Maya has literally fallen to her lowest place.
By the end of Station 19 Season 6 Episode 6, Maya had reached a new low point and was in jeopardy, but no one was there to find her. And it was after she pushed herself past her limits on a call.
The others reached a breaking point with Beckett, Ross proved to be a great mentor to Vic, and Travis may have derailed his campaign.
Many emotions were circulating with this installment as the team responded to a case worthy of our investment, and the personal arcs got more complicated across the board.
If there was hope for some resolution with any of the storylines by the fall finale, the hour put that to bed. We’re left in limbo with everything they’ve presented us.
Travis’ campaign took a turn for the worst, showing how fickle politics are and how easily a person can fall from grace.
The smear campaign Dixon lodged against Travis may have proven effective. Dixon got into the ear of the firefighting union, while Travis took for granted that they’d understand his tardiness and arguably dismissive behavior toward the meeting.
A crappy captain is a kiss of death. I know because I was one.
Theo
Worse yet, Travis’ outbursts could quickly get used to supporting the notion that he’s some belligerent guy with anger issues. He’s so resistant to Eli, and I need to understand the point of hiring the man if he’s not going to listen to anything he says.
This may be a turning point for him, and we’ll also see that Travis genuinely wants to win this. Up until this point, it felt like he was along for the ride and indifferent. But this may have lit a fire under him.
The hour was about taking action in that way and having a renewed sense of purpose in some capacity.
The fire camp program lit a fire under Jack, and we saw that spark in him that we hadn’t seen for a bit. He was so good with the girls, and he’s a natural in the position of a mentor. He has such a soothing, encouraging quality to him.
He’s still a bit lost these days, but he feels like he’s found his purpose again, and these days, when someone like Vic offers words of encouragement about his family situation and how to approach things, he tends to believe it.
We still don’t know if he’ll reach out to his sister and try to work through some of his mixed feelings regarding his biological parents. But it doesn’t seem like it hurts him as much to discuss it.
I loved that he opened up to Vic about it. She’s a great sounding board for expressing feelings and always feels like a safe space. Plus, with Dean gone, Vic and Jack feel more tied together than ever. And their friendship always feels special and endearing.
It was an excellent episode for Vic. She was a natural with those girls while teaching them about firefighting, but she shined best when she talked them through saving that family.
Vic, despite being incredibly smart, you are incredibly dramatic.
Ross
Ironically, Vic approached Ross, inspired by her story, and professing not to find her pocket or get that same feeling. But the whole time, she was proving that she found her calling with the fire camp and her leadership and mentoring skills.
She also showed that she’s the ideal person to run crisis one. Vic has probably had some of the best growth out of all the characters, and it’s a pleasure to see her shine and get her due.
She’s in a good place these days, personally and professionally. She’s a good friend, girlfriend, firefighter, and paramedic.
She’s come a long way as a character, but she’s maintained that softness that makes her so quintessentially Victoria Hughes. Too often, especially as a woman, her qualities can be used to make her the butt of jokes or imply that she’s not cut out for things.
But I love how Ross expressed how Vic’s empathy, compassion, high emotions, and so forth are among her best traits. All of these things are assets for Vic instead of liabilities.
Her moments with the girls were among the strongest of the hour, especially when she reminded them after the stressful event that their emotions and feelings were valid and okay.
It was essential to see and hear that, especially in a program designed to get more women into the field. I love how she encouraged these girls to be themselves, validated them, and showed that being a woman in the area doesn’t require them to forego what that means and can look like.
Whether she realized it or not, she inspired Ross, too. Vic and Ross are a dynamic. I didn’t realize I needed this much, and they were so good together.
Ross was at her absolute best during this installment. I wish they spent more time leaning into this part of who she is as a woman in power, boss, and mentor instead of limiting her with the Sullivan plot and messiness.
She’s a great mentor when they showcase it properly. We’ve seen it before with Andy. Perhaps, we’ll get to see more of that aspect of Ross now that she’s concluded that things can never work with her and Sullivan.
It seems like she’s opened her eyes to the situation. She knows they cannot be together the way they’d like, and it’s not fair for either to carry on with the sneaking around.
She also felt more aware than ever of how all of this could impact her as a woman in her position. It’s something she constantly has to consider. Ross isn’t unfamiliar with the sexism that bleeds through in their field.
But maybe something about seeing those young girls made her want better for them.
And we can all agree that we want better for Maya right now.
It’s reached a point where no one can ignore how unwell she is, and they were pretty vocal about it.
Theo has been on one, criticizing Beckett at every turn because of how he’s handling things with Maya and expressing his concern about her well-being. Ben was on the same page about matters, too.
Beckett and Maya were both causing issues in different ways at the helicopter called. It was already a harrowing enough ordeal that had its tragedies.
It was heartbreaking when the one pilot died, especially when he started mentioning how he could see his dead father. You could tell his death gutted Andy.
And Joshua’s case was touch and go, and he left an impact, too. Ben probably needed to hear Joshua’s admission about how he grew to resent his wife and treated her horribly, but he now regrets it.
Ben has been resenting Bailey a lot recently, and it all stems from how upset he is that he has to ride the desk now, mostly.
But Beckett was beyond an ineffectual leader in the field. His call to leave Joshua behind was heartless and showed a lack of understanding of his team.
And there was no way on earth that Maya should’ve been at the scene. Beckett didn’t even put up a fight when Andy took over and started calling the shots. It’s like, deep down, he knows that he’s a poor leader and doesn’t have any fight in him anymore.
Maya pushed herself well past her limits, and it was affecting her performance in the field. She looked exhausted and didn’t appear like someone at the top of her performance and game.
Maya was angry at Andy, but she’s angry all the time now, so what else is new?
Andy has been trying to help, something that Theo and others have attempted to do as well. But Maya doesn’t want help, and she’s still convinced she’s okay, and everyone else is the problem.
It’s nerve-wracking to see her like this. Every time she pops an Ibuprofen, there’s a genuine fear that she’s taking too much of them and it’ll cause severe problems for her.
The abuse she’s putting on her ankle is flat-out disturbing. One can’t even fathom the severe damage that she’s likely doing to herself by pushing her body beyond its limits like this.
She’s running herself into the ground, resorting back to how she used to be when she was training for the Olympics and seeing everyone around her as an opponent rather than a teammate.
Maya’s trauma and emotional abuse damage run so deep, and it’s upsetting how much it’s rearing its head these days.
She’s treating every like they’re her enemy, and she still isn’t learning how to deal with her crap healthily and productively, resorting to the old methods that clearly aren’t working out for her.
Her fall from that treadmill was an inevitability. But now there’s no one there to find her. And deep down, she’ll conclude that it’s more about those in her life who are tired of her pushing them away and less about them being busy or not caring or wanting to be bothered.
I don’t even know what else to say about Marina.
Maya was upset about Carina taking the pregnancy test without her, and it was one of those things that elicited mixed feelings. On the one hand, they agreed to do this together, so Carina going behind her back must’ve hurt.
On the other hand, Carina is tired of feeling alone, Maya is inaccessible to her, and they may not be stable enough to bring a child into this world.
Carina is exhausted and emotionally spent enough to want the truth, even when her marriage is uncertain.
The emotional distance between them only seems to grow with every passing moment.
Over to you, Statin 19 Fanatics. Sound off below with your thoughts.
If you want to relive the season until it’s return in February, you can watch Station 19 online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.