Station 19 Finally Delivers a Marina-Centric Crossover with Grey’s Anatomy
After Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy’s fall finale, Maya DeLuca-Bishop was in dire condition on the station’s gym floor, where she stayed until the former returned with “We Build Then We Break.” The firefighting drama has a reputation for killing off its characters on Grey’s Anatomy. The lack of follow-up from Station 19 Season 6, Episode 6, “Everybody Says Don’t” during Grey’s Anatomy Season 19, Episode 6, “Thunderstruck” made it seem as though Maya would join the growing list of lost characters. Refreshingly, “We Build Then We Break” subverts that trend with a Marina-centric crossover.
Updates about the fire at Meredith Grey’s house bookend the episode, but the real crossover happens in Maya and Carina’s scenes at Grey Sloan Memorial. Upon bringing Maya to the hospital, Jack Gibson briefly meets one of Grey’s Anatomy’s new interns, Blue. From then, though, the bulk of the crossover exists between Marina and Teddy Altman. The trio’s interactions have emotional, narrative and visual callbacks to distinct highs and lows from the couple’s past on Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy.
Station 19 and Grey’s Anatomy’s concerning track record intensifies the emotions coursing through “We Build Then We Break.” The episode features Maya and Carina at a raw and real point in their relationship as Maya’s physical and mental health continue to spiral. That story is delicate, pulling heart-aching performances from Danielle Savre and Stefania Spampinato. The couple’s arc reaches a crescendo when Carina and Teddy place Maya on a 72-hour hold at Grey Sloan Memorial to keep Maya alive.
Out of fear and pain, Maya reminds Carina that she didn’t go to extreme measures when Carina mourned her brother. Andrew DeLuca is a Grey’s Anatomy character whose death inverted the franchise’s usual pattern. He was stabbed in Station 19 Season 4, Episode 6, “Train in Vain” and died in Grey’s Anatomy Season 17, Episode 7, “Helplessly Hoping.” While that crossover featured Maya showing up however she could for Carina, it wasn’t until Station 19 Season 4, Episode 7, “Learning to Fly” that the show focused on how Carina and Maya would make it through the devastating time together.
That history makes Carina telling Maya, “I lose you either way, Bella. I’d rather lose you and have you be alive,” even more heartbreaking. Carina always tried to help Andrew, but she couldn’t save him. Now she’s doing what she can to save the woman she loves. It’s painful to watch, but there’s hope in knowing this second chance ends in something other than tragedy. We Build Then We Break” notably subverts the crossover pattern and keeps Maya alive, proving that the fight is not over — and neither is Marina’s love story.
Marina’s history makes it relevant that Teddy Altman is the doctor who treats Maya. Teddy is the head of Grey Sloan’s trauma department, but she also attended to Andrew and was unable to save his life because his wounds were too extreme. That connection is easier to make after Maya brings up Andrew with all three women in the room. Even so, their interactions in “We Build Then We Break” recall the trio’s first scene together.
Teddy’s first Station 19 appearance featured Ben Warren trying to get her to join the PRT, an OR on wheels that Grey’s Anatomy repurposed. Her second was part of a much happier chapter of Marina’s love story. After a beautiful moment of clarity during Station 19 Season 3, Episode 16, “Louder Than a Bomb,” Maya apologized for cheating and told Carina that she loves her — an emotion Maya doesn’t express often. Because Teddy knew what it was like to lose someone she loved, seeing her champion Marina in that scene was meaningful.