Louder Than a Bomb is the sixteenth episode and season finale of the third season and the 43rd overall episode of Station 19.
Short Summary[]
Andy becomes painfully suspicious of the circumstances surrounding her mother's death and goes to her aunt looking for answers. Meanwhile, the members of the crew work to evacuate a doctor from Pac-North hospital and find themselves in a life-threatening situation, and Sullivan undergoes surgery for his chronic leg pain.
Full Summary[]
The firefighters, Emmett, and Sasha Bennett are partying on Dean's houseboat. Vic and Maya bond over having broken up with their doctor lovers. Dean tells Sasha that they can have an adult sleepover as Pru is with his sister. Emmett tells Travis that he thinks he loves him. Travis quickly kisses him and claims he can't hear him over the music. Jack sits down with Andy, who doesn't appear to be in the mood. She prefers to drink rather than talk.
She vaguely remembers a fire at her aunt Sandra's house. Station 19 arrives soon with Pruitt working under Captain Lawrence.
Andy and Jack do shots. She hasn't talked to Sullivan. He turned himself in to the Civil Service Commission without consulting her, got suspended without pay for stealing narcotics, failed at taking down the fire Chief, and in doing all that, delayed her father's funeral. Jack has never seen her not mad at her husband, like he's never seen her not mad at her father. Andy escapes to the deck to try calling Sandra again.
Pruitt and Souza extinguish the fire. Andy watches with admiration. Lawrence tells her he's one of the greats.
Maya joins Andy outside. Maya begs her to come dance. The others cheer as they come back.
The firefighters receive an applause. Elena takes a picture of a proud Andy and Pruitt.
Jack watches as Andy and the others dance. Andy receives a call from Robert but she just throws her phone away.
The next morning, the firefighters is woken up as they're called in for a five-alarm fire. Dean is surprised to find Vic next to him in bed. He was expecting to find Sasha. Travis and Emmett took her bed. Vic thinks he shouldn't call Sasha his girlfriend yet. Everyone is terribly hungover. Andy finally finds her phone but is too late to answer Sandra's call. Jack was supposed to have lunch with Inara, Marcus, and Marsha. Andy has to be at Grey Sloan for Robert's surgery. The others allow her to sit this one out, which disappoints her.
At the station, Maya is surprised to find her father waiting at reception. He came to see her in action. As she gets on the engine, she asks him to stick around until she gets back. "Go, Captain!" he proudly says.
Ben laughs at hungover Travis. He is glad he missed out due to two sick kids.
The crew arrives at Pac-North, where there has been an explosion. The ER, radiology and research department are still operational. Chief Sato informs Maya that they suspect a gas leak so utilities have been shut off. Seconds later, there is another explosion on the third floor. The crew rushes in.
Ben and Travis find Duncan stuck in the MRI machine. The radiology tech ran out when the explosion happened but the machine is faulty at the moment. They can't use tools in case the machine turns on again. Duncan weighs 250 pounds so they're in for a challenge.
Vic and Jack enter a research lab. Dr. Miriam Alba, who uses a wheelchair, and her research assistants Monica and Brant are racing to collect samples and data. They refuse to leave their research on a cure for lymphoma as millions of lives depend on it. Miriam pleads that the firefighters have a big risk of developing occupationally derived cancer, which convinces Jack and Vic to help them.
Ben and Travis work on freeing Duncan and urge him to talk. He says he cheated on his wife before they got married. He has to tell somebody if he's going to die. Travis calms him down by saying he slept with an engaged friend and continued to do so despite knowing that said friend was falling in love with him. He doesn't love Emmett, though. He knows it's cold. Ben admits he's judgmental about both of them. Vic calls in back-up in the research wing.
Andy remembers noticing some distance between Pruitt and Elena at the time of the fire at Sandra's house. She recalls her mother not smiling when being told that Pruitt was one of the greats.
Andy finds Robert's room and apologizes for being late. He's mad that she didn't come home. She's still getting used to the whole married thing. She tells him Sandra didn't leave a message and now won't answer her calls. Robert thinks she was just trying to pass on condolences. He thinks she's avoiding her grief. Andy thinks it's possible to grieve him and be furious at him for keeping her family from her at the same time. Amelia walks in and picks up on the tension. Andy gets a call and leaves the room.
Jack asks Cutler to make sure Brant and Monica stay outside. Travis is not glad to be demoted to a moving service while there is a fire going on upstairs. Maya wants everyone out. Another explosion happens, shaking the room.
The firefighters in the room are okay but the hallway has outside collapsed. They find Miriam pinned down under a cabinet. She has an open radial fracture. She asks for her phone so she can call her partner. Jack informs Maya they don't have egress.
Outside, Maya and Sato report to Dixon that there have been three explosions and a partial collapse, trapping five people in the basement research wing. Dixon walks off mid-briefing to go talk to the press. USAR is five minutes out.
As she paces around the hospital, Andy remembers her parents fighting in the car with her in the backseat. Elena blames Pruitt for criticizing her while he yells that is because he's unhappy.
She remembers putting on her father's gear at the station, which makes Elena laugh at first, but as they hug, she can barely hold back her tears.
Amelia tells Robert she's feeling lucky today. He refuses narcotics after surgery. Amelia warns him the first couple of days will be painful. He is convinced he can take the pain. Andy walks in and says Sandra is on her way to Seattle as she didn't want to talk over the phone. Amelia points out they're taking Robert to the pre-op area soon. Andy's head is completely elsewhere and she apologizes. Amelia asks an intern to take Andy to the plant room, which has proven to calm people down. Andy wishes Robert good luck and says she'll see him after surgery. Amelia thinks Andy is high or drunk. Robert says she's grieving but he is sure Andy will be there for him after the surgery. Amelia initiates a meeting right now because he is keeping all his feelings inside despite his life on the brink of completely falling apart, which is a recipe for relapse. Robert just wants to get through the surgery without using. Amelia says addicts do that by talking.
Miriam tells her partner that they lost Wi-Fi so she wants to read her research so they can take it down exactly. She needs her research not to die with her. They manage to get her out from under the cabinet. Jack thinks the universe is trying to tell him something. He keeps getting trapped in places, like immersion therapy. Travis wonders what is causing the explosions. Miriam has her partner repeat it back to her and corrects them while the firefighters work to stabilize her radial and pelvic fractures. Ben briefs Maya on Miriam's status. Jack and Dean find that all the walls are solid. Dean spots a bomb hidden among equipment. He has everybody turn their radios off and tells them about the bomb.
Jack radios Maya but Dean orders him to turn the radio off. Dean trained with the bomb squad. The bomb looks homemade. Miriam say anti-choice extremists have attacked her before for using embryonic stem cells in her research.
Outside, Maya fails to reach Jack. A news chopper and drone are blocking Medevac from landing. Lane appears to encourage his daughter. He wanted to see her in action live. She goes to say he can't just show up but he cuts her off and urges her to keep working.
Miriam has lost a lot of blood. Dean investigates the bomb. If he doesn't defuse it, he is sure it will go off. Jack wants to wait for the bomb squad. Dean inquires about the times the other three went off, revealing a 30-minute gap between the explosions. If that pattern continues, they have 11 minutes. Miriam tells Ben to stop working on her and focus on the bomb so her research makes it out. She knows she's already dead.
Robert is put under on the OR table.
On her way to the plant room, Andy remembers her mother picking her up at school before lunch break, fiddling with her wedding ring. Elena hugs her and says she deserves a break. Later that day, Elena has bought Andy every flavor of ice cream because she wants her to experiment and explore. She wants Andy to never settle in life. Later, she pushes Andy on the swing and urges her to never take her eyes off the sky.
Andy runs into Meredith, who notices she's spinning out. Meredith heard about Pruitt's death. Andy says nothing makes sense anymore. She can't shake the feeling that something awful happened with her mother. Meredith is happy to listen. Andy keeps getting flashes of her parents fighting and her mother crying. Andy says her favorite memory of her mother is of their last fun day together. She has always held onto that but looking back, she thinks Elena knew it was their last day together. She's afraid her mother killed herself. Meredith hugs her.
Andy tells Elena she has loved their day together. Elena wants her to remember that if anything ever happens to her, Pruitt will always take care of her. They'll have to take care of each other.
In the plant room, Andy tells Meredith that it's always been just her and her father. But now she's remembering their big, extended family. It seems like she blocked them out until Pruitt died. Meredith says the brain has a way off walling off traumatic events. Eventually, the memories come back in fragments. It hurts when that happens, and not just emotionally. Andy thanks her for not telling her she's crazy. Meredith says a breakthrough can look an awful lot like a breakdown sometimes.
Outside, Maya is briefing the bomb squad. The leader says the firefighters were smart to turn off their radios to avoid any electrical interference with the detonator. Lane calls Maya over. He accuses her of playing Fire Captain while her family is falling apart. She says she's not playing anything. He thinks she's freezing him out because her mother filled her head with drama. She wants to go back to work. He yells not to raise her voice at him.
Miriam reminds the firefighters there are only eight minutes left. She thinks they can use the autoclave, which is airtight and could dampen the explosion. It's bolted down, meaning they'll have to move the bomb.
Maya tells her father that interference with emergency personnel is a crime. She orders him to leave her scene. As she turns around to go back to work, he grabs her by her ponytail. She yells to get his hands off her while her colleagues come to defend her.
With four minutes left, Jack decides to move the bomb. Unlike Dean, he doesn't have a daughter.
While being held back, Lane mocks Maya for having strong men fight her battles. Maya says that unlike him, she doesn't need to win her gold medals through other people. She wants to get back to work.
Miriam has passed away. The firefighters move things around to create a barricade and hide behind it. They hear a jackhammer rattling outside. Jack picks the bomb up and starts moving.
Dixon finishes up talking to the press. Two police officers walk up and ask for a word.
Jack cautiously moves. There is about one minute left. He succeeds in placing the bomb in the autoclave. He shuts the door and joins the others behind the barricade.
Dixon is informed that he is being arrested. He has been charged with fraud and extortion. They put him in cuffs as they read him his rights. Maya smiles as he's taken away.
The firefighters huddle up. The bomb goes off but as predicted, the autoclave limits the damage. Soon after, the exit is opened up.
Maya orders a thorough sweep by the bomb squad. The crew comes out carrying Miriam's research. They are just in time to see Dixon in the backseat of a police car. They take great pleasure in the view and inform Maya they just helped save millions of people.
Back at the station, Ben convinces the others that they need to celebrate Dixon's arrest.
Maya cuts off her hair in the bathroom. Jack walks in. She tells him she was stupid. She has finally realized that everyone was right about her father. She ruined the best relationship she ever had because of him. Jack says apologies go a long way. She apologizes to Jack. He invites her to join them at Dean's to celebrate Dixon's demise but she declines. He thinks her hair looks cool.
At Dean's, Travis proposes a toast to Ben for holding them all accountable. Vic says he can be their new father figure. They also cheer for Dixon's arrest. Emmett agrees with them calling him an asshat. Dean turns up the music. Emmett asks Travis to talk. Inside, Jack is taught how to dance.
Out on the deck, Emmett says he couldn't have done this without Travis. He loves Travis. Travis is happy about how far Emmett has come and the life he has ahead of him. But he doesn't love Emmett back. Emmett gives him a last kiss and leaves.
Maya finds Carina in line at the coffee cart talking to Teddy. Maya tells Carina she was right. She apologizes for what she did to her and begs her to take her back. She loves Carina. That's the first time she has said that about anyone except her brother. She is very sorry. Teddy urges Carina to forgive her but Carina says she cheated with her ex-boyfriend and used that to hurt her. Carina can't just forget that. Maya is prepared to spend the rest of her life trying to convince Carina that she can trust her. Teddy thinks Carina should forgive Maya if she loves her. Begrudgingly, Carina tells Maya that she loves her. Teddy smiles as they share a kiss.
Jack drops by Marsha's place with pizza. Marsha has been learning ASL, too. Jack sits down. Marcus teaches him about the weight of a T-rex. Jack and Inara share a look.
At the houseboat, Vic sits down with Dean and tells him he was amazing today. She puts her feet on his lap. He tells her to move out. She's confused. He claims it's confusing to Sasha and Pru. Vic points out he has only had three dates with Sasha and she'll move out in two years when Pru is old enough to actually be confused by her presence. Dean insists that she has to find another place.
Robert wakes up after surgery. Andy is not by his side. He's in a great amount of pain. Nurse Karen comes in and sees Amelia ordered morphine as needed. He needs it. Karen pushes a dose.
Andy arrives at a motel.
She remembers her mother crying in the turnout room after their fun day. Pruitt comes in.
Andy finds the right room and knocks on the door. Sandra lets her in. They hug.
In the beanery, Pruitt explains to Andy that her mother was crying because she is very sick. He assures her everything is going to be okay. Andy starts crying.
Andy goes to ask Sandra to tell her if her mother killed herself, but before she can finish her sentence, Elena walks into the room. Andy is baffled.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Jaina Lee Ortiz as Lieutenant Andy Herrera
- Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren
- Boris Kodjoe as Battalion Chief Robert Sullivan
- Grey Damon as Lieutenant Jack Gibson
- Barrett Doss as Victoria Hughes
- Jay Hayden as Travis Montgomery
- Okieriete Onaodowan as Dean Miller
- Danielle Savre as Captain Maya Bishop
- Miguel Sandoval as Pruitt Herrera
Special Guest Star[]
Guest Stars[]
- Caterina Scorsone as Dr. Amelia Shepherd
- Kim Raver as Dr. Teddy Altman
- Pat Healy as Fire Chief Michael Dixon
- Stefania Spampinato as Dr. Carina DeLuca
- Lachlan Buchanan as Emmett Dixon
- Peter Onorati as Snuffy Souza
- Patricia De León as Elena Herrera
- Laura Ceron as Sandra Alvarez
- Jack Conley as Captain Lawrence
- Adam J. Harrington as Lane Bishop
- Katy Sullivan as Dr. Miriam Alba
- Jayne Taini as Marsha Smith
- Colleen Foy as Inara
- Phillip Brandon as Duncan
Co-Starring[]
- Kristen Henry King as Sasha Bennett
- Max Phyo as Chief Sato
- Scott Cooper Ryan as Brant
- Cynthia Quiles as Monica
- Ansel Sluyter-Obidos as Marcus
- Frances Nichols as Nurse Karen
- Tim Redmond as Bomb Squad Captain
- Brandon Sutton as USAR Captain
- Rodnesha Green as Seattle Police Officer #1
- Josh Archer as Seattle Police Officer #2
- Lalia Susini as Young Andy
Rescues[]
Sandra's House[]
When Andy was young, her aunt's house caught on fire. Station 19 responded to the call and quickly put out the fire.
Pac-North Explosions[]
Station 19 responded to a call for backup at Pac-North, where there had been an explosion. They believed it was due to a gas leak. A second explosion happened just after their arrival. Inside, Ben and Travis pulled Duncan out of a jammed MRI and evacuated him. The rest of the team went to the basement to evacuate the research lab. Miriam Alba and her team were desperate to save her research, looking for a cure for lymphoma, so refused to evacuate without it. Her research assistants left the building, but Dr. Alba refused to leave without her research. Another explosion left them trapped in the basement lab and trapped Dr. Alba under a shelf. They were able to free her, but her pelvis was crushed and her arm was broken. Then Dean discovered a bomb in the lab which hadn't detonated. Dr. Alba said she had been targeted by anti-choice extremists before due to her use of embryonic stem cells. Dean realized the bombs were going off 30 minutes apart, giving them 11 minutes until that one went off. Dean worked on disabling the bomb, but Dr. Alba had the idea to use the autoclave to dampen the explosion. She died shortly after making that suggestion. While everyone else barricaded themselves, Jack carried the bomb slowly to the autoclave. He placed it inside and it exploded shortly afterward. Search and Rescue was then able to find them and get them out of the building. They carried Dr. Alba's research out with them.
Music[]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Under the Waterfall" | The Avener |
|
| "It Weighs Me Down" | Biz Colletti |
|
| "100 Years" | Florence + The Machine |
|
| "Paradise" | Ofenbach feat. Benjamin Ingrosso |
|
| "Castles" | Lee DeWyze |
|
| "Times They Are A-Changin'" | Fort Nowhere |
|
Notes and Trivia[]
Station 19 3x16 Promo "Louder Than A Bomb" (HD) Season 3 Episode 16 Promo Season Finale
- This episode's title originated from the song Louder Than a Bomb, originally sung by Public Enemy.
- This episode scored 5.91 million viewers.[1]
- Filming for the episode wrapped on March 3, 2020, election day in California. The cast and crew managed to take time out of their busy day to go vote.[source?]
- The episode was supposed to air right before the season finale of Grey's Anatomy's sixteenth season, which ended up being cut short due to corona virus outbreak while the finale of Station 19 had already been filmed before the outbreak hit the United States. Since there were several crossover elements planned between the two episodes, this episode had to be altered a bit with several bits relating to Grey's having been cut from the episode. However, not everything related to Grey's has been cut, so Krista Vernoff has stated that viewers can still get a sense of what was going to happen in the original Grey's finale based on this episode.[source?]
- This episode marks Caterina Scorsone's 200th appearance as Amelia Shepherd as well as Kim Raver's 100th appearance as Teddy Altman.
- In the opening scene, where the crew is dancing on Dean's houseboat, Danielle Savre was wearing a wig because she had already filmed the scene in which she cut her own hair.[source?]
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Quotes[]
See Also[]
|
A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
| Station 19 Season 3 | |||||||
| #01 | "I Know This Bar" | #07 | "Satellite of Love" | #13 | "Dream a Little Dream of Me" | ||
| #02 | "Indoor Fireworks" | #08 | "Born to Run" | #14 | "The Ghosts That Haunt Me" | ||
| #03 | "Eulogy" | #09 | "Poor Wandering One" | #15 | "Bad Guy" | ||
| #04 | "House Where Nobody Lives" | #10 | "Something About What Happens When We Talk" | #16 | "Louder Than a Bomb" | ||
| #05 | "Into the Woods" | #11 | "No Days Off" | ||||
| #06 | "Ice Ice Baby" | #12 | "I'll Be Seeing You" | ||||
| << Season 2 | |||||||