To say 9-1-1 Season 8 was controversial would be the understatement of the century.
The season started with another high-flying, multi-part emergency that again put Athena in the thick of things. The result was an exciting start to the season, but from there, things meandered for a bit outside of one bright spot.
The second half of the season had more multi-part episodes than necessary, one gigantic death, and closed on a whimper.
With eight seasons under its belt, it’s reasonable to expect change, but certain changes may not have improved the show, and that’s where the confusion and frustration set in.
By raising the stakes, you can introduce new storylines and change the status quo, but it shouldn’t cause irreparable harm to the series in the process.
The jury is still out on what the future holds for 9-1-1, but as it stands right now, we can definitively judge what we witnessed during a season that had its moments but also left many of us feeling jaded when it was over.
Let’s get into this report card!
Best Episode – Tie – 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 6/9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 17
Choosing two best hours may be a cop-out, but in the immortal words of the 118, “What’s our motto? Who cares!”
9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 6 was our first real look into Eddie’s storyline for the season, which many were invested in coming out of 9-1-1 Season 7. While the execution of said storyline will be discussed later, the hour was vital for him to give voice to his struggles at that time.
It was the first time since Christopher left that we actually heard him talk about things and how he was punishing himself because of what happened.
While the hour may be remembered most for that Risky Business ending, Eddie’s shaving off his mustache and no longer hiding behind it was a powerful moment for him.
The episode also saw Buck and Tommy break up and Maddie and Chimney discuss the expansion of their family, two significant moments in the character’s season-long storylines.
It was the kind of hour with multiple plot points for the characters, alongside emergencies that intersected with the character journeys, which are always the kind of hours that resonate the most.
9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 17 was similar in that it made a point to explore more than one or two characters’ plots, instead letting everyone get a chance to command the narrative as Bobby’s death continued to loom large.
There were some big, emotional moments, like the confrontation between Buck and Eddie, Hen’s decision not to accept the captaincy, and Chimney and Maddie’s talk about Chimney’s survivor’s guilt.
9-1-1 is always at its best when it mixes character stories alongside emergencies.
This was also a welcome hour after a rough patch in the season, which had audiences feeling like 9-1-1 was losing touch with what had always made it so special.
Worst Episode – 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 16
Have you ever watched an episode and thought it was okay, but the more you sit with it, the more you realize how many problems you actually had with it?
That’s 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 16 in a nutshell.
After Bobby’s death at the end of 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 15, you would think the next hour back would be a love letter to one of the main characters of the series, and for many, the heart and soul of the whole damn thing.
Instead, the hour focused on Athena and Chimney, which was NOT the problem, but neglected to allow the audience to grieve alongside the characters.
Athena worked on a case related to Bobby, and while it was nice to see him in the flashbacks, it wasn’t the same as actually paying tribute to the character. It was almost as if he was a bit of an afterthought in what should have been an epic goodbye episode.
We could have seen the characters sharing stories or a montage of some of Bobby’s best moments, but we got none of that.
Instead, they served us a last-minute funeral at the end of the hour that didn’t feel good enough for the end of the Bobby Nash 9-1-1 era.
Best Character Arc? – Athena Grant
To be fair with this category, unfortunately, not many of the main characters had compelling arcs this season to be considered “the best.”
But Athena was given a lot to contend with this season, and while it wasn’t all cohesive, she did get a few different storylines to parse through, which was more than a lot of characters could say.
From the beginning of the season, she was once again faced with Dennis Jenkins and reconciling with one of the biggest tragedies of her life. From there, the Bathena dream house lingered in the background, and she faced herself and her time on the job when paired with an overzealous (and dangerous) rookie.
In the latter half of the season, she was on the Amber Braeburn case with Maddie, welcoming Bobby’s estranged family to town before ultimately laying Bobby to rest a few hours later.
Athena may have had more storylines than a definitive arc that took her through all eighteen episodes. Still, she had a lot of interesting things to work through and battle with this season, and per usual, Angela Bassett was her exceptional self and played Athena beautifully through Athena’s busy season.
Character Who Deserved Better – Eddie Diaz
9-1-1 Season 8 should have been Eddie’s season, and it was for one episode here or there, but the way they would start and stop Eddie’s storyline all season was a travesty. Ultimately, his arc came across as disconnected and disappointing in the long run.
In the first half of the season, while we did get the one hour that dug into Eddie’s guilt and complicated feelings about Christopher’s departure, outside of that, the series never dove into the conflict between father and son, only giving us a glimpse of Christopher twice, and never showcasing any meaningful conversations between the pair.
By the time Eddie decided to move to Texas, it was the right thing to do for him and his family, but it seemed to come out of nowhere.
Then, much like at the beginning of the season, when they had time to dive into Eddie and Christopher’s reconciliation, the show focused an hour on Eddie lying to Christopher and his parents about his occupation and then moved Christopher back in with him overnight.
There was nothing wrong with the hours (both were pretty good, honestly!), but they had this amazingly complex story of a father trying to deal with the consequences of his misguided actions caused by continued complicated feelings about his deceased wife and the trauma inflicted on his child by seeing her doppelganger, and they just never talked about it.
They chose never to address what led Christopher to leave Los Angeles, and never gave Christopher any agency in the story at all. This included a hasty move back to Los Angeles at the end of the season without, you guessed it, a conversation.
Eddie’s story this season had things to like, but there was also much to be frustrated about.
Most Shocking Moment – Maddie Gets Her Throat Slashed
Bobby’s death was obviously a super shock, but before that, there was one moment during the season that got a genuine gasp out of the audience, and it came during 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 10.
The case of the weepy caller was very intriguing, and the reveal that the killer was Detective Amber Braeburn wasn’t the most shocking of reveals. Frankly, neither was the kidnapping of Maddie since we’d seen it in promotional campaigns for weeks leading up to the hour.
But the hour was an edge-of-your-seat thriller throughout, and because we were still in our pre-Bobby Nash death era, we didn’t believe Maddie was in real danger. Still, seeing her get her throat cut and bleeding out was the kind of shock we just aren’t used to seeing in the series.
Seeing Maddie with the scar on her throat for the rest of the season was a constant reminder of that jarring moment.
Decision We Wish They Never Made – The Death of Bobby Nash
You may be tired of this getting brought up every five seconds, but it needs to be discussed every five seconds because of the impact Bobby’s death has had on the series and will continue to have for as long as 9-1-1 remains on the air.
Bobby was everything to nearly everyone in the series. He was a husband, friend, confidant, father figure, and mentor to so many.
Many turned to him when they needed help because, to them, Bobby represented comfort and stability, and that’s also how the audience perceived him.
9-1-1 did need to raise the stakes, but was killing Bobby Nash the way to do it?
Right now, we’re still reeling from the loss and the fundamental change it has caused on a show that has provided so much comfort over the years.
You can’t help but be scared now because if Bobby isn’t safe, then no one is, and that’s a terrifying thought for audiences to deal with when the characters have become family over the course of eight seasons.
Storylines That Didn’t Amount To Much – Everything With Buck
Buck had a bit of a weird trajectory this season, as he seemed to have a lot going on and nothing going on at the same time.
He started the season in a beef with Gerrard as captain, and while some plots were dangled there, like Gerrard taking Buck under his wing after Buck accidentally saved his life, it ultimately didn’t amount to much.
He then spent one hour feeling cursed, giving the audience its first real look into his months-long relationship with Tommy. The two broke up rather quickly in the following episode, and outside of one-off hookup later on, that was all she wrote on that.
The second half of the season had almost all of Buck’s storyline revolving around Eddie.
Buck struggled with the reality that Eddie was moving, and he then sublet his house. Buck hooked up with Tommy, and then Tommy accused him of being in love with Eddie.
Buck was there for Eddie at every turn once Eddie was in Texas, offering a shoulder to lean on and a listening ear.
Then Bobby died, and Eddie came back to Texas; the two had a grief-fueled confrontation, and then Eddie moved back to Los Angeles, and Buck seemingly moved out. No one talked about it.
So, where did all of this lead Buck? You tell us.
Buck has been on a quest to find happiness and stability in all aspects of his life for many seasons now, and this season seemed like it was headed somewhere, but it never really went anywhere.
Maybe 9-1-1 Season 9 will finally be the season for Buck to find what he’s been looking for.
Overall Grade for 9-1-1 Season 8 – C+
As previously stated, there were some good hours this season, but there was also a lot of wasted time spent on characters like Gerrard and Brad, as well as a season finale that concluded everyone’s stories in a two-minute montage tacked onto the end of the season.
We should have spent more time with the Wilson family, who were curiously sidelined after 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 5, and there should have been a greater buildup to the birth of Maddie and Chimney’s second child.
There were just a lot of moments that would have been nice to see on screen that never made the cut, which left this season feeling like it was missing something.
C is an average grade, and some of those standout hours push it beyond that, but lack of follow-through and so many wasted storylines can’t push that grade any higher.
Alright, fanatics! It’s time for you all to weigh in.
What did you think about 9-1-1 Season 8?
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