Comfortably Numb is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season and the 57th overall episode of Station 19.
Short Summary[]
Ben finally faces the health issues he has been putting off. Meanwhile, Jack and Inara help their neighbor out of a trashy situation, and Carina and Maya reevaluate their relationship.
Full Summary[]
Andy and Sullivan make plans for their day off. Andy spots Maya standing in her office, staring straight forward, and goes to check on her. She says that avoiding going home won't delay Carina having to leave. Maya says she should be rushing home to soak up every possible moment with Carina. Andy recently weathered a separation herself and knows it sucks. Maya thinks maybe she should propose so that Carina doesn't have to leave. Andy also recently got married very quickly and says it's not the solution to all their problems. They're meant to be and they'll get through this. She tells Maya to go home and soak up every minute.
Carina is staring at her empty suitcase when Gabriella calls and correctly deduces that she hasn't even started packing even though she leaves tonight. She's just not sure how you pack for a trip with no return date.
Marsha and Marcus are doing dishes when Inara comes out of her room. Inara says she could do the dishes, but Marsha says they're almost done and she needs to move. Jack comes in and they all have a brief dance party. Marcus and Marsha then prepare to leave for the park. Marcus has a project to do for school, so Marsha is taking him so Inara and Jack can have some alone time. As they leave, Inara makes sure Marsha takes her cell phone and they wear masks. Marsha says she learned her lesson on that.
Andy says Michelle is going to the protest at Seattle center and asks Sullivan if they should go, too. Their conversation is interrupted by a call from Ben. He's at the surgical center waiting for his surgery. Bailey got called into a last-minute surgery, so she's alone. Andy realizes he wants company, though he denies it.
Maya is helping Carina pack and asks if it'll be cold there. Carina says so-so and says she'll need jackets for the nights. Maya pulls Carina's bikini top out of the drawer and flirtatiously says she probably won't need a bathing suit. Carina dryly replies that it's not a vacation and she'll probably never leave the hospital. Maya goes to the living room, where the news is on reporting about the protests. She keeps thinking about what her dad is thinking looking at the protests. When people protested for same-sex marriage, he said people couldn't just be happy with what they had. It's probably why she never came out to him. She then says her mom went back to him. She never told Carina because she didn't want to think about it, but when the pandemic hit, she moved back in. Since Carina's about to go into lockdown, Maya keeps picturing her mother trapped in the house with him, scared of upsetting him. Carina gets another call from Gabriella and answers it.
Ben talks to the Bailey on the phone, assuring her he's fine. After he hangs up, Nurse Lea comes in with forms for him to sign. He's familiar with the forms as he's a doctor. He says his wife is as well and his foster son will be. His wife will be picking him up later after his surgery. An orderly interrupts to tell Ben he has a visitor. Andy comes in as Nurse Lea tells him the anesthesiologist will come in to examine him soon. Andy says her dad would have wanted her to be there for Ben, so she's there.
Jack and Inara cuddle on the couch. They find the silence weird. It's a first for them. Jack suggests watching a movie, but Inara wants to take advantage of Marcus being out of the house. Inara climbs onto his lap and opens her shirt, but then they hear screaming and Jack sees someone fall past their window, so he gets up to investigate. He opens the window and sees a woman below them in the dumpster. He insists they need to go help her, though Inara is more hesitant to go.
Jack and Inara reach the dumpster and check on the woman inside. She says she hit her back on the side of the dumpster and then fell in. Inara goes to call for help while Jack stays. He asks about her pain and she says she hurts on her back and also all over. She can move her fingers, but can't see her toes to see if they're moving, though her legs are tingling. Jack takes off his shirt and drapes it over her, as she's only wearing a bra. She introduces herself as Sonia and says she stepped out onto what she thought was a fire escape only to learn that it wasn't. Inara comes back and says she called 911, so help will be there soon. Sonia says they can't call an ambulance because that will ruin her whole life. She wants Jack to get her out of the dumpster himself so she can just go home. After some questioning, she admits she's having an affair. She tries to get up herself, but Jack warns her that she'll make it worse. He climbs in with her when she says her leg is shooting pain. He checks and finds she has no sensation in her feet. As Jack wraps a towel around Sonia's neck to provide some stability, he tells Sonia he's made choices he's not proud of himself, including sleeping with a married woman. He says he was looking for something no one could give him. Mistakes come and go, but paralysis is permanent, so she needs to hold still. It's not a good sign that she can't feel her toes. This injury could change her life and the paramedics could save it. Matthew joins them and is relieved that Jack isn't Eric. He's the neighbor. He tells Sonia it wasn't his girlfriend, but the dog walker. Sonia asks for her phone so she can call her husband, so Matthew goes upstairs to get it. Inara goes to check on the ambulance and runs into a man with a few grocery bags. He overhears Sonia talking about the affair and when he speaks, she realizes it's her husband, Eric.
Maya is surprised to see Carina is taking her knives with her. She's not sure what the rental will have and she wants to minimize deliveries. Maya asks how long she's planning on staying and she says there's no plan because she's not sure. As Maya helps her pack dishes, Carina asks about Maya never coming out to her parents. She says her mom knows and she's pretty sure her dad does as well, but she never officially told either of them, not because she was concerned he would yell at her because that would have happened either way, but because it felt private. She'd never been in a relationship with a woman before and she figured if she didn't need to tell her parents about every man she had sex with, she didn't need to tell them about every woman. Honestly, until she met Carina, she always kind of assumed she'd marry a man. Carina says that makes sense with how much her father drilled his way being the only right way into her. That's probably why she never wants to get married herself. Her parents made it look so unappealing. She doesn't believe in marriage.
Andy tells Ben a story about her father thwarting an effort she and Ryan made to skip school. She still doesn't know how her father knew about it and wishes she'd asked him. Andy says she's glad Ben is getting the surgery. He figured he owed it to Pruitt. Dr. Kabir comes in and Ben is taken to surgery. He leaves his phone with Andy.
Eric is upset that Sonia is having an affair with Matthew, whom they've made fun of before. She apologizes to him. Jack warns him that if Eric's going to upset Sonia, he needs to leave. Jack notices as Sonia's hands drop down while she's talking and tests if she can feel her fingers. Eric's even more upset that she did this during a pandemic. They've been so careful and she put them at risk. Just then, Matthew returns with the phone. As station 19 arrives, Matthew says he's been careful, too, but Eric notes that he's not wearing a mask. Eric attacks Matthew. They fight briefly until the newly-arrived firefighters break it up. Finch climbs into the dumpster with Jack and Sonia and Jack explains her injuries. Finch says Jack can go, but he decides to stay and help. As they prepare to get Sonia out, Eric says they were fine and when they're fine, she does this, creates chaos out of nothing. Sonia continuously apologizes.
Carina finishes another phone call with Gabriella. Maya is shocked that Gabriella has so many questions and Carina says it's because she gets fixated on problems and Carina can help her solve those problems. Maya's upset they're going to be apart for an indeterminate amount of time and Carina's going to be with her ex-sex friend. Carina says every time Maya says they're going to be apart, she says it like she's mad at Carina. Maya says she's not mad, but she doesn't understand how Carina let her visa expire. Carina says she's tried to explain the visa to Maya three times, but her eyes always gloss over and she doesn't pay attention. She doesn't understand how it feels to be so easily removed from the place where you're trying to build a life and to be scared you'll never be allowed to return. Maya asks if it's her fault she was born in the US. Carina says it has nothing to do with fault. Not everything has to be someone's fault. This is the problem with the country's borders and division. She starts to rant about it, then stops and apologizes, saying she's not yelling at Maya. She just gets loud when she's excited. Maya chafes under her apologies, but admits everything Carina said was true. She was so worried about how it affected her that she never asked Carina how she felt about it. She just assumed Carina would enjoy getting to go home for a bit. Carina corrects that Italy hasn't felt like home since her mother left when she was sixteen. It was just the place she lived. She didn't find her home until she met Maya. Maya's her home. And now she's being forced to leave her home in the middle of a pandemic. Maya realizes she's been pretending it's no big deal so Maya wouldn't freak out about it. They apologize to each other and start kissing, then fall back onto the couch.
Dr. Kabir tells Ben he's in good hands with Sam Reid, the anesthesiologist, who has Ben count back from ten. Ben gets to one and is still awake, so he turns to Dr. Reid to ask about it, but finds himself sitting there. The surgeon arrives and it's also Ben, assisted by Joey. They talk about finding a different part of his body to cut off. Ben's worried about the loss of testosterone and how it'll affect his job. Lisa comes in and says heat was never his problem. Lisa is his ex-girlfriend. He also slept with Lisa's roommate. Then Ben's mom appears and tells him she didn't raise a fool. He's scared and the fear makes him stupid, but he has to listen to his mother. His mother tells him he needs to fight to stay with his sons. She fought. She lost in the end, but she did fight to stay with him and his sister. Ben talks about George Floyd crying for his mama. His mom says they all heard it. George knew he was going to die, he was scared, and he needed his mom. Ben's mom says she's there for him. They hug and Ben lets the surgery proceed. Even as a kid, Ben wanted to fix things. The cancer is removed and his mom says that's not what made him a man, but keeping it would have made him a dead man.
Inara and Jack are back in their apartment. Inara asks Jack about Eva and he says he did some dumb things before he met her. But now he's happy being boring. Inara says she isn't happy being boring. She starts to kiss him but he backs off. She notice his hesitation and he says she doesn't need to put on an act for him. She insists that she isn't. She's a whole person who likes sex despite her history. She says she's not a damsel he needs to keep rescuing. He picks her up and sits her on the counter. They start kissing frantically.
Carina and Maya are lying on the floor together with their pants still unbuttoned. As Carina's fingers brush Maya's abdomen, Maya tells Carina that Jack asked what it was like having a girlfriend who looked at other ladies' bits all day. In return, she asked him how Inara felt about him playing with hoses all day. An alarm goes off on Maya's phone, indicating that they have to leave in ten minutes. They get redressed as Carina says you'd think seeing vaginas get ripped open by babies' heads would turn her off sex with women, but that is not the case. Maya thinks it's probably made her less interested in having babies herself, but Carina says she still wants to have babies. Maya reminds her that she said she doesn't want to get married. Carina reminds her of how things went with her parents. And Maya's parents. Marriage had trapped her mother with her abuser. Maya says they're not her parents. Carina says she's trying hard not to be hers either. Maya thought they were building a future together. Carina says they are and don't need to be married to do that. Maya says she's moving back to Italy, but that wasn't Carina's choice, to move back to a country that reminds her of her dead mother and dead brother and her difficult father. She's sorry she has to leave and says she'd stay if there were any other way. Maya says they could get married. Carina says she's not getting married to get a visa. It's not something you do to solve a problem. Maya doesn't see any other way, but Carina says they're doing the other way. She's about to leave for the airport. She has a job in Italy and quit her job here. They can't get married because Maya doesn't want them to be apart. Maya says that wouldn't be why, but that's why they moved in together. Marriage is only coming up because she's not from the US and can't stay there anymore. Maya says that's a pretty good reason. Carina says Maya didn't even want this until she started getting sad about Carina leaving. Maya corrects that she's been devastated. She's trying to lead her team through one of the most difficult times in their history. She has a house of grieving firefighters and a girlfriend about to leave her to go to Italy. Carina says it's been a hard year, but not just for Maya. Maya says maybe they moved too fast and they don't really know each other. Maybe they should take a break for a while. They don't even know when she'll be able to come back. Carina asks if she wants them to see other people. Maya says she doesn't, but there's a time difference and they'll both be busy and the world is on fire. Carina tells Maya to breathe. Maya says they've learned more about each other in the last two hours than in the rest of their relationship. She should have known Carina didn't want to get married, but does want children. Carina's upset, saying she knew Maya would freak out on her. Maya says Carina was right. She's made no effort to learn Carina's culture or language. She doesn't understand what Carina is going through. Maybe they're not right for each other. Carina asks if she wants to break up temporarily or because they're not right for each other. Carina doesn't understand the difference between taking a break and breaking up. As far as Carina's concerned, she married Maya the day she moved into the apartment with her. That was commitment to her. She doesn't believe in ticking a box and calling that marriage, but she does believe in building a life with the person you want to be with forever. Maya says that's not how it works. The kind of marriage the government says is okay puts an obligation on love. She doesn't like that the only way she can stay with Maya is if she signs a piece of paper promising never to leave her, a piece of paper that people like them can't get in Italy. Maya asks why it matters if it's crap, why she won't just do it so they can stay together while the world is burning. Everyone is desperate and lonely and they have each other. They got lucky and Carina is going to throw it away. Carina says Maya is throwing it away. Maya comments that Carina will still have Gabriella. Maybe she's who Carina was meant to be with anyway. Carina tells Maya to stop talking as she's said enough. She takes her bag and leaves, saying she doesn't want Maya to drive her to the airport anymore.
Andy finds Jack waiting outside East Bay Surgical Center for Ben. She says Vic, Dean, and Travis hit a protest, so they're not coming, but sent love and oversized donut holes. Andy can't believe Ben's going through this on top of everything else. It's a lot. Jack says he pulled a woman out of a dumpster today and tells Andy about Sonia. Turns out Sonia's spine was just bruised, not severed. Andy asks how it's going with Inara. Jack says Inara is great.
Ben wakes up and sees Sullivan. Nurse Lea comes in to check on him and he says it went well. Sullivan tells Ben the team sent him a basket of new balls and he points out different ones.
Carina is riding to the airport and talking to Gabriella again about Maya's proposal. Gabriella asks if she's against marriage or bad proposals. Carina reminds her of how badly her parents' marriage went. Gabriella says her parents getting divorced shouldn't stop her from getting married. She can get divorced in two years if marriage isn't real. Carina says what she and Maya have is real and she doesn't need a piece of paper to tell her that. She doesn't want to run into a situation they might regret in a couple years. Gabriella asks if she's willing to lose Maya instead. Carina says they both said such horrible things. Gabriella's known Carina for half her life and she's never seen Carina as happy as she is with Maya. Even in her grief, she was at her happiest. She should be celebrating the fact that Maya's country will even allow them to get married.
Andy asks if Maya just let Carina go. Maya isn't sure what else she could have done. They were both awful. Andy asks if they'll get back together once her visa is renewed. Suddenly, Carina comes up behind Maya and asks her to marry her. She knows she's a stubborn idiot and she still thinks marriage was invented to keep women as property, but she'd rather do something she doesn't want to do than to lose Maya. Maya says she doesn't know if she wants kids and the world is a mess right now. Carina says the world is a mess and it's changing right now. They can worry about kids later. She wants to be in this beautiful mess of a changing world with Maya. She asks Maya again to marry her. Maya kisses her and accepts. As they kiss, Sullivan wheels Ben outside. Ben asks what he missed and Carina tells them they're getting married. They all celebrate together.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Jaina Lee Ortiz as Lieutenant Andy Herrera
- Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren
- Boris Kodjoe as Robert Sullivan
- Grey Damon as Lieutenant Jack Gibson
- Barrett Doss as Victoria Hughes (credit only)
- Jay Hayden as Travis Montgomery (credit only)
- Okieriete Onaodowan as Dean Miller (credit only)
- Danielle Savre as Captain Maya Bishop
- Stefania Spampinato as Dr. Carina DeLuca
Guest Stars[]
- Gabriella Pession as Dr. Gabriella Aurora
- Drew Rausch as John Finch
- Jayne Taini as Marsha Smith
- Colleen Foy as Inara
- Darri Ingolfsson as Matthew
- Farah Merani as Sonia
- Dhruv Uday Singh as Eric
- Hilary Ward as Mrs. Warren
- Anil Kumar as Dr. Clark Kabir
- Tocarra Cash as Lisa
Co-Starring[]
- Ansel Sluyter-Obidos as Marcus
- Noah Alexander Gerry as Joey
- Rochelle Zimmerman as Nurse Lea
- Barry Brisco as Dr. Reid
- Jonathan Buckley as B-Shifter 2
- Kyle Louis as Orderly
- Troy Williams as Dream Ben #1
- Quincy Williams as Dream Ben #2
Rescues[]
Sonia[]
Sonia stepped out a window thinking it was a fire escape only to fall three stories, where she hit the side of a dumpster before falling in. Jack and Inara found her there, struggling to move. She said her legs were tingling. Jack jumped into the dumpster and wrapped a towel around her neck to provide some stability, but warned her there was a possibility of a spinal injury. Soon after that, Station 19 B-shift arrived and got her out of the dumpster and onto a spine board. They took her to the hospital, where she learned her spine was not broken, but bruised.
Music[]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Love Will Keep Us Together" | Captain and Tennille |
|
| "Mother's Prayer" | Tawiah |
|
| "" |
| |
| "Love Has No Limits" | Fleurie |
|
Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode's title originated from the song Comfortably Numb, originally sung by Pink Floyd.
- This episode scored 4.92 million viewers.[1]
- The scene with Maya and Carina while they discuss marriage and their relationship was eight pages long and filmed as one continuous take, with cameras hidden around the set to capture a variety of angles.[2]
- The OR scene with Ben is reminiscent of the Grey's Anatomy episode The Room Where It Happens.
- Barrett Doss and Okieriete Onaodowan do not appear in this episode, which makes Jason George the only actor to appear on every episode of the series so far.
- This episode was filmed at the twelfth episode, but aired as the fourteenth.[2]
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Quotes[]
See Also[]
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A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
| Station 19 Season 4 | ||||||
| #01 | "Nothing Seems the Same" | #07 | "Learning to Fly" | #13 | "I Guess I'm Floating" | |
| #02 | "Wild World" | #08 | "Make No Mistake, He's Mine" | #14 | "Comfortably Numb" | |
| #03 | "We Are Family" | #09 | "No One is Alone" | #15 | "Say Her Name" | |
| #04 | "Don't Look Back in Anger" | #10 | "Save Yourself" | #16 | "Forever and Ever, Amen" | |
| #05 | "Out of Control" | #11 | "Here It Comes Again" | |||
| #06 | "Train in Vain" | #12 | "Get Up, Stand Up" | |||
| << Season 3 | Season 5 >> | |||||