Exactly one year and one month ago, the first article about Maya ( Danielle Savre ) and Carina ( Stefania Spampinato ) appeared here on the site.
Let’s talk about “Marina”, but first let’s remember “Station 19” ?
As we know, “Station 19” was released in March 2018. And it is a series that goes far beyond “Grey’s Anatomy” (despite being a spin-off). The main cast is excellent, just as Meredith ( Ellen Pompeo ) is the center of attention at the hospital, here we have Andy Herrera ( Jaina Lee Ortiz ) as the main character, she is the typical protagonist of the ShondaLand universe: many times she does not please the audience, since she carries with her the dilemma of always being right. But the writers did a great job with the script and we have a cast that plays their roles incredibly. I dare say that this spin-off was one of the best so far within the “Grey’s Anatomy” universe.
As we know, the world is turned upside down because of the pandemic, and this has also affected the filming of this series that has won our hearts. However, despite the world exploding, we were presented with a fresh season, bringing the new reality we are living to the small screen. With the proposal of showing how Covid-19 has affected the lives of our favorite firefighters, this year’s production has arrived with both feet in the door. And of course, speaking of them…
We started the season seeing that Maya and Carina were not seeing each other because of their respective jobs and, of course, for safety reasons. Which, at first, was interesting to watch, because our dear Maya seemed like she couldn’t handle missing her beloved. And a parenthesis here for the scene where Maya starts doing a stripper-teaser over video call while Carina is on duty at the hospital. Seriously, guys, this woman is very much “girlfriend material”. And as the first episodes went by, we saw an evolution of our favorite couple of the moment. On any given day, as if by chance, our Dr. Carina DeLuca shows up at Station 19, with two covid tests (IMPORTANT) and says that she can’t stand being away from her beloved anymore and asks if our captain wants to “quarantine” with her. After this episode, we started to have more scenes of Marina being “domestic”. Which is very funny to watch because Maya has ZERO talent for cooking.
This season of “Station 19”, while dealing with extremely important issues, had several flaws in the script, such as the passage of time and the confusion regarding Carina’s place in the series. As we know, Stefania Spampinato was hired as a regular, but what didn’t make sense, in the minds of many fans, was how a doctor would act in a series about FIREMEN. We understand that it’s because of the couple’s hype, but we saw Carina DeLuca only existing in a few scenes this season, giving space to criticisms such as “she’s now JUST Maya’s GIRLFRIEND” and that she became a character without a plot . Which is really sad, because Carina has enormous potential to be one of the most interesting characters in this new phase of “Grey’s Anatomy” . But let’s not lose hope, okay? Now with the arrival of Jo Wilson ( Camilla Luddington ) to the vagina squad, we can see many scenes of our dear Dr. Carina DeLuca in the halls of Grey Sloan.
Carina Deluca exposing her feelings
Still talking about our favorite obstetrician ( CONTAINS SPOILERS ), we watched Carina go through one of the most difficult moments of her life, with the death of her brother Andrew DeLuca ( Giacomo Gianniotti ). We watched Carina in pieces, in the middle of a pandemic and without any family around to comfort her. Since her debut in “Grey’s Anatomy” we have always seen her being a fun character without major worries about life. This year, in “Station 19” , it was interesting to be able to see a character like her go through other problems (that do not only involve those related to relationships). Once again, Stefania delivered absolutely everything, which leaves us even more in doubt, not knowing why she will not continue as a regular in “Grey’s Anatomy” – go figure.
It was also very important to see that Maya has already overcome the “broken Maya” phase and now she can finally deal with her emotional problems like the adult woman that she is. We saw our favorite captain stay by her girlfriend’s side the whole time she was grieving, even when she couldn’t really do anything, she was there for her beloved. In fact, one of the strongest scenes between the two, since the beginning of their relationship, was them screaming at the Station (point to Krista Vernoff here). And at the same time that we saw Maya mature, we were also able to see that she still has her insecurities in relationships. When an old girlfriend of Carina’s shows up again to “visit” her, Maya simply freaks out and thinks she’s not a good girlfriend, which ends up being fun to watch. Because at the end of the day, she (Maya) is a character that represents many women who, even though they are in a serious and solid relationship, feel insecure.
And let’s face it, Maya being jealous of Gabi ( Gabriella Pession ), Carina’s ex, was comical.
Maya Bishop and her redemption arc
Maya’s redemption is something I’m always talking about here, but it’s still a very important topic to remember. Let’s ignore the plot hole made by the writers of “Station 19” , who ran over the process of one of the best characters in the series, and focus on what really happened. When Maya finally understood that she grew up in an abusive home and that her father was a total jerk to her, it was one of the most important moments in the production for our favorite firefighter. What came next, we close our eyes and brush it off, right?
I’ve already talked about the flaws in the script/time in the series, but I’ll repeat this point again. It seems like the writers didn’t know how to close the windows properly and created a huge mess in the viewers’ heads. It seems like they wanted to do EVERYTHING at once and in the end it was a huge mess. With several plot holes and random scenes, we watched a super rushed season with many situations happening at the same time.
Speaking about Maya and Carina’s relationship, what intrigued me in this fourth season was seeing how little screen time they had. In less than six episodes, we saw Carina with an expired visa and wondering whether or not to return to Italy, Maya confused about what she should do about it, and the two of them getting into a conflict – which could have been resolved with a SIMPLE conversation and lots of unnecessary petty squabbles. What seemed to me in the end is that the writers of “Station 19” are using Marina as the series’ big saving grace, which is completely nonsensical, given that the production is incredible and has several interesting characters with wonderful plots that could be explored further. But, go figure, right?
It’s 2021 and it’s still very difficult to watch a female couple in a television series. What they show us is the same old pattern. Lots of fighting, little dialogue, betrayal and hasty decisions.
And speaking of hasty decisions…
Unlike the first article about this couple, who weren’t even a real couple when I first wrote about them, here we have a Carina and a Maya who have learned that it’s possible to have a relationship, despite the great difficulties they’ve always faced. Which is still very expensive, since they still have a long way to go. Which should have happened before Carina’s marriage proposal – in a moment of pure and free PRESSURE almost at the end of the season. Everything was very rushed and without a sincere conversation about what this step means for the two of them.
And even at the time of the proposal, can we remember Maya saying that she didn’t want to have children? Which we already know could (and spoiler, it will!) be a big issue between the two in the near future.
And not to mention just possible tragedies
And once again, of course, I say here that they are a couple that, despite everything, their relationship has proven to be extremely important, both for them and for thousands of women who love other women. Of course, we can’t say that everything is rosy and that there is representation in every LGBTQIA+ couple that exists in fiction, but Marina warms our hearts when they show that it is possible to overcome our own traumas (with professional help) and live alongside the person we love.
I continue to hope that Maya and Carina are not a repeat of a couple that we know well and that was successful in the series next door.
Despite a rushed season full of plot holes, “Station 19” has proven to be an important and necessary series. It is no longer just another “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off and is now standing on its own two feet. It brings up more than important topics to be discussed at family lunches on Sundays. The fourth season was great, despite its drawbacks. And I keep saying that this production deserves more attention and investment. I hope that the next seasons will be full of what the last one didn’t have.
