Space Mayhem and Heart Collide in Solid 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 3

Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

4.5

Unlike past 9-1-1 seasons, the opening emergency will not be wrapping up by the third hour.

Instead, the space adventures will continue into hour four, and while I am very ready to get into more of the personal storylines this season, I can’t find it in myself to complain when you get insanely thrilling hours like this one.

When 9-1-1 is on, it’s really on. And this episode was certainly on.

9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 3 naturally picked up where 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 2 left off, and that meant that debris was falling, and Athena, Hen, and crew were still floating around space with a fire breakout inside their tiny shuttle.

The space crew was lucky Hen was up there and knew what to do to give them a chance, because I fear that if that place were filled only with Parker’s and Tricia’s, we would have seen a very different outcome.

Sucking the fire out of the emergency hatch was the only way the crew could have survived another minute, let alone another hour. Still, things were looking very dicey for a while when it wasn’t at all apparent how they were going to get back in touch with Karen, nor how much oxygen they had left.

Everything up there was coming down to a matter of minutes, and the hour did an outstanding job of making you feel those minutes, even if you have to suspend disbelief at times.

While Athena and Hen did their best to keep calm up there, you could tell that everything was starting to feel pretty dire, and can you even imagine what it would be like to be up there knowing with each breath you took, you were one second closer to never taking another?

I can’t stress enough how lucky everyone up there is that Athena and Hen have the support system they do, not only on an emotional level but also on a practical one.

Karen and Maddie had the resources to do more than offer thoughts and prayers, and within minutes, they made contact with the crew again, using an unconventional but smart approach.

It only took us three episodes for the two 9-1-1 worlds to collide, with Cammie making the smallest of cameos, but it was still a nice little nod to the new series.

9-1-1 shows are so disconnected that it doesn’t really make sense a lot of the time for two random firehouses across the country to connect in a meaningful way, but that doesn’t mean people (i.e., ME) won’t eat it up when it happens!

Obviously, a show about first responders often highlights their heroic moments — rightfully so — but this hour did a great job of showcasing what it means to be an everyday hero as well.

Karen stepping in and stepping up at every turn has been one of the best parts about this opening arc, and it’s been so lovely to see this emergency highlight Karen and give us a peek into her world.

And shoutout Karen and her work bestie because the two of them, alongside Maddie and Sue, get things DONE. I need him at that next family barbecue!

Everything in space was pretty subdued, considering how life-or-death it was, and while it wasn’t as if I ever thought they wouldn’t make it to the International Space Station, it did feel like something could go wrong at any moment.

The longer the hour went on, the longer I realized they were not wrapping this up within the hour. And I began to wonder, since a fourth of the emergency was imminent, whether the whole space crew would make it.

9-1-1 LOVES a sacrifice, and this would be the kind of emergency for someone to step up and put themselves in danger to save everyone else.

So, color me surprised when things actually worked out for a change, and Athena even punched Parker back to life.

That dead astronaut got a jump out of me and Parker, so I couldn’t really blame him for freaking out. There was decidedly a lot less freaking out than one would expect up there, so his two freakouts seemed appropriate given the circumstances.

This being 9-1-1, you knew as soon as they were “saved” it was all going to hell, but at least being aboard the ISS, even one that’s battered and bruised, should give them a better shot at returning to earth.

And I may be on board with the space theme this week, but let the next hour get them back on solid ground. We’ve spent more than enough time in orbit, okay!

The 118 was continuing to deal with the falling space debris, and they had a hell of an emergency underground in that metro station.

First of all, it’s always so lovely to see Molly Burnett, who played Lori, even if her character was unconscious for most of the hour.

As soon as Lori and Cal bickered their way across that courtyard, something devastating was going to split them apart and have one or both rethinking the current strains on their marriage.

A life-or-death situation, as we’ve seen time and time again on the series, will do a lot to change your perspective on the relationships in your life.

Lori’s condition was worsening fast down under, and to be honest, her being the only person in grave danger down there was a miracle when you think about it.

The early part of this season is really setting us up for Chimney to walk away from being captain, and on the surface, it appears to be because he doesn’t think he can live up to the specter of Bobby, tinged with the guilt he’ll most likely carry with him for the rest of his life.

And I get it. Chimney was captain before; it didn’t suit him, and now he’s back in the role he never really aspired to, under the absolute worst of circumstances.

Chimney’s still processing Bobby being gone and how that came to be, on top of a new job responsibility. I’d be a mess about it, too.

But Chimney’s a good captain. He’s a solid leader, and he excels in so many situations with his paramedic background, like during the metro accident, when he took on all the tough decisions and carried the burden as a captain would.

I’m wondering how long they’re going to play this thing out, because Chimney seems downright miserable, and I don’t think anything that happened this hour will make him feel any more positive about his new role.

The options for Lori were dwindling with each passing moment, and again, the episode did a marvelous job of making us feel those stakes even when we’d be pulled from the edge of our seats and dropped back into another storyline.

Lori would not have survived without that amputation, and it was an extremely tough call to make, but ultimately the right one to give her a chance at survival, as it was becoming increasingly clear that they weren’t getting her out of there anytime soon.

Seeing her husband grapple with that choice and give Chimney the okay was heartbreaking, but I loved the way Harry was incorporated here as someone to lend a comforting hand to a stranger with more in common with him than he thought, on one of the worst days of their lives.

Much like May was of service back at the 118, Harry became a small voice of hope for a man who was in desperate need of it.

Harry eventually going to the academy and becoming a probie feels like the next logical step, but what if they throw us off and decide to do something else?

His ride-along and his experience seeing everything he did may lead him to return to school. And then, once he’s graduated, he’ll decide to step into the first responder field.

I think it’s safe to say that we’ll see May stepping back into dispatch after her heroics, turning the 118 into a fully functioning shelter in no short order.

May was an excellent dispatcher, and she’s a helper at her core, so I could definitely see the show maneuvering itself so that May is back at dispatch alongside Maddie, and Harry is more integrated within the 118, whether or not he jumps right into wanting to become a firefighter or not.

This was another hour that reminded us all of the family that exists within these people, even though they were all scattered around.

They’re there for one another, championing each other and protecting each other.

I just know Bobby was so proud of all of them.

Loose Ends

• Is anyone else starting to feel like Chimney is going to resign and we ARE going to get Captain Hen again?

• Denny and Mara, following after their moms and just getting right in there to help people, made me emotional. They really are their mama’s kids!

• I really related to May and the kids playing UNO when Maddie called. No matter how stressed, a good game of UNO will give you a moment of reprieve.

• I will never tire of hearing ‘What Would Bobby Do?’ because I also want to know what he would do in 99% of these situations, because I miss him.
• That in-the-filed leg amputation was wild and crazy. Whew!

This was a solid A episode, but let the next hour have everyone back home, I beg.

Let me know in the comments how you want to see this space saga wrapped up!

And while you’re here, we’ve got reviews of all the biggest shows on television for you to check out right here! We’d love to keep chatting with you about all things TV.

You can watch 9-1-1 on Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.