Critic’s Rating: 4.3 / 5.0
4.3
We’re eight seasons into this, and 9-1-1 continues to be one of the most compelling, explosive, and endearing shows on television. 9-1-1 is so back!
And that’s a bold proclamation considering the sheer amount of television currently being produced. I guarantee you there’s a show premiering tonight or in the following days you’ve never heard of. That’s simply television as we know it in the year 3000 2024.
9-1-1 stands out as a procedural that leans into its strengths and will never be afraid to have fun. And in the age of prestige TV, we need more of that.
The silly to start this season is bees, which actually aren’t silly at all, and the hour does a good job of highlighting this.
Sure, there are lighthearted moments, like Eddie running around with ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ punctuating his every step. But overall, bees are no joke, as we learned from the way they hampered a plane and almost killed several people.
Early reactions were mixed when the news broke that 9-1-1 was moving forward with another three-part premiere centered on a bee-nado. It did not have the same allure as a cruise ship disaster, for example, which you knew would be high-stakes action and mayhem.
But don’t sleep on the absolute chaos bees can bring; we saw plenty of that. The bees were also the set-up for the big premiere cliffhanger.
Speaking of the delayed honeymoon from hell, Athena and Bobby, for that matter, were due a relaxed and joyous start to this season after what happened in the Pacific, Bobby’s near-death experience, and their house burning down.
We should have seen them in a fun little House Hunters-like segment as they bickered over their budget, colonial style versus a bungalow, and the size of the backyard. Maybe they deal with a rogue bee or something, but that’s it.
Instead, Athena was dealt an emotional blow, and Bobby had to step entirely out of his comfort zone and onto a television set.
With everything that happened during 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 10, Bobby quickly forgot that he’d previously quit and was no longer captain of the 118. He really did saunter back into the station, ready to work, forgetting all about his previous stance.
In the quick time jump here, Bobby’s still not back at the station and seemingly a little off the grid. And he’s busy on Hotshots!
Unfortunately, we don’t spend nearly enough time seeing Bobby on set sharing his expertise, but the little that we did get was so quintessential Bobby. If there’s one man on Earth who is not at all impressed with a television set and what it entails, it would be Bobby Nash.
It’s an interesting role for Bobby, who’s used to being in charge and delegating orders because he sort of still gets to do that, but it’s also not real.
The bees and Athena’s newfound peril (WHY GOD!) should get Bobby back into the swing of what he’s used to, but I wouldn’t expect them to introduce this plotline only to see Bobby back at the 118 too quickly.
There’s much to explore with Bobby, who is still integrated into firefighting but not fighting any fires. Plus, he made a friend! Or found an admirer. The lines are blurred.
Bobby’s a teddy bear under a straight-laced button-up, but he’s not exactly out trying to be best friends with people, so I’ll be curious what kind of dynamic develops between Bobby and Brad.
Bobby’s an excellent teacher, and maybe they can learn something from each other—something that will help him get his job back because Gerrard has got to go.
But before we get into that crotchety man, let’s talk about Athena. My girl can never catch a break, certainly not during a season premiere!
Athena Begins was easily one of the best hours of 9-1-1. It was devastatingly beautiful in many ways as you witnessed all the steps that led us to the Athena Grant-Nash we’ve come to know and love.
We’re all a product of our pasts and the things we’ve gone through, and Emmett’s death has shaped so much of not only her personal life but her professional life, as well. It was a seminal moment in the construct of her life, and finding his killer and bringing him to justice was another critical moment.
So, seeing her get called into Maynard’s office to hear that not only was Emmett’s killer set to go free, but he wanted HER to escort him to Los Angeles made me want to scream on her behalf.
What in the world kind of request is that? Honestly?
I know this is television, which means heightened stories meant to trigger reactions and meant to entertain, but sometimes I really do say, but why?
We’re aware you have a history with Mr. Jenkins. He murdered your friend.
The AUDACITY of AUSA #1 speaking to Athena like that! The lack of empathy during that whole presentation to Athena was gross, and poor Athena was reeling from not only the request to escort Dennis but also the fact that he would be free.
How is one supposed to react to hearing the man responsible for murdering Emmett and murdering a piece of her soul found a loophole and got to resume his life after a short reprieve?
It’s such a loaded thing for Athena to process, and the immediate reaction for most would be HELL NO. But learning Dennis wouldn’t testify against a rapist if Athena wouldn’t do it (and talk about a manipulation tactic) pretty much decided for Athena.
It’s a quick little thing, but Bobby and Athena’s talk (in their cute little rental!), reminds you how adorably perfect they are as a couple. Athena explains why she has to do it and what merely hearing Dennis’s name does to her, while Bobby offers his support, as he always does.
There’s a lovely vulnerability to their relationship, and Athena’s comfortable enough to admit to Bobby how she’s still struggling with the events of Emmett’s death and even finding and putting Dennis away.
It’s a pain that will stick with her forever because it’s a loss she could never replace.
As soon as Dennis started speaking about why he asked for Athena, I knew there was more to this whole thing, and that was confirmed rather quickly when that shady agent showed up.
Dennis trusting Athena so explicitly to protect him from threats he knew were out there says something about Athena’s character and who he perceived her to be in their short interaction prior to his arrest.
Did he feel like he owed it to her to be honest about what was happening to him? Perhaps he did, but he also must have thought her moral compass and sense of justice were something to be admired because he put a lot of faith in her.
And now we have this story in which those things collide for Athena in more ways than one.
It’s not 9-1-1 without Athena doing her damn thing, and while I did want that House Hunters segment, I will be sat for Athena Grant-Nash on an out-of-control airplane.
This may not be the Snakes on a Plane homage I was rooting for, but it still has elements of it, like it’s a distant cousin on your father’s side whose name your mom has to remind you of when they show up at your grandmother’s birthday party.
It should be quite the rescue, as two planes will potentially be in danger and angry, and hot bees will wreak havoc.
Unlike the cruise ship, the 118 and surrounding first responders should know what’s happening in the sky. Naturally, they will find a way to involve everyone in the rescue, even if it doesn’t fully make sense.
But let me take a page from the core four themselves and say, WHO CARES!
Speaking of the 118, they were struggling under Gerrard, and each had individual issues outside the firehouse.
And isn’t that a damn shame?
The 118, formerly a place where all of them felt safe amongst each other and in that space had suddenly become a place of unease and smiles that were too tight and strained.
Gerrard somehow took the last however many years away from the 118 to hone and mold his nastiness into something as gross as ever, though this time, he chose to extend most of his disdain toward Buck.
Bringing Gerrard back was certainly a choice and not one I needed to see. There’s enough walking bigotry in the real world, after all.
But they’ve crafted a story in which Gerrard continues to be the worst of the worst and shows how all four of the core four handle it. Two of them are familiar, and the other two see what life was like way before they even sniffed the 118 firehouse air.
Hen and Chimney, for their part, were just taking what Gerrard gave them and keeping their heads down this time around.
And isn’t it something to be almost desensitized to ignorance in the workplace when you’ve been there before, worked to make things better, and somehow still found yourself back in the same situation?
Yeah.
The two 118 veterans also have a lot going on personally, so you can understand why they’re more or less not interested in a mutiny now. They need the stability their jobs provide for their families.
Conversely, Buck and Eddie had very different attitudes about Gerrard’s reign of HR violations.
Eddie’s mindset was much more akin to Hen and Chimney’s, at least in the sense that he wasn’t super interested in ruffling Gerrard’s feathers when his personal history tells him that men like Gerrard will eventually get sick of playing with their food and move on to something else.
I mean, sure? It’s a crap situation all around for all of them, but it’s one of those times where unless you’re in that specific scenario, it’s hard to say how someone else reacts and handles a situation is wrong.
But of the four, Buck struggled the most, and it’s easy to forget that Buck has never known the 118 without Bobby at the helm. Even when they had their problems (me and pilot Buck still have issues, I’m SORRY), Bobby has always been there for Buck, wanted him to succeed, and championed his successes.
He’s only ever known a captain who was strict but fair and wanted to help people without taking credit or throwing a fit whenever someone else thought of an idea first.
Gerrard is none of those things. He’s nothing of the sort. And Buck was having a TOUGH time.
Beyond just missing Bobby as his captain and father figure, think about who Buck is as a human being and his upbringing.
We all know the backstory with the Buckleys, but he’s lived a life never feeling good enough with people leaving him behind, and now Bobby’s gone, and Gerrard’s making it a point to remind him he’s, you guessed it, not good enough.
You could tell the whole hour that he was on the verge of snapping, and his friends were giving him a wide berth to validate his feelings and be upfront with their own feelings about the situation.
And frankly, Gerrard’s dressing down at the end was solely born out of Buck’s continually upstaging him during both bee emergencies, which could have, and probably would have, had much different endings had Buck ‘Competent Under Pressure’ Buckley not been on the scene with his clutch bee knowledge.
Now, who got faked out by Buck saving Gerrard’s life instead of literally anything else happening?
I hated seeing Buck standing there absorbing all the awful things Gerrard said about him. It probably felt like a lifetime’s worth of the greatest hits he’d had to endure over the years slamming into his brain on a loop in Gerrard’s nasty drawl.
It would not have been in character for Buck to punch Gerrard or anything like that. At most, maybe screaming right back at him and telling him about himself, which I would have appreciated.
But Buck instinctively jumping into action, as he always does, was unexpected, and assuming Gerrard makes it (he surely will, but he looked seriously unwell), that dynamic should change in an intriguing way.
Will Gerrard come back with a near-death brain transplant that has him trying to make Buck the friend I can’t imagine he’s ever had? Or will he come back the same? Or even worse?
And if Gerrard takes him under his wing, what would that mean for the other three?
There are possibilities here I did not see coming when they first brought Gerrard back, and I still need him gone sooner rather than later, and the family back together, but color me intrigued about where this is all going.
You know who else’s family needs to come back together? The damn Diaz boys! Who wants to sign the change.org petition I’m making to bring Christopher Diaz home?
I kid, mostly. While I want Chris home, it’s obvious that even with some time apart, Christopher still harbors many feelings about what Eddie did, and he’s entitled to those feelings.
Eddie would never intentionally hurt Christopher ever, in any timeline. But that doesn’t change the fact that Eddie’s actions put into motion a traumatizing moment for a young boy who’s had to shoulder too much heartbreak at his young age.
Christopher’s still in his feelings, and Eddie in his, though it’s evident from what we can glean here that he was trying—and he was always going to. Eddie may have let Christopher go because he was trying to do what he thought was right, but that’s HIS son.
Eddie was so excited for his little video-call birthday party, complete with a Party City birthday pack and too many cupcakes for a party of three. He was trying SO hard, and it was so painful to see it get worse and worse.
Eddie’s so out of the loop, and I need this storyline to right itself expeditiously.
But having said that, I am invested in how Eddie learns and grows from this experience, which hopefully will also strengthen the connection to Christopher in the long run.
This one seems to be getting worse before it gets better, which may as well be the mantra for all things 9-1-1.
I love it. I hate it. My dueling emotions have come out to play, which means I say again, we are SO back, baby!
Loose Ends
- Both bee emergencies were the stuff nightmares are made of, especially being trapped in a car with your allergy and unable to leave because your allergy has multiplied by 22 million outside! The importance of epi-pens can not be overstated enough.
- Anytime they let Eddie be silly, Ryan Guzman kills it. Get this man in more physical comedy roles because he’s so good at them!
- I want to see more of how things will play out with Hen and Karen getting Mara back before I put any negative vibes into the universe. Still, it’s very nice that they can breathe easy knowing she’s in a home surrounded by people who will love and protect her as fiercely as they have.
- Unlike Buck’s last relationship, Tommy made it through the season change, so there’s that. There’s not much progress in their brief interaction, and Buck’s got a lot going on, but maybe a new Buck/Gerrard dynamic somehow affects their new relationship somehow?
- Helena seemed a little TOO excited about possibly getting a pool. Christopher will be returning to Los Angeles soon, lady!
- Hen and Chimney using duct tape in such a serious emergency? It was giving MacGyver there for a second.
- Sanchez and Jones on Hotshots. Sanchez and Jones. SANCHEZ AND JONES! Are we a joke to you, 9-1-1?
- Josh’s face everything Gerrard went full Gerrard was so funny. He was genuinely so confused.
- Only one mustache joke from Chimney? I know he’s got a whole bunch stored up, and I need to hear them.
The bee-nado has begun, and we still have two more hours of action to look forward to.
They crammed a lot into this premiere, so there’s plenty to discuss. Make sure you scroll down to the comment section to share all your thoughts.
I’d love to chat about the silly little firefighter show with you all season.
Watch 9-1-1 Online
