternate with a South Korean station and create some attention-grabbing motion the place they’re preventing fires in unknown circumstances. We simply thought that may very well be actually, actually cool.
We couldn’t get it collectively within the period of time that we had after the strikes earlier than we got here again, after which we had been like, ‘Okay, we’re setting that down. What can we do this we’ve by no means executed earlier than, that takes the present to an 11?’ One of many first ideas that got here to us was what if we save the Area Needle?This factor is inconceivable, and it was terrifying. I’m not gonna lie, two days earlier than we began capturing this, I used to be like, ‘Now we have to rewrite this. That is loopy.’
CLACK: However I’ll say that the Area Needle folks had been wonderful.They helped us type by all of the little nooks and crannies of the Area Needle and precisely what was occurring there.
DEADLINE: Talking of character progress, Episode 4 is so pivotal to the expansion that occurs in Episode 5. By the point this episode begins, they’re all at their wits finish.
CLACK: It’s in regards to the staff being fractured and having Andy on her management journey, having to convey all of them collectively. Additionally simply having such an incident that they need to rely on one another they usually have to appreciate what’s actually at stake from them being fractured. I believe the proper imaginative and prescient of that was the distinction within the pinnings, from the start when it was very rote, very simply mechanical, after which on the finish when it was emotional and actually heartfelt. You could possibly actually perceive the journey that they went by from Episode 4 to the tip of Episode 5.
PAIGE: We actually considered Episode 4 as a springboard into the one centesimal. We very particularly, within the structure this season, we knew we wished an actual nadir at that second in order that ascending the literal Area Needle, the literal tallest construction in Seattle, would really feel even larger. I do suppose we did that basically efficiently. We wished Andy to have an enormous, large, large fail, which is one thing that 19 is just not used to, and positively she is just not used to. However it simply makes the victory all this sweeter.
DEADLINE: What’s going on with Vic? That public outburst throughout the press convention is definitely going to get her in scorching water.
CLACK: Nicely, Vic has gone by a lot simply within the entirety of the present historical past. She usually will deflect it with humor and not likely undergo it — push it down, push it again. However she would at all times be there for everybody else. Then after all when she took over Disaster One, she began taking the psychology [on]. So she was actually there for everybody else and that is sort of a mirrored image of placing all of that on your self. Not only for Vic, however for anyone who’s going by this type of burnout, empathy fatigue. It’s simply beginning to actually gnaw on her.
She has this historical past with Disaster One the place Dean began it, she took it over, she pulled it as much as the place it’s now. That was the one factor that she was holding collectively. In her skilled life, she was nonetheless on it. She was doing fantastically. She had one little crack in the midst of saving the folks on the elevator, however she pulled it off utilizing her Disaster One [training]. For [Mayor Osman] attempt to use that as the explanation [they saved the day] but in addition realizing that he has taken it away, that was simply the final straw for her. She’s gonna undergo a journey.
PAIGE: I don’t suppose we are able to even say it’s her backside simply but.
DEADLINE: With these cuts looming, there was already a lot stress. I can’t inform if her outburst will make it worse or higher, or possibly worse then higher?
PAIGE: Nicely, the mayor ain’t joyful. The third line of Episode 6 is, ‘We’re attempting to avoid wasting your job.’
DEADLINE: So, issues are solely getting extra intense. We’re not taking our foot off the fuel pedal.
PAIGE: Not but. Yeah, we solely have 10 episodes, so we needed to get as many miles out of them as we may.
DEADLINE: There may be a number of strife on this episode but in addition some joyful moments. Robert and Natasha are lastly engaged. Why was this the best second for that to occur?
CLACK: Natasha has been on this tug of struggle with the mayor, AND she’s been forwards and backwards. She’s been giving somewhat piece of herself away. She’s not been who she actually desires to be, not been her finest self. So, on this episode, she sees that Robert is about to die. She understands why she’s been saying no on a regular basis up thus far, as a result of she loves this man. She desires to be with him. However when she realizes that he’s about to die, and that she’s been giving little items of herself all of this time, she realizes what she wants to maneuver ahead, and that’s what she requested for.
She’s very literate together with her wants, and when she confirms that he’s capable of give it to her, then she will be able to transfer ahead. Sullivan has simply been this stunning, great, mild, humorous character all through the primary half and so he’s not giving up. It was as much as her to know why she was saying that. I believe in that second, she was capable of perceive herself higher and due to this fact was capable of open up extra for him.
DEADLINE: I’ll say, her wants had been very legitimate as a girl. To see him validate her was nice.
PAIGE: I’m so glad. I really like the softness that they permit for one another. These two troopers, who each of whom might be actual laborious asses. There’s a second in Episode 6 the place they even discuss it somewhat bit, who’s the uptight one, [and] are teasing one another. Individuals are very multi-dimensional, and it’s been very nice attending to crack him open and see his playful boyishness. It’s such a stunning shade on Boris, the actor. I’m so grateful we bought to place it on the present.
DEADLINE: What the heck is happening with Ben?
PAIGE: What is occurring with Ben? Ben is holding secrets and techniques. Secrets and techniques should not good.
DEADLINE: I do know that everybody at Station 19 can be so disenchanted in him however all I may take into consideration when he pulled that needle out was that Miranda goes to kick his a**.
CLACK: [Laughs]. Nicely, Miranda Bailey does seem on our present.
PAIGE: Any time Ben is holding secrets and techniques from his mates and Miranda Bailey, you may have purpose to be involved.
DEADLINE: Maya and Carina lastly appear to be getting a contented ending on this episode after going by some points within the final episode. How did you come to the concept that Maya ought to donate her eggs?
CLACK: We’ve had plenty of discussions. It was like, possibly Maya may get pregnant however then she firefights. Can she be on the desk? How boring would that be? We’ve simply actually set this tone for Carina that she actually wished to truly carry a child. So we figured one of the best ways to have the each of them collectively can be to have Maya donate her eggs. I believe that egg donation is just not one thing that’s quite common to debate overtly, however that ladies do all on a regular basis. So we thought it was actually an attention-grabbing strategy to each have the companions collectively and totally collaborating as a staff on this IVF course of, and produce up this egg donation factor that’s hardly mentioned publicly.
DEADLINE: It was a candy second for them, particularly as they’re actually new to parenting, deciding that regardless of the hardships they’re going through with Liam, they’re dedicated to rising their household.
PAIGE: Like we stated, we wished the one centesimal episode to the touch on all these iconic storylines that we’re carrying by the your entire collection, and that was actually one we wished to have an enormous pivotal second.
DEADLINE: As you talked about, the pinning ceremony on the finish is absolutely stunning, as is that they montage of Andy. Why was that the be aware you wished to finish on?
CLACK: We’re simply trying again at all the magnificence that was and can proceed to be.
PAIGE: It’s 100. This present begins with Andy’s ambitions to change into captain, that’s the place it begins. And right here we’re 100 episodes in, it felt basic to the structure of this collection, trying again somewhat bit on what she’s been by to get to this second sporting her father’s badge.
CLACK: I additionally suppose that since we made her captain in Season 6, and this was such a pivotal episode and the pivotal second, we wished to reset that. She is captain, and now that she’s actually come into her personal after coming off of [Episode] 4, the place she was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do that.’ To have had her victory, it was simply completely set with that pinning the place she’s like, ‘Sure, I can do that.’ Now the second half can be how she’s going to do that.
DEADLINE: So, we all know we’re not taking our foot off the fuel pedal. Is there anything you possibly can say in regards to the last 5 episodes?
CLACK: I believe extra of Station 19 — the chaos, the motion, the love, the neighborhood. There’s a number of neighborhood within the again half. Quite a lot of simply the staff coming collectively to go towards exterior forces and be stronger collectively.
PAIGE: It’s a present about household, basically. It was vital to us, I believe, to have a look at the ways in which households develop and alter and evolve, and the way they will evolve in methods which are tough and painful and delightful and vital all on the similar time.