Spoilers ahead for Episode 3 of Station 19 Season 3, called "Eulogy."
Station 19 hit the ground running in Season 3 thanks to the big crossover with Grey's Anatomy, but the action didn't stop there, and "Eulogy" revealed the aftermath of Ryan getting shot in the chest. Last week's cliffhanger saw Ryan's emotional day with Andy ruined when a three-year-old playing with his mom's gun accidentally shot Ryan, and the credits rolled on Andy desperately trying to save the man she loved. Sadly, "Eulogy" confirmed fans' worst fears: Ryan died due to his injuries.
The major characters were spared in the crossover despite the intention for somebody to die, only for Ryan to pass away now? Talk about heartbreaking! For those who loved Ryan and Ryan's relationship with Andy, it might have been better if actor Alberto Frezza never came back for Season 3! Frezza explained why Ryan returned and his thoughts on Andy moving on from Ryan's death. First, here's why Ryan came back for the big talk with Andy:
Ryan came back for a specific purpose, and he didn't come back because he wanted to move back to Seattle. He moved back because he wanted to tell Andy he loved her and he wanted to spend basically the rest of his life with her. He wanted to take this relationship seriously in a way that they hadn't done before. That's why he came back and that's what the where the conversation was going before the tragic thing happened.
The tumultuous love story of Andy and Ryan could have taken a giant leap forward if not for that toddler with a loaded gun! According to Alberto Frezza's comments to TV Guide ahead of "Eulogy," Ryan was ready to take their relationship seriously in a way he hadn't previously. If only the tragedy had come a little later (if it had to come at all), Andy could have heard what he so wanted to tell her!
Now, Andy is facing complicated relationships at work and the loss of the promotion she'd been hoping for (thanks to her father reaching out to discourage the newly-promoted fire chief from bumping her up to captain) without Ryan to lean on. Can she recover from a loss that runs as deeply as Ryan's death?
"Eulogy" emphasized how far back their friendship and love story went, with Ryan finding the way to comfort her after her mother's death. Speaking with Us Weekly, Alberto Frezza weighed in on whether Andy will be able to find the kind of connection she had with Ryan ever again:
Honestly, I don’t think so. If we look back at how much history these two characters have … You can find certain people that maybe you can rely on or have certain types of conversations with but the memories and the history that is so deep between these two characters [isn’t replaceable]. You can’t recreate somebody being there for you when your mom passes away or all the trouble that she got into and he was there for throughout their childhood. I don’t think she’ll ever be able to find that.
Alberto Frezza is certainly correct that Andy can never recreate quite the same bond that she had with Ryan. Their friendship was something she could rely on through her formative years and through some of the most difficult times in her life, and even her dad loved him. Those years and experiences can't be recreated, so the Ryan/Andy bond should be one-of-a-kind on Station 19.
Of course, there was more to Andy and Ryan's relationship than just their shared history. They deeply loved each other, even if Andy never got to hear Ryan say it again the way he wanted to. Alberto Frezza shared the movie quote that sums up Andy and Ryan's relationship as well as how their bond was unique:
My favorite movie of all time is Stand by Me and there’s a beautiful quote saying, 'I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12. Does anyone?' I honestly don’t think that Andy will ever find anybody like that. … Their relationship was very, very complicated. They’ve been in love for so long, but at the same time, it was kind of like they relied on each other. I wouldn’t say that they were brother and sister, but they were that close to me.
So, what's next for Andy now that she has lost Ryan for good? She attempted to bury herself in work to avoid feeling the depth of her grief, but Pruitt guaranteed that she won't move up the Seattle Fire Department ranks to become captain just yet. Their relationship might take a turn for the worse when Andy inevitably finds out what her dad did.
Since Ryan was the one who helped Andy move past her mom's death, is there anybody who can fully bring herself out of her darkness any time too soon? Find out when new episodes of Station 19 air Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET ahead of new episodes of Grey's Anatomy on ABC in the winter TV premiere lineup.
