Station 19 - General Discussion

[Pepper the Cat]

Did Andy kill that guy?

[possibilities]

She punched him and ran. I can't blame her. She tried everything she could to get him to stop and it's his fault that nothing worked and she was just going to punch whatever and however she could land a hit. I don't think she intended to kill him, but he might die.

Not asking the mother of the kids in the flaming garage (1) what kind of car it was, and (2) what level it was parked on, was wild. Seems like a really basic bit of info, more important than just the names of the kids.

If they have Ben and Miranda win custody, and then Ben dies on the job, I"m going to be upset. Please, show, don't steal MY joy.

I guess Emmett is leaving the show? Who will take his place on Crisis One? 

I like that Carina and Jack are no longer enemies, but I'm dreading everything about the baby storyline. I don't think there's anything they can do to make it watchable. 

I am not a fan of Sullivan, but he was right about Beckett and Beckett knows it. Dude has definitely been hung over at work, whether or not he actually was drinking during shifts. And I don't actually think Sullivan reported him for selfish reasons. However, I also can't blame anyone for thinking he did, because that's the kind of person he's been in the past. I guess they're paving the way for Beckett to have an incident that proves he has a problem, and then Andy gets made Captain.

I wonder if any of the 23 folks will get reassigned to 19. They need more staff, don't they? WIth all the extra programs they're running, you'd think they'd be spread too thin. I thought it was interesting that the 23 team thought of Andy as theirs, rather than as a temp. I bet she never realized that. 

 

[Crashcourse]

Good for Andy for defending herself against the creepy guy.

Didn't care about the birthday dinner argument.   

I continue to be annoyed by Vic and her pressuring Ben to tell everybody that he and Bailey have custody of Pru.  That child is not some "firefighter baby" replacement for a Dalmation. 

I zone out when I see Carina and Maya and I don't care at all about this neverending baby story.

[amarante]

Don't major cities like Seattle have seniority systems for their firefighters and police?

You can't just randomly fire people and senior people would have the ability to have preference in their choice of placement - assuming there were open positions at various locations.

I can't imagine a city as progressive as Seattle doesn't have that kind of protection for its workers.

I wouldn't be surprised if the rapist died unless this was a completely false ending. You can kill someone by a punch in the throat - or at least I have seen a few true crime shows where that was the cause of death. There has to be more to the storyline since otherwise it is a bit random - she wasn't raped so no *solemn* collection of evidence at the hospital and while any assault is traumatic, this wouldn't seem to rise to the level of being worth several weeks of manufactured angst.🤷🏼‍♀️

[SilverLake0315]

I should probably feel for Maya, but she’s annoying the crap out of me. 

[readster]

On 3/31/2022 at 8:24 PM, possibilities said:

 

I am not a fan of Sullivan, but he was right about Beckett and Beckett knows it. Dude has definitely been hung over at work, whether or not he actually was drinking during shifts. And I don't actually think Sullivan reported him for selfish reasons. However, I also can't blame anyone for thinking he did, because that's the kind of person he's been in the past. I guess they're paving the way for Beckett to have an incident that proves he has a problem, and then Andy gets made Captain.

 

The main problem of this was Beckett running everyone until someone confessed. Yeah, point of "anonymous" tip is how it remains. I mean if say an EMT that didn't work for 19 constantly saw this and on a report trip found the bottle filing reports (because who would leave a bottle in a place most likely to be gone through several times). Then they keep going until they pass out, oh that would look SOOOO Good to the Chief. I could see her now: 

"So, yes we were wrong about you possibly drinking even though observations said other wises. However, you then retaliating against your team until someone said something? Get your ass out of here you are on paid leave for the time being. If you don't like talk to the City Council and maybe you can get set back in 2 weeks. I'm the Chief, get your ass out of here!"

[possibilities]

And if nothing is done about that abusive response to the report, everyone knows they can't ever be a whistleblower again.

[tennisgurl]

I figured what was going to happen as soon as Andy started walking into that alleyway, very glad that she managed to fight him off. Hopefully the asshole doesn't die though and it turns into the next big dramatic subplot as she has to fight accusations of murder while the cops don't believe he assaulted her. 

I don't know what Travis expected going to that birthday party. I am glad that he and Emmett have split it, it was definitely time. I will miss Emmett, I like him, but its clear that Travis's heart isn't in it anymore. I am not looking forward to Emmett's dad running for mayor, he's such an annoying villain and I don't want to see more of him and his obsession with fighting Station 19. 

Jack being Maya and Carina's baby daddy is the worst idea on a show that is brimming with terrible ideas. 

Edited April 4, 2022 by tennisgurl

[RedbirdNelly]

the dinner seemed very unrealistic--there at least needed to be more people there to expect it to be anything but awful. Glad they ended the Emmet thing.

Maya is increasingly annoying. 

[Crashcourse]

58 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

Maya is increasingly annoying. 

I didn't think it was possible for her to be more annoying than Carina, but she is now.

[Crashcourse]

As if we haven't had enough Andy drama on this show.  She did what she had to do to defend herself, but I'm afraid this is gonna drag on and on... 🙄

[KaveDweller]

I guess I don't know how police departments work, but would Andy really be arrested for murder for what was clearly a case of self defense? He was being extremely violent with her, it isn't even questionable.

The cops were also assholes in questioning her. "No, you can't have an advocate." Okay, but she can have a lawyer. I was glad she said she wasn't answering any more questions. No one on TV ever says that, unless they are super evil mobsters and we are supposed to think they are terrible for not answering questions.

Also, was it my screen, or did the actress playing young Andy have a much darker skin color than adult Andy?

Edited April 8, 2022 by KaveDweller

[readster]

1 hour ago, KaveDweller said:

I guess I don't know how police departments work, but would Andy really be arrested for murder for what was clearly a case of self defense? He was being extremely violent with her, it isn't even questionable.

The cops were also assholes in questioning her. "No, you can't have an advocate." Okay, but she can have a lawyer. I was glad she said she wasn't answering any more questions. No one on TV ever says that, unless they are super evil mobsters and we are supposed to think they are terrible for not answering questions.

Also, was it my screen, or did the actress playing young Andy have a much darker skin color than adult Andy?

On this show they are except for Ryan. Every cop on Station 19 either has: a secret agenda, a vendetta against someone or someone in the fire department, does the most stupidest reaction to something and just like this: "Well, maybe you provoked the assault, and you could have just said 'no"." 

[Frisky Wig]

Wow at the one officer asking Andy why she didn’t stop to check her attackers airway after she defended herself against him attacking her! I loved Andy’s response of something like “I wasn’t a paramedic in the moment, I was a woman fighting to survive.” 

[anna0852]

Well unless Jaina is leaving, we know Andy's not getting locked up for manslaughter.  But I'll bet money the season finale involves her trial verdict and/or the pregnancy test results for Maya and Carina.

I did like seeing the team rally around Andy. Jack crawling into bed with her but still respecting her physical space was very well done. Even Beckett did well dealing with the PD.

And it sounds like Jack and Carina have some similar traumas in their background.....

[possibilities]

This is always the dilemma for women (or anyone) who fights back against an attack.

If you don't fight, then you're asked why you didn't fight, it wasn't rape if you didn't fight, you must have wanted it, you should have fought harder, etc.

If you do fight successfully, then you get accused of being the one to assault the other, they couldn't have actually been a threat if you were able to fight them off, etc.

I thought they did quite a few things really well this episode.

[amarante]

I have no doubt that any episode in which a person winds up dead is going to be investigated.

However the manner in which this storyline was done was ridiculous. The police aren't going to come immediately to arrest someone who was claiming an attempted rape. This is the kind of case that would go up the food chain to the highest levels of the DA's office in terms of verifying the allegations. This would be especially true given that the alleged victim/perpetrator was a distinguished firefighter with no criminal background or history of assault etc.

The whole blaming the victim is relevant (to the extent it ever should be) is when there is an assault and rape and therefore state of mind comes into play. Andy had obvious recent injuries which at the very least would have to be considered.

I really hate when actual *issues* are used in such a ridiculous manner in order to accomplish some kind of purpose. I am woke and don't doubt issues of police brutality or mishandling of sexual assaults etc. It is just not believable that even the most philistine of police departments - let alone Seattle - would have police officers immediately arresting someone given the alleged fact situation.

A more nuanced issue could arise in terms of duty of care of other officers and whether they acted as reasonable first responders by not having another station respond. Of course they appeared to be closest and fastest so logistically it might have made more sense for them to get there although they should have at least done a 911 to CYA

[tennisgurl]

Is every single cop in the entirety of Seattle except for Ryan the most awful person ever? The random murderers the gang have to contend with sometimes are more sympathetic than this pack of dickheads. Yeah this plot is going the exact way that I expected it to, the guy dies, the asshole cops blame Andy for drinking and accuse her of murdering the guy, and this plot is going to be dragged for ages. I know that when this show wants to make a point its with the subtlety of a hammer to the face, but sexual assault, like a lot of the issues they bring up, are really sensitive subjects and I would like to see the aftermath handled with at least a tiny amount of realism and a lot less needless legal drama. I would think that the real legal issue wouldn't be Andy fighting against the guy, but questions over whether the team did all they could to save the guy, or even if they helped him along to his maker. 

I did like everyone trying to look after Andy, especially Jack snuggling up to her while also respecting her space. Even Becket stood up for her with the cops. 

Interesting seeing a bit of Andy's mom in flashbacks before she left, sounds like she was assaulted at some point too, which also tied into the talk between Catarina and Jack, who also both have a similar trauma from their teen years. How is it that every bit of Jack's backstory we get is even more horrible than the last thing? 

There is something interesting in all of this about how people respond to sexual assault, even if I am sure its all going to be buried under a bunch of drama with evil cops trying to throw Andy in jail. Andy is in trouble for accidently killing the guy who tried to assault her, Andy's mother tried to teach her self defense after whatever happened to her (and Pruitt didn't approve), Carina and Jack both felt some combination of happiness that Andy fought off her attacker while also feeling some kind of guilt that they weren't able to, it can be such a lose lose situation. It can be easy to feel like you failed somehow for not being able to stop someone from hurting you, even if its completely unfair to think that, but it can also feel scary to fight back and somehow risk making things worse. All of that was really interesting and well handled, I wish they would focus more on the feelings surrounding assault and recovering from it instead of a bunch of legal drama.

Edited April 9, 2022 by tennisgurl

[yourdreamer]

I believe that the police can arrest whoever they have probable cause to do so (which Andy admitted to hitting Jeremy). Then it becomes the DA’s decision whether to charge them or offer a deal or let it go or what have you. (This legal knowledge comes from many procedural shows, not from any specific legal knowledge.) So maybe the charges will be dropped but the residual trauma to Andy is what will be focused on. But who knows with this show. 

[anna0852]

Bearing in mind my legal expertise is from Hudson University, we saw Andy in a courtroom with bail being set in the preview. So this has definitely gone beyond dumb cops and arrest. Courtroom means the DA signed off on the charges.

[KaveDweller]

1 hour ago, yourdreamer said:

I believe that the police can arrest whoever they have probable cause to do so (which Andy admitted to hitting Jeremy). Then it becomes the DA’s decision whether to charge them or offer a deal or let it go or what have you. (This legal knowledge comes from many procedural shows, not from any specific legal knowledge.) So maybe the charges will be dropped but the residual trauma to Andy is what will be focused on. But who knows with this show. 

The police can arrest whoever they have cause for, but I think they also have discretion to call something self-defense, and not arrest someone unless/until the DA steps in and says they want to prosecute.

[jcbrown]

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

This is always the dilemma for women (or anyone) who fights back against an attack.

If you don't fight, then you're asked why you didn't fight, it wasn't rape if you didn't fight, you must have wanted it, you should have fought harder, etc.

If you do fight successfully, then you get accused of being the one to assault the other, they couldn't have actually been a threat if you were able to fight them off, etc.

I thought they did quite a few things really well this episode.

I agree with everything you said. I worked for several years as an advocate for survivors of sexual assault and created and taught a course to teach colleges and cities how to set up advocacy programs (this was in the 80s). Did this episode do everything right? Nope. But it did get a fair amount of emotional resonance right, I think, and much of it rang pretty true to me.

[Ceindreadh]

I wanted to scream at Carina in the evidence collecting scene to tie her damn hair back out of the way.  I know they play fast and loose with the requirements for protective clothing when collecting evidence on tv, but how difficult would it be to have a long haired character use a hair band.  

[mishap]

never mind.  lol  

Edited April 10, 2022 by mishap

[RoxiP]

Yes I thought the younger actor player Andi's complexion was not matching to Andi's current day look.  No big deal but it was a little jarring.

Is this payback for the dispute between the fire department and the police force?  I sure hope not.

[izabella]

On 4/8/2022 at 5:55 PM, yourdreamer said:

I believe that the police can arrest whoever they have probable cause to do so (which Andy admitted to hitting Jeremy). Then it becomes the DA’s decision whether to charge them or offer a deal or let it go or what have you. (This legal knowledge comes from many procedural shows, not from any specific legal knowledge.) So maybe the charges will be dropped but the residual trauma to Andy is what will be focused on. But who knows with this show. 

This show will pump it up to max drama.  They will take it to a courtroom, and the prosecutor will make it seem like there's no evidence that proves he attacked her first, and that he may have been defending himself from her attack on him.  It will look like Andy will go up for murder, but then she'll take the stand and speechify with her Station 19 pals in the courtroom dresses in their uniforms, and the jury will set her free.  

Or one of the gang will interrogate the guy's friends, and find other victims he's attacked,.  Or they'll secretly run the attacker's DNA against a police database, off the record, and find a match with a rape kit.  Or they'll rescue a kid with a drone who videoed the whole thing.  Followed by a last minute dash to the courtroom, exonerating evidence in hand.

[readster]

On 4/11/2022 at 3:50 PM, izabella said:

This show will pump it up to max drama.  They will take it to a courtroom, and the prosecutor will make it seem like there's no evidence that proves he attacked her first, and that he may have been defending himself from her attack on him.  It will look like Andy will go up for murder, but then she'll take the stand and speechify with her Station 19 pals in the courtroom dresses in their uniforms, and the jury will set her free.  

Or one of the gang will interrogate the guy's friends, and find other victims he's attacked,.  Or they'll secretly run the attacker's DNA against a police database, off the record, and find a match with a rape kit.  Or they'll rescue a kid with a drone who videoed the whole thing.  Followed by a last minute dash to the courtroom, exonerating evidence in hand.

The show is touching on something that is sadly way, way too common today. That they blame the victim, especially if it's a woman who decided to fight back. Even Sir Patrick Stewart just posted on social media how he is standing with victims of violence to women and children. Since, he sadly experienced it himself at the hands of his father and even the police at the time tried to blame it on his mother. 

Andy getting turned into a pariah and of course showing just how shitty the Seattle Police are? Check. Heavy handed, but still making a statement. Check. Will Andy probably move on and next season it will be forgotten or just referenced at times. Check. 

[Crashcourse]

I am SO SICK of Maya and Carina and that damn baby story.  I'm especially sick of Carina and her histrionics.   I feel sorry for Jack getting mixed up in this baby story because I think he might come to regret getting involved.

So I guess we'll meet Jack's brother soon. 

Andy's mother looks like she's had work done on her face. 

Edited May 6, 2022 by Crashcourse

[possibilities]

This was the first time the baby story didn't annoy me. I'm sure I'll go back to hating it soon enough, but I liked that they were not portraying it as some easy, soft focused, pastel-colored BS, and made the whole situation messy and awkward and emotionally fraught. Fertility drugs are insane. And the whole artificial insemination thing is an ordeal. I also liked that Maya finally stood up to Carina and ut her in her place instead of always having Carina act like she thinks Maya is a difficult child and Maya feeling like Carina is always right. 

I don't know what they are planning with Andy's story. I want her to be reinstated at FD, but I also don't want them to minimize the hell she's being put through, because there is already far too much denial floating around, about the issues represented by her story.

I am looking forward to seeing Travis "rain on" Dixon The Vile. I hope he finds a way to really rust the hell out of the dude.

 

[Crashcourse]

Carina is just too emotional, overreacting to almost everything, and hopping around like a crazed woman.  I shudder to think how she'd act with a crying baby around.  I don't understand how Maya can stand to live with her.

I don't care about Andy's story because there's been too much focus on her already. 

I'm more interested in the Travis/Dixon story.

[possibilities]

Have you ever known someone who was taking fertility treatments? They are famous for making a person extremely emotionally volatile. Carina isn't always like that. It was supposed to be a demonstration of what it's like to be hopped up on fertility treatments.

[amarante]

I don't understand why Carina is on hormones unless I missed something about her fertility. It is not uncommon for women to attempt insemination through sperm using a turkey baster (or medical equivalent) without resorting to hormones. 

They have a free unlimited source of sperm and would theoretically have the ability to assess when she would theoretically be most receptive. 

If it didn't work that way in a reasonable period time, then one could get the expensive and invasive and horrendous hormones - unless I am missing something.

To say that Andy's mother had "work" done is an understatement. Those eyebrows were a dead give away of badly done Botox - at the very least.

[Crashcourse]

34 minutes ago, amarante said:

To say that Andy's mother had "work" done is an understatement. Those eyebrows were a dead give away of badly done Botox - at the very least.

Yes, I wasn't sure if it was Botox or something else, but her face looked scary--especially those eyebrows.

[amarante]

1 minute ago, Crashcourse said:

Yes, I wasn't sure if it was Botox or something else, but her face looked scary--especially those eyebrows.

The unnaturally arched eyebrows are a sure indicator of a bad Botox job.

She probsboy had other work because her skin looked odd but the eyebrows were the most egregious. 🥸

[tennisgurl]

Its taken a decade or so, but nice that Andy's mom has actually decided to be a mom again after ditching her for most of her life. I do feel bad for Andy, I don't blame her for being pissed about how the men in her life have tried to control her. Its not like having trauma would stop Andy from doing her job, everyone on this show has massive amounts of trauma and they all keep running into buildings or getting new jobs. If they refused to promote everyone who had massive issues on this show, they would probably put the dalmatians in charge.  

I was hoping to get some more follow up to the talk Carina and Jack had last episode, but I thought their plot was alright, if a bit high on the wacky. Its weird, I never liked Carina as Maya's love interest, but I do like her as Jack's buddy. Did they any reason why Carina would be on so many fertility meds? I thought their only issue was finding a donor, which they did, so why does she even need extra help so early on? Jack having a brother is interesting, although it will probably end in heartache. 

"Why doesn't he grow a mustache he can twirl?" Even the show is aware of how much of a stupid strawman villain Dixon is.

[KaveDweller]

2 hours ago, amarante said:

I don't understand why Carina is on hormones unless I missed something about her fertility. It is not uncommon for women to attempt insemination through sperm using a turkey baster (or medical equivalent) without resorting to hormones. 

Well she needed to be on hormones to be more dramatic for TV.

But is it that crazy that she would be? I'm sure plenty of women try without them, but if they help, why not increase their chances?

[possibilities]

How old is Carina? She's an OB, she probably knows exactly how hard it's going to be for her, personally, to conceive. My friend who did AI did the treatments. It seems to me, anecdotally, that lots of women do. Some women are just much more likely to conceive than others. But, of course, amping up the TV drama is also a thing. 

[amarante]

48 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Well she needed to be on hormones to be more dramatic for TV.

But is it that crazy that she would be? I'm sure plenty of women try without them, but if they help, why not increase their chances?

The question of potential issues was never addressed. 

I do know women who went the artificial insemination and didn’t automatically take hormones. 

Hormone therapy is invasive and does a number on your body. Why wouldn’t someone attempt to do it without for a few times since there was no issue of supply. 

but of course amping the drama with nonsensical irrational medical decisions is necessary for what is essentially a soap opera. I just question why there wasn’t any mention at all about why the hormones which is misleading since artificial insemination is the least medically invasive procedure and generally doesn’t require the aid of hormones in most women. 

The reason not to do it is that most doctors don’t put their patients through medical intrusive procedures that are unnecessary. Not that it matters for the show but hormone therapy is also expensive. 
 

[possibilities]

I believe that after a certain age, they recommend all women take the hormones. But I can't remember if we know how old Carina is. 

[PrincessTT]

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

I believe that after a certain age, they recommend all women take the hormones. But I can't remember if we know how old Carina is. 

Her brother’s memorial video said he was born in 1987 - and she’s at least a couple of years older than him; so she’s most likely 37 at the youngest.

[readster]

17 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Its taken a decade or so, but nice that Andy's mom has actually decided to be a mom again after ditching her for most of her life. I do feel bad for Andy, I don't blame her for being pissed about how the men in her life have tried to control her. Its not like having trauma would stop Andy from doing her job, everyone on this show has massive amounts of trauma and they all keep running into buildings or getting new jobs. If they refused to promote everyone who had massive issues on this show, they would probably put the dalmatians in charge.  

No kidding. I know how sadly Andy feels. I have been denied promotions most of my professional life for people who: "Well, they have been here longer." or "Well, you have the experience and shown true leadership skills, but you will be miserable in the job." I mean the track recorder for ALL the captains on this show have had so much trauma and then some. Why is Andy that different? Or yeah, she is the main character, instead of having her get the job and dealing with the trauma and drama of being a captain and her history. Nope, just you "aren't ready" for it. 

Quote

"Why doesn't he grow a mustache he can twirl?" Even the show is aware of how much of a stupid strawman villain Dixon is.

I get what the show is doing. It's showing current politics and how people do this crap and then look the other way or just go: "Well, that's just how the world is." But it's so forced it's just bad. I mean the writers are forcing it ALL the time with Dixon to keep him on the show for you know... reasons! The actor is also so one note. 

[SilverLake0315]

Am I supposed to like the new chief? Because I don’t. 

However, I LOVE Travis. 

[transitfan]

On 5/7/2022 at 3:04 AM, PrincessTT said:

Her brother’s memorial video said he was born in 1987 - and she’s at least a couple of years older than him; so she’s most likely 37 at the youngest.

Sounds about right.  FYI, the actress (Stefania Spampinato) is 39, will turn 40 in July.

[KaveDweller]

Finally, someone tells Travis to just run for mayor already. I don't see how he could win and stay on the show, but at least it is a new storyline for him.

Poor Jack. That had to stuck hearing about how his bio parents went on to have a whole nice family after giving him up. I understand why they had to give him up, but it is still hard to hear. The parents should have been the one to tell him and not the poor brother.

It JUST occurred to Andy her attacker may have done this before?

[Lady Calypso]

Jack's story was actually pretty devastating. It cannot be easy to hear that you were given up, and your parents then had at least three more children and never searched for you. That should shake Jack up for a while. 

Although, show, I admire the fact that you cast an actor that looked similar to Jack but also displayed the same traits as him, the actor who plays Joshua is clearly older than Grey Damon. Joshua looks a few years older than Jack. It's not like Jack is that old; he's probably early-mid thirties, but Joshua looks late thirties.

Still, tacking this actually intriguing storyline on to the end of the season is a bad call. Now we'll have to wait months for any potential resolution; they should have been doing this throughout the season, not an episode before the finale.

I mean, finally someone tells Travis to stop complaining and start doing something, but Travis as mayor? No, I can't see it. Not only because Travis made it clear he's not interested in leading (he said that to Ross earlier this season, so why would that change with a mayoral run?) but also because I DON'T think he'd win. He'd only be running to beat Dixon, not because he'd want to be mayor. Also, I do not want this political storyline. This isn't the show to have a mayoral run subplot. Travis would have to quit being a firefighter to run for mayor, and that'll take away from the other stories. No thanks.

Theo/Vic still really work for me.

[possibilities]

Jack's story is completely devastating, and it's also one of the more realistic things I've seen on TV, which makes it all the worse.

I 100% get why they didn't feel they could handle raising a kid at that age, and also that they believed it was better to leave him alone, assuming he was adopted by some nice family and they didn't feel entitled to interfere. 

But at the same time, from Jack's point of view, there is nothing that takes away the pain of seeing the contrast between his own experience and... theirs. And how clueless they are about it.

Maybe there could be some reconciliation, where they realize how wrong they were and try to make amends. But the degree to which they didn't get it, and weren't prepared... it's rough. It's really, really rough.

Jack is pretty resilient and very forgiving. But I was glad they didn't undercut the pain of this revelation.

I was also reeling when Andy said she always picks bad guys. She's sitting right there saying that to him... I was glad she backtracked on that and apologized. I know she was only meaning to insult herself, but that had to have stung him in the moment. She did come through for him later, though.

I did think it was... unwise... not to search a little bit for who he was about to meet. It could have been anything. I think he assumed that his brother had a similar experience than he did and he didn't want to be prejudiced by bad news. But I'm sure it made it worse to have the exact opposite thing happen than what he was preparing himself for.

Edited May 13, 2022 by possibilities

[Crashcourse]

At first, I thought it was strange that Jack's brother didn't invite him and Andy inside the house.  Then I began to think that perhaps he didn't want his family to meet him until he felt comfortable that he was a nice guy. 

[tennisgurl]

Jack's story was really good but a massive punch to the gut. Poor Jack, finding out that his parents went on to have other kids and give them a happy childhood while he had a horrible childhood in foster care after being given up, that must make everything feel even worse. I can see why his parents thought that giving him up was for the best and why they didn't track him down, but how devastating for Jack to know that he was that close to having this idyllic childhood and that his parents did want to keep their kids, just not him. I can see Jack maybe wanting to meet his bio family, but it would be really hard not to feel resentful, even if Jack can understand, intellectually, why they gave him up. This plot is so interesting I wish that they had started it earlier. We could have had this, and instead we have had to sit through episode after episode of Dixon being evil?  

At first I thought Jack's brother wanted them to stay outside because he thought that Jack might not be a trustworthy guy and wanted to feel him out, and that was probably part of it, but he also probably didn't want to rub his happy perfect family even more in his face knowing what he was going to have to tell him. Even if the brother was the person Jack found, his parents should have been there to explain things, it wasn't fair to put all of this on him. 

Andy and Jack are really good as friends, she was really there for him during this whole mess. I cringed when Andy commented on how she "only goes for bad guy" and Jack was clearly hurt, but she realized what she said right away and walked it back. Its really not even that Andy goes for bad guys, its more that she goes for guys that just don't work with her. 

I am so not interested in watching Travis run for mayor, especially as it will inevitably lead to even more screen time for Dixon, but at least it would give Travis something to do other than whine. I would be thrilled if Travis focused more on trying to fix problems instead of endlessly complaining while drawing mustaches onto pictures of Dixon, but I have absolutely zero interest in a whole election subplot.  

[Crashcourse]

35 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

At first I thought Jack's brother wanted them to stay outside because he thought that Jack might not be a trustworthy guy and wanted to feel him out, and that was probably part of it, but he also probably didn't want to rub his happy perfect family even more in his face knowing what he was going to have to tell him. Even if the brother was the person Jack found, his parents should have been there to explain things, it wasn't fair to put all of this on him. 

Yes, in addition to the brother wanting to feel him out, I think you're right about the bolded part.  Also, the brother seemed like a nice guy, so that was good.  Hopefully, Jack will meet him again along with the rest of the family.

[readster]

On 5/13/2022 at 4:33 PM, Crashcourse said:

Yes, in addition to the brother wanting to feel him out, I think you're right about the bolded part.  Also, the brother seemed like a nice guy, so that was good.  Hopefully, Jack will meet him again along with the rest of the family.

Yeah and he was in a horrible position and of course when he admitted they had a younger sister. He realized he had really kicked Jack while he was down. Honestly, it was very realistic and well written and acted. Hell, I've seen true stories of something happening like that. Parents had baby when they were teens, but did later end up together and as one couple said: "We figured it out, but you figure it out a lot faster at 25 than you do at 15."