Spoilers ahead for the April 16 episode of Station 19 on ABC, called "Dream a Little Dream of Me."
Station 19 Season 3 has been intense from the very beginning, packed with deaths, drama, and even a drug overdose. While a little lightness and romance in such a season would normally be welcome to distract from some of the heavier plots, the love story between Andy and Sullivan has totally fallen flat to me. Thanks to "Dream a Little Dream of Me," I've figured out how I think Station 19 is failing them.
Season 3 of Station 19 skipped a lot of what is fun when it comes to characters and relationships on TV shows. We were told about Andy and Sullivan's love for each other, and they were clearly attracted to each other, but it got very serious very quickly. They went from secretly hooking up to revealing their relationship to Pruitt to literally getting married. Via flashback! I genuinely thought it was a dream/fantasy sequence at first in the previous episode because of how quickly it had happened.
In "Dream a Little Dream of Me," their marriage was still a secret, Sullivan did his best to try and comfort her in the wake of her father's death, and Andy realized she didn't even know that Sullivan's parents were dead. I wanted to care about their relationship and be touched by Sullivan's care for her while she mourned. But the fact of the matter for me is that Station 19 spent more time building different arcs for the two of them, and those arcs are much more interesting.
Sullivan's struggle with drugs has been ongoing, and his fight to keep his secret even after his overdose has been compelling. He has everything to lose, and there are people who know his secret. It's only a matter of time before the truth comes out. And that's interesting, because there's been a build this season.
As for Andy, I found the nuances of her feud with Maya to be far more interesting than rushing into a marriage with her battalion chief, and Station 19 still had more story it could get out of her mourning Ryan. With her father dying before she'd fully healed from Ryan, her grief process could have been so interesting. I was thrilled to see the quick cameo from Ryan, and Andy seemed more animated in their scene than she does in scenes with Sullivan.
Obviously the marriage itself has a lot of potential as a plot, but I just wish the early stages hadn't been rushed through so quickly. We didn't get to see reactions to their relationship or a genuine proposal or really much of them other than dancing around each other at work before they gave in to their feelings, the awkward lunch with Pruitt, and at Sullivan's place together.
That's not to say that I'd trade their salsa dancing scene for anything, because wow! I just wish Station 19 took advantage of all their potential rather than rushing them into milestones. We missed the process of them having a relationship, going through ups and downs, and getting to know each other even more deeply. As it is, I'm more interested in most of the other characters' plots.
Hopefully Station 19 manages to win me over to being invested and engaged in Andy and Sullivan's relationship. There are still a few more episodes left this season, since Station 19 (unlike Grey's Anatomy) was able to finish filming its full season before the production halts. Find out what happens with the next new episode of Station 19, airing on Thursday, April 30 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
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