The season 8 finale of 911 continued to tug on our heartstrings as the fractured 118 worked together to save residents of an apartment building that collapsed after an explosion in the complex’s laundry area. How did a broken team manage to work together despite their grief over their lost captain?
Before they got the call to the collapse, the team threw together a quick goodbye to Eddie since he was leaving the next day to go back to El Paso. They also revealed it was Gerrard’s last day as captain, since Hotshots got renewed for a second season.
Their conversation turned to who would he captain as Hen revealed she turned down the promotion. The team seemed surprised Buck was okay with her decision, which was honestly confusing. Did they expect him to throw a fit about it? Buck was being supportive and they all just looked at him like they didn’t know what to say.
But Buck wasn’t finished. He had actually put in a transfer request. Without Bobby, it didn’t feel like a family anymore and he was ready to move on.
Characters make big decisions in the 911 season 8 finale
Once they got to the call, though, they were completely focused and broke off into pairs. Chimney and Hen worked together to rescue a woman whose daughter had just moved in while Ravi and Buck heard from Maddie over dispatch that there was a resident who was missing in the apartment building.
Once Hen and Chimney made their rescue, they found out that Athena was inside the laundry room with two civilians when the girlfriend of the one named Donny came running for help. Chimney decided to go down to help even though things were still raw with Athena.
Athena had been trying to help save Graham, the cart kid who we saw having a tussle with Donny in the episode preceding the collapse, and Donny, who had lost his arm and was bleeding out. Graham was trapped against concrete and couldn’t move, but he was able to hold his hand over Donny’s wound to keep him from bleeding out too much.
Unfortunately before they could finish their rescue, they became trapped due to a secondary explosion and this also happened to Buck and Ravi on an upper level. They had rescued the man they were looking for, but became trapped.
Back at his house, Eddie had been preparing his things for the move when Chris got his attention to look at the television. Eddie saw that the 118 was at the site and he decided to go and help save the day.
Now this part was a bit cheesy, since they basically did a super man entrance for Eddie to come help. He told Gerrard he learned from Bobby and figured out a way to help Buck and Ravi. He was going to use a line gun so that the three men could rappel to the nearby building Eddie was standing on.
As cool as this sequence was, we still have to say that Eddie does need to eventually work things out with Buck. The episode may have tried to show this was a reconciliation of sorts but it did nothing to solve the way Eddie treated his best friend. The fight they had previously was not fully resolved and Buck deserved more than a “some jerk was being mean to you” line. Is there a chance season 9 could show them working on that friction that we saw?
Eventually, they all came down to help Hen look for Athena and Chimney. Once they got there, they arrived in the laundry room to get Donny help and to free Graham, who appeared semi-okay. However, when the rubble was cleared from Graham’s body, they discovered he had been impaled and was bleeding.
The team's rescue brings them together after tragedy
Stunned, Athena asked why Graham didn’t say anything to them. He told them he knew he was dying and wanted to save Donny because he was the most injured. This was a haunting throwback to them having just lost Bobby, who seemed fine to the 118 and Athena, but was slowly dying in front of them while they worked to save Chimney.
The rescue was an absolutely beautiful moment of the team coming together, showing that even though they were fractured, the 118 wasn’t just a number, as Buck had said earlier. Graham’s near-death experience was the seismic shift the 118 needed to pull themselves back together and be the family that Bobby had built.
In the end, Chimney informed everyone that no one was leaving. He admitted to still being left with feelings he couldn’t begin to process of being the one to survive, but that Bobby’s sacrifice did not mean the team shouldn’t continue to be together. He refused to allow Buck to transfer and for Eddie to go back to Texas.
We do have to wonder how Eddie was supposed to just give up the house he had bought, but the speech from Chimney was so beautiful that we can’t find it in ourselves to question his leadership.
In fact, Athena had told Chimney that Bobby always hated it when Chimney didn’t see how capable he was and what a great leader he could be. So Chimney finding the strength to work on bringing the 118 family back together was a way to show that Bobby’s legacy did not die wth him.
Did anyone say Chimney for captain? The show did not answer the question of who would take over, but it’s clear Chimney is a strong contender.
What is next for the 118 in 911 season 9?
The episode had beautiful endings for mostly everyone. Eddie moved back home, Hen and Karen finalized their adoption with Mara, and Maddie had a baby boy they named Robert Nash Han. Athena got to hold the baby boy, welcoming a miracle amidst the tragedy they had all faced.
Even though there are lingering threads left over, they will hopefully be dealt with in season 9. Athena decided to sell the house, since it was supposed to be a place she was building with Bobby. It’s heartbreaking to think she won’t live in the place they built together, but we’re looking forward to seeing where she goes from here and how she continues to be connected to the 118.
Buck is also a character who has now been left unsteady after this season. He not only lost a father figure in Bobby, but now that Eddie moved back home, he is technically homeless. As Buck told a realtor, the house never felt like it belonged to him.
The only time it was clear Buck could enjoy himself in the house was the night he spent with his ex, Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.). That is another thread we hope will be picked up on in season 9 as we want to see Buck happy and settled after a season filled with ups and downs.
We will make sure to keep up with all things 911 so stay tuned to Precinct TV for more coverage.