And as soon as once more, Station 19 closed out the season with a harrowing cliffhanger that’ll have us biting our nails till its return.
Jack collapsed on the finish of Station 19 Season 6 Episode 18, the ramifications of yet one more head harm, and we’re left questioning how he’ll fare healthwise and if he’ll ever have the ability to inform Vic the reality about Theo.
We had the privilege of catching up with the candy, humorous, charming star, Gray Damon, whose identify completely contradicts his pure skill to be human sunshine, to debate all issues Station 19 and Jack Gibson.
If Jack is difficult of head, pun supposed, Damon is pure of coronary heart and soul.
It is one thing that unironically involves gentle a number of occasions all through our half-hour chat, so we hope you benefit from the learn.
Apart from the puns and jokes, we focus on Jack’s future, that stunning cliffhanger, Jack’s household arcs, his fanboying over costar Danielle Savre’s directorial debut, and extra. Test it out!
Hello, Gray, How are you?
I am good. How are you?
Properly, we’re each doing higher than Jack proper now!
Yeah, completely higher.
I used to be going to joke about your identify because it’s gloomy, wet, and grey right here proper now. However I promise I will maintain the corny jokes to myself.
No, I am into it. Throw them at me! Jokes are my forte.
Properly, first, let’s discuss Jack. Poor Jack by no means makes it out of finales with out stressing us out.
I mentioned the identical factor!
I do know! Why do you assume they at all times use you to depart the collection on these cliffhangers? Is it to maintain you in your toes or to maintain us on our toes since we love you a lot?
It is a lack of with the ability to keep on his toes that’s the downside. See? I received dangerous jokes too.
I like them. [Laughs]
We have seen a number of situations of Jack sustaining head accidents and never getting the correct assist. I needed to shake him, which might not do properly along with his head harm. Do you assume we’re headed towards a TBI storyline or one thing sooner or later?
That is fascinating. I do not know. I believe normally, with footballers, they will begin changing into aggressive. Their mind swells towards the cranium after too many head accidents. I’m wondering if one thing alongside these traces would possibly occur with Jack.
I do know that he has PTSD. We do not present it a lot anymore, however I attempt to throw these little nuances in there once they aren’t writing about them. The writers are good at type of heading a technique, after which they’re going to flip one thing on its head, “Truly, we’ll determine that Jack is a Plumber now.” [Laughs] However no, I do not know!
Ha! So that you simply go in blind typically and go from there?
You don’t have any concept. And perhaps Jack will go blind due to his harm. Who is aware of? [Laughs]
Oh yeah, it is one thing that they might angle for there! [Laughs]
No, however this positively opens up many prospects. Jack places a number of stake in being a firefighter. So what would occur if he developed a severe well being situation that prevented him from with the ability to try this? Are you able to think about him making a shift to one thing else?
Proper? Look, if it should occur to anybody. It is in all probability going to occur to Jack.
Blind kittens in site visitors have higher luck than him!
Oh my gosh. It is insane. He is this actually nice firefighter, however he retains falling down and getting hit by issues. He isn’t very coordinated. He is additionally a horrible dancer, however that is my very own little add-on.
Jack is a bit unsteady, no pun supposed. However I’ve observed he is additionally a compassionate, supportive individual to everybody else however himself. He is struggled this season, giving himself the grace he extends others. Why is he so onerous on himself?
I am no clinician, however from a psychological standpoint, he is making an attempt to exude the love he wished he had gotten when he was a child. In some inadvertent method, he has proven himself that type of love by doing so for others, by proving to himself that he might be respectable.
Talking of affection, it seemed like he confirmed curiosity in Kate, properly, at the very least till he caught her with Theo. Ought to we take that as hints at a romance for them? What attracted him to her? As a result of I am nervous, man. Jack’s love life is a rollercoaster.
Yeah, it is one thing else. Plenty of ups and downs, no pun supposed.
Yeah, she’s a cute new woman on the station who clearly has no real interest in him. However he is in a bizarre transitional interval proper now.
He is skilled a number of progress. However maybe subconsciously, he is seeing somebody who may need it collectively in a method. She will be able to do issues that he is not notably capable of, which is to be a speaker of reality, daring, and never care an excessive amount of about what folks take into consideration her.
He could also be drawn to that. But it surely’s additionally been some time for him to have any actual reference to anyone. Or he could also be slowly reverting to outdated habits. Proper?
I am betting that Kate’s coatroom kiss canceled out the crush. I did discover it fascinating that Jack was the one to search out Theo in that compromising place, given he and Vic shared that grief kiss earlier than. I do not know if that was a deliberate factor or not.
what? I’ve by no means made that correlation, in order that’s a very good catch.
It seemed like Jack deliberate to inform Vic immediately. How do you assume that can have an effect on the connection between all of them shifting ahead?
No matter his previous with Vic and the way it had been rocky, particularly in direction of the top, he does have a bond together with her that’s fairly particular due to Dean. His and Vic’s kiss was water below the bridge as a result of they understood the place it was coming from, a spot of immense ache, and them making an attempt to alleviate that.
So I believe Theo, Jack has his relationship with him too, and so they have that type of comparable bond and really feel accountable for the loss of life of a fellow firefighter. However Theo additionally has been a bit heavy to be round these days. In order that has in all probability alienated Theo to a level that basically made it simpler for Jack to say, “I do not owe this individual something anymore.”
I believe he needs to go to Vic and instantly inform her, however in relation to it, once they’re nose to nose, he might hesitate. I am speculating right here as a result of I do not know what the writers have deliberate, however figuring out Jack the best way I do, he would hesitate and understand that he wants to tug it again slightly and select his strategy extra correctly.
Or he might blurt it out and trigger a number of ruckus: one excessive or the opposite. Jack’s progress and that second of frustration and harm particularly getting rejected and his lack of courting — that hit him in a selected method.
Jack’s the wildcard proper now.
Yeah, if he had caught as much as Vic, he would’ve supposed to inform her as a result of he is reactive and upset, however then refrained perhaps final minute and would’ve understood that he hasn’t carried out nice issues with relationships both.
However that is simply the fantasy I am holding on to in order that, if something, we will drag the drama out slightly bit. Possibly it might be a factor that he needs to inform her, however he would not know the way.
It is positively going to be a lot drama I can already anticipate it. Now, one in every of my favourite moments this season in your character was Jack’s reunion along with his foster sister. I used to be truly stunned that we did not spend extra time with it afterward.
He additionally related along with his organic sister however hasn’t met his start mother and father but.
There’s a lot ache there for him. It is the factor that hurts him essentially the most, not feeling needed and abandonment points.
It is why he has these extreme relationships with girls and all of that. He is positively been hesitant to satisfy them anyway. I am uncertain if he needs to since he is assumed they did not need him, and with the little issues which can be siphoned out to us about that, I am excited to see the place that goes.
Possibly there are even going to be some fascinating correlations when it comes to serendipity, with different folks he is aware of or different folks that may have wronged him or righted him in his life that can have some reference to the household and infiltrate his life that method and complicates or make issues higher.
I am speculating, however you by no means know.
In fact. There actually is a lot to discover with the character, particularly from that angle. As I mentioned, the reunion along with his foster sister was an amazing, emotional, stunning second. I hope we get to see much more of that as a result of my brother has listening to loss.
Is he totally deaf or onerous of listening to?
He is not, however I’ve different relations who’re. I like seeing any storyline exploring that, placing ASL on the forefront, or casually incorporating issues like that; it is so vital.
The Deaf neighborhood is so stunning simply by default as a result of whenever you use your palms to talk, all the pieces seems like artwork to me. It seems like an interpretive dance, or they’re nearly portray within the wind or one thing. However that is at all times been one thing actually stunning to me concerning the neighborhood.
As human beings, one of many sole issues we wish to do is talk with one another, which is ironic as a result of we’re horrible at it, however we’re all determined to grasp one another and the environment.
And it is fascinating to me how the Deaf neighborhood, whereas unable to listen to, is commonly extra intuitive and understanding of their setting than the remainder of us. I completely thought that was a lovely second, although. I might love extra of that, too.
Following up on that, what was your favourite storyline to discover with Jack this season, and what do you hope you would possibly delve right into a bit extra subsequent season?
I am not going to lie. At a sure level, I mesh the seasons collectively. It is at all times one blur to me.
I do not know if the story I like was truly final season or this season. I at all times discuss to Boris [Kodjoe], like, “You got here in… wait, you got here in? And he is like, “Season two,” and I am like, “Are you certain? That may’t be proper.”
Particularly after COVID, my sense of time is totally warped.
I fully agree. It is horrible. I am the identical method. The vacations and all of it, it is simply all a blur. I do not know. I am not even solely certain what month it’s proper now. I do not know.
Yeah, a month seems like per week to me. It is a complete factor.
However favorites, one in every of my favourite scenes was in Station 19 Season 6 Episode 16; it was Danielle’s episode, truly. Danielle Savre, which by the best way, I do know Danielle’s superior, however I did not know she was that superior the place she completely kicked that episode’s ass and made it her bitch.
However I believe it is a default or a precursor with actors who additionally determine to direct. They perceive the right way to discuss to actors. Danielle, she’s simply so badass. I wish to put that on the market as a result of I’ve meant to speak about it, however I will simply do it right here. I am at all times blown away by that individual. She’s simply so on it and conscious.
Particularly after she directed her shorts after which was going to direct the episode, a number of episodes earlier than, I talked to her about pictures and stuff, and we have been one-upping one another.
I used to be like, “Properly, truly, if the lighting does that, then it would battle with this.” She’s like, “Properly, probably not, as a result of the digital camera’s angle can be like this.”
So it was actually enjoyable to share that type of dichotomy together with her. Directing is like science and artwork. She did not begin that way back in directing itself, like shadowing and stuff. We’ve nice administrators. However Danielle, her directorial debut was probably the greatest I’ve ever seen. We are able to all simply savor her stunning episode.
However I beloved Jack’s second with the steering wheel man. The actor is superb, a very pretty individual, and his spouse performs his spouse.
However that type of a scene that he comes throughout with these senior-aged individuals who’ve gone by it, that he is searching for some type of knowledge, some wizard on a journey to assist information and advise him on life, I like that.
His relationship with Marsha is fantastic too. She’s his rock. That individual is instrumental in his progress and serving to him really feel beloved, appreciated, revered, and supported in a method he did not have.
However this is this man displaying Jack issues about himself and discussing how he navigated the world and obtained issues by holding onto hope and the concept good issues can come again to you. It may possibly nonetheless occur, even when it is method later. It was a particular, profound second for Jack.
I like Jack’s innate skill to attach with folks on calls and through emergencies. It is one in every of his biggest character strengths.
Yeah, it truly is. There have been some nice ones. I bear in mind method again with the homeless child; he noticed a lot of himself on this child and tried to be to him what he did not have. And there was the autistic child as properly. He has these pivotal moments by these interactions with folks in his life.
It is humorous with that final one; it resonated with me as a result of I had an analogous reference to an autistic child I met as soon as.
I used to be at a petting zoo as a result of I am a baby, and my girlfriend on the time indulged me as a result of we have been at a pageant, and I needed to hang around with the goats and pigs as a result of it was extra attuned to my consolation degree.
However I am simply standing there together with her, and we’re watching the animals be ridiculous. And this little boy comes as much as me, and he simply holds my hand, and I look over. For some cause, it was so stunning to me. He was smiling, and he simply needed to carry my hand.
And I checked out my girlfriend, who was tearing up and smiling. And nothing in that second was corrupted or ruined by the world or life. He was simply so current, taking all of it in and having fun with himself.
However that second actually will get me. So once we do issues like that within the present the place you are having these connections with folks, they’re simply so stunning, have a lot weight, and are so pivotal in life and remind us how vital connection is and neighborhood.
I like these moments, too, and the way significant they’re. That is a lovely, touching expertise. Clearly, it is one thing you’ve in frequent together with your character. He will need to have actually picked up in your good spirit and comforting vitality and related with you at that second.
His brother got here up apologizing, I suppose he is used to dragging him away from folks, and I am like, “It is effective!” To me, it was such a candy, pure second.
***This Interview was edited for size and readability.
It is at all times greatest to depart issues slightly higher, extra hopeful, and brighter than you discovered them, so I can not consider a greater place to conclude this interview.
So, over to you, Station 19 Fanatics! Hold forth under with your entire ideas and reactions.
If you’ll want to meet up with the collection and comply with Jack’s advanced journey, you may watch Station 19 on-line right here through TV Fanatic. It’s also possible to take a look at our Station 19 Critiques.
Jasmine Blu is a senior employees author for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching method too many exhibits and binge-drinking method an excessive amount of tea. Her eclectic style makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for advanced characters, numerous illustration, dynamic duos, compelling tales, and responsible pleasures. You may positively discover her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Comply with her on Twitter.
