The 118 team is used to dealing with terrifying accidents and even figuring out how tos top a bee-nado shocking the residents of Los Angeles. But it’s going to take the beloved 9-1-1 characters a long time to move on from the events of the latest episode. 9-1-1 season 8, episode 15, “Lab Rats,” continued the two-part “Contagion” event, with Hen (Aisha Hinds), Chimney (Kenneth Choi), and Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) stuck in a lab and trying to stop a deadly virus from making its way out into the world.
As “Lab Rats” marches to its conclusion, a popular character exits 9-1-1, and it will be interesting to see how this affects the rest of the season. So, what happened, and who left?
What Happens At The End Of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 15, “Lab Rats”?
Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) and Buck (Oliver Starkley) save Chimney from the virus, and also get the antidote from scientist Moira, which ensures that the virus won’t spread and become a pandemic. Bobby holds up a sign that reads “Get my people out now” and it seems like everything will work out okay. As a Radiohead song plays, a rescue mission. begins, and Ravi tells Bobby he came close to quitting his job, but feels better about it now. This is yet another example of how much Bobby motivates his teammates, which fans also see with Leroy Gibbs (Mark Harmon) on NCIS
Hen and Chimney are saved, and it’s easy to imagine that 9-1-1 season 8, episode 15 will have a happy ending. Although the series is shocking and dark at times, the characters have heartwarming scenes, too, which makes it much different from Ryan Murphy’s other popular series American Horror Story. But then viewers learn the brutal and tragic truth: Bobby is going to die. After he and Athena say goodbye, Athena, Chimney, Hen, and Buck are shown crying and beginning the challenging process of dealing with his tragic and unfair death.
Bobby Nash’s (Peter Krause) 9-1-1 Season 8 Exit, Explained
After the characters leave the lab, Buck sees that Bobby is still in the lab, and his nose is bleeding. Buck yells “no” over and over again, and Bobby says, “I love you, kid.” Buck tells Athena, “You need to come in here.” Bobby tells Athena he has been infected with the virus from a hole in his breathing tube, and he’s going to quarantine himself.
In true 9-1-1 fashion, as this is one of the wildest and also most moving Ryan Murphy-created series, Bobby tells his wife Athena how much he cares about her because he knows he’s going to die. Bobby says:
“I’m sorry. This isn’t how I wanted to leave you. I’m not choosing to leave you. I chose to save my team because it was the right thing to do. It was never because I wanted to go. I don’t want to go. If I could choose, I would stay with you. Always.”
After 8 seasons, Bobby’s 9-1-1 death is shocking and upsetting, and fans will miss this smart, caring, and memorable police drama character as much as his 118 teammates will. Bobby tells Athena that his time was “borrowed” and he was supposed to be punished for the darkest part of his life: when he accidentally set an apartment building on fire and the residents, including children, died. While Bobby feels he deserves that, Athena and the others know he’s a good person who had a hard time and made mistakes.
Minnear also explained that rather than kill Bobby off in a season finale, which would mean viewers would have to wait several months to see the aftermath, he wanted to give the characters time to process their grief. Minnear said, “I felt that would be incredibly cruel to our audience if they missed the fallout for these characters.”
