5 Years Later, Angela Bassett Closes Out 9-1-1’s Saddest Storyline

When ABC began advertising the Season 8 premiere of 9-1-1, it was all about the bees. Showrunner Tim Minear joked that they wanted to “create some buzz,” and they certainly did. After receiving an influx of new fans when Evan “Buck” Buckley kissed Tommy Kinard in the 100th episode, and another influx when ABC began hinting at a “Bee-nado,” 9-1-1 is seeing huge same-day and streaming numbers — the season premiere hit 9.8 million viewers after just 7 days of multi-platform viewing, and remains the top broadcast drama among adults 18-49. Just 3 episodes in, Season 8 is looking like it will give 9-1-1 a banner year.

9-1-1 is a procedural show at heart and every once in a while, good procedural shows might have an episode that is central to one character or resolves a specific storyline. These episodes are typically fan favorites, especially if it does big things for the character. 9-1-1 has been great at character-driven episodes over the first 7 seasons of the show, whether it’s one of their “Begins” episodes or an arc that plays out in a couple of episodes that aren’t back-to-back. The show also excels at big disasters, especially in the opening and closing episodes of each season. With Season 8, Tim Minear and his writers put a character-driven arc and a big disaster together and then handed it to Angela Bassett for safe-keeping. What an incredible decision that was.

9-1-1’s 3-Episode Premiere Emergency Begins with Bee-nado

When Season 8, Episode 1, “Buzzkill,” of 9-1-1 begins, it has been 3 months since the events of Season 7, Episode 10, “All Fall Down.” The 118 is navigating a captain none of them like, who was brought in to fill the seat Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) had vacated while dealing with some personal issues — and frankly, some suicidal ideation. When Nash returned, assuming that his captain’s seat was safe as the Chief had not wanted him to retire, he was instead shipped off to the set of Hotshots, a firefighter television show that needed a consultant and is, as Peter Krause has mentioned in several interviews, very “meta, as the kids say.”

9-1-1‘s highly anticipated “bee-nado” arrives about halfway through “Buzzkill,” after a truck with 22 million killer bees crashes on a bridge east of downtown Los Angeles. When the truck the bees were on explodes, it sends the insects further up into the air, where they swarm into — what else — a bee-nado. The heat in the Southland propels the bees higher, which is great for the 118 and the people on the ground, but sends the bees into the vents of a small twin-engine plane. Unbeknownst to everyone on the ground except for Air Traffic Control (ATC), the twin-engine slams into a passenger aircraft. This is where the real emergency begins.

While Bobby is consulting on Hotshots and the 118 is fighting with bees, Athena Grant-Nash (Angela Bassett) is getting some unexpected news. Two Assistant U.S. Attorneys — AUSA Spencer, from California, and AUSA Lawrence, from Arizona — ask Athena to escort a prisoner from Phoenix to Los Angeles so he can be deposed before a grand jury in a sex trafficking case. The catch? The prisoner is Dennis Jenkins (Glenn Plummer), the man who murdered Athena’s fiancé, Emmett, in 1991, and he has specifically requested her. Athena retrieves him in Phoenix but on the way back to the airport they are pulled over by, allegedly, another AUSA. Athena figures out that the man isn’t who he purports to be, which is when Jenkins tells her that there are people trying to kill him. At the airport, they change flights, barely making it on to one from Phoenix to Honolulu, with a stop in Los Angeles. If only they hadn’t made it in time.

Emmett’s Death Has Haunted Athena for Years

In Season 3, Episode 7, “Athena Begins,” 9-1-1 viewers learned that meeting Emmett Washington reignited a dream that Athena had been carrying around since a neighbor girl went missing in 1977, when Athena was just 9 years old. She had long told herself that she would become a police officer to solve that case, and falling in love with Emmett helped her fall in love with police work. Athena joined the LAPD in 1989 and never looked back — not even when others thought she should.

Shortly after their engagement, Athena (played in flashbacks by Pepi Sonuga in both “Athena Begins” and Season 8, Episode 2, “When the Boeing Gets Tough…”) is visited in Los Angeles by her mother. While trying on wedding dresses, Athena asks Emmett to stop by the store, giving her and her mother more time, but Emmett never comes home. Athena is called to the scene and is the one who goes to the home of Emmett’s mother to break the news. The flashbacks are gutwrenching, and Pepi Sonuga so beautifully matches Angela Bassett’s energy and mannerisms while still allowing young Athena to be her own character, drawing a distinct line between Athena before Emmett’s death and Athena after.

In 2019, after the gun that killed Emmett is found in a routine traffic stop, Athena insists that she must be the one to solve the case. It’s against LAPD protocol for her to be involved with the case at all but, to no one’s surprise, Athena couldn’t care less. She throws herself into the case, eventually finding herself sorting through call records from 1991 with Maddie Buckley (Jennifer Love Hewitt) at the dispatch center. That’s how she finds him — the man overdosed the same night Emmett died and was sent to the hospital.

Those records lead Athena to the home of Dennis Jenkins, who did everything he could to live a good life but had been waiting for someone from the LAPD to show up for almost 30 years. The final minutes of “Athena Begins” are powerful and heartbreaking as Athena takes Jenkins to the police station, tells Emmett’s mother about the arrest, and then breaks down in Bobby’s arms. It’s an unforgettable sequence that Angela Bassett carries out effortlessly, and it perfectly sets up Athena’s behavior in “When the Boeing Gets Tough…” and Season 8, Episode 3, “Final Approach.”

Killer Bees Are the Least of Athena’s Concerns

On the plane, Jenkins tells Athena about his former cellmate, a pedophile and sex trafficker named Maxwell Fulton, who opened up to Jenkins, telling him where he had hidden his “library.” With Fulton dead — allegedly from hanging himself — Jenkins is the only one who knows where the “library” is, and there are plenty of people who don’t want it to get out. It’s clear from Athena’s conversations with Jenkins that, regardless of her feelings about him, she’s not going to let anything happen to him before he can pass that information along to the right people.

As always, Angela Bassett’s performances in “Buzzkill,” “When the Boeing Gets Tough…,” and “Final Approach” are nuanced and exceptional, and that somehow becomes even more true as 9-1-1‘s 3-part premiere goes on. When the aircraft collides with the twin-engine plane and the pilot gets sucked out of the cockpit through a hole in the side, Athena jumps in to help the co-pilot before he passes out. About 20 minutes into “When the Boeing Gets Tough…,” Athena finds herself flying the plane with the help of ATC, a flight instructor, and a kid named Jem.

Athena Must Set Aside Her Feelings to Keep the Plane Steady

Regardless of how frustrated Athena might be that she’s on a plane with Dennis Jenkins at all, much less one that’s been in a midair collision, she doesn’t have a lot of room for feelings while she’s trying to get the plane safely to Los Angeles. Though she’s lucky enough to eventually have Jem (Carter Young), who is about 13 and knows everything there is to know about planes, Athena is largely handling the cockpit solo while the 118 helps triage injured passengers via cell phone in the main cabin.

Once she confirms that the plane is on autopilot, Athena is able to speak to the passengers, and Bassett completely nailed Athena’s authority and leadership, which was mixed with blind terror. Just two minutes later, alone in the cockpit, Athena finally calls Bobby, who doesn’t answer. Her message for him is short, just “Bobby… I love you, baby,” but viewers will see a dozen emotions cross Athena’s face, from exhaustion to devastation to deep, abiding love, which rolls right into disbelief when she picks up a call from ATC and learns that she will be landing the plane.

Athena’s first task is to turn the plane around, and Jem appears in the cockpit just as the flight instructor is telling her to find the current heading, which Jem points out to her. Once she turns the dial correctly and the plane begins to turn, Jem returns to his seat with his father, and Jenkins appears in the cockpit. When Athena, whose face gives “oh yeah, this guy,” tells him that she’ll be landing the plane, he does the first in a series of things that begins to change Athena’s mind about him.

Without mentioning Emmett or anything Jenkins might owe her, he kneels down next to her and says, “if anybody on this thing can do it, I’d put my money on you.” Bassett beautifully handles this moment, with a smile of gratitude threatening to break over Athena’s face while she stares at the person who took the man she loved from her, leaving her feelings in as precarious a place as the plane, which begins dropping speed and altitude when a hole in the back gets bigger. Jem, who convinces his father that he can help, comes to the rescue, and together he and Athena speed the plane up. When the autopilot disengages, it’s Jem’s light touch that drops the nose of the plane down, putting them level with the horizon.

9-1-1 Is Telling One of Television’s Greatest Love Stories

In any crisis, or at the end of one, there is almost no moment more compelling than when a love story comes into play. While the entire 3-part series is a testament to who Athena is as a police officer and a person, and showcases how she has changed since arresting Dennis Jenkins in “Athena Begins,” the conclusion to 9-1-1‘s three-part season premiere event is also a love story.

From the moment Bobby tries to get in touch with Athena through dispatch to some of the final moments of the episode, viewers get to watch two people who never thought they would get a second chance at love fall in love with each other all over again. An on-screen couple since Season 2, Episode 1, “Under Pressure,” Krause and Bassett — both of whom have shared how much they enjoy working with the other — regularly make it clear that Bobby and Athena are madly in love, and both actors demonstrate that with inexplicable precision in “Final Approach.”

There are several moments that will cause romantics in particular to take a big deep breath, and the first one comes when Bobby is trying to get in touch with Athena through dispatch. “I need her to hear my voice, and I need to hear hers in case…” he tells Maddie, who interrupts him to assure him that Athena already knows he loves her. For him, that’s not good enough.

He asks her to call other people on the plane, desperate to speak to his wife. In the air, Athena and Jem are preparing to land the plane when things go awry — again. The remaining piece of the small twin-engine that hit them flies out of the hole it made in the back of the plane and they lose their rudder, and thus their ability to turn. While they’re heading North to LAX, all the runways run East to West, so they can’t land at LAX, and they don’t have enough fuel to get to other airports. ATC begins considering other options, prioritizing keeping people on the ground safe, and then romantics get to take another deep breath when a woman comes to the door. “Excuse me,” she yells. “Do you know a Bobby Nash?”

From the moment he gets on the phone with her, Bobby talks to Athena as if she is landing the plane successfully, no doubt about it. When she tells him they won’t be landing at LAX, and she doesn’t know where they’ll be landing, he asks her what she needs. She tells him she needs a runway and any true romantic knows exactly what is going to happen next — he’s going to get her one.

Bobby and Buck (Oliver Stark) — along with Brad Torrence (Callum Blue), the Hotshots actor who invited himself along on this adventure — are going to shut down California State Route 110. Athena trusts Bobby implicitly, it’s a core component of their relationship, so she knows he’ll get the runway done for her. For all of them. ATC is more skeptical, but it doesn’t matter anymore. That’s where they’ll be landing. Bobby parks the truck they borrowed from the Hotshots set diagonally across the road, and Buck races down the freeway, after commandeering a civilian’s motorcycle, to place himself in front of the cars coming the other direction while holding flares. With the 110 clear in front of him, Bobby places himself on top of the fire truck.

Bobby: “Athena, can you hear me?”

Athena: “I’m here, baby.”

Bobby: “We just got ourselves a runway.”

Athena: “Best news all day.”

Bobby: “I will be right here waiting for you.”

Athena: “Maybe you shouldn’t be there.”

Bobby: “You’re gonna do great. I’ll hold up a card with your name on it.”

Athena: “Be quiet.”

Bobby: “Athena. I see you.”

Athena: “I see you, too. I love you.”

Bobby: “Tell me in person.”

In the cockpit, Jem freezes up momentarily, and Athena struggles to keep the plane steady. Athena finally grabs his attention just in time to help her land the plane, both of them slamming on the brakes. When the plane finally stops, it is nose-to-nose with Bobby, who says “Welcome to Los Angeles” over the speakerphone. [Deep breath, romantics.] Before Jem leaves the cockpit, he throws his arms around Athena, who then hangs up with Bobby to cry for a moment alone. Most of the plane gets unloaded before the back catches on fire, but Athena insists on staying behind to keep up compressions on the co-pilot and sends Jenkins down the inflatable slide to get Bobby, the second moment that changes how Athena sees Jenkins.

Bobby plans on climbing up the borrowed rig from Hotshots to get to Athena, but the 118 and the rest of the LAFD show up just in time. Using the ladder truck to get up to the door of the plane, Hen and Chim come in to take over CPR and then, just like Athena did when she rescued Bobby from a sniper in Season 4, Episode 14, “Survivors,” Bobby breaks through the smoke to Athena. Their reunion is focused on getting Athena some oxygen and figuring out what comes next because, as much as fans might have wanted Athena to fall into Bobby’s arms in relief, her day isn’t over yet.

Athena Resolves Her Anger with Dennis Jenkins

Once they’re off the plane, Athena still has to get Jenkins to safety and calls Elaine to let her know what is going on. While they’re on the phone, Athena realizes who was behind the AUSA who pulled them over in Phoenix — AUSA Spencer, who has just arrived on scene with his partner. Bobby is trying to get Athena to sit down and get checked out, but she needs a more important favor. Athena and Dennis hide in the borrowed Hotshots truck and Bobby sends the AUSA’s away, pretending he doesn’t know Athena. Now all they need is to find Fulton’s library which is, of all places, at the airport, in long-term parking. When they get there, Bobby finds the book — a small black notebook, which is pretty on the nose for a criminal — tucked behind the front passenger tire of Fulton’s car, which is when they discover that AUSA Spencer is waiting in the shadows, and he wants the book. Spencer brandishes his weapon, and Bobby steps between Spencer and Athena. When Athena tells him she won’t give him the book, Spencer points the gun at Bobby and fires, only for Jenkins to jump in the way, taking the bullet. From the ground, Jenkins stabs Spencer with a shiv he made from a toothbrush when a sharp object was needed for medical care on the plane. When Bobby thanks him for saving his life, Jenkins says that he “owed [Athena] one,” which is the final moment that helps Athena see Jenkins differently.

At the hospital, after Captain Maynard and AUSA Lawrence update her on AUSA Spencer and the status of the case, Athena goes back to see Jenkins, who is in a hospital bed. He tells her that he’s not running anymore. He stopped when she showed up at his door. She tells him she doesn’t think he was ever running. He could have left the state or the country, even changed his name, but he didn’t. He waited and then, when someone did finally show up, he never denied what he did. Athena has worked through enough internally — and seen enough from him throughout their ordeal — that she gives him her blessing to take the deal for early release and tells him that she called his family. When he begins to thank her, she says, “What makes you think this is for you? I did this for me. And because it’s what Emmett would have wanted. Not that his killer was set free, but that the woman that he loved could finally be free from this anger.”

9-1-1 has had plenty of powerful episodes and dramatic disasters, but the 3-part premiere event of Season 8 will become one of the standouts. The performances from the cast, particularly Angela Bassett and Peter Krause, are dynamic and affecting. The three episodes are emotional, intense, and as funny as they are dramatic, which is truly one of 9-1-1‘s specialties. For Athena Grant-Nash, the ability to move on from the anger she has held onto for so long is a big deal, and it will be incredible for her in the long run. In Season 7, Episode 10, “All Fall Down,” Bobby finally realizes that while his past makes him feel like he doesn’t deserve the life he has, his actions since leaving Minnesota show that he has earned that happiness. And so has Athena.