911 is back with season 9, and it is already kicking off by giving us a look at where the 118 is six months after they lost their captain, Bobby Nash, after the events of season 8. What’s been going on with the team, and what emergency led Hen to a possible journey to space?
It’s been six months since the team lost Bobby, and the episode started with them not only officially naming the fire station in his honor, it also confirmed Chimney would be Interim Captain for the 118. He gave a touching speech about how naming the firehouse after Bobby would show that even after his death, it would always be his house.
Chimney did his best to take up the mantle as Captain, and his wife Maddie also expressed that Bobby would be proud of what he was doing. This is an adjustment for him not just having lost his friend and captain, but also not working with his partner, Hen Wilson, anymore, at least as her direct partner.
The 118 is learning how to proceed in a new normal after losing Bobby on 911
Because of the change in dynamics, she is now working with Eddie Diaz while Evan “Buck” Buckley is partners with Ravi Panikkar. It’s clear this is still an adjustment for Buck, who Ravi has to give a reminder that Hen and Eddie have always worked together.
While the episode seemed to show Buck backsliding into unnecessary jealousy, it’s clear that Buck is still reeling from losing Bobby and seeing such a change in their dynamics. It’s one thing to switch partners once in a while under different circumstances, but it’s a permanent change that takes some getting used to.
Eddie also made a risky decision in this episode, deciding to dive off a bridge to rescue a billionaire named Tripp Hauser (Mark Consuelos) after he was nearly swallowed by a whale. Chimney never gave him an order to do that, something he brings up later. However in doing this, he tells Eddie what he did was reckless and stupid, just like Buck.
Although we could have done without the unnecessary dig at Buck having been reckless in the past, we’re glad Chimney pointed out that Eddie shouldn’t have done what he did. It was dangerous, but he made the decision on his own, and Buck wasn’t part of it. The characters constantly bring up Buck’s history of reckless behavior, and it wasn’t needed here since Buck has done a good job of holding back in recent years.
Chimney and Eddie did have a nice scene later on where Eddie encouraged Chimney to go for the Captain’s test. He made sure Chimney knew the 118 had his back. Whether Chimney decides to make it official remains to be seen, but we’re looking forward to seeing how he steps up as a leader.
How does Hen get the opportunity to go to space?
Speaking of whale rescues, the rescue also brought Hen into Tripp’s field of vision, as she was the first person he saw once he was no longer on death’s door. Tripp is basically an Elon Musk type figure, a controversial billionaire who is set on space exploration. He is willing to donate money to the Fire Department, but he wants to bring Hen on a mission to space.
Hen agrees as long as she has a plus-one, intending to bring her rocket scientist wife, Karen. However, despite being excited at first, Karen balks at going to space due to Hauser, who has a lawsuit with people she works with. She tells Hen to take one of the boys, although they all end up annoying Hen by acting so excited to go and basically competing.
We later see Buck admitting to his baby nephew, Bobby, that he didn’t want to actually go to space and is not much of a flier. This is funny considering he dated a helicopter pilot, but it also shows Buck’s mindset. He just wanted to be included and he also admitted to the baby that he almost expected Bobby to be standing there giving him a disappointed look.
Buck’s talk with his nephew gave us some insight into how he is feeling. It’s clear Buck is still on his own journey of grief after losing his father figure, and talking to his nephew was a way for him to vent without judgment from anyone else. Even though their conversation was cut short because it was past his bedtime, it’s clear this is something Buck does often with the little boy.
We’re looking forward to more Uncle Buck scenes in the future and seeing where everyone is as they move forward in the wake of losing Bobby.
As for Athena and how she gets involved, she isn’t, at first. She has been so focused on work to keep herself busy that she not only missed Bobby’s memorial, but she also missed some key information about one of her kids, Harry.
She discovered Harry working at a coffee shop, having dropped out of high school. Athena is stunned to hear this, especially since Harry has been living with May since the fire that destroyed their home at the end of season 7. Athena’s grief has seemingly kept her from being a mother to her kids, something she doesn’t see until a call makes her realize that she is on the path to loneliness.
The call involved a woman named Gina, who was found nearly deceased after she cut herself on a soup can and developed food-borne bacteria that was eating her alive. Athena realized she had almost died with no one there to call on her or check her well-being.
In a conversation with Hen, she admitted that it was hard to talk about Bobby when all she wanted to do was talk to him. She promised Hen that she would agree to an invitation to dinner the next time she and Karen asked. However, this apparently gave Hen an idea, which leads us into how Hen decides to ask her to go to space.
All in all, this episode felt like a classic episode of 911 and helped guide us into the newest season while setting up the big emergency the team will have to deal with. We’re so excited to continue following the 118 as they continue to work together and move forward after the events of 911 season 8.
911 airs on ABC Thursdays at 8/7c. New episodes are available on Hulu the next day.
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