Maya Bishop is in denial about her father’s abuse on Station 19 because he never hit her. Is this because then she’d have to admit she’s abusive too?

While there are certainly many reasons to dislike part of Maya’s storyline on Station 19, there is another part that is extremely interesting. The writers have brought up Maya’s family and past, including the fact that her father was emotionally and mentally abusive. Maya denies the abuse because he never hit her, but there are various forms of abuse.

Carina believes Maya is in denial because it means admitting a fault about someone who she loves. However, there’s another reason for denial: fear. If Maya has to admit that her dad is abusive, she’ll have to admit that she is too.

Maya gives people the silent treatment

When Station 19‘s Maya is disappointed in or angry at someone, she will give them the silent treatment. At first, this looked like she was just protecting herself. However, as time as gone on and we’ve got to see Maya’s family, we can see that there is an abusive nature to it. The silent treatment isn’t Maya trying to hold back but a punishment for the other person.

Rather than work out an argument, Maya walks away. She hides her feelings and shows that she doesn’t care. She punishes people with her silence and hurts people purposely through her actions and her words. This is very much like her father did.

Maya claims her father’s “tough love” is the reason she became a gold medalist at the Olympics. She claims it was her father’s “tough love” that made her the first female captain at Station 19. But was it because of or in spite of? That’s something we won’t really know unless Maya is willing to admit she can also be abusive.

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Maya won’t believe she’s abusive

Because Maya believes her dad’s actions were just tough love, she won’t believe that her actions are abusive at times. She won’t believe that she can be an abusive partner and friend. That leads to further denial.

If she has to admit that her father’s actions were abusive then she would have to admit that about herself. After all, she learned from him. There’s a part of him in her. Nobody wants to admit that they’re abusive, do they? It’s why so many do live in denial. Despite everyone telling them something different, they continue to believe their actions were for the good of other people, whether it’s a partner or a child.

It’s not often we see an abuse storyline like this on TV. Usually, we have the storyline from a victim’s point of view realizing that (mostly) she needs to get out of a relationship. This time we see the damage that abuse can do, leading to denial and mimicking that behavior thinking it was right for them. I hope to see this continue properly on Station 19, because it is a story that needs to be told.

Station 19 Season 3’s finale airs on May 14 at 9/8c on ABC.