Critic’s Score: 4.25 / 5.0
4.25
The dying of Bobby Nash throughout 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 15 was controversial at greatest.
There have been many reactions to his premature dying, which left the viewers feeling very off-kilter. Bobby was the sequence fixed and, for a lot of, the very heartbeat of the sequence.
What does 9-1-1 appear like with out its chief? How do these characters whose lives had been all intertwined with him transfer ahead? These had been the questions the present was left to reply, and we noticed the very begin of these solutions throughout 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 16.
9-1-1 has all the time delivered in relation to the overly emotional hours.
Whereas they may simply veer into the after-school particular territory, 9-1-1 has a cavalcade of veteran actors who lend credence to the whole lot requested of them, irrespective of how foolish or intense.
And what you get in return are extremely nuanced and emotionally wealthy hours like this one, though it’s additionally one you don’t wish to expertise as a result of it means totally digesting the very fact Bobby is gone.
Grief shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all. It’s layered, distinctive, and private to each particular person, and this hour served as step one in seeing that course of by the eyes of the folks whose lives had been completely modified by Bobby Nash’s dying.
Whether or not you’ve sworn off 9-1-1 now otherwise you’re nonetheless prepared to have interaction, this was a riveting hour of tv exploring the early levels of grief and loss that may most likely depart followers much more divided than they had been coming in.
Two weeks have handed since Bobby’s dying, and once we noticed Athena once more, she wasn’t hiding. She was out and about and never holed up sitting in her ache, however that ache was nonetheless palpable, even when she wasn’t soaking in it.
As she and the youngsters seemed for Bobby’s remaining resting place, she was disengaged, and you might have mistaken it for disappointment, nevertheless it appeared extra rooted in uncertainty, which generally is a quite common emotion within the aftermath of loss.
It’s not till she bought that decision and confronted Chimney on the firehouse that we bought the primary glimpses of what was actually occurring together with her behind that uncertainty.
Athena was pissed off, frankly, and when she took her anger out on Chimney, you might inform that she’d been holding that again since Bobby’s dying.
She appeared to harbor lots of pent-up resentment towards Chimney, however maybe greater than that, the longer Bobby’s funeral lingered within the background, the extra she may disguise from her ache.
However when it was dropped in her lap, it left her much more off-balance and unmoored.
When she bumped into Gary on the best way out of the station, she discovered herself the proper distraction.
I don’t learn about you guys, however I already miss the hell out of Peter Krause.
Whereas it was so good to see him in these flashbacks, it additionally felt like an icepick to the guts as a result of we received’t see Bobby Nash within the current day anymore, commanding a scene and main his staff.
The infant misplaced within the fireplace was terrible, and I’m slightly shocked we by no means heard about this emergency earlier than (until I don’t keep in mind, and if that’s the case, 9-1-1 historians enlighten me!) as a result of it seems like it will be a quite defining name, particularly for Bobby.
It was so unhappy to listen to Gary recount how Leah introduced herself again from the brink after such an otherworldly loss, after which the whole lot modified when she met slightly boy who introduced each single sensation again to her.
Not that it ever left her, however she realized to exist with it.
In the event you’ve ever seen The Deep Finish of the Ocean, this story had all of the makings of a copycat, with the unimaginable taking place and a girl reuniting with a son she thought she’d misplaced however had actually been dwelling miles away the entire time.
Nevertheless it didn’t go like that.
Contemplating Bobby’s involvement within the authentic fireplace, there was no method she wouldn’t get entangled. And as we’ve seen all through the whole thing of 9-1-1, when Athena places her thoughts to one thing, that’s it.
It would devour her, and she’s going to do the whole lot inside her energy to unravel a case or assist somebody if she feels she has the means to take action.
It helped that this was one thing she may throw herself into and preserve that it was what Bobby would have achieved or wished for her when it was actually about her discovering a strategy to push her anguish to the again.
Even when only for another day.
I had such warring emotions watching Athena configure her residence into an investigation room as a result of I adore it when she will get in that mode, nevertheless it was all on the expense of the love of her life being lifeless!
After which, as a result of 9-1-1 wished to mock by ache, they’d Ghost Bobby present up for one remaining (?) team-up along with his spouse.
Bobby appeared up in lockstep with Athena, teasing her calmly however permitting her to see different angles and displaying her what she was working from. It was such a Bobby factor to do, even in dying.
Their bond was all the time rooted of their respect for each other. Bobby liked her a lot that it felt like he appeared to her to remind her that he was not there bodily, but additionally all the time there.
My coronary heart, guys! I’m scripting this by tears proper now.
Leah’s case went off the rails after they exhumed the coffin, and there was no physique inside. From there, it was obvious that Leah wished Cameron to be her son so badly, however finally, it wasn’t a actuality.
Regardless of how a lot time had handed, she was nonetheless hoping for a miracle, and doesn’t that break your soul?
Particularly contemplating that is 9-1-1, hope central, and the epicenter of miracles.
They employed the flashbacks marvelously on this hour. Nonetheless, it was barely diabolical that Bobby’s face was one of many first we noticed earlier than discovering out we had been being dropped into an emergency from EIGHT YEARS AGO.
Bobby’s discuss with Leah, wherein he associated to her in essentially the most heartbreaking of how, was one thing that Leah held onto for therefore a few years. She may inform by her fleeting moments with him simply what sort of trustworthy and respectable man he was.
I used to be not sure about incorporating a case into the hour publish essentially the most important dying the present had ever tackled, nevertheless it labored, if solely due to that connection to Bobby.
It was fully in character for Athena to distract herself, however to have the case so intrinsically tied to who Bobby was at his core? That was the one method they may make this work as a result of nobody was asking for a case of the week, contemplating BOBBY DIED within the earlier hour.
Whereas Athena was working the case, although, she ignored everybody checking up on her, together with the youngsters.
Angela Bassett placed on an absolute performing clinic when Athena broke down in Hen’s arms and lamented the truth that Bobby left her in that massive previous home on their lonesome.
For as a lot disappointment as there’s once you lose somebody, for a lot of, there’s additionally a lot rage, justified or not in some instances.
Athena let herself totally really feel that anger in these moments, each single final little bit of it, and infrequently, that’s part of grieving. It’s letting out each emotion, good or dangerous, and never bottling it inside to fester and decay till it comes pouring out of you in essentially the most harmful of how.
Nevertheless it’s a lot simpler stated than achieved.
From that second with Hen, she was a barely completely different girl, and when the youngsters got here by to lend their assist, there was no pushing them away or performing like she didn’t want their platitudes.
It was additionally by her unleashing these emotions and the decision of Leah’s case that she was in a position to settle for Bobby’s remaining resting place.
I did SO effectively by the earlier hour in not crying till I needed to write all of it down. However I used to be a blubbering mess all through the funeral, after which most of all, watching Athena, Might, and Harry reunite Bobby along with his household in Minnesota.
Bobby reuniting along with his household, however leaving one other household who liked him dearly behind felt extremely bittersweet and deeply upsetting.
Emphasizing Athena was a given, contemplating Bobby was her life accomplice. Nonetheless, Bobby’s dying impacted his staff as effectively, and whereas the present didn’t dive too deeply into how every member was affected right here, there’s nonetheless time for that over the ultimate two hours this season.
And we nonetheless have 9-1-1 Season 9 as effectively.
However we did get to see how the 2 weeks handled the staff, particularly Chimney, who was tormented in his method by survivor’s guilt and a way of frustration sprinkled with an absence of management.
Think about virtually dying, and you then’re saved, however your survival meant that another person wasn’t in a position to reside.
Chimney’s feelings needed to be far and wide within the subsequent days following Bobby’s dying, and Chimney was working from all of it, each figuratively and actually, as a result of it’s arduous to know what to do with all of it.
It’s arduous to take a seat with emotions of guilt and emotions of anger, particularly when it pertains to somebody you had a deep affection for. How will you be mad at somebody who’s not right here? Does that appear honest?
These are the type of questions that may plague an individual as they attempt to make sense of how they transfer ahead with their very own life after they’re wound up so tightly by ache.
Maddie was doing the whole lot she may to provide Chimney house and never making an attempt to crowd him as a result of she didn’t wish to push him away additional if what he wanted was simply a while to himself.
However Chimney wasn’t coping effectively, and when Athena confronted him, you might see how he shrank in on himself and let all of his fury construct, particularly when Gerrard was in entrance of him and the best of punching luggage.
I’ve talked advert nauseum about my disdain for the way they selected to rehabilitate Gerrard earlier in 9-1-1 Season 8, to the purpose the place he was used for comedian reduction greater than anything and was an instrumental piece in Hen’s custody battle for Mara.
I hated it then, and I nonetheless hate it now. However I appreciated that he wasn’t introduced in right here to take Bobby’s place completely and that he took Chimney’s indignation for what it was and didn’t push again.
In the event you ask me, Gerrard deserves all of the lashings, however was it essentially the most acceptable of occasions to yell at him in the course of the scene? In all probability not.
Buck and Hen taking a look at Chimney forlornly throughout the hour was heartbreaking, however once more, I appreciated that they’d everybody simply making an attempt to outlive. None of them know the “proper” strategy to react on this scenario as a result of the “proper” method doesn’t exist.
They had been simply making an attempt to get from in the future to the following.
Maddie reaching out to Buck to assist Chimney was paying homage to what Bobby informed Buck of their remaining goodbye in regards to the staff needing him. And whereas I hope we’re allowed to see extra of how Buck’s dealing with issues, I liked him stepping in to be there for Chimney.
Buck has really been a beacon of hope over the again half of this season, giving Eddie much-needed recommendation whereas he’s been in Texas, after which right here with Chimney being a shoulder whereas additionally validating his emotions, pushing again barely, and permitting him to see a distinct perspective.
Their rooftop scene was good, and Kenneth Choi and Oliver Stark had been good.
You possibly can see Chimney’s journey of emotions written throughout his face and in his eyes, which held a lot sorrow. And the best way Buck approached him and stood idly by with the proper cadence to push but additionally hear, acknowledge, and assist gently was lovely.
We don’t get almost sufficient of the brother-in-laws one-on-one like this.
Chimney could have sobered up sufficient to get himself to the funeral, however similar to Athena, that is solely the start of their grief and loss. I pray the present permits us to see extra of the 118, Athena, and their households persevering with to grieve as a result of you may’t put this again in a bottle.
Bobby’s dying will undoubtedly be the most important factor to ever occur to the present, and it ought to be handled as such. The choice was made, the implications have to be handled, and because the viewers, we have to see each of how these characters cope with the whole lot.
I wish to see Eddie’s response, particularly because the one member of the 118 who wasn’t there within the moments main as much as Bobby’s dying. I’m wondering what that type of guilt will do to somebody like Eddie, who should really feel like he let Bobby and the remainder of his former staff down.
My frustrations with how Eddie’s storyline has been handled may encapsulate an entire guide. Nonetheless, they’ve the chance now to dive into Eddie’s guilt otherwise from the others since he wasn’t there to expertise the lab catastrophe with them.
Plus, we now have the entire ‘When will Eddie and Christopher transfer again to Los Angeles?’ factor to take care of, which ought to be put into larger focus now as we strategy the top of the season.
Free Ends
- There’s been lots of discuss realism within the 9-1-1 world these days, and it was NOT sensible for Chimney’s organs to have been failing two weeks prior and for him not solely to be again to work but additionally to change into a runner and drink vodka straight from the bottle with no repercussions.
- I’m glad everybody bought their little check-in moments, like Buck with Maddie, Hen with Karen, Eddie with Ravi, however I would like a lot extra earlier than the season wraps. I sound like a damaged file saying that, however I’m okay with it.
- How far alongside is Maddie now? She seems to be fairly far alongside, however I’ve no idea of time relating to this present.
- I’ve a bizarre feeling in regards to the seek for a captain. It ought to be Hen, however I consider they’re going to go away from that after 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 5 particularly had the Henren storyline with Hen lacking out on the household’s massive moments.
I’m nonetheless a large number over this one as a result of what do you imply Bobby Nash is gone? My mind nonetheless struggles to grasp it, even after an hour that served as a goodbye to one of the crucial beloved TV characters on tv.
Can time journey change into a factor so we are able to return in time and never reside in a world with out extra Bobby Nash?
What about you guys? How are you feeling now that you simply’ve seen step one within the post-Bobby Nash world?
Do you continue to have hope that possibly, simply MAYBE, issues is probably not as they appear?
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