9-1-1’s Emotional Season 8 Finale Honors Bobby — And Frustrates Buck & Eddie Fans

After a whirlwind of 18 episodes, 9-1-1 Season 8 is officially over. Have no fear, the 118, Athena and Maddie will be back sooner rather than later for Season 9. At this point, it’s still not exactly clear what a full season of the series will look like without Bobby Nash. But that’s where Season 8 succeeds: It keeps people guessing and wanting to come back for more.

Moving 9-1-1 to ABC a couple of seasons ago has been both its saving grace and biggest curse. The new location introduced the series to more audiences, especially with the promise of Buck and Eddie forming a romantic relationship. The downside is that 9-1-1 still isn’t ready to commit to sailing that ship (if it ever will) and decided to spice things up another way by killing off a main character for the first time. Things are tense among the 9-1-1 fandom right now, but the Season 8 finale wants to show that the series is still worth watching. The characters have to go through their lowest lows to achieve the highs that viewers are begging for.

The Final Emergency of Season 8 Is Vastly Underplayed

A 19-Story Building Collapse Surprisingly Isn’t That Big of a Deal

Every 9-1-1 finale has to end with a bang, or in Season 8’s case, a boom. As most people probably figured out by the penultimate episode’s ending, the apartment building collapse was caused by gas pockets leaking methane into the water supply, then causing the washing machines to explode. Athena and the 118 (along with other fire stations) are on the case to help people trapped in the rubble.

The building collapse favors the earthquake emergency in Season 2, which saw another high-rise building crumble as well. The earthquake is considered top-tier among 9-1-1‘s biggest disasters and the Season 8 finale isn’t exactly on the same level. For what it’s worth, Season 8’s apartment collapse is exciting and proves the show can live on without Bobby. Athena trying to solely figure out a solution between two men who infamously don’t get along well brings a lot of tension to the scene. Despite not being on the 118 anymore, Eddie jumping into action with some creativity stops the episode from being another typical day on the job. It’s no tsunami or plane crash, but it raises the heat and is a great improvement from the silly bee-nado in the Season 8 premiere.

The biggest plot hole in this episode is that there is definitely room for more panic. In a 19-story high-rise, the first responders only focus on four people: Cart Cop (Graham), Donnie, an old man named Flint West and a new resident’s mother. Surely, in such a big building in Los Angeles, there are more people in danger. Later, Gerrard celebrates the 118’s work by revealing there were no casualties. That’s great news and all, but how likely is it that the building was mostly empty when it collapsed? The scale of the emergency would’ve been a lot larger and more urgent if the 118 had been spread too thin, due to missing both Bobby and Eddie.

9-1-1 Makes a Joke Character a Lesson for Athena and Chimney

The Cart Cop Finally Makes Athena Understand Bobby’s Sacrifice

Season 8, Episode 17 put a rift between Athena and Chimney. The former wanted to keep things professional as every time she looked at Chimney, she saw the husband she had lost. Athena’s feelings were valid, albeit somewhat out of character for a woman who cares deeply about family, biological or otherwise. But then again, Athena had never been through this type of loss before. The distance is still kept between them in the Season 8 finale, until the emergency forces them together.

This is a classic way to resolve issues between two characters who are actively trying to avoid each other. It especially works for Athena and Chimney, whose dedication to the job is so strong they’ll put aside their own personal feelings to save others. They work together to save Donnie, who is being held together by Graham in his first act of real bravery. But his true courage is revealed when the first responders discover Graham hid his own internal injuries to save Donnie, just like Bobby did for Chimney.

Graham transforming into this serious character who was once a joke is exactly why 9-1-1 needs to bring back one-off characters every once in a while. Had this been a character just introduced in this episode, the weight of his choice wouldn’t have been so heavy. But he has a momentous arc, from a man doing trivial things to hold up law and order to a person sacrificing his own life to save another. Thankfully, Graham lives to see another day thanks to Chimney not giving up on him. In the end, Graham makes Athena understand why Bobby did what he did, especially for Chimney.

9-1-1 Ends Season 8 With a Sense of Hope

The Season 8 Finale Reminds Athena and the Rest That Tragedy Doesn’t Have to Be the End

Athena and Chimney make up with a hug after a hard day’s work. She mentions that Bobby always thought Chimney underestimated his skills and ability to be a great leader. If that isn’t enough of a sign that Chimney should be the 118’s captain, then Chimney’s speech to the station straight from the heart, demanding that everyone stay where they are to honor Bobby’s memory, cements it. It’s always great when 9-1-1 utilizes Kenneth Choi’s talents. The fact that he’s one of the strongest actors on 9-1-1 is probably why he’s going to be Bobby’s replacement.

The rest of the episode is a montage to “Tragedy Is Not the End” by Joel Ansett. Athena officially sells her house to start fresh. Hen and Karen officially adopt Mara rather instantaneously. Eddie decides to stay in Los Angeles with Christopher. The decision is a long time coming, but there’s a creeping feeling that his Texas arc was all for nothing if Chimney’s speech was all it took to make him stay. Buck decides to move out to give Eddie and Christopher their old place back. Why does it feel like potential same-sex couples have the longest slow-burns in television history compared to straight couples?

Finally, Athena meets Maddie and Chimney’s new baby in the hospital room. 9-1-1 may have just wanted to get that arc finished — it seemed like Maddie was pregnant for only four months or so. Everyone is on the edge of their seat waiting for the name, and yes, it’s a tear-jerker. It makes up for Season 8 being one of 9-1-1‘s weakest seasons yet. Chimney introduces Robert Nash Han. Athena says hello to little Bobby in an ending that promises everything is going to be okay.