Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Station 19 Season 4 premiere, "Nothing Seems The Same." Read at your own risk.
Station 19 Season 3 left things in a hairy spot for Andy and Sullivan, and after all that happened, there was some concern from fans that the couple would not be able to juggle a marriage and their respective traumas at the same time. Andy lost her father and had to reconcile the fact that her mother was still alive and just wasn't around for 20 years of her life.
Then there's Sullivan, who is facing the repercussions of his struggles with opioids. He may never be a firefighter again because of how he handled it in Season 3, and while that's out of his control, the Season 4 premiere showed he's trying to fix the opioid addiction. He agreed to 90 days to receive treatment, but with that treatment, Station 19 revealed that he's taking a "separation" from Andy to fully commit to the process.
It's not quite so dramatic as it may sound, though, because Sullivan assured Andy he still loves her very much. With that being said, there were people concerned about the strain this may put on their relationship, and executive producer Paris Barclay indicated to ET there's reason to be.
It's going to be a struggle. Whenever you're forced apart, when you want to be together, it's going to be a struggle. And Sullivan has to find his own way. He has to find where he's going to work and how he's going to fit in. And Andy has to continue with her job too, and deal with the pain of the loss of her beloved father and the struggle with her mother. The both of them have a lot going on in their own lives, and maybe it's advisable that they do it apart. But because they love each other, they want to be together and they want to support each other through what each is going through. That's going to be the tension that weaves in. We're in episodes 5 and 6 now. The tension continues. They're still trying to work out how it all will play out.
Paris Barclay also clarified the whole job situation for Sullivan, saying that he has not been "tried and adjudicated" of a felony yet. That's part of the reason he's not "behind bars" as the premiere mentioned, but also why his career as a firefighter is still very much up in the air. The brief interactions and chatter from the department even made it a question of whether or not people in the department would welcome him back.
Season 4 may be the end of Andy and Sullivan, though the optimist in me thinks that Station 19 will show these two conquer and overcome the obstacles. That's probably not something that's going to happen easily, especially with the massive amount of stress they're both currently under. Still, this is television, and for as many bummer real-life endings developments has given us, I have to think Station 19 may want to give fans a little hope for this couple rather than nuke the marriage.
Station 19 airs on ABC Thursdays at 8:00. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for more on the series going forward, and for more happening in the world of television and movies.
