The Station 19, Grey’s Anatomy crossover event brought in big ratings for the firefighter drama, so we guess the horribly heartbreaking death was worth it?
The ABC dramas got together for another crossover event before the end of the season which found the doctors of Grey Sloan Memorial working to save fire chief Lucas Ripley (Brett Tucker) after he collapsed outside a flower shop.
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The long-running medical drama ticked up in the ratings with 6.9 million total viewers and a 1.4 in the 18-49 demographic, TVLine reports. The big episode for Station 19 landed 6.4 million viewers and a 1.2 in the rating, the show’s second-largest audience of the season and its best rating since the November crossover.
The third TGIT drama, For the People kept her usual same-day numbers with 2.7 million total viewers and a 0.5 in the demo.
Fans of the Shondaland dramas were left heartbroken at the end of the intense crossover event, after the reveal that Ripley was not affected by an existing medical condition, but actually he had been exposed to hydrofluoric acid during the coffee beanery fire the previous day.
The fire chief’s collapse carried an extra load of sadness given that he was headed to accept a marriage proposal from his girlfriend Vic Hughes (Barrett Doss), a Station 19 firefighter he had been seeing in secret for most of Season 2.
Most of the crossover saw Ripley worrying from his hospital bed if Vic would ever forgive him for not showing up to their favorite breakfast place where they had agreed to meet up. His recklessness led him to leave Grey Sloan Memorial against medical advice, only for him to have to be admitted at another nearby hospital after his poisoning symptoms became even worse.
After Vic rescued a woman from jumping out of the top of a telephone tower, her Station 19 friends broke the news about her boyfriend’s condition. At the hospital, Maggie (Grey’s Anatomy‘s Kelly McCreary) broke the news to Vic and Ripley’s sister that his injuries are too severe and there is nothing she can do to save him.
The heart-shattering installment then reached its tragic conclusion when Vic finally reunited with her boyfriend in his hospital room, only for him to accept her marriage proposal before dying.
The firefighter will allow fans to grieve the massive loss in next week’s episode, which will feature the characters attending Ripley’s funeral.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET, followed by Station 19 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
