Station 19, the seven-season Grey’s Anatomy spin-off, aired its final episode — and the conclusion wasn’t completely satisfying. I’ll admit that the firefighter-centered drama series had its fair share of hurdles. In the wake of the dual Hollywood strikes of fall 2023, Station 19’s final season was given a slim 10-episode order. For a show with seasons that are more than double that in length, the episode trimming meant that Station 19 season 7 didn’t have as much room for slow-burn character arcs or all that many world-building, character-developing subplots.
And while it’s certainly not the same 21-season behemoth as its parent show, the Station 19 series finale has me thinking about the inevitable end of Grey’s Anatomy. Despite ABC’s need to cut costs in the coming season, the network seems confident in Grey’s Anatomy’s future. The longest-running scripted primetime show currently airing on ABC, Grey’s Anatomy is a phenomenon, but that doesn’t mean it will continue in perpetuity. If anything, I really hope Grey’s Anatomy learns from Station 19’s series finale missteps — even if the medical drama’s conclusion is still years away.
Station 19 & Grey’s Anatomy’s Ensemble Casts Make It Hard To Tie Up Loose Ends
Every Character Deserves A Memorable Sendoff
With a dozen or so main and recurring characters, Station 19 had to provide closure to quite a few characters. Instead of putting one character front and center, the series finale moved frenetically between characters and subplots. For me, the well-intentioned choice backfired. In the same way Grey’s Anatomy needs a Meredith Grey replacement, Station 19’s dwindling interest in putting Andy Herrera at its center impacted the series as a whole. Protagonists like Meredith and Andy may not be every viewer’s favorites, but they help ground their ensemble shows, providing someone for the many story threads to orbit.
Grey’s Anatomy…needs to figure out a way to give its biggest characters satisfying sendoffs.
In trying to give each character a moment amid the wildfire, Station 19 provided its beloved firefighters with mere scraps. Instead of telling an emotionally resonate, nuanced story, the series finale fell back on genre tropes and surface-level conversations between characters with so much history between them. Admittedly, while Station 19’s struggle to spotlight its ensemble appropriately frustrated me, the show’s 10-episode order didn’t help matters. Needless to say, Grey’s Anatomy — which boasts an even larger ensemble — needs to figure out a way to give its biggest characters satisfying sendoffs.
Station 19’s Wildfire Plot Proves The Grey’s Anatomy Series Finale Doesn’t Need A Big Disaster To Work
The Wildfire Event Overshadowed Station 19’s Characters
Like any Grey’s Anatomy fan, I love a good season finale disaster episode, from the intensity of Grey’s Anatomy season 6’s two-part hospital shooter finale to season 8’s series-altering plane crash. Even the season finales of Grey’s Anatomy that center on would-be happy occasions, like weddings, are memorable. I can understand why Station 19 felt the need to raise the stakes with a wildfire, but it just didn’t have the intended impact. Sure, the looming disaster gave the firefighters something to band together against, but the same thing could have been achieved with a more “mundane” emergency.
When it comes to Grey’s Anatomy, closing the chapter is more like closing an era of television history.
If anything, the wildfire was somewhat distracting. Station 19 has always been about the firehouse’s familial ties, so a threat to those bonds — to 19 itself — would have raised the stakes in a more compelling way. When it comes to Grey’s Anatomy, closing the chapter is more like closing an era of television history. Instead of trying to pull off the biggest disaster episode ever, Grey’s Anatomy should hone in on small-scale drama, prioritize its characters, and keep the action centered on Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
Station 19’s Flash Forwards Didn’t Reveal Enough To Be Satisfying
The Station 19 Flash Forwards Aren’t Even Canon
Each of Station 19’s main characters experiences a moment where they’re either confronted with something life-threatening or with something that makes them consider their future. For a moment, the characters will zone out and imagine what lies ahead of them. I wasn’t a huge fan of the show’s use of flash forwards. The moments were too brief and vague to add up to anything meaningful, and the execution started to feel formulaic and overly sentimental. Not every series finale can achieve the Six Feet Under effect, and some, like Grey’s Anatomy, should find closure in other ways.
A Grey’s Anatomy Series Finale Would Need More Callbacks Than Station 19
Grey’s Anatomy Has Over 20 Seasons To Pull From
One of the best parts of Grey’s Anatomy and its spin-offs is that Shonda Rhimes’ world feels incredibly lived-in. Grey’s Anatomy does a great job of referencing past plotlines; at times, characters even call out their own ludicrous actions. It’s what myself and so many other viewers love about the show’s slightly cynical bent. While a series finale shouldn’t be just a collection of Easter eggs or self-referential moments, Grey’s Anatomy does need more of that fan service than Station 19’s finale offered. For example, I’d love to see an adult Dr. Zola Grey-Shepherd says, “It’s a beautiful day to save lives.”
Grey’s Anatomy’s Final Episode Must Include Cameos & Guest Appearances
Fan-Favorite Characters Like Cristina Yang Must Return To Provide Closure For Viewers
In my humble opinion, this is the biggest must-have in Grey’s Anatomy’s series finale. During the show’s COVID-19 era, Meredith saw the ghosts of loved ones past on her private limbo beach, allowing her to speak with her late husband, Derek Shepherd, and her late friend, George O’Malley. Needless to say, there are plenty of inventive ways for the show to bring back as many fan-favorite characters as it can wrangle. More than anything else, I need to see Sandra Oh’s Cristina Yang return to Grey Sloan and dance it out with Meredith one more time.
Station 19’s Finale Needed To Be Longer To Tell Its Story Well
Station 19 Season 7 Only Had 10 Episodes In Total
Even though Station 19 season 7, episodes 9 and 10 tackled the wildfire plotline, they didn’t air back-to-back on ABC. For me, they felt a bit disjointed, and like there wasn’t really enough time to fully explore the wildfire or sendoff the show’s characters. By cramming things into two separate episodes, Station 19’s finale didn’t quite live up to its potential. Again, the shortened season didn’t do the final season any favors, but it’s abundantly clear that Grey’s Anatomy, which will have been on the air for two decades in 2025, needs a traditional two-hour finale event.
Station 19 Purposefully Avoided Major Character Deaths In Its Finale
Grey’s Anatomy’s Divisive Character Deaths Have Been A Big Part Of The Series’ Legacy
This might be a controversial take, but I was shocked that Station 19 didn’t kill off any of its main characters aside from Kate, who got pulled into a literal fire tornado and slammed against a building. Plenty of contemporary TV shows kill off characters left and right in order to be shocking, raise the stakes, keep audiences on edge, or deliver an emotional blow. Sometimes that focus on tragedy undercuts a story or pushes a series to go for the wrong kind of closure. I was delighted to see characters like Maya, Carina, and Ben get happy endings, but I also feel that Grey’s Anatomy is so known for its divisive character deaths that it needs something big in its series finale.