Remember last season, when Bobby and Athena almost died in each other’s arms as their sinking cruise ship filled with water? At the time, we didn’t think 9-1-1 was capable of crafting a more devastating moment for this beloved couple. What fools we were.
Thursday’s episode, a continuation of the show’s three-part Season 8 premiere, was basically just Angela Bassett starring in her own ’90s action flick. It was very good. Frankly, it’s all we ever want from this show from now on. Picking up immediately after last week’s mid-air collision, Athena was forced to land a half-destroyed airplane full of injured passengers, with only a literal child as her co-pilot.
Fearing that Athena and her extremely young sidekick might not successfully land the plane, Dennis suggested that they contact someone on the ground to share the information he has on celebrity pedophile Maxwell Fulton. (Yes, let’s not forget that on top of everything else, 9-1-1 is tossing a Jeffrey Epstein-inspired storyline into the middle of this bee-nado.) Athena would only share that kind of information with someone she trusts completely, a list that begins and ends with one name — Bobby Nash.
Alas, Bobby could not be reached, forcing Athena to leave him the most heartbreaking voicemail one could possibly imagine. The kind Savannah Guthrie warns viewers about before playing it on the Today show. Yes, we’re talking about the dreaded plane-going-down goodbye voicemail.
“Bobby!” Athena yelled over the sound of air being sucked out of the craft. “I love you, baby!” (No, you’re crying.)
In fact, the only thing more painful than watching her leave the voicemail was watching Bobby finally hear it at the end of the episode. Hotshots really needs to reconsider its no phones on set policy.
Come to think of it, wasn’t it in the second episode last season that Bobby and Athena had their near-drowning experience? Did we just crack 9-1-1‘s secret formula for emotional destruction? #LeaveBobbyAndAthenaAlone
Elsewhere in Part 2…
* Bad news: Gerrard survived his fall. Good news: He was sent to the hospital on suspicion of a concussion, leaving Hen temporarily in charge of the 118. Unfortunately, Buck’s combination of guilt and fear kept him from joining his fellow firefighters in a dance party, despite it being an official order.
* As depressing as Emmett’s funeral flashback was, do you almost wish the scene had been longer just so we could have spent more time with Pepi Sonuga as young Athena? We forgot how good she is.
* Can we please take a moment to appreciate that this very serious episode about a plane crash was called “When the Boeing Gets Tough”?
Your thoughts on Part 2? Grade the episode in our poll below, then drop a comment with your hopes for next week’s conclusion.
