Station 19 vs. Grey’s Anatomy: The Shocking Parallels You Never Noticed!

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Grey’s Anatomy is undoubtedly a powerhouse in its own right and when Station 19 came along in 2018, the universe just got more intense. While the former show focuses on the medical tragedies occurring in the bustling city of Seattle, Station 19 focuses more on the firefighters who try to keep civilians out of danger. But, because of the large number of catastrophes that occur each day, it comes as no surprise that the shows have crossed over many times.

At first glance, it seems that the only thing that these shows have in common is their locations and themes. However, once fans take a closer look, they will be able to see that there are a ton of similarities between the characters. As such, Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 are much more intertwined than fans first anticipated.

Meredith Grey and Andy Herrera Both Followed in Their Parent’s Footsteps

The overall drive behind Grey’s Anatomy is that Meredith is desperately trying to live up to her mother, Elis Grey’s, expectations and legacy. Even as a young child, Meredith would go to Seattle Grace Hospital to watch her mother carry out surgery. This, of course, fascinated the little girl, and she was determined to continue her mother’s legacy, even though the pair had an awfully strained relationship.

As Meredith entered Dartmouth, she became more interested in drinking and partying than securing her degree. When she completed school, her mother advised that Meredith follow a different path, mostly because she didn’t think that her daughter could handle the pressures of medical school. The main thing that kick-started Meredith’s medical career was when her mother got diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Thus, she was determined to find a cure for the disease and outshine her mother’s iconic legacy.

A similar thing occurs in Station 19 with Andy Herrera and her father, Pruitt. Like Meredith, Andy would visit her father at the fire station and become well-versed in all the equipment and safety protocols at a very young age. Thus, it comes as no surprise that she joined the fire academy. However, Andy’s legacy didn’t blossom until her father was diagnosed with cancer, which was uncovered in the pilot episode. After much consideration, Pruitt decided to promote both Andy and her brother, Jack, to Lieutenant and asked them to take care of the station while he was receiving treatment. Finally, in Season 7, Andy officially becomes a captain, making fans extremely emotional.

While nepotism is a touchy subject in any industry, the fact that both Meredith and Andy are legacy children makes both shows so much more alluring. Both women were undoubtedly given a very personal headstart in their careers, but they managed to climb up the ranks through their own determination and will. Thus, this is just another prime example of how Shonda Rhimes enjoys putting strong-willed women in the spotlight.

Alex Karev and Jack Gibson Had a Rough Start to Life

From the pilot episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Alex Karev was quickly established as the hospital’s bad boy. As a handsome, smooth-talker, it was clear that he could get with any woman he wanted and rarely had to think about the consequences. Yet, as the audience discovered more about him, they learned that Karev didn’t always have it easy. Growing up, Karev’s father struggled with alcoholism, and his mother had schizophrenia. This forced him to become the man of the house at a very young age and, unfortunately, things only got worse when he was taken into foster care. After moving into 17 different foster homes in five years, Alex was forced to steal and commit crimes in order to take care of his younger siblings. Yet, these hardships didn’t stop Karev from finding success in medicine, and he went on to become the Head of Pediatric Surgery in Season 13.

Station 19’s Jack Gibson also had a troublesome childhood. Like Karev, Jack spent the majority of his time in foster care and never really got the chance to be adopted into a loving home. He was taken in by one family, but a faulty oven caused a major fire in their home. Not only did this incident kill his parents, but it also separated him from his brother and sister. Thus, it’s clear to see that both men had to grow up too soon and care for their younger siblings. It could also be argued that these arcs helped to foreshadow the men’s later success. Both Jack and Alex found their families at their workplace, and they both used their troublesome pasts to help them develop leadership qualities in their fields.

Jackson Avery and Dean Miller Had Dreams of Helping Others

Jackson Avery first joined Grey’s Anatomy in Season 6 after the merger with Mercy West. On first impression, he seems nothing more than a very skilled surgeon. However, it’s later revealed that he is the grandson of the prized surgeon Harper Avery and the son of fellow medical mogul Catherine Fox. While Jacsakoin often felt frustrated by his mother’s constant need to give her opinion on every area of his life, he admired her work as a surgeon. In Season 14, Episode 20, “Judgment Day,” news that Harper Avery had sexually assaulted countless women in his lifetime came to light. Thus, it was clear that the award needed a replacement fast. So, Catherine Fox rose to the challenge and stated that she wanted to change the face of the foundation and focus on making medicine more accessible to marginalized groups. Although Jackson was very much against this change at first, he grew to appreciate the charity more and more. When he decided to turn his back on Grey Sloan in Season 18, he relocated to Boston so that he could take over the foundation and continue its good work.

In a similar vein, Dean Miller developed the Crisis One Program in Season 5. After witnessing an uptick in police violence, Miller designed a program that would encourage firefighters to respond to non-violent calls instead of the police department. He funded the program using his own money, using the funds he received from a settlement after he was wrongfully arrested. Miller also had plans to expand the program so that the fire department could intervene in areas where police could inadvertently raise tensions. While Jackson was essentially born into the Catherine Fox Foundation, both men saw the need for change. So, instead of asking someone else to sort it out, Dean and Jackson took the initiative to expand their own foundations.

Miranda Bailey and Natasha Ross Struggled to Commit to Their Partners

Although Miranda Bailey now has a very strong and loving relationship with Ben Warren, it wasn’t always that way. After her divorce from Tucker, she was nervous to start dating again and was more concerned about what Ben would think of her and her son. However, Ben was already smitten with Miranda and was keen to start a relationship with her. After a handful of awkward dates, Bailey decided to call things off because she felt that she was too broken to date a man as stable as Ben. Luckily, after a brief fling with a nurse called Eli, Miranda came to her senses and decided to give things with Ben another shot. This was quite an unusual arc for Bailey because it was the first time that audiences had seen her feeling insecure, so a lot of fans appreciated her rawness and vulnerability.

Natasha Ross experienced the same sort of stumbling blocks with her husband, Robert Sulivan. Although the pair first became intimate during their time in Iraq, the pair lost touch after struggling to come to an agreement about the future. The pair rekindled their relationship at the firehouse, but Ross was keen to keep their relationship on the down low. Even when Robert asked her out on a date in Season 5 after the clinic first opened, Natasha declined in favor of keeping their bond a secret.

Fortunately, in Season 7, the pair got married and finally allowed their relationship to be out in the open. While this may seem like a minor comparison, it does a lot for Ross and Bailey’s arcs. It’s very easy to assume that these women are remarkably strong and rarely let anything phase them. However, their failure to commit to serious relationships suggests that they have a lot of unresolved baggage.

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