Station 19 Showrunner Analyzes What’s Going On Between a ‘Closer’ Vic and Beckett: ‘She’s There for Him’

Charlie Mason
·3 min read
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Maybe we should have seen it coming, back in Season 6 of Station 19. But when Vic made up “peer-to-peer assessments” as an excuse to check on alcoholic captain Beckett, who she feared was suicidal, we thought that she was just being her usual caring, compassionate self. And at the time, before Theo revealed himself to be an altogether awful boyfriend, perhaps that was all Hughes was doing.

station 19 season 7 mashup abc 3 getty 1
station 19 season 7 mashup abc 3 getty 1

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Now, however, in the wake of Thursday’s episode of the (infuriatingly) cancelled ABC drama, we’re wondering if there’s something more going on. Sure, Vic might have attended Beckett’s uncle’s Irish wake just to provide him with a good influence straight out of rehab. And sure, she might have suggested that he join Crisis 1 just because she needed a right hand.

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It didn’t feel that way, though.

There is, of course, the chance — likelihood, even? — that we are reading what we want into the chemistry between Barrett Doss and Josh Randall. But new showrunners Zoanne Clack and Peter Paige did tell TVLine that in the series’ last episodes, “‘satisfying is what we’re going for” to wrap up all the characters’ arcs.

And what would be more satisfying than seeing Beckett start over and, on top of that, start over as the kind of stand-up guy who is actually worthy of unlucky-in-love Vic? OK, Maya and Carina having a baby might be, but now they have one, so can’t we have this, too? We may have only just realized that we wanted the pairing, but already, we, erm, kinda need it!

What we’re seeing unfold on screen, says Clack, is “a combo platter of the growth of both characters. They have each evolved to a point where they can be there for each other. Once Beckett became sober last season, we could see that he had a gift for conflict resolution and compassion when he talked to the teenagers stuck in a car in episode 616. Through her psych classes and Crisis 1 training, Vic learned more about empathy and warning signs, which led her to save Beckett from self-injurious behavior in 617 last year.

“There’s no way that kind of event does not make you closer,” she adds. “Here in episode 702, she is seeing him through. They’ve stayed in touch, she knew a funeral could be potentially triggering — she didn’t realize how triggering! — so she was able to be there for him and be that steadfast presence in his life, putting her own concerns behind her. She’s there for him in the obvious way by showing up, but she’s even there in the smallest of ways — like when she moved the drink he was given out of his eyeline, saying nothing. Actions proving everything. They will go on interesting trajectories this season — stay tuned… ”

Oh, that we will. What do you think? Was it just wishful thinking on our part that there might be more than friendship brewing between Vic and Beckett?

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