Station 19 Review: 100% or Nothing (Season 5 Episode 4)

The team gains a new appreciation for compassion and empathy on Station 19 Season 5 Episode 4, “100% or Nothing.”

The return of Tracie Thoms as Dr. Diane Lewis aids this discovery as Dean’s Crisis One program takes flight. Thoms elevates every scene as Diane pushes characters to breakthroughs they can use in the field.

However, Okieriete Onaodowan grounds the scenes as Dean’s nerves heighten around his vision becoming a reality beyond his firehouse family. 

Station 19 doesn’t avoid Dean’s feelings for Vic. Instead, it keeps putting him in the wrong place at the wrong time to see Vic and Theo together. But, the show is smart to give Onaodowan more to work with beyond that unrequited romance.

Dean is energized by this work and what it means for the world. It’s written all over his face when he sees his friends learning and succeeding.

Onaodowan does an incredible job of attempting to mask Dean’s emotions as if he gets too excited too soon, then the powers that be will rip Crisis One’s future out from under him.

It’s an incredible directorial decision to put Dean, for the most part, in the background of many of the roleplaying sessions. It reflects how he sees himself, despite being a leader of this incredible change. 

That’s why it’s so impactful for Diane to cut through that anxiety and let Dean know that she sees him. She calls him out and encourages him to sit in his joy, as he should.

Of course, 19 sees him. It’s different, though, when someone who isn’t family recognizes the work and the man behind it.

Because of that interaction with Diane, Dean can lean into that joy whenever Ben surprises him with that unbelievable opportunity.

Hopefully, if that job takes him outside of Seattle and the firehouse, Station 19 does the right thing and follows him.

It would be a shame for this to be another case like Carina DeLuca-Bishop, who has a job and a place of work but only goes there to do it off-camera.

Alternatively, “100% or Nothing” doesn’t miss a beat with Andy Herrera, Robert Sullivan, and the Surrera situation.

The married couple’s case is a little too nose to Maya and Robert’s respective marriages, but that can be overlooked considering what comes from it.

It’s nice to see Robert and Maya in a scene together where the tension isn’t so thick that you can cut it with a knife. 

If not their ambition, they would bond over their love for Andy.

As for Andy, it’s bittersweet she realizes the truth when it’s too late, but it’s that harshness that feels real and familiar to lived experiences. 

Sometimes timing isn’t on your side (Look at Dean with Vic), and it matters what you do differently with that time and the wisdom you’ve gained.

That’s a story for another episode. This one is about Andy treating herself with compassion and empathy so she can eventually do so for others.

Jaina Lee Ortiz always gives a stunning performance, especially in letting Andy’s true feelings bubble just under the surface.

That performance takes such discipline, and it’s riveting to watch.

It’s moving to watch Andy start to let it out and her walls start to fall down when Diane urges her to talk to someone — anyone. 

For the same reason with Dean, it’s powerful to see someone outside of this firehouse family validate Andy’s emotions and encourage her to get help.

“Hysterical, historical” is a concept that lets Andy realize everything she’s doing and feeling is messy and sometimes twisted, but it’s a reasonable response to such trauma.

It’s a concept Jack tries to bring to her attention in a more casual, less gentle way. His heart was in the right place.

But no matter the phrasing, Andy needs to hear the hard truth: that she’s still reeling from her mother abandoning her, losing her father, and losing her best friend. 

Those aren’t small things. They’re big, life-changing things, and Andy can’t cover them up with adrenaline and rage forever.

“100% or Nothing,” an episode that advocates for non-violent crisis intervention, is the perfect episode for Andy to realize that she deserves the same. She deserves compassion and empathy, too. 

Stray Thoughts

• Joey will get into all of his first-choice schools with Miranda proofreading his essays.
• I can’t be the only one who freaked out upon seeing Nia Vardalos.
• I hope Travis and Vic never stop bickering like an old married couple.
• Travis’s mom sends Emmett poetry, and he reads it. Could they be any cuter?
• I teared up when Robert mentioned Claire.
• It’s a good thing Vic didn’t say “Lucas Ripley,” or I would have lost it. 

What did you think of this episode of Station 19? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Station 19 airs Thursdays at 8/9c on ABC.

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