Critic's Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
The Sullivan and Ross situation is about to come to a head, and it won't be fun when it does.
They threw a few twists and turns at us during Station 19 Season 6 Episode 14 as it was an installment that covered the full spectrum of emotions from one storyline to the next.
Travis officially conceded, and the shocking love triangle between him, Andy, and Eli imploded as quickly as it showed up; Sullivan may bail, Jack collapsed, and Marina is still pulling off their latest rendition of a slow burn.
In a surprising turn of events, the shocking love triangle they introduced after Travis and Eli's steamy hookup is over as quickly as it was presented to us.
We spent much of the hour waiting for that moment when the two friends realized they were somewhat involved with the same guy. And we got some classic Vic amusement when she pieced things together and then attempted to get both her best friends to drop Eli like a bad habit.
Fortunately, the situation didn't cause any real issues or stir up tension between Andy and Travis. It was abundantly clear that Travis never would've done anything had he known, and Andy recognized that she had shut Eli down. They had no official promise or exclusivity because they hadn't even started anything.
Eli didn't come out of this looking too hot, and the downside to this arc is that he managed to escape any conversation with either of them to address the fact that he knew they were friends and had jumped from one person to the next.
Eli: Congratulations, Mr. Montgomery, you’re the next mayor of Seattle.
🔗 permalink: Congratulations, Mr. Montgomery, you’re the next mayor of Seattle.
It was such a dick move on Eli's part. His ability to go the whole installment without ever facing a consequence or having significant conversations with either Travis or Andy about his thought process or feelings was disappointing.
Travis was practically giddy for a bit, and Andy was excited about the opportunity to start dating again. And Eli didn't give either of them anything about the personal aspect of his relationships. He only focused on getting the council member to concede before Travis took it all, unofficially taking Seattle's mayor role.
We didn't get much of Eli's personal feelings about anything until he expressed his outrage that Travis conceded and opted to leave the fight for mayor up to the council member with actual experience in all of this.
Eli was livid, but at least Travis negotiated a job for him, whether Eli processed that information or not.
The only nitpick about Travis conceding is that it was too risky to pull something like that without knowing if the other guy would actually win.
The whole point was for them not to keep splitting the Progressive vote so that one of them would stand a chance against Dixon.
But who was to say that Travis wasn't infinitely more popular than the other guy, thus defeating the purpose of giving that honor to someone who is lesser known or popular?
The scary thing with this maneuver is it could still pave the way for a Dixon win. Politics are always unpredictable in that manner.
However, Travis got deep into the trenches of this election before it hit him that he's not cut out or prepared for any of this. He definitely was overdue to come to his senses about this.
Ross: Did you think I wasn’t going to find out that I wasn’t going to notice that you took a job on the other side of the state? Or was this just to punish me because you didn’t get your way?
Sullivan: Do you really not get why?
Ross: Well, I thought the idea was to keep our relationship quiet so it wouldn’t affect our careers.
Sullivan: I guess that only applies to your career, because mine is now on hold.
🔗 permalink: Did you think I wasn’t going to find out that I wasn’t going to notice that you took a job on…
Travis was never prepared for what the job entails, and he loves being a firefighter too much to try to be mayor. They poured a lot into this storyline to cast aside now, but there was no way it could continue either when Travis showed no genuine desire to win and freaked out the moment he essentially did.
He made the right call in conceding to the more experienced person who deserved it.
Do you know what Jack deserved? A conclusion to his story.
He took such a hard fall when that call came in, and he slipped on the food someone from the other shift left on the before.
He cracked his head well, and it was annoying that he's a first responder with some medical training who spends most of his days around other first responders and EMTs, and he didn't consider telling someone about his fall and head injury.
Why are men like that?
He was feeling sick for his entire shift, his behavior getting worse by the second, and he still didn't want to get checked out for what was likely a concussion.
It was such an odd storyline that they worked on, especially for them to avoid revisiting or concluding it. And it felt like they didn't know what to do with Jack as a character.
But it did lead to the fire at the station, and Theo's blowup was offputting. He knows that no one would intentionally set the station house kitchen on fire, yet he accused Andy of that anyway.
Theo has gotten so out of hand that he must spend quality time with Diane. When did he get like this, and what specifically prompted it?
Theo's attitude is horrible; it's killing the team's morale for different reasons than Beckett's.
Why does it feel like he's had a total personality change? His reaction to the fire in the kitchen was out of this world.
He and Andy going back and forth about her being insubordinate were enough to make one want to scream. Andy hasn't given Theo any reason to imply that she'd undermine him just for the hell of it or was intent on disrespecting him as a leader.
Theo going so far as to imply that Andy purposely set a fire at the station to make him look bad was unfathomable. Theo's paranoia about Andy came out of the blue almost as quickly as his poor attitude, and I hope we get to the bottom of why.
He's not a fun captain, and the irony of those feeling he'd be the least controversial is that he has this batch of people wishing that Andy or Sullivan was in charge instead.
Everything they thought they were getting with Theo dissipated with this man who keeps second-guessing his own choices, with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove at every turn.
But what continues to be the agitating aspect of Theo these days is how he speaks to Vic. He's been horrible to her for a while now, and it's a far cry from the man who was so doting and loving with her before.
Carina: The answer to anything in this country is not more guns.
🔗 permalink: The answer to anything in this country is not more guns.
He's rude, condescending, biting, cold, and perpetually irritated with her very presence. Vic has done nothing to deserve this treatment, and she's as blindsided as we are about his behavior.
She was trying to play mediator and smooth things over, and he cut her down to size for even approaching him. For Vic's sake, Theo needs to get his act together and understand why he's been like this. If only he'd communicate.
It was so satisfying when Andy finally went off on him, calling him out for his behavior and telling him that Ross did offer her interim captain before settling for him.
He needed to know that Andy wasn't jealous or out to get him; if anything, she's been one of his biggest cheerleaders. The realization that he wasn't the first choice humbled him real quickly.
Andy and Theo were so close when she was at the other station, so it's disappointing that he's been treating her this way or implying that she has ulterior motives or is somehow out to get him.
That particular paranoia for him stood out enough for me to start wondering if they're entertaining some form of mental health issue with Theo, too.
Something is going on, and we need to know what it is. But for now, he's serving as interim captain at a time when he feels least cut out for it, and it's not faring well for the rest of the team.
Sullivan's bitterness over the whole ordeal is more intense because he's watching Theo flail in this position. He knows he would've been better cut out for it, and he spent most of the hour expressing his hurt and frustration that he wasn't considered.
Even the others were wondering the same, whether it was Jack or Andy.
Sullivan and Ross got to talk through some things when he finally addressed how he felt about her passing him over, and their love story is just so complicated.
Sullivan is throwing a temper tantrum right now, and it's unfair to Ross. He was the one who said he could support her through all of this, wait for her however long he had to, and understand the importance of their relationship staying under wraps for the sake of her career.
Maya: I know this is not a first-date conversation, but you are my conscience.
Carina: And that’s why you trust your partner. They mirror back the best version of you.
🔗 permalink: That’s why you trust your partner. They mirror back the best version of you
They've gone over all of this, so for him to be in his feelings this much and act like a child, taking things out on her when he knows why she did what she did, is ridiculous.
And Ross has every reason to be annoyed that Sullivan keeps acting as if their inability to be together only affects him.
She has just as much at stake here and is missing out as much as he is. Yes, it benefits her career, but she's hurting too. Sullivan said he could do this and handle it, and now he's proving that he can't, and that has to be disappointing for Ross.
You could tell how much this was getting at both of them because they weren't even as cautious as usual about their relationship and staying away from each other.
The awkwardness of Jack interrupting them that one time was palpable.
Sullivan seeking out potential jobs on the other side of the state was a slap in the face to Ross when he didn't even tell her he was considering that.
Their relationship issues are overdue to come to a head, but you want them, especially Ross, to get out on the other side of this unscathed. You just want this woman to be happy.
When she expressed how much she loves Sulivan and wants to marry him and everything, you felt how much this was eating away at her and how deeply invested she is in this relationship.
They're not just in a happy fling; it's the real deal for them. And they deserve to be free.
So there has to be a way for them to use this blackmail situation to their advantage and still find happiness. Neither of them is prepared for the storm coming their way now that Dixon is set on exposing them.
Maya confiding in Carina about the blackmail was a great step for her, especially when she acknowledged that Carina is her conscience.
Although she reached out to the union and left some messages before doing all that, this opportunity challenged her a bit.
But ultimately, she didn't want to get the position again with such sordid, underhanded means. It's a mark of her growth and the work she's been doing.
She shared everything, and the photos with Andy, though, and she's unable to control what Andy does with all of this entail.
Andy was livid when she learned that Sullivan had been lying about Ross to her this whole time. And she feels like he's jeopardized the whole house with his actions.
But it almost felt like Andy channeled all of her anger about Eli, the Travis situation, putting out a literal dumpster fire, and more into getting angry about this.
Did she expect Sullivan to tell her the truth about something like this? Can she understand why it's so sensitive?
Now Maya and Andy have to devise a game plan, which will likely consist of giving Ross a head's up because regardless of how either of them feels about all of this, I doubt they'll want to screw Ross over.
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Amid all of this drama, Maya nearly forgot about her first date with Carina, and it was one worth remembering between the food they missed out on because of the fire and getting that call to help Pam.
What were the odds that Carina would have to go deliver Pam's baby along with Maya?
Maya was purely jealous when she heard that Carina went out for drinks with Pam and that she considered Pam a new friend.
Maya's comeback about knowing all of Carina's friends was funny.
It was a surprise that Maya didn't expose herself as Carina's wife. And Pam not overtly flirting with Carina in front of Maya as she did before was a missed opportunity.
It was an exciting call because we had the high stakes of getting the baby positioned right and delivering them in such a difficult setting, along with the arm extraction component.
Andy: If I had known what Theo would be like as a captain, I would’ve taken the job myself.
Jack: Ross offered you the job?
Andy: Don’t repeat that.
🔗 permalink: Don’t repeat that.
And we also had the fun of Sullivan and Ross on the scene trying to work together amid their fight with Maya stewing over Carina's bond with the patient. Ben is still in his feelings, understandably so, because he's worried about people coming after Bailey and his family.
Maya and Carina's date didn't go according to plan, but they could do another one.
Like Andy, what their doing is definitely weird, but I like it. It feels nice to see them build their relationship back up slowly and bask in this stage of just getting to know each other again.
They're getting the chance to nurture their relationship, nice and slow, giving it a chance to blossom into something healthy and beautiful with this fresh start they have.
Ross: Did you think I wasn’t going to find out that I wasn’t going to notice that you took a job on the other side of the state? Or was this just to punish me because you didn’t get your way?
Sullivan: Do you really not get why?
Ross: Well, I thought the idea was to keep our relationship quiet so it wouldn’t affect our careers.
Sullivan: I guess that only applies to your career, because mine is now on hold.
🔗 permalink: Did you think I wasn’t going to find out that I wasn’t going to notice that you took a job on…
Who knew a married couple going back to the basics of dating again would be this sweet? They're both having so much fun with it, too.
Over to you, Staton 19 Fanatics. What does the future hold for Ross and Sullivan? Was that the last we saw of Eli? What is Theo's deal? Sound off below.
You can watch Station 19 online here via TV Fanatic.