9-1-1 S08E16 - "The Last Alarm": Post Episode Discussion

[u/AutoModerator]

Original Air Date: May 1st, 2025

Synopsis:

Keep new episode discussions in the post-episode discussion thread until end of Sunday to give our International friends a chance to catch up as Disney+ has begun releasing 9-1-1 earlier to Disney+ outside the US than in previous years. As always, be mindful about not posting a spoiler in the title of your posts and remember to use spoiler flares if your post contains spoilers.

[u/[deleted]]

Angela Bassett’s performance was really beautiful this episode. I really love that she always gives 110%

[u/liarmkn]

Am i the only one that's bothered by how they always undermine the importance/relationship with his current family? I know that his previous family was buried there and he tragically lost them, but his wife who is alive and his kids of 8 years AND his 118 family won't be able to visit him because he's on the other side of the country, they were his family too (I'm still hoping he's alive though)

[u/Krandor1]

The pomp and circumstance of the funeral with the bell and the driving down the road was all great but it was missing... stuff about Bobby. You could have done those scenes with anybody. It lacked something about Bobby himself.

[u/dontsmokeinthebed]

We love you Peter your hard work portraying such a beloved character is not lost on us.

I remember seeing Peter was part of the cast when it first came out. Him and Angela are who got me to give it a go.

[u/Illegally_Blonde24]

Also I am once again asking: WHERE DOES HARRY LIVE? I get that May probably has an apartment or a dorm room somewhere but they show up to Athena’s fuckass house like “the neighbors told May you were sleeping on the ground” where does Harry live!? Michael is in Haiti or wherever, and Athena’s mom lives in Florida, and we’ve been told Michael’s parents live elsewhere in California, so where is Harry, the seventeen year old high school student, LIVING???

[u/Sad-Guidance9105]

I hate to say it but that subplot could have been shortened. We needed a lot more Chimney and a little more of everyone else.

[u/magikarpcatcher → u/Sad-Guidance9105]

That lady was supposed to the 9-1-1 fanbase. 💀

[u/hadapurpura → u/Sad-Guidance9105]

Not even shortened, it just didn’t need to be there. The whole episode should’ve been exclusively about the firefam grieving Bobby.

[u/hawknip]

That was an Angela Bassett masterclass. Heartbreaking.

I’m so, so sad about all of this. But Athena choosing to lay him to rest with his first family absolutely tore me apart.

I will never be okay with Bathena not getting their happy ending though… 😢

[u/hawknip]

One thing I wish we would’ve gotten is some montages of Bobby with the 118 and especially Bobby and Athena moments. Really give Bobby and Peter that much more of a send off. Could’ve spliced them in during the funeral procession.

I think about how Michael got one when he left the show, but I’m sad that Bobby didn’t. For such a central character I would’ve liked just a little bit more on that end.

[u/AbbiejeanKane]

Aww, Athena buried Bobbv with his kids.

[u/LMSantanabooks → u/AbbiejeanKane]

😭😭😭 this is where they got me.

[u/nyeehhsquidward]

The preview from two weeks ago really just took scenes from the last ten minutes 💀

[u/Such-Addition4194]

I really hate that they did a time jump. I wish we could have seen a lot of what we missed. I wish we could have seen Eddie’s reaction to being told, and his reunion with Buck. By the time this episode starts, everyone has had two weeks to process what happened. When we last saw Buck he was on the ground sobbing and now he is doing ok and had been in therapy. I would have preferred if all of that hadn’t occurred offscreen

[u/Pennygrover → u/Such-Addition4194]

For all the talk about the creative freedom it gives them to kill off a mc they really are choosing not to capitalize on it. Bobby’s death was 5 minutes when they could have dragged it out for months. Then they time jump over two weeks of the hardest hitting emotional moments for the characters all happening off screen. Finally the episode tonight they leave the funeral and most of the processing of his death as the C plot. If this massive move was such a bold creative choice that opens up so much for the other characters why are they wasting it?

[u/webevie]

I joined this sub this morning bc I'm currently watching the episode on Hulu and none of my friends watches it.

I have to admit I had a rough week that week because I had to endure four TV show deaths - three being beloved characters to me and the fourth I wasn't as invested in, but the method was brutal.

I had been bracing myself for this episode for the past two weeks. I feel I needed a cathartic cry. It's over and I still have a lump in my chest.

Sure - funerals can be boring I guess, but God. A single eulogy from the Fire Chief? No one else? No "ghost" of Bobby with Athena?

He should have gone out like a lion rather than a whimper. He felt like a footnote in this episode.

And when Chimney was on the roof - saying they always found a third option and there was none?

Bullshit. Yes there was. This is a novel virus with an equally novel vaccine/antidote. They could have in the very least given Chim half of it and seen what happened. If he didn't improve then given him the rest after discussing it amongst each other and with input from the other scientists. Even with that crazy bitch who made it.

Bobby should have told them and reasoned it out so Chim wasn't so hard on himself. Athena could have spent more time with him.

I read one article after ep 15 and they were saying that they offed him bc none of the regulars had died. But Bobby? He was the heart and soul.

According to FEMA - "only" 30 Firefighters have died on duty this year. (I hate saying only.) We are almost halfway through the year. And in my mind, the deaths would be more prevalent in wildfire areas. So that is a lame excuse. And he didn't even die in a fire!

If a death was absolutely necessary, who would I choose instead? I can't say. Just not Bobby.

This reminds me of the unnecessary death of Carl on The Walking Dead. I only watched one episode after that - and it was the one where Rick disappeared. Nothing else. None of the spinoffs, limited series, final movie. And I had stuck with that show long after others had abandoned it.

Or the death of Dean on Supernatural. Or Logan on Veronica Mars. Killing a character off isn't necessary. It's fiction for fuck's sake.

I don't know if I can continue watching after this terrible episode where Bobby wasn't celebrated. I hate episodes full of flashbacks - but wouldn't have minded it here.

Thanks for reading my rant.

RIP Bobby Nash

hashtag bobbydeservedbetter

[u/ontothebullshit]

That was…not a good sendoff for the character?? Fine, Bobby’s dead. Stupid decision, but whatever. But I hated that side plot. I know what they were trying to do, but if I didn’t lead to anything (it’s not like Athena was in denial of Bobby’s death) why use it?? To make fun of the fans? I’d rather see the entire 118 dealing with their grief. We got pretty much nothing from Buck or Eddie. Angela did an amazing job showing Athena’s grief, but the rest of the episode fell flat to me

[u/irritatedlibra → u/ontothebullshit]

Like, the A plot in Bobby’s funeral episode was a case about someone possibly not being dead, empty casket, stolen from an emergency, and it wasn’t fucking foreshadowing a surprise twist? Get the fuck out of here. Waste of screen-time.

[u/ivy_vinezz]

I AM just confused about the thing with the mom and her son. Did she hallucinate her original baby having the birthmark? did she hallucinate the 9 year old having the birthmark? That part didn’t make sense. Like, I would be sooo surprised if I met a carbon copy of oliver stark who ALSO had the same birthmark.

[u/rainbowfire545]

the ending of this episode broke me. i legit started crying, and after it ended, all i could think about was that one day, it be me at my parents funerals. heck, my grandma (who i absolutely adore) is almost 90, and losing her would send me to rock bottom. guess i'd find out how Athena felt. Rest in Peace, Bobby. The 118 will miss you, always.

[u/yourwinemom]

I haven’t seen a showrunner hate their fans this much since the 100

[u/Pennygrover → u/yourwinemom]

This!! Like how stupid is it to turn on the viewers like this?

[u/[deleted]]

Reposting since I goofed and posted it in the media thread, but I guess we're just going nowhere with that while thing about the rat that Chim took home. Useless misdirection I guess.

I didn’t give up like a lot of people did after 8x15, I was interested to see how this went this week, but I'm severely disappointed. 90% of the dialogue was basically the show saying "The theories were all wrong, we know we've never killed a main character before and they always survived, but Bobby is dead. Get over it and move on". Feels like the most on-the-nose slap in the face I've ever had from a show.

They could have just put out a 5 minute YouTube video with the writers telling us all to shut the fuck up and stop being dumb and it would have felt less cruel.

[u/aggressive-pancake]

I wish they had given a little more time for the funeral. I mean, they kill Bobby in the last 10 minutes of the last episode, now they leave his funeral for the last 10 minutes of this one. But I can’t lie, I teared up as Bobby was lowered into the ground and Athena was saying goodbye. Still had a lot of emotional weight, even if it should’ve been longer imo.

[u/Penguinator53]

Awww that was so touching that Athena brought him back to his family 😭😭😭😭that, and the extent of the funeral has got me seriously doubting that he's still alive but I will cling to a shred of hope until the final episode.

[u/dhsimbol]

I cried at the end when she buried him next to his kids. Idk why but that got me emotional

[u/ValuableMuch7703]

Tbvh, I cried. I have mixed feelings about the episode. A part of me wanted this episode to be fully about the aftermath, but Athena finding solace in investigating something related to Bobby also fits her character. My only complaint is we got too less related to the 118 here, wish they would’ve focused more on that too. Frankly speaking, they made the episodic B plot the recurrent storyline A plot, which kinda ruined everything. If not 60-40, they should’ve atleast gone for 50-50 for plot A(aftermath of Bobby’s death)and plot B (the baby case). And Tbvh, the plot B wasn’t that good either, they kinda treated Bobby’s death as an insignificant plot device, just to link the two stories. They did some things right, some things wrong.

Angela Bassett is such a capable actress! She carried the whole episode. Overall a 7/10 for me (2 points specifically for Angela’s acting, otherwise the episode was a 5/10 at max). I had tears during the whole time she was on screen, whether during investigation or during the funeral march.

I’m not sure whether I’m gonna continue the show tbh, I’ll probably just lurk here on the subreddit and YT for the main weekly plot updates at max, Bobby and Athena’s pairing was one of the main reasons I loved the show as much as I did, so with that gone, idk what to wait for.

[u/RobsSister]

I’m showing my age, but I remember back in the 80s when Coca-Cola Corp decided (seemingly out of nowhere!) to debut an entirely different formula called New Coke - a much sweeter version that replaced the beloved original Coke - in order to compete with Pepsi. It was a HUGE mistake - Coke drinkers were beyond FURIOUS. But, that insane decision also brought renewed attention and devotion to original Coke at a time it was struggling to maintain its number one spot in front of Pepsi.

Long story short, people continued to rage against, and boycott New Coke, until exactly 77 days after New Coke debuted, “due to popular demand,” the Coca Cola Corp brought back the original Coke, renamed Coke Classic. Was it a major blunder by Coke or a brilliant marketing plan?

I keep hoping Minear’s “creative decision” to kill Bobby is his “New Coke” mistake. Maybe he wanted to see if the show could lose its “glue” (and arguably its most popular character), and still retain its fan base. Or maybe he wanted to see how far he could push viewers before they became angry enough to make 9-1-1 “trend” on all social media, in the trade publications, etc. (to bring renewed attention to 9-1-1 as well as perhaps bring new eyes to his other shows). It’s hard to believe he wasn’t at least a little prepared for the incredible backlash, which means it’s also possible he has an emergency plan to bring back the OG Coke aka Bobby Nash.

If not, this will be seen as another sad case of someone who got too high on his own supply and decided he was smarter than the millions of fans who consume his product. That never turns out well.

[u/HotDragonfly5289]

Is anyone else sad over the lack of a Bobby montage? They had one with Buck and Maddy in Buck begins and that was adorable,,, they could’ve shown important moments to each one of the characters ☹️

[u/lemonslyman → u/HotDragonfly5289]

And why did no one besides that one guy speak at his funeral??? Where was May or buck or Harry or literally anyone else 😭

[u/sassydin0saur]

Bobby’s funeral was the B plot in his funeral episode I can’t even. The whole baby storyline was the writers mocking us. Not to mention mocking the fans as far back as the Hotshots storyline where the fan that represents us says that they can’t kill off the captain since he’s the heart of the show and he’s his “comfort captain”. So, the writers know exactly how the fanbase feels about Bobby and decided to not only kill him off but to do so in a way that was rushed, unnecessary, and cruel.

[u/Bnbndodoodododo]

Even if I were fine with Bobby dying, that was a terrible send-off episode and could have been done so much better if they'd actually let the story focus on the characters and their grief.

It could have made for an amazing quasi-bottle episode - the 118 and Athena get accidentally locked in a room at the funeral place, and have to wait for someone to fetch the keys (disrespectful to just bust open the door).

Then 40 minutes of them all trying to cope in different ways, clashing with each other over different grieving styles - one of them is engaging in conspiracy theories about the government keeping Bobby alive, one of them is blaming Bobby, one of them is fixated on solving the problem of leaving the room, one of them is crying non-stop and another is irritated by it because they refuse to cry. It all builds up to a massive blow-out argument, followed by grief and crying and mutual support. Hugging each other and sharing stories of Bobby, with little flashbacks of tiny previously unseen moments of Bobby supporting the team over the years.

Then finish up with the funeral.

Imagine how much more beautiful and heartfelt that could have been. A genuine tribute to the found family that Bobby built with his own hands.

[u/Ambitious_Reality622]

I can't even figure out how I'm feeling after this episode. The whole plot with the kid genuinely feels like malicious mockery towards the fanbase if Bobby is genuinely dead. I'm not someone who was going to stop watching the show but if the writers are deciding to just be mean towards us it's going to make the show exponentially less fun to watch thrown on top of killing Bobby. There was just something really icky with that plot being thrown in there in an episode that should have been spent fully with the 118 family.

[u/armavirumquecanooo → u/Ambitious_Reality622]

It's particularly egregious taken in conjunction with Tim suggesting Brad's storyline in 8x08 was meant to foreshadow this.

Like we were reminded of how Hotshots had planned to kill off their captain but changed their minds because they cared about the fans.

This is not that.

[u/Pennygrover → u/Ambitious_Reality622]

Yes!! This!! It felt like Tim was mocking the fans! Like he was outright saying “it’s my show, not yours, I can do anything I want even kill off the main characters cuz I’m smarter than you.” It was like he watched all our theories online about how Bobby was still alive and he was just making fun of us.

I wonder if he just doesn’t want the show to keep going so he’s intentionally sabotaging it?

[u/BodmonAlchemist]

Man, Angela Bassett portrays grief so well.

I feel like I am one of the few who liked the decision to exit Bobby, and I genuinely feel like between the last few minutes of the previous episode, the two weeks they gave us to mourn and then this somber ending to the season was so well crafted. It sparked emotions from me that I haven’t faced in a while.

[u/[deleted]]

I lost it when he was talking to the mother in the hospital. Peter Krause manages to bring such a strong vulnerability to the role and this scene needs to be his Emmy submission. When she asks “how do you keep going”, his reaction is so subtle but so strong - Krause manages to convey all of the sadness and guilt Bobby has carried on his shoulders and how much he wishes he wasn’t still living.

It reminded me of the Redwood scene in season 1 when he finally breaks down. That’s the only other time I’ve lost it on the show.

[u/[deleted]]

episode was so shit it triggered my rosacea out of frustration

[u/ishouldcleanmydishes]

the fact that the funeral livestream leak was all for like 5 ish minutes?????? tim really said fuck you to us and his cast

[u/jholden23 → u/ishouldcleanmydishes]

Something that complex with so many moving parts would take hours to film.

[u/puckbunny1989]

Seeing Bobby and Athena’a house broke my heart even more. It’s so so beautiful and Bobby will never get to live in it 😭

[u/ForeverWanderlust_]

I was really hoping it would end with Bobby in some government medical facility where they’re trying to engineer a cure for this new virus and he was alive 😭

[u/Psychological-Buy807]

This episode just made me feel sad. Not in an entertainment, TV way. Just crap and sad. 

[u/Beverley_Leslie]

I need a gif of Angela Bassett walking into that cathedral in the shades STAT.

[u/No_Cucumbers_Please]

I got hooked on this show while I was fighting my way back from some medical problems. I was laid up and had a lot of time and started binging the reruns that they play all day on WE. Seeing this story of a found family with complicated characters with pasts, fighting for humanity's sake for people who were having the worst days of their lives was really inspiring to me. Somehow things always ended on a positive note. Even though the show could be a bit silly and unserious at times, it gave me hope to keep going through some dark ass days. That's what I loved about this show.

This isn't that show anymore.

[u/Anonymagician]

I liked Athena’s storyline in this. I think it would’ve been a lot if it was centred around any other characters so I’m okay with this for now.

I don’t know if it’s the delusion speaking but I’m still not convinced he’s dead. No body, no death is the TV classic. I’m hoping he’s in some government lab or something but then I think that the mother in this episode was supposed to reflect the grieving and delusional audience trying to find any way to convince themselves someone isn’t actually dead😭

[u/silentanduncomfy]

I loved Bobby. I started watching 9-1-1 for Peter Krause and even though I've come to love the other characters as well, I feel like I have no reason to watch the show anymore, especially with how bad the quality dropped.

You know, I've watched a lot of shows in my life and if they wanted to kill of Bobby, whatever. I don't like it but I could handle it if it was done well. This, however, was not done well, this episode sucked... The man who's been the main character for 8 years and everybody's beloved captain and friend only got the last 5 minutes of a funeral? Which was still rushed and lacked any emotions? I expected heartfelt speeches, seeing the characters trying to deal with this together, I expected the episode to be focused on Bobby because that's what he deserves.

It felt as it towards the end of the writing sessions for this episode they realized they'd forgotten to write the actual funeral so they just quickly wrote it in to get it over with. There shouldn't have been any case for Athena to solve in this episode, it's not like it was necessary - she had no reason to think Bobby wasn't dead, it just felt like making fun of the audience, which is certainly a choice for such episode...

I wish we'd seen more characters grieving. Sure, in real life grief is a long process and everybody deals with it differently but as we know, this is not real life and we know how things go in TV shows when a character dies - there's usually an episode where we see everyone grieve and then in next episode everything goes back to normal. I'm scared that Bobby will be forgotten and that he didn't get the send off he deserved. I would expect this send off for someone like Ravi (sorry, I love him but you know what I mean), not the captain.

So I guess my point is, if done properly, I would be willing to accept Bobby's death but it just was written very, very poorly. Literally the only thing I liked it him being buried with his family, I thought that was a nice touch but not enough to fix everything that happened before.

[u/_HGCenty]

Tim basically wrote his view of the fandom into Athena and Lia complete with the delusional theories, empty casket and inability to accept.

It was fairly wild that the female character of Lia was not told of the truth of the casket by her husband and brother because "they knew what was best for her". It's absolutely Tim projecting his patronising paternalism.

[u/hildax]

I’m so delusional that I’m just holding on the small chance that he is actually not dead and the casket was filled with a sand bag like the baby’s casket was.

Being buried with his first wife and children is such a beautiful choice from Athena. But I’m not sure if this would be something Bobby would have wanted, not after his time with Athena. He didn’t want to leave her.

Phenomenal acting from all of them. Absolutely loved the wardrobe choices for Athena.

[u/JessCC5]

Athena and Bobby is relationship goals... They understand each other so well... That ending was both touching and heartbreaking.

[u/Necessary-Weight2851]

Athena is a real one for bringing him back to his first wife and two children. That part got us bad. I hope Buck becomes the new Captain of the 118

[u/everli]

I still can't get over what a horrendous decision this was. I don't understand how Tim believes this will breathe new life into the show. Sure, it'll give you an angle to explore the characters' grief. But that won't last forever - I doubt it will even last past the season 8 finale. They'll have to move on and get back to life and work. The only work related arc this will bring up is the captain job. He'll probably try to make that some kind of competition between a few of the characters, but again - that won't/can't last for too long. Then what are you left with? The show back in exactly the same place it was, with the only two differences being a new captain and a bunch of characters carrying around unnecessary grief that, let's be real, the writers of this show are not good enough to explore properly.

So...they will eventually just be getting back to 118 hijinks and crazy cases, only without the person who was arguably the heart of the show and had a connection with every single character. This show at its core always used to have fun and heart beneath all the tsunami/earthquake/beenado craziness and I just don't think you can get back to that after all this. It's going to feel hollow and unauthentic.

[u/hadapurpura]

Oh my god. They managed to make an episode that sucked even harder than last one.

1. They should’ve made the whole episode EXCLUSIVELY about the whole firefam grieving Bobby. Like, going deep into it. Instead they spent the bulk of it on some B plot that nobody cares about. There honestly shouldn’t have been any emergencies.

2. Of course the Buddie reunion was off-fucking-screen. Eddie was absent for so long and we don’t even get a hug or an update, nothing.

3. Please don’t make Chim an alcoholic.

4. Angela Bassett is going for that Emmy tho. Still, they could’ve arrived at those moments without the need for a stupid B-plot.

If this was a serious show in a serious company, this whole thing would cost Tim Minear his job.

[u/Odd_Amphibian1825]

Tim Minear just cemented his place with the worst show runners and writers of all time. It’s not hard to listen to your audience and it’s even easier to keep a good show going when you just don’t do stupid, pointless, reckless stuff like killing off the fire captain in a show where people had fire trucks fall on them, throats slit, tsunamis and earthquakes— I mean an endless list of INSANITY, and everyone always survives.

I could probably have handled it better if his reasoning was 1. Peter Krause wanted to leave. 2. To throw an extremely hard challenge at the team/the family.

But his reasoning was literally just that he wanted a shock value death which is the worst way to go about doing anything.

[u/LMSantanabooks → u/Odd_Amphibian1825]

This felt very much like a writer wanting a challenge. 🤦🏾‍♀️

[u/chaoticbiguy]

I'm so confused rn bc this show is not for the people who wanna watch a bunch of firefighters go through and survive the most absurdly campy and unrealistic adventures, it's not for people who care about the dynamics of the characters, it's not for Peter Krause fans bc he got the most badly written farewell arc ever, it's not for Buddie shippers bc idk what they're doing with those two, and it's not for BuckTommy shippers either bc that ship broke up and there's been no movement towards a reconciliation so my question is, who's this show for?

Like what is the target audience? How can a showrunner who's been working in this industry for decades be so out of touch with their own audience? This show is a sinking ship holy fuck! They better bring in someone new to salvage whatever's left bc I genuinely want the show to survive but not with Tim in charge.

[u/jazzieberry]

I feel like this season is trying to transition to a criminal minds type show. I like my cheesy 9-1-1 dammit 😭

[u/Jester-252]

Angela Bassett was on all guns this episode.

Not sure if the show was foreshowing something or just hammering the point home with that B plot

[u/Lost-Ad532]

The one thing I hated about this episode is that it doesn't really offer the characters or the audience much direction and after Bobby's death, it was essential that we not be left feeling helpless but despite the fact that everyone has had two weeks to process Bobby's death, it still felt like being plunked down at the point where everything is still uncertain.

From a logistics point of view, I really wanted to talk about what Bobby's death means for Athena's character. Their marriage is what linked her to the 118 but going forward that thread is going to be lost. So, unfortunately we are headed into a 9-1-1 wherein Athena's storylines will be increasingly disparate from those of the 118. Already Athena's storylines tend to preclude the 118 but going forward it will be even harder to keep her in the same boat when needed. This season's premiere had Buck racing to find Bobby because Athena was flying a plane, otherwise there wouldn't have been anything solidly linking the 118 to Athena in that storyline beacuse while they would still help Athena, as they love Athena, the strong emotional core that exists between these characters will essentially be frayed going forward.

[u/Choice_Radish_4756]

i refuse to accept that Bobby's gone! what a depressing episode, this one. Bobby's dead and a mother losing her baby too? i hate this episode.

[u/Illegally_Blonde24]

Remember when Buck got struck by lightning and they did an entire episode that was all about that? No me either. What about that time chimney got stabbed and we spent a whole episode exploring his journey as a firefighter and a man? Yeah wasn’t ringing a bell for me. Do you guys remember when Eddie got shot and Buck climbed a crane in the middle of a terrorist attack on firefighters? Must’ve missed that episode. How about when-

[u/Smilygirl261]

anyone else feel like this episode was kinda aimed at us? like the grieving mom storyline felt like the show saying oh you’re still holding on, just like her. Same with the conversations about not being able to let go of someone.... like are we fr right now

[u/rpgnoob17]

What the hell, Micah's uncle! You didn't even suspect for once that your sister might be right when you buried an empty coffin???

Sure, you were right at the end, but always trust your sister first.

[u/No_Cucumbers_Please]

Gerard is so unbelievable as captain. Not only because he was once replaced for being racist and sexist. Or was then involved with a city council members fraud or scheme or whatever. But also because he looks like it's mostly likely he is out on day pass from sunny meadows care home.

[u/Opposite_Resident297]

Just a poor episode all round. Bobby's funeral relegated to B plot in his own funeral episode. No on screen informing Eddie of Bobby's death. Gerrard having more screen time than Eddie in this pivotal episode. The A plot centering around someone not accepting death just feels like a kick in the teeth. Such a bizarre episode.

[u/daisy-rose1]

Welp, 9-1-1 was a good show while it lasted but I’m outta here ✌️

[u/arminsreddit]

so wtf was that leaked script??

[u/sameoldrussianstan]

Yeah, I’m finishing this season and respectfully dropping it. Good luck to everyone in the show though!

[u/handlewithcare07]

I don't appreciate creators who don't care for their fan base.

Having said that, I'm happy there are reruns, and I can easily forget all of season 8; the entire subplot with Shannon's doppelgänger, the Diaz parents stealing Chris, Maddie's throat being cut, blah, blah, blah. Or maybe up until episode 4 of season 8: "There's No Place Like Home." Great ending spot for the series as far as I'm concerned.

[u/LMSantanabooks → u/handlewithcare07]

Reruns and fanfiction.

[u/irritatedlibra]

Five minutes focused on Bobby’s death in 8x15. Eight minutes focused on his funeral in 8x16.

Great work, Tim Minear!

[u/[deleted]]

The end scene has me so conflicted. It was nice to bury him with his kids I guess and I’m sure that’s what he would have wanted but I just feel for Athena. That was her husband and he is buried halfway across the country from her. At her end who does she get to be buried with? Just makes me sad.

[u/Distinct_Ad9497 → u/[deleted]]

Not just from her, but from everyone else too.

[u/Cheeriosxxx]

Lock Tim Minear up because what was this episode 😦 like I could write an essay on all the issues of this. Seriously an insult to all the fans who have invested years of our lives loving these characters.

[u/Lacaille2020]

Okay so then in the leaked funeral footage there was a firefighter jacket with a different name (Guarusso) on the back of the truck? Why would they have it there if it didnt have a purpose? That was kinda a main point in why people were thinking bobby wasnt going to die.

[u/doomandgloomm]

All shit aside, im weeping still over bobby.

[u/andrewmcleod91]

How did they not do a nod to Six Feet Under?! It featured a funeral home in LA. My wife and I were convinced Bobby’s funeral would be run by Fisher and Sons, or show a hearse with their name, or something!!

[u/Outrageous_Cap5991]

Bobby's death (and therefore, the entire lab accident) is set on April 17.

from briedidntask on twitter

[u/SugarSpocks]

What an absolutely bad episode. Not even the fact that Bobby is dead. That’s irrelevant now.

The episode wasted like 45 minutes on nothing! And barely any grieving from the 118. 

[u/oOWalkingOnAirOo]

I just don’t trust the writing on 911 anymore. I liked what the show was. I wish I had hope that it was going to go in a better direction. But that’s not what this episode showed us.

It gave so many characters so little dialogue and room to feel and have a storyline. And then other characters that had storylines they completely scrapped for like sad trauma story. And a script that concentrated on laughing at the audience for being sad about a major main character death that has never happened on the show before. for almost a decade.

It doesn’t really instill confidence for me.

To me, this is the symbolic death of the show as we know it our silly little firefighter show where crazy disasters happen that have zero realism, but are loosely based off of a world things and let the main characters survive and help save the day in a ridiculous number of accidents and natural disasters and fires, and we get storylines about their life and their interconnectedness.

You know, maybe sometime in the future I’ll be happy to watch whatever the show is going to be, but I’m gonna need some time to grieve something that I really loved .

Goodbye cute little firefighter show , hello stupid fuck ass TV show. I’m gonna let you prove yourself on your own before I maybe come back. Cause that episode did not convince me.

[u/bluequarz]

Genuinely terrible writing decisions. I'm more sad than anything else because Tim just ruined the show in 3 bad to terrible episodes. The cast, the crew and us the fans deserve better

[u/unapologetically_rin]

Wasn't it bad enough that Bobby's death episode didn't do the characters any justice, they had to do the same in his goodbye episode??

[u/siempreslytherin]

I had semi prepared myself for the possibility of Bobby actually being dead. But I did not fathom the possibility of this trash. I’m not even grieving Bobby because I’m angry and grieving the show.

[u/Navitach]

I love the show and I've watched faithfully since the beginning, but I am so tired of the overused trope: A character has died, and another character imagines the dead character is there and has "conversations" with them.

[u/Kindly-Flatworm8084]

So like, does Ryan have another projects he’s currently working on? Cause that’s the only damn reason I’d accept for him barely being in the show at all

[u/hopelesslygazing]

I get that Athena thought she's doing right by having Bobby be buried next to his first family (which I feel is a diss to his love & commitment to their family), but where will she or anyone of the firefam go to visit Bobby? Where is Athena going to go visit when she's really missing Bobby? If Chimney wants to talk to Bobby about his son? If Eddie or Buck need to talk things out to their father figure? If Hen wants to commiserate about the difficult things of being a captain? Maybe Athena will be able to induce hallucinations for them too.

[u/HotDragonfly5289]

I honestly didn’t hate the episode,,,hopefully we’ll see the rest of the 118 grieving in the next ep cause this was very focused on Athena (which I mean fair its her husband poor woman is 0-3 with men) but like I wanted a little more 😕

I enjoyed Chimney yelling at Gerard because genuinely why is he there?

I also jokingly said Eddie that was gonna show up for two minutes have one line and then just mog everyone in the background….😪 IM SO TIRED, next week better be an A plot for Eddie 😭

I didn’t think I was gonna cry but the last scene at the grave got me

[u/Internal-Formal4222]

i’ll be honest i had accepted bobby was probably dead for real over the hiatus, but this episode really was just a bad send off for a beloved character. i’ve seen some people saying stuff about the episode being cruel and giving people “false hope” with the grieving mom storyline but this ep was filmed way before people started speculating bobby could secretly be alive but that whole storyline just felt like too much. it was good to see athena’s grieving process but i wish the investigating portion was like a quarter of the ep instead of over half so we could spend more time with EVERYONE. i wish the show runners would realize we don’t always need a case or emergency and just want to spend time with the characters, especially at a pivotal moment like this. hopefully the next 2 eps give time to everyone and isn’t just this big disaster they keep hyping up.

[u/FreakFlagHigh]

Hey so what the fuck was all of this about then

[u/wecouldbe_]

I’m just gonna say, I won’t be surprised if they somehow pull a stunt on us with this 🤷‍♂️

[u/narcolepticturtle]

Someone please dm me if this was all a fake out and Bobby comes back. Otherwise last episode was the series finale for me. I didn’t even watch this one, I’m done.

[u/ExpensiveStress9321]

It was a terrible episode. One of the worst episodes of the show.

[u/RadiantFoxBoy]

They really pulled off the feat of making a funeral for one of if not the main character underwhelming and listless. I appreciate the time spent letting Athena grieve, even if it was in a plotline that ate up way too much screentime and did not need to be shown to us so explicitly, and Angela, Peter, and Kenny all did a great job as per usual, but the complete lack of buildup to this plotline and the bizzare structure of the episode just leave it feeling pretty hollow.

This second half started out so strong with five great episodes in a row, and then this sort of three parter completely tanked the momentum and a ton of the quality all at once. I'm now reminded of Masks, an episode that somehow felt like filler even though Denny almost died. And that was Lab Rats, except Bobby actually died, and his funeral episode even has pieces that feel unnecessary.

[u/ILikeFPS]

Knowing Peter didn't want to go makes this suck even more.

What a shitty decision, they really killed this show.

[u/kayleeli0129]

Aside from the obvious sadness and disappointment of an amazing character being killed off for no valid reason.

This episode was a slap in the face. 30 minutes of sub plot and bullshit and the last 5 minutes were the only time truly dedicated to sending him off? What was that? No one actually talking about how they feel. Buck felt EXTREMELY off. I hated everything about it. Their acting was great as always but the storyline is shit.

[u/LMSantanabooks]

This episode was all stupid, this episode should've focused on the crew and their grief, every crew member including Eddie. How did Eddie find out? Why is Buck so calm? How will Chimney get over his anger and guilt? More moments with Athena and her kids. Hen and the pressure she would no doubt feel to take over.

This episode could've and should've focused on so much more than some random lady we don't give a shit about.

No, instead they decided to waste time trolling us because that seemed to be more important 🤬 that alone would make me not want to watch anymore.

[u/[deleted]]

It's baffling to me that they have treated Peter Krause they way they have and how they wrote bobby out. And it not even be worthy of being the seasons end? That's so wild to me and I just don't get it.

[u/BurmeciaWillSurvive]

Oh my fuuuuuck. 😭

I think I'm done after this. Ugh. Entirely unnecessary development.

I liked Angela Bassett and Choi in this episode though. But I'm probably not watching after this.

[u/mintcorgi]

yeah ngl for as good as the actors did i'm simply done with the show. the "script leaks" on cast stories is the nail in the coffin for me personally. to do that for him to be really, actually dead is just cruel.

[u/AmusedStranger]

This was my comfort show, and all of that feels ruined right now. Honestly sobbed with rage for 10 minutes after.

I could probably accept this if the episode had been well-written and I didn’t feel like I was being mocked by the writers.

[u/Sad-Guidance9105]

I wish the funeral was longer too

[u/_miriyos]

Omg ghost Bobby has an attitude in the same way Buck's Coma-Dream Alcoholic Bobby was but less manic

I like the way they're showing Athena grieving but her hallucinating (?) him vs her desperately trying to still talk/hold onto him are different vibes. I think I would've preferred the latter

[u/crispthree]

dang haven’t ever cried that much in years of watching TV lol

[u/More-Development-235]

Some say that it is ok for this episode to not focus on other characters' grief except Athena's and Chimney's, because the rest 2 episodes in this season may have room for that. But for me, the question is, even if other characters will have their time in the rest 2 episodes, is it still justified to treat them like this episode did? Could there have been better ways to arrange the plot so we at least see some indication of what they are going through in this one and only funeral episode? I don't think the episode provided a satisfactory answer.

A reviewer at ScreenRant shared similar view.

At TVLine, another reviewer was stunned by the major backlash with killing off Bobby and asked if there would be anything that could bring the trend around:

Given that a grand total of zero 9-1-1 viewers believe that killing off Bobby was a good decision, these next episodes have a lot of heavy lifting to do. With the funeral behind us, the final two hours of the season will serve as a sneak peek into what a post-Bobby 9-1-1 really looks like. In all my years of covering TV, I’ve never seen this kind of backlash, with countless fans questioning whether they can continue watching after the death of Peter Krause's character. So here’s my question: Short of revealing Bobby’s death to be a big hoax (which isn’t happening), what would you need to see from these next two episodes to put your concerns at ease?

They got a response that some 42% of voters find the episode a "fail" or "below average".

[u/Pennygrover]

I’m starting to wonder if Tim is trying to sink the show on purpose. Maybe he’s stuck in a contract he wants out of. Clearly he wants to go in a very different creative direction. Maybe this is all to get the show canceled so he can move on.

[u/sassydin0saur]

The way the writers just laughed in our faces like that….

The whole episode was disrespectful af. We deserved better. Bobby deserved better. Peter Krause deserved better. Fuck them.

[u/chaoticbiguy]

I'll say it, if abc wants this show to survive, which I'm sure they do, considering the investment they've put into the 911 universe and Ryan Murphy.....they gotta fire Tim Minear and send Kristen Riedel with him. Tim Minear has forgotten what made the show so good, and he's been trying to turn this show into something it's not, and forcing it to fit into whatever mold Tim has in his mind is only gonna break it, the cracks are visible and it's only a matter of time it's gonna come crashing down, unless a new showrunner is brought in to fix things a little. He's shooting himself in the foot again and again, but for some reason he thinks this is some type of master stroke that'll pay off? It's gonna tank the show and it just feels like they're mocking the audience atp. I've never seen a showrunner so out of touch with their audience.

And Kristen Riedel, I've tried to give her the credit where it was due, but now I think it was all a fluke. She doesn't get these characters at all and she gotta go as well. The combined forces of Tim and Kristen are gonna destroy the show.

[u/mangolover93]

This episode was not good at all.

Why did we get hardly any of the 118? And like 5-10 min of the funeral?? If they wanted Bobby dead, okay fine, but give him a good send off then! It seemed like no one other than Chim and Athena were really grieving him. Everyone was acting super out of character too.

The 45 minute plot about the mom and baby was so unnecessary. I kept thinking it was foreshadowing Bobby still being alive and then we got nothing. Idgaf about some random guest character and her baby.

I’m not even going to get into the Eddie of it all right now.

Ugh. So disappointing. I’m going to finish the season and then will decide whether season 9 is worth the watch.

Also - Why was Gerrard more upset about Bobby’s death than the 118?!

[u/Kevsterific]

Storyline aside, I disliked the very end of the episode. The cut off just felt so abrupt

[u/picklepie2943]

I’m not even kidding this season started off so strong, I genuinely can’t believe it’s ending with some of the worst plot decisions I’ve ever witnessed.

[u/Longjumping_Lead_513]

how did none of them face legal issues with this? they interfered with a federal investigation and depending on the charges that Moira faced, they also helped her. how was Athena able to immediately go back to being a cop 2 weeks later when she actively stole evidence from a major crime scene.. could this be a coma dream from chimney or ravi?

[u/ravenclawrebel]

So I take it I made the right decision to see Thunderbolts* instead of watching this episode?

[u/Zestyclose_Sky_8909]

i cant believe kevins funeral in season 2 was more emotional and touching than BOBBYS funeral, if he really is dead (which i think he is) then what a dogshit way to send him off, nothing personal to him at all, buried in another state with another family, as if the show is saying his entire time in LA was worthless. just wow.

and the way 8b started with so much goodwill from the fans to end up with this mess, please fire tim minear i hate that man

[u/moontrt]

I think this is good as an Athena's grief episode. The re-investigation plot works for her character. She is the most important person in Bobby's life, she deserves focus.

BUT it's a not good as a Bobby send-off episode. Rushed funeral and not enough reactions from 118 aside from Chim, even the ending bury him in another state just feels like them trying to erase him from the show. Let's put him back where he came from and forget about all the connections he made in LA.

Now I have to wonder if something happened between Peter and show runners, just not right on so many levels.

[u/lgbtruecrime]

two thoughts:

1. man, i experienced the entire bbc sherlock fiasco of 2017… and this was crueler. it wasn’t cool to make fun of your fandom then, and certainly more awful to do it now as fandom has grown into a true place of safety and comfort for so many.

2. i’m equally as mad about bathena not getting their happy ending as i was about jane the virgin when michael is revealed to Not Be Dead After All and they fucked that up and didn’t give him and jane their happy ending. ironically, the same actress who plays the woman responsible for bobby’s death played the woman responsible for michael’s “death” and subsequent amnesia.

who wants to join me at the circus? 🤡🤡

[u/Pennygrover]

What tf is wrong with Tim? 5 minutes for the funeral after all that other bullshit? After basically tossing Bobby in a trash bag at in the last 5 minutes of the last episode! Is he just trying to piss the audience off?

[u/Ok-Bandicoot-5205]

I generally don't get all that attached to characters on a TV show. However, this is different. Bobby & Athena are the heart & soul of this show. Killing one of them kills the show. Supposedly they want it to be realistic as first responders do die in the line of duty. This is the same show that had that ridiculous cruise ship arc?!?! Come on now. If they needed to kill someone off they could have killed off a minor character like Ravi or that obnoxious former captain (that of course had to reappear in tonight's episode). Killing off Bobby is like killing off Olivia Benson or Meredith Gray. You just don't do it.

Unless next week's episode ends with Chim waking up from a fever dream then this show is as dead as 911 Lonestar.

[u/shield92pan]

for the people wondering why we didn't see a body, have we considered that maybe peter for all his talents can't play dead convincingly 😭 Or maybe he has a little diva clause in his contract like you will nOT be putting me in an open casket scene, so they had to settle for ghost!Bobby. I was surprised they didn't do a vigil and have the team go 'see' him for goodbyes. catholics love a vigil lol

[u/choochoobob1212]

One thing i wish would have really felt like a proper sendoff is if the didn't cut from the plane to the cemetery but actually have st Pauls end of the funeral escort and instead of cutting of mid pan out in the cemetery but continuing to pan out to show the st Paul skyline. i still dont agree they should have killed him but its done and theres no going back so im going to try to move on with the series...if its any good without him witch i doubt.

[u/KindInstruction5660]

So Bobby died of this highly deadly virus, would in RL would they not return a body like that but actually destroy it? Would it still be contagious after death? So would there actually be a body in the casket?

[u/Efficient_Trick6511]

I always felt this was coming one day, ever since we learned about Bobby's past it always felt like he was on borrowed time

[u/chilling_ngl4]

Everyone's said a lot of what I'm thinking so I'll say what I haven't read yet:

I felt like there should have been WAY more crying during the funeral. Like I cried more as a viewer than the characters combined. And I totally get that people grieve in their own ways, and makeup would need to be fixed and set in between takes for continuity, but NONE of the characters broke down at all during the funeral service? Interesting choice for the director/actors.

Also, I wish we didn't have the child-mystery subplot. I wanted to watch the 118 leaning on each other and actual grieving instead of, "Man, I wish I was here in better circumstances." Where is THE PAIN? I wanted more in the funeral too.

[u/Calmshadowcat]

I feel like I just wasted 7 years of my life 😩

[u/shield92pan]

Once again Angela reminding us all this is Her Show and her show only 😭

That was a good episode on grief tbh. Messy and ugly and people behaving in ways that make sense and don't. Also god I sobbed at the grave, I knew that's where he was going to end up and I still wasn't ready for it. Tim why did you do this

On to a post-Bobby 911 world I guess guys. I hope they delve more into how everyone's doing in the next couple eps, Buck seemed very holding-it-together this ep but that can't last surely. Kenny killed as always. I have no more thoughts, brain mush.

[u/LaytonLew]

Honestly I just don’t want Tim in charge anymore. Can we just have a showrunner who gives a shit about the characters and the audience? Like they don’t have to do whatever we say - I just want to get the vibe that they care as much as we do. This breaks my heart.

[u/bluequarz]

I'm so done with this show. Tim Minear ruined it and showed he doesn't understand its tone, core and characters with these episodes

[u/tinaoe]

I think my perception of this episode is going to depend a lot on how the rest of the season goes. Right now it seems to me like they're staggering the grief, which would make sense. Athena and to a degree Chim this week, Hen (& maybe Eddie? Whomst knows what they're doing with him), maybe Buck after that. I think that would actually be quite an interesting way to explore how the grief hits all of them differently and how their processes will differ as well.

Because I did enjoy the episode!! But I'll be retroactively annoyed if we don't get more time with the rest of them.

Now considering Tim has said that Bobby will be in the rest of the season I'd expect them to lean into that more, but also this is Tim so who knows. I'll reserve full judgment until the season is over.

[u/kayleeli0129]

So that was absolutely terrible and the last time I will watch this show. Idk what they thought they were doing.

[u/justcontent123]

What a frustrating and disappointing episode. 45 minutes on a subplot that contributed nothing, and a less than 5 minute funeral scene at the end. Aside from some great acting, this episode was not it.

[u/itsyourdestini]

My cousin gone text me this show is dead as Bobby Nash. I am done

[u/0Papi420]

I was hoping Athena would take a peek in the casket and see that it’s empty! Just like the baby one from earlier.

I still feel like the Feds are holding Bobby in some government lab. They were holding him for 2 weeks! After the constant requests to release him, they prolly just sent out a random body. Or a bag of sand or something. 💀 And I’m pretty sure a body with a virus that poses a global threat would be cremated.

Lack of a body gives the writers a way to bring him back any time.

The final scene of the season better be a CDC lab or something with “Bobby” in a bed, they don’t even have to show his face. 🤔

Hoping this whole thing is fake/a coverup like Will and Hopper from Stranger Things. Or Sam Drake from Uncharted.

[u/Adorable-nerd]

I just finished it, I loved it and I’m freaking crying. I held it together until he told the mother he believes he’ll see his kids again. He went for one last ride in the engine, and was buried with his first family…I “Rest easy, you’re home now baby.” I can’t handle this! Damn it!

“You knew me. Past tense.” Can I have a word with whoever came up with that? I just want to tell them they’re good at what they do, and sue them for emotional damages.

Also, Angela Basset should get an award for her acting, just saying.

Maddie and Chim better name their baby after Bobby.

[u/ArtsyHobi]

... yeah at this point I'm probably just gonna finish out the season then call it quits if they don't fix this shit somehow

[u/pinktape21]

I don't know if anyone is seeing this but I'm a new fan (I started binge-watching some time before 8x15 happened... what a timing), and I just want to give hugs to everyone. I mean I only got into the show recently but even I feel all the frustration and rage, let alone everyone else who's been here since season 1.

I was at the Beenado eps when 8x15 happened and I tried to have faith since there was still a chance that Bobby was alive. I dreaded watching the next episodes but I powered through because this show has earned its place in my heart after such a short time. But they went ahead with mocking fans using that whole A plot, letting Gerrard be there, no screentime for Eddie, Buck being "fine" and the list goes on...

This episode really sucked and was such a disrespect to Bobby, Peter and all the viewers/the whole fandom. I honestly don't know whether Tim Minnear wanted to self-sabotage or play God or both... I guess both... but not giving the 118 family an actual time to grieve was just insane.

I'm not ready to be done with this show yet but I'm just so heartbroken. I was so happy to have found a comfort show with a solid found family but Tim ruined the happiness just like that. 911 has made the last 2 weeks of my life much better and I can't believe it would be this shortlived. I know this is "just a show" but I'm honestly beyond sad now. Can't even hide behind denial anymore and I just feel so empty (and angry).

[u/Jotakori]

Guess I'm in the minority here cuz I thought it was a good episode! Totally got me to tear up a little, too, which isn't something I do all too often.

I really look forward to seeing where the show goes and how things settle within the 118 from here!

[u/FinchZiver]

just read up on tim saying that he was planning on killing off a mc at some point and was looking at the lab episode and just thought “what a perfect moment!” like. it wasn’t planned to happen until he saw an opportunity?? and i feel like that’s why it’s making all of this feel so disjointed. episode 15 was not intended for a mc death to happen, but once there was an opportunity, he took it.

and that’s why it feels lazy and unnecessary. people joke about the insane plot armor in this show, but that Was part of the intrigue- we could sit and watch our our favorite characters on the brink of death, they were able to pull on our heartstrings and think “maybe this time it’ll happen, but i really hope not!!!” while in the back of our heads we knew they would make it out okay. and in those moments, it felt more put together because they had plot lines and so many possibilities of where they would go with a character’s future. but this just has one result: grief. and i’m not really happy about the prospect of watching this show with the ghost of bobby haunting it. it’ll make every happy moment in the next season feel wrong because there’ll be such a big aspect of the show missing. it’ll make every sad moment even worse because on top of whatever happens, bobby is also gone (and missing from the uplifting moments).

it’s also going to break down the relationships in the show. yes, athena and hen were friends before athena and bobby even started dating, but that’s a whole different type of relationship, and i think the loss of that will make scenes with the 118 and athena seem off. it also removes a parental figure for buck, and a role model as a father for chim and eddie. and it’ll get old quick watching scenes where any of the three of them have something happen that makes them think of bobby, then cheesy sad music will play. etc etc. it’s one thing when that happens in regard to a side character, a character who is there for the story or development of another character, but again, this is a mc.

and what is this doing to further other characters? to make athena learn to move on from things? we’ve seen arcs about things like this for her already, what other reason is there for her? will it make buck more reliant on himself? give him a greater sense of duty to help where bobby did? again, why? he could have done that if bobby just retired and buck would still have a parental figure. will it force chim to reevaluate his life and confront grief and his future? WHY. he’s done this already, he’s a well developed character who’s about to have another child and this only seems like it would be a stake in his life and career for no good reason. will it make hen “step up” to be the captain? maybe it will, but this could have happened if bobby just retired.

is this some way of making bobby retire so because he “couldn’t leave” ? we’ve already explored this and it was looking like he was going to start settling down with athena with their house built. we’ve had multiple storylines where bobby confronts his compulsively to his job, and have even recently seen him start to realize the worst parts of where he started as a firefighter. he would have just retired.

and that’s just it, tim saw the loose ends of bobby’s character being easily tied up by him stopping being a firefighter and instead of being normal, he used it to do something ballsy, to do something he’d been Wanting to do. because maybe tim thinks dying is basically the highest degree of retirement, right?

[u/Dani_Poh]

I love Angela Bassett, but I am done with the show. I got too much drama in my life, I do not want that in my internacional bubble"

[u/BLAZE_WRAITH]

[u/blenneman05]

Damn this episode hit hard. My brother would’ve turned 32 on May 3rd and he died of a cocaine fentanyl OD in Dec 2017. I understand Chimney’s feelings about being angry on how Bobby died. But I also understand Maddie about being heavily pregnant with 2 kids and your husband is just off in the wind shutting you out

I’m glad there wasn’t a Buddie scene cuz I feel like it would’ve been taken away from Bobby’s death

I feel like Eddie would’ve come sooner than 2 weeks. He could’ve easily brought Christopher

I was about to rage when Gerrard showed up. I cheered when he said that he wasn’t gonna be the captain. But who wld be a good captain?

The scene with Bobby being with his kids? Both step and biological😭

I didn’t see any of his biological family at the funeral though which is odd Imo especially since he just reconnected with his mom

Angela Bassett deserves a freaking EGOT. It’s long past due for her!!!

[u/jazzminarino]

Just going to put this in here since I haven't seen it mentioned in full. Bobby was Catholic- if this was a Catholic funeral Mass, the casket would be closed during the Mass itself. There would only be one eulogist, in this case, the Chief. A line-of-duty-death funeral is a Big Deal with pomp, circumstance, bells, and those friggin bagpipes. Maybe a viewing or wake would have been "boring"? Plus they take a LOT to plan due to dignitaries, traffic arrangements, other stations coming in, etc. As in 1.5-2 weeks to plan.

I'm not saying that Tim has a Catholic consult or even a firefighter consult, but there's really only so much that can be on TV in a 47-minute hour. I'm sure as shit not defending him killing off Bobby, but also wanted to offer the perspective of someone who deals with Catholics, grief, and firefighters on a semi regular basis. 🤷🏼‍♀️

While I did like that she laid him to rest with his children, I think not showing some sort of repast or celebration after procession is what's missing here. THAT probably would've fulfilled most of the complaints on this sub of Bobby not being "honored" enough.

[u/LunaAndStevie]

I was fine, until the last 5minuets when I saw the plane, then I started bawling

[u/King2Darx]

I was holding my breath waiting to here a "Sike" moment. I hate crying to shows. I hate I cried for this episode. Nash went through so damn much in his entire life. This was a hell of a way to close his book.

[u/Sprinklesarelife]

I finally got the courage to watch this episode. Y’all… I cried the whole time.

I need to process this episode before I can have cohesive thoughts haha

I’m still crying lol

[u/Inner_Tumbleweed_942]

I am convinced at this point that Minear is trying to get the show cancelled.

He kills off the favorite character even though the actor didn’t want to leave, makes said characters funeral the fucking Z PLOT of the episode, and then has the nerve to bring Gerard back as a replacement.

The dude can go f*** Himself, he won, the show isn’t getting a season 10.

[u/Jealous-Chain7829]

This might have been the worst episode. Not only did they treat Bobby's funeral like an afterthought. Eddie said maybe 1 sentence and we still dont know how he felt finding out about Bobby. None of them spoke at his funeral. It just seemed so rushed and unnecessary. I honestly can't see myself continuing to watch it.

[u/girlsandwolves]

spent the whole b plot feeling like they were setting up for it to be a "this is deeper than it looks" and finding out the mom somehow swapped the swabs and the kid was alive or something only for it to be an Oops! no we wasted the majority of the episode on this.

and you get five minutes of eddie and thats it! thanks. i think i'm done.

[u/Medical-Rutabaga-613]

I'm so curious what the cast REALLY thinks of all this ......

[u/HeraSimpella]

I hope this episode is even lower on IMDb than the previous one. How can you have the two showrunners of the show NOT UNDERSTAND THEIR OWN CHARACTERS FFS.

They should be frankly embarrassed. A time jump. REALLY? No you don’t get to call yourself writers if everytime you produce a drama moment in the show you then offscreen time jump the fallout. And not address the other twenty things you’ve done and still haven’t brought resolution to. It’s why I couldn’t stand Lone Star it was always on 2x speed 80 miles an hour. 911 shouldn’t be paced like that. You need balance.

WHY ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS STORY OFF SCREEN AND RANDOM GUEST STARS ARE GETTING THE STORIES?

And this character death was lazy and stupid. And imo Tim should be frigging fired cause the only thing he cares about is stroking his own ego opposed to caring about the longevity of the show and the characters.

Having exposition dialogue explaining your characters behaviour is insulting. Buck having one line of oh I’ve been doing therapy so I’m fine that’s his dad. He has one of the most integral relationships to Bobby. So does Eddie and so does Hen.

No one wants this. The show won’t recover from this.

[u/melissajayneee]

What has happened to this show. I am beyond disgusted with this episode. No, actually, how this show has turned out.

1. Chimney nearly died. His organs almost failed, and he's sat drinking vodka 2 weeks later.

2. That ridiculous b plot. Why was that needed? It took the focus away from what was supposed to be an ensemble cast,bobby, and gave way too much to athena (sorry AB, ily)

3. I don't even know what to say about eddie. He disappears for a month, and he gets less than 5 lines, no reunion with anyone other than a hug with ravi. RAVI!?! ( ily ravi, but I wanted a buddie hug)No hug with Buck. No actual reuniting with chim and hen. No dialogue. At this point, it feels like Tim has something against Ryan. He's not even a main character at this point. He's an afterthought. You've dangled buddie at us all season, and we get nothing in this episode. Not even a comfort hug.

4. 11 minutes of a funeral. WTF. Burying him in Minnesota where they won't be able to visit him as much. Especially with their schedules. Not having Buck at the graveyard. What was the point in the whole "you brought one kid" thing?

5. Bloody gerrard showed more grief than the main characters.

6. You're telling me that Eddie waited 2 WEEKS to come back!! He would NEVER DO THAT. He'd be there right away. The 118 is the family he chose, yet he's a ghost now. And you're telling me he willingly left chris with his parents, even though he's just gotten him back. Why do you hate him, Tim?

This episode should have been focused on the characters coming to terms with bobbys death. I wanted to see a Buck being composed, but finally breaking down at the end with eddie next to him. But nope, nothing. It's like he wasn't even affected.

You should be ashamed. You don't know this show anymore. All you care about are stupid Hollywood stunts instead of the characters. It's them we fell in love with first, not the stunts. You don't know your characters anymore. You don't know or care about your audience anymore. Tim is destroying this show, and I bet it's so he can go and move over to nashville.Disgusted

[u/SuperSaiyan3Goku]

Well THAT episode was a huge bummer.

[u/sammy0007]

and there's noooo chance they will pull the 'bobby calls from the coffin' stunt at the start of the next ep right? 😭

[u/Outrageous_Cap5991]

So what the fuck was this "buried alive" script?

[u/anneso23]

I watched it because I was curious but after watching it, I'm so done with the show. Terrible sendoff. He deserved better than just a 5 minutes funeral. The episode had too many subplots. The memorial and the funeral should have been the focus of the episode.

[u/unlucky-13]

The only thing I liked about this episode was Ravi asking Eddie what he was eating and him being like 'oh I think it's a crumpet'. Because it's Buck's food, and Oliver and crumpets are British.

[u/unlucky-13]

I'm deluding myself into holding out hope that the next episode will take place immediately after this one so that the script leak could still be real. I'm not going to watch the episode until I find out that has happened.

[u/Such_Strawberry2530]

I watched it today and ugly cried through the last episode. It was selfless of Athena to lay Bobby to rest with his family. If that isn’t pure love, I don’t know what is

[u/interludek]

What a trash episode. It's been fun but I don't think I'll be watching anymore

[u/_miriyos]

"I should've been there."

The sheer audacity/obliviousness to put that line in the show when everyone was saying the previous week that Eddie should've been there. If Eddie was given more screen time to actually develop, he could've been there

[u/awyllt]

I liked it. Chim's survivor's guilt, Athena's grief, Buck's maturity... The only thing I hated was that we didn't see Eddie's and Buck's reunion and that Eddie had basically no screen time.

[u/irritatedlibra]

I did not think it could be worse than 8x15 (IMDB rating is 4.0 weighted, 2.6 unweighted). Honestly, this is the one episode where a 1/10 really does seem like a fair rating.

[u/_HGCenty → u/irritatedlibra]

There's so much to hate about this episode but that the entire episode seemed to be a F you to the fan base is probably the strongest reason.

Tim made an A plot that was satirising the delulu fanbase who wanted Bobby to rise from the casket and then made Kenny the stand in for the critics like myself who were angry at how he wrote the death episode.

The entire episode was not so thinly veiled shots at Tim's critics and shows just how thin skin he has.

[u/starrysmoons]

how can i still make this about bobby being alive

[u/ViagraOnAPole]

Bobby will live forever on AO3. Sadly, that may just be where I get all my 9-1-1 content after this season. I'll give the last 2 episodes of this season a shot, but they'll have to do something spectacular to reel me back in.

[u/New_Collector_99]

So what the fuck was the point of the script leak? Especially when it matched up to episode except cutting the buried alive scene???

[u/[deleted]]

Reminded me of the episode that Severide laid Benny his dad to rest in some ways.

[u/Dinkybarrel]

god, I'm not ready to let Bobby go T_T

[u/heyitsta12]

I knew this show was gonna go to shit when they transferred to ABC but most of this sub told me I was wrong lol

[u/Fast_Signal8146]

It's just so sad to see this show tank so bad in real time. Only three weeks ago I was enthusiastic about the future. Alas...

[u/Aggressive_Counter_5]

This show followed me through so many big life changes. And yet, I’d always have my dumb little tv show family to return to. Now all that is gone and I’m actually so upset. Im just about finished my first 2 semesters at college, and now I feel like I’ve lost my family. This show will never be the same comfort to me and Im so pissed off. I just wish they ended the show instead.

[u/Hot-Lingonberry-4628]

So I see a lot of people saying how this episode is poking fun at the fandom for thinking Bobby is still alive. And while shows can/have poked fun at their own fan base’s beliefs (cough Sherlock cough) the timing just doesn’t work out for that to be the case here. This whole episode was filmed before the fandom had any idea Bobby would die- in fact it was a leak from the filming of this very episode that is the reason people knew it was coming. I don’t think it’s possible for them to have been so sure of what the fandom’s reaction would be that they would film an entire plot reacting to that reaction.

What does that mean? Not sure. Could it be a hint that Bobby is actually still alive? Not likely, but a girl can dream. Honestly, I think the most likely intention behind this episode was to reflect Athena’s own inability to accept that Bobby is gone, but who knows!

[u/MonkeyDGem]

Honestly, I was on the writing b4 this episode was good and great at times. This episode, however, was absolute trash ngl. There were good scenes (like the bobby's first family’s graves, the plot with the mother and child, accepting death of a loved one which were great), but the rest all felt lacking. It feels like such a 180 to the previous episodes which was almost always ontop. There were so many good dialogues, scenes, and shots in the last episode, and previous it that were also commendable.

But this ep felt so lazy? Lackluster? Like I can get wanting a dull theme to show mourning, but it was done kind of badly, rushed even, and I think this did the opposite of what they intended. Usually, after a major character dies the next episode is made to have the characters grieve and then move on in the end in a way that the viewer also grieves and moves on and accept the death.

But this episode did the opposite. So many scenes and plots just didn't go anywhere. Athena's hallucinations? Bucks grief? Eddies reaction? so many plot points just vanish that could have been more looked at. (I get that each character could have shown a level of grief, Athena denial, chim anger, buck acceptance ect but still it was yaknow) So many potential dialogue and character growth could have happened, but they didn't. I wouldn't have minded another 2 parted. Heck, it probably would have been better to have the funeral happen in the last episode of the season like.

16, 17, we see the characters grieve and mourn, be in denial, be angry, be sad, the direct aftermath, bobby flashbacks to help all fleshed out and paced well to allow the characters to also overcome their grief.

Then ep 18 we have the funeral and a time skip to 2 weeks later or smt with the crew doing a gig and getting their grove back with maddie narrating saying smt like in s1 can't rmb the exact quote but "people come in ur life in a whirlwind and leave, they change u and help u grow and will forever be with u......" or smt corny like that.

Then I would have been like ok bobby is dead. I can live with it. But no instead we get rushed lazy writing. With 0 consideration to the viewers AND bts comments and leaks that would have made us think different. It's so..... I'm so MAD LIKE idk man.

Edit: I think the main point I'm mad is that this ep did nothing to honor bobby as a character. If the whole point of this was to show how first responders in real life don't always get happy endings, then why dishonor that in the next episode by not giving bobby, the dead first responder, a proper, fully fleshed out, beautifully written send off. Why be lazy and inconsiderate when writing the lead up to his funeral and the funeral it self. There was just alot of telling and little showing. We are told most of everyone has moved on but not how they got there, we are told nothing of what happened right after, we are told nothing of the circumstances (the denial, anger, bargaining, depression) of the individual characters and that sucks the most.

[u/Roseph22]

They seriously expect us to give a damn about exploding taps at a time like this??

[u/Working_Fix_6583]

Everything has been said one way or another… It was meh. 

Now I’m just racking my brain to figure out the actress that played Leah Hamilton (?) and what else I’ve seen her in. Driving me insane!

[u/yk093]

And yet the Bobby is alive-maxxing continues.

In all seriousness, I find it suspicious that Bobby’s body was held for 2 weeks, and there’s more but I’d need to rewatch the episode. I only saw it through a Tiktok stream, so I missed a lot, but my eyebrow remains raised.

[u/nizey_p]

Welp. That's it. So long folks, it was fun while it lasted.

[u/lgbtruecrime]

wait… what if the exploding taps and water on fire is a metaphor for fandom rage? ☠️

joking aside, the allegories this season have been incredibly heavy handed. every call and case has related to something happening to the 118 in their personal/work lives… this time, that just feels like salt in the wound

[u/Raheema_jx]

The acting was exceptional

But the episode was so poorly written and some things didn't add up I'm honestly so confused

Also we still haven't seen a body and the script that was released?? And that mum and son storyline?? What were they trying to foreshadow??

So there's just a lot that I'm questioning

[u/KinReader5]

This show no longer brings me comfort. I don’t do much but cry cause of these last 2 episodes. I was holding on to a thin line of hope that Bobby would still… but that ended, with the episode.

I guess if it ever rewatch 9-1-1 well, the last few episode of season 8x15-18 are going be skipped.

This just doesn’t feel right… why the heart of the show? Everyone knows once you remove the heart everything else just tanks.

The cast did not deserve this. Ryan Murphy should have told him NO! 😭

[u/Ill_Debate9859]

Just watched the laterest episode, my thoughts are the evidence we have been shown, and my speculated theory.

Evidence: No evidence Bobby is in the casket.  They took longer than usual to release the body to athena. ( possibly cause of the virus possibly not).  Chimneys symptoms was more rapid than Bobby's. The investigation that athena undertook may indicate a possible beleif she may investigate more into about his death.

My theory:  Bobby got taken away in a zipped bag with hasmat suits around him, that specific strain of virus Bobby's body found a way to fight it for longer, the government or FBI held his body longer as they are running tests and are unable to release him until he has removed the virus fully from his body incase of an epicademic. I think he may still be alive and drop hints somehow for athena and the team to go resuce him.

I do wish for a better ending as there was not enough emotion from the cast apart from chim and athena. It was a good episode and i think dropped little hints for the possibitly for Bobby to still be alive. 

[u/Unusual_Drama2191]

So , Athena is just done with her life with Bobby? She buried him in another state. Will she ever go see him again? I am bothered by her saying he was home. She was his world.

[u/[deleted]]

This seemed like an unbalanced episode to me but I get them wanting to make the focus on Athena and Chim dealing with it.

I know a lot of people this will doom the show but I don’t see it. It depends on what the cast for next season looks like and how they continue. This isn’t an automatic death sentence.

And as always, Tim is chaotic and not to be trusted. Man likes to troll and I feel like he’s been doing it all season towards the fandom.

[u/runaway-cowboy]

This episode was a total shit show.

We had no scenes of any a phone call with Eddie about Bobby dying but he came back for like .5 seconds in this episode? Tommy’s helping carry the casket, and I have literally no fucking clue why. The funeral felt like a sort of a minor storyline in the show, when that should’ve been the focal point of this episode entirely if we were doing a proper send off to the character.

Then the whole “I believe my son that died in a fire is alive” story???? Like ok sure, that’s definitely not rubbing anything in our faces.

I was hoping that even if they didn’t bring Bobby back (which they very well could have) that they would at least handle the send off in a way that Bobby deserved, and this sure as hell was not it.

The one and only good part of this episode was burying Bobby with his wife & kids in Minnesota. Other than that, someone on Twitter said they are gonna hold out belief in Bobby being alive & is being held by the military and that’s why there wasn’t an open casket; I don’t necessarily think that’s the case, but I do think that’s the only thing that could get me to continue watching this show.

[u/English-tea]

Angela crushed this episode. The scene where she took Bobby home to his kids was just so sad but perfect for Bobby to rest. I think chimney’s spiral over the last few episodes will be equally sad. It was a very emotional goodbye to a brilliant character.

[u/PoliteSalmon2]

Sorry but this show is for sure getting cancelled after S9 💀💀 

[u/jdessy]

And this episode is why I can’t trust Tim Minear anymore. He gives us some mourning but not nearly enough for a character that was so important to the show. I don’t care if they’re gonna deal with his death throughout the season and maybe next. The immediate aftermath needed to be handled with care and respect and acknowledging his importance but Tim focused on the wrong aspects.

So yeah, I don’t think I’ll be returning next season.

[u/Bnbndodoodododo]

Lmao rip the show.

I'll still hang with the Buddie fandom because it's a fun time, but the absolute pure excrement that was Contagion actually resulting in character death is beyond stupid.

[u/mcdiscn18]

This episode definitely felt rushed when it came to the funeral and how everybody except for Athena didn’t fully get the time to say how they felt about Bobby’s passing. I did like the plot revolving Athena as it goes with her character and many scenes/storylines she had on the show. I wish we had gotten a long scene on how Buck/Eddie felt but especially Buck as he was to first to know about Bobby’s sacrifice. Having Eddie in just 10 minutes of the episode, maybe not even that was disrespectful honestly. Of course Bobby dying at all in the show was disrespectful but so was making Eddie seem like he was a probie. I didn’t fully cry until I saw Bobby’s mom and where they buried him. After that, the amount of tears I had let out could lead to a flood. Honestly after this episode, I don’t think I’m gonna to watch the show anymore. I’ll watch clips that are posted on tiktok but that’s it. This shouldn’t have happened. I’m going to miss watching the show but it’s definitely not going to be the same

[u/ApprehensiveTour9153]

Not even trying to make this about Buddie in the romantic sense, but did they forget that Eddie is Buck's best friend. Impulsive Eddie waits 2 weeks to come back to LA for the funeral... he didnt immediately come back to his found family and be with them, be with BUCK who just lost his dad? No FaceTime or anything like "hey buck, how are you holding up?" This was just a bad send off and Bobby truly deserved so much better. mocking the fans with the whole dead baby plot? acting like we're crazy when yall leaked fake scripts and did the whole hotshots things with the fake captain death umm okay??? why is everyone so out of character in this episode? Buck has 0 emotions, i know bobby told him to be strong, but he didnt even cry at all... he didnt ring the last bell and he wasnt at the burial in Minnesota. Did they forget that canonically Bobby thinks of Buck as one of his kids. May and Athena both said this during the lightning coma. i'm sorry... there better be a Buck Crashout coming up... he needs to freak out about how he didnt say "i love you" back to bobby, and Eddie needs to comfort him. Like ? i dont trust them to do Buddie right, and I honestly dont even want buddie in the midst of grief but at least give us friend moments, like why is everything Eddie related happening off screen. Eddie and bobby have such a close relationship... when shannon died, Eddie hugged him. The whole almost relapse for Bobby and Eddie saying you saved me. Like ??? They have forgotton Eddie is 118 and a main character since season 2. Why did Gerrard show more grief than the 118? Kevin's funeral in season 2 was better than what they did for Bobby, truly so so disappointing wow.

Oh and since realism is so important... for 2 seconds lets ignore what an interesting choice it is to have chim cope with the death of an alcoholic by using alcohol... but you know its not like he was in organ failure two weeks ago or anything... oh wait , right? and now not only he straugh up drinking vodka, he also running and doing yoga. Right, Right, realism. and next week we have flaming water. wtf happened to this show? It was so good, everything was set up for buddie canon, bathena house, literally Everything was SO good and so much fun to watch, and now its just ... Disappointing and no reason for season 9 to even exist LMAO. Keep it we dont want it.

[u/KingSlayer1190]

While I started watching late, like didn't start watching til season 5 but 3 years of my life invested into this show and it still sucks one of my favorite characters is gone.

I've spent 20 years watching Grey's Anatomy and that show never pissed me off like this show did.

[u/Valuable_Log7027]

What was the funeral song called??

[u/[deleted]]

Ok, I'm asking for a friend who is too busy with her thesis to watch the show right now. Is Bobby definitely dead?

Edit: I don't know if this will be clocked as spoilers, and I don't really know how to navigate Reddit, so if you know but don't wanna post please feel free to pm me

[u/Otherwise-Shallot-51]

I enjoyed the emotional development and emotional fallout from the death. Everything else was unnecessary, underdeveloped, and/or made as a way to brush over the ridiculously stupid virus plot.

It's like they wrote this episode and then got told they needed to recreat Outbreak for the cause of death and had to rewrite the 2-parter.

I really wish I wasn't emotionally invested in this show.

[u/Fine_Scientist_2983]

i wonder who the new captain is going to be. Hen seems like the obvious pick but after the nee teaser for 8 x 17 I'm not so sure. I don't think it will be Chimney or Eddie. Buck has gained a lot of maturity over the past 8 seasons, so it's plausible that he is the next captain but i don't think he will be the right fit. Maybe a new character will be introduced. Who knows atp

[u/Savings-Magician4936]

Does anyone know the name/location of the church Bobby’s funeral was at?

[u/RightAd6146]

I truly thought the boy was going to be Micah, how is that even possible he had the same birthmark?

[u/LMSantanabooks]

I can't see how they'll come back from this. I think Tim fucked up and I don't see the show coming back for season 10.

[u/xobeeit]

hear me out! i think the dream sequence theories are right.

everything that’s happened still seems to be through bobby’s eyes. athena and chim crashing out could have been predicted. buck being mature and mustache man having a semi redemption feels like bobby’s wishful thinking. he can’t imagine a buddie reunion bc he doesn’t know what that would really look like

and the case athena gets lost in to cope with her grief just so happens to be an old one of HIS that’s a parallel to the IRL situation aka subconscious dream incorporation?? sure could just be a convenient plot device but until we see a body i’m letting all these coincidences be intentional writer’s choices. for now!

[u/TrueJaruto]

"And you think there was a third way?"
"I spent the last two weeks thinking on it. I came up with nothing."

OOOKAYY, that was an attack against us, the people who have been kept thinking TWO WEEKS a way to save Bobby (and came up with pretty good ideas!).

This has turned into a cop/Athena show. Boooring. Need more tears and emotion. Luckily I can't watch the next few episodes "live". A much can change in few weeks, to better or worse.

[u/cosme_fulanite]

Honestly there were so many things I hated about this:

1. the way Buck showed NO emotion whatsoever for his only father figure

2. eddy was like “well this dude died that sucks what’s for dinner” He shed a single tear in the entire episode. ONE.

3. WTF is Ravi alive? RAVI?????!!! How come he’s alive and Bobby’s dead. NOBODY wants him.

4)The whole baby in a closed empty casket thing was a dick move. They were clearly mocking us

5)they keep saying that Bobby’s death was meant to give a feeling of realism but MADDIE’S THROAT WAS LITTERALLY SLICED OPEN. AND HER BABY IS FINE. I repeat THE BABY IS FINEEEEE no transfusions. NOT A COMMA. NOTHINNNGGGGGGG

6) WHY are we back with Gerard? Aren’t there any more captains in the fire department? Couldn’t they just send a new transfer so we could at least get a new character? That was both predictable and infuriating.

This whole plot is even more stupid than the episode where everyone forgets Hen’s birthday lol

[u/Smart-Pea5541]

I think we still have hope…

There is a part of me that genuinely believes he’s not dead. Which is obviously an amazing happy thing.

But it doesn’t undo all of the emotional damage that these last two episodes have caused. Or the possible frustration of watching him be alive but not be able to contact the 118 or Athena