9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 7 Review: The Show’s Biggest Problems Get Swept Under the Rug

9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 7, “Hotshots,” is about as hot as the show can get when it comes to facing controversial topics. 9-1-1 isn’t a stranger to touchy subjects such as domestic violence or child loss. But one point that the show has always tiptoed around and never quite addressed is police brutality. In “Hotshots,” Athena Grant rights the wrongs of her past, while another character gets an undeserving rehabilitation.

The firefighters take a backseat in this episode for Athena to step forward and reflect on her career as a police sergeant. Athena’s assigned a rookie named Officer Sparks, who definitely has a spark that’s about to go off. The two butt heads as they tackle a case to find a black market robber called Flash Rob. Though the events that unfold between Athena and Sparks take a palpitating turn, the rest of the episode moves at a tedious pace.

9-1-1’s Athena Grant Unexpectedly Conquers Her Controversial Past

Athena Grows as a Sergeant, But at the Cost of a Flimsy Storyline

At first, Sparks appears to have all the good qualities — he’s eager, studious and willing to learn. But a red flag pops up when he tells Athena why he wants to be a police officer: he likes the power he has over people. Being the superstar she is, Athena already smells something off with the kid; she insists on a hunch that he’s not ready for a badge. But Athena’s superior takes Sparks’ attitude as him being young and hungry, treating Athena’s words as an afterthought. Then Sparks mistakenly shoots a pulled-over driver, thinking he was deploying his taser.

Athena’s apprehension to ride with the rookie is a sign of growth. The character had previously soured her reputation among viewers when she refused to back her family after they were victims of police brutality, saying she’d been on the cop’s side before. In “Hotshots,” she’s learned her lesson. She even overcomes her arrogance and requests another rookie to teach them the ropes. But 9-1-1 still hasn’t conquered its own pomposity.

9-1-1 thinks quite highly of itself as a show that hits the dark topics and covers them with grace. Sometimes it does, like with Maddie Buckley’s thoughtful storyline about facing her abusive husband. But in instances like “Hotshots,” 9-1-1 treats controversial subjects with surface-level attention. The episode ends with Sparks getting a slap on the wrist. Thankfully, the victim wasn’t killed and Sparks will be punished, but Athena moves past it like it’s another Sunday afternoon. No time is spent simmering on the horrific accident caused by a power trip. A police officer nearly killing a person isn’t another checkmark on a to-do list, but 9-1-1‘s swiftness to brush past the incident makes it seem like it is.

Vincent Gerrard’s Return Isn’t a Recipe for Redemption

9-1-1 Forgets What Made People Hate Gerrard in the First Place

Once Vincent Gerrard left Station 118 to work as the new tech advisor for the Hotshots set, the assumption was that he wouldn’t return. Gerrard had no real reason to come back, unless he was fighting for his place at the 118. Yet 9-1-1 still isn’t done with him. With an actor as good as Brian Thompson, no one can blame the show for finding reasons to bring Gerrard back into the fold. But the way 9-1-1 writes his character into a sympathetic spot is distasteful and frankly weird. He will never be one of the show’s best characters.

Gerrard’s “redemption” is executed just as clumsily as Athena’s team-up with the rookie. It’s thrown together with a bunch of ingredients that don’t mesh. 9-1-1 is attempting to paint Gerrard in a lighter color by making him have a soft spot for Brad Torrence, a lead actor on Hotshots. Gerrard is pathetic around Brad — so desperate for his approval that he’s even fetching him coffee. And Brad turns out to be a stereotypical rude actor who lashes out at a waiter for serving him four olives, not three.

9-1-1‘s intention is obviously to put Gerrard in the position that the 118 firefighters were in when he was captain. He’s now the inferior being used as a puppet, far below his skill set as a firefighter. Putting Gerrard in this karmic position is a teaching lesson, but not one he actually needs. Fan-favorite Bobby Nash just thinks Gerrard needs to loosen up and not be so tough. But Bobby beats around the bush when it comes to Gerrard’s real issues: that he’s racist, misogynistic and an all-around bigot. Making Brad the villain to give Gerrard redemption is the easy way out of ignoring pressing concerns.

9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 7 Is a Run of the Mill Episode

The Show Is Turning Into Just Another Ordinary Procedural

As life-altering as some situations are in “Hotshots,” the episode itself won’t go down as a memorable one. Past the slippery handling of sensitive subjects, the story just isn’t exciting. Buck is going down a rabbit hole of baked goods to recover from his break-up with Tommy, repeating the same scene with almost verbatim dialogue and different characters. Maddie and Chimney telling Buck about her pregnancy is sweet, but it comes off as one of those conversations that these people have every day of their lives, even though this is a big step in Maddie and Chimney’s relationship.

The biggest weakness of the episode is that it mainly focuses on Athena and her case of the week. Cop storylines are rarely memorable on 9-1-1 — apart from Athena’s feud with Jeffrey Hudson — because they’re not as creative as the firefighters’ cases. There are dozens of police procedurals on the air, and hardly any firefighter shows. Yes, 9-1-1 is a first responder series, which includes firefighters, EMTs, dispatchers and police officers. But what draws people in are the weird scenarios firefighters have to solve with atypical solutions. Just last week, the 118 crew had to use a child to pull his little brother out of a drain pipe. A rookie cop jumping on the back of a truck doesn’t reach the same level of absurdity.

The good news, though, is that the midseason finale promises to bring some of those unconventional cases back. After all, with Brad Torrence riding with the 118, something’s bound to get bizarre. And 9-1-1 needs something like that if it’s going to keep from turning into just another of the many TV procedurals already on the air.