Station 19 Review: Started from the Bottom (Season 5 Episode 9)

Station 19 Season 5 Episode 9, “Started from the Bottom,” introduces Seattle’s first female fire chief and sets up the dominos for the show to tackle sexism in firefighting even more directly.

All the while, the characterization of each member of the firehouse family is an excellent continuation of the rest of the series.

There are plenty of callbacks to their pasts and how that informs their present and futures.

Plus, “Started from the Bottom” is one of Station 19‘s most seamless crossovers with Grey’s Anatomy yet. So basically, there is plenty to love about this episode!

Sometimes it can be challenging to join an established show this far into its run, but Merle Dandridge fits in perfectly as Fire Chief Natasha Ross.

It’s exciting to watch how she lights a fire under Stations 19 and 23 and how they try to rise to the occasion.

Not to mention, Natasha makes history as the first woman with such a title in Seattle. Still, she’s cool, calm, and collected. She commands power better than Beckett ever could.

Station 19 packs all of that pressure, notability, and passion into a character who has to make calculated moves to clean up the department and maintain her position.

Natasha needs capable people she trusts in leadership positions, so her past with Robert (which hopefully we’ll learn more about soon) works in favor of his promotion.

It is a major blow to see Robert get a promotion over Maya, but that feeling of upset lends itself to the larger conversation Station 19 seemingly wants to have about women in this field.

Though, it’s good to know Robert and Natasha’s history isn’t the only reason he gets the promotion because he is a good firefighter. Still, that doesn’t lessen the sting of Maya DeLuca-Bishop losing that spot all over again.

It becomes all the more frustrating when “Started from the Bottom” sees Ben Warren break the rules again to save a life and receive minimal pushback.

Ben Warren’s big heart and impulsivity are two of the best things about him, and without both of those things, Owen might not have been saved in such a timely manner.

Alternatively, Ben’s rash actions could have made everything worse — something people keep telling him. Yet, he keeps acting out in the name of saving lives — something Maya did, too. 

The difference is that Maya got demoted, and Beckett makes Ben schedule a few appointments with Dr. Diane Lewis. Travis echoes something similar about Vic, as she must stay home, but Travis got to heal at the firehouse.

There is a lot to unpack in all of those situations. Unfortunately, a lot of it boils down to sexism. Having a female fire chief doesn’t erase or reboot the system that works against certain people and favors others.

So, it’ll be great to see how Station 19 works to dismantle misconceptions, exhausted biases, and so on — like it continues to do with the PRT, Crisis One, and the budding healthcare initiative. 

The latter brings so much to the show and gives Carina more to do. Additionally, it creates space for more Carina and Vic scenes we have waited for since that brief one before Marina’s wedding.

Seriously, Ben Warren, Jack Gibson, and Carina DeLuca-Bishop are the trio I never knew I needed! That scene where they encourage each other to get angry about their unfair funding is all I need to know that Station 19 needs to give us a lot more of them.

Plus, Carina joining in with Jack’s yelling is a nice callback to when Maya helped Carina yell it out after Andrew’s death. Travis’s refusal of a promotion because of the potential deadly calls he’d have to make, i.e., Michael is also a good callback. 

Nevertheless, it’s logical to have a doctor on-site as patients always wander into the station. It just so happens that the little girl, Jeni, who finds herself there during “Started from the Bottom,” needs Carina (and Vic) more than any other doctor.

Carina’s connection to Jeni as someone who knows what it’s like to lose her mother and have a caring little brother is enough to touch anyone’s heart.

But, the way their scenes do more work to destigmatize the way periods and women’s reproductive rights are discussed on TV is important. Their candor about various aspects of menstruation is utterly refreshing. 

Then, it’s perfect for Carina and Vic to wind up at Grey Sloan. Owen’s appearance on Station 19 is a larger-scaled crossover, but Carina being back at the hospital is a much smaller one we’ve been waiting to see.

Furthermore, that final scene folds back into the episode’s (and season’s) themes. Narratively, Vic’s pregnancy is a shocking cliffhanger to hold us over until next week.

Thematically, depending on how Vic goes about the pregnancy, she could face all the troubles Maya voiced about carrying a child as a female firefighter.

There are apparent disparities that unfortunately and unjustly come with being a female firefighter, and “Started from the Bottom” touches on many of them.

If the system doesn’t work for everyone, it doesn’t work for anyone, and Station 19 could continue to prove that in its own way as the season progresses.

Stray Thoughts

• I’ll never get over seeing Andy and Maya working together in the field!
• Jack Gibson giving Aaron “the talk” and knowing women are better than men is simply fantastic.
• Carina being the only one who knows about Vic’s pregnancy has to mean we’ll get more Carina and Vic scenes.
• Andy teaching 23 how to cook makes me so happy.
• Is it just me, or would Robert and Owen make really good friends?
• The Travis and Maya scene in this episode is short, but I love it.
• Every pairing on this show is a gold mine.

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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