Station 19 knows how to bring the laughs and the tears.
It’s why this series continues to resonate with its vast audience, and Staton 19 Season 7 Episode 2 was no exception, as it delivered an action-packed, heartwarming, and heartrending episode all at once.
At the forefront of that hour was learning that Jack Gibson would no longer be fighting fires, his CTE preventing him from continuing with a job he deems his true purpose with the people he considers his family.
The devastating news led to some truly emotional scenes, with viewers reaching for the Kleenex.
TV Fanatic had the privilege of speaking to the incredibly humble, talented, and kind Gray Damon about Jack’s prognosis, the impact the character and series have had on their devoted fans, and the legacy he hopes the series will leave behind.
Check out the discussion below!
The episode featured two wakes, and yet Jack’s storyline somehow ends up being the most devastating one of all.
Oh, what a surprise.
I know! I mentioned last time that you’re like the kicked puppy of the series.
I’m walking Murphy’s Law!
What can you share about how Jack is processing the news of his career essentially ending? What was your reaction to this storyline?
My reaction is because he is walking Murphy’s Law, I’m not surprised by anything anymore.
But for Jack, besides Pru and the clinic, this was his last sense of having a calling.
It’s devastating. Being a firefighter was the most important, consistent thing in his life, you know?
Will Jack be at Station 19 in any capacity anymore? Does that mean no clinic duty, running the front desk, or Crisis One?
He can’t do anything like Crisis One. I don’t see him as much of a desk guy, but I hope he’s allowed to at least keep working with the clinic because it’s all he has left of Dean, as he says.
But I can’t say. This was so much of his identity and purpose.
But that’s kind of the point, showing that you don’t do a job like this unless you’re a particular type of person and because you love it. But what’s next is up to the writers. We’ll see.
Piggybacking on that, you gave such a nuanced portrayal of Jack as this man who feels like he lost his purpose. You captured that well.
Thank you.
How difficult was it for you to capture his vulnerability and resilience? That came across really well. It’s such a challenging situation.
With acting, sometimes you don’t feel like you’re, you’re getting there. And then it may still come across as you said it did, which is a very lovely thing to say. Thank you.
I try to put myself in a mental place of, of, you know, how would, how would, how would anyone be able to handle that? How does one handle at least one of the most important things in their life getting taken away from them in a very definitive way?
Yeah. It feels like a familiar sort of place for Jack to be. I’m a Jack fan, so I was devastated by this. I understand the storyline and what they could explore, but it hurt my heart.
Will we see Jack pulling away from his Station 19 family or leaning into him a bit more?
It’s probably a bit of both. Of course, he doesn’t want to leave; that is his family, and they will always be his family. But I can’t say; I haven’t seen that from the writers yet. But I suspect it will eventually amount to him needing to find another purpose that isn’t a part of this.
He’s resilient, as you said.
