“Station 19” Series Finale and Shocking Surprises

Anne-Marie Fox/Disney

SPOILER ALERT: The following reveals major plot points from ABC Station 19 The series finale.

It’s the end of an era for ABC fans Station 19 and series showrunners Zoanne Clack and Peter Paige spoke to Deadline about all the decisions that were made and the surprises revealed in “One Last Time.”

If you haven’t watched the episode yet, come back later. You were warned.

DEADLINE: We have so much to discuss but I have to know, was it really Okieriete Onaodowan in the finale? I debated very briefly whether he was AI Dean?

PETER PAIGE: Disrespect (using AI), we would never do it. He was really there.

DEADLINE: How did you get him to come back?

ZOANNE CLAC: It was wonderful. We called him and told him we had this idea. It won’t be much, but it’s really important. And he said to me, “Stop talking. Yes.” So he came from New York and he did it for us. He just realized the importance of (the scene) and how deep it is.

DEADLINE: I’m looking at the shocking moments right now. Andy and Jack? Are they at the end of the game?

ZC: It’s game over for her at that point. So each character was in a life-threatening situation when they had their flash forward and saw what they needed at that moment. They saw what they needed to continue and move forward. He was always her rock and someone to lean on. I think at that point she realized, “Oh my God, it’s always been you.”

PP: In the present, you see that he takes her hand and says, “You will never be alone. » And then, at Vic’s going away party, we see these little moments of informal intimacy between them. I mean, she says her chili is better than Dean’s. If you’re not sleeping with someone, why would you say that? In my head, do we know what that looks like? I don’t know. Are they each other’s person? Probably.

DEADLINE: It’s a firefighter drama but, at its core, it’s a show about love and family. Vic and Travis ended up with an everlasting love story. Why did you take the path you took with Travis by leaving with her?

PP: It is totally true. It’s a love story for all ages. I love that there are four love stories that the finale highlights. Andy and Jack, which is the conventional romance started at the beginning of the series and ended at the end, the heteronormative romance. Then you have (Sullivan (Boris Kodjoe) and Ross (Merle Dandridge)) a Black Power couple who find their sweetness, joy and gentleness in each other. We have a queer couple (Maya (Danielle Savre) and Carina (Stefania Spampinato)) who overcame generations of fucking damage to be able to choose each other and create a life together. And then we have what I call the platon-com, which is that friendships are some of the greatest loves of our lives and they’re not celebrated enough. Vic and Travis are each other’s person and they can build lives that support that, respect that and center that. It’s a lifestyle choice absolutely just as valid as getting married and putting on a ring. Look, romantic comedy is part of the Shondaland vocabulary and we wanted to make sure we honored it in a fresh and unique way. This is my favorite moment of the entire finale.

ZC: At one point, there were many explanations for what happens when best friends break up, like when they break up. But we realized that we didn’t need to say all that because it was in their moments, in their eyes and in their actions. But this is the reality; your best friends change as you go through different stages. But it was such a strong bond and such an important friendship that they didn’t want that to happen. And the way they decided that didn’t happen was to travel together.

DEADLINE: At this point, I understood why Theo and Vic weren’t meant to be. Not because of Theo or her, but it was like they accomplished what they were meant to do together and they freed each other to be happy.

ZC: We like this to be part of your thought process, as we tried to anticipate that maybe they could get together. Maybe there was something about his injury that set her back or the time they slept together and she pushed him away. But he was so sad. As they say, people come for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

DEADLINE: Ben (Jason George) makes the important and not unexpected decision to return to his surgical residency. Can we hope to see him in Grey’s Anatomy?

PP: Like you said, I don’t think anything else would have made sense to him. That’s all I’m saying.

ZC: For Ben, it seemed like a natural progression toward what would be the end of the series. This wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t have to go. But everyone had to move forward and do different things. Move forward. And it felt like he was going to push.

DEADLINE: We see Ben proud of his daughter Pruitt on several occasions. Similar to her destiny, she was destined to be part of Station 19. What can you share about this decision?

ZC: When we decided that the flash-forward would be (Ben and Miranda (Chandra Wilson)) looking at all their kids’ different graduations, it seemed like this beautiful moment where Pruitt was going to follow in the footsteps of both his fathers. Bailey wasn’t going to be very happy about it but he understood too.

DEADLINE: With Maya and Carina, it was always the two of them against the world, except in all those moments where they were fighting. What can you share about how their story ended the way you did? They have both been through so much together and individually.

ZC: You know, initially we had two flash-forwards for each character that, because of time, we had to (cut), but we had one personal and one professional. One of the flash-forwards we had was about Maya being with her daughter and having her do some sort of sport and just being super supportive, even though she was like she was the last person to cross the finish line . So yes, the circle is closed. They’ve worked through their trauma, they’re working on things, they’re in therapy, and they’re working together for a future. We’ve already seen them go through challenges that will continue to happen, but we know they can overcome them. So it was a tribute to that.

DEADLINE: One of the biggest tragedies of the show is that we didn’t get more time with Johnny Sibilly who was perfect for Travis and vice versa. Can I imagine their happy life together?

PP: There are planes and he says he wants to travel. Travis has a vision of the three of them traveling together, so that’s definitely in the cards. We just thought Travis needed to prioritize this love (for Vic) at the moment. It is very, very possible that there is more to this story. Travis’ arc was conceived while he was making a mess. He blows things up with Emmett and Eli. He has to take care of his father and suddenly finds himself ready and open for the real thing. And Dominic Amaya walks through the door and the rest will be left to the tides of history.

DEADLINE: We’ll give you about 10 years before you start begging for a reunion. We want to see how this all plays out for them.

PP: Great.

ZC: OoOooOh.

DEADLINE: Was the burning fire supposed to be symbolic, as if everyone was ready for a fresh start?

ZC: Wildfire was designed from the beginning before we knew we were canceled. I mean, obviously there would have been a lot more cliffhangers than a season finale. (Laughs) But we had always thought about that and it became sort of a beautiful metaphor as we went through our cancellation. But there was so much to show our firefighters doing the job they were trained to do and show it in the last two episodes. Thematically, there were a lot of looping moments, like there were voiceovers in the first two seasons, so we brought them back for the last two episodes. Flash forwards either bring the past forward to move them forward, or show how their growth has moved them forward. So it was very thematic, as you say, that you had to burn everything to get them to move forward quickly. It really helped propel everything.

DEADLINE: Did you have anything else in mind for storylines before the series was canceled?

PP: There were stories. Would we have loved to do a whole story where Beckett starts dating Ginny and how they fit into the Sullivan/Ross relationship in an interesting way? Yes!

ZC: There was also a Carina arc. Remember when she took her things and went to the field? Part of the reason we filed the lawsuit in the first place was because we really wanted to get him more involved in firefighting. Maybe she was just a little apprehensive about medicine and practicing it and wanted to be out in the field more and do an EMS fellowship. She was going to dress up like probably in episode 8, and then we were going to follow her into the field and be more integrated into the show for season 8. But what we got was the finale moment, which was great, but not exactly. where we were going to take him.

DEADLINE: What do you hope viewers take away from the series?

PP: It’s right there in Andy’s last speech. The show may be over but 19 is not a show, 19 is an idea, a construction, a way of seeing the world. Keep it up. Carry it in your communities, carry it in your friendships, your relationships. Be the values, the philosophy that you loved here, be them in the world. This is the way to…