9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 14 Review: I Was Disappointed By The Start Of ABC's Much-Hyped Contagion Event Despite A Few Solid Moments

In different circumstances, "Sick Day" might have been the two-part premiere for 9-1-1 season 9. Nearly the entire main cast is gathered for a dangerous emergency. Also, perhaps a little bit more of the budget was spent on making sure the episode stands out. But the problem with these big events is that, even though they aim to be thrilling, they often bump up against constraints and a story that feels like it was never developed beyond the main hook.

For every instance of something like the 9-1-1 season 7 premiere, which added an interesting dimension to the relationship between Athena (Angela Bassett) and Bobby (Peter Krause), there are duds like the three-part season 8 premiere, which ultimately boiled down to Athena's ability to land a plane. "Sick Day" isn't that bad; it's actually pretty good in parts. But there were moments when I definitely got the sense that it's a network TV show trying to pull off a big spectacle and not necessarily succeeding.

Checking In With The 118 Before Disaster Strikes

Maddie & Howard Celebrate While Ravi Doubts Himself

The episode begins with Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Howard (Kenneth Choi) having a gender reveal party at Maddie's place. They're joined by Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Karen (Tracie Thoms), along with their respective kids. There's a mix-up with the cake, which tells Jee-Yun (Bailey and Hailey Leung) that she will have a baby sister instead of, as viewers know, based on what was revealed in 9-1-1 season 8, a baby brother. Howard reluctantly agrees to correct the record.

The opener is there to make it all the more devastating when Howard's life is put in danger later in "Sick Day", giving us a glimpse of a happy family before potentially snatching it away. It's a bit glaring, though, that Buck (Oliver Stark) isn't there. He's Maddie's brother, Jee-Yun's uncle, and he works closely with Howard. It would have even made sense within the context of "Sick Day", connecting back to Buck potentially losing Howard when his brother-in-law is hit with the virus.

Maddie has always been both Buck's sibling and something of a caretaker, even as she was running from an abusive relationship. For whatever reason, 9-1-1 is making a habit of Buck missing out on his sister's milestones and life-changing events. It seems that, so long as Maddie has Howard to share scenes with, we don't need that many moments between Buck and Maddie. The show unfortunately prioritizes the character's romantic relationship over anything else.

Buck is there for Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody), at least, when the probie considers quitting the 118. Ravi's self-doubt stems from when the 118 responded to a massive car pile-up. Ravi fails to notice that there is a baby trapped in the backseat of a car. Bobby ends up pulling off a dangerous rescue, and everyone ends up okay, but Ravi is left wondering whether he's cut out to be a firefighter.

Buck and Ravi's scene works much better here than it did during the 9-1-1 episode "Holy Mother of God", where Buck could not stop talking about Eddie (Ryan Guzman). Though he does not appear in this episode, Eddie's presence is felt when Buck insists that “no one else is quitting this month.” He gives Ravi a pep talk, reassuring and firm. Buck wanting a leadership role has been a recurring theme throughout the series, and this is one real instance where he demonstrates that he could be Captain Buckley someday.

Meet The Two-Parter's Villain

The Show Is Lucky The Guest Stars Are Having Fun With It

After a brief check-in with the 118, including a progress update on the construction of Bobby and Athena's new home, we meet microbiologist Dr. Moira Blake (played by White Collar and The Rookie star Bridget Reagan). She works at the SoCal Tech Biomedical Research Laboratory and studies a virus called Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF). The specifics don't matter. What does matter is that her co-workers, especially Roz (Sadie Kuwano), can't stand the sight of her.

At one point, when she's being rescued from the burning laboratory, Roz is asked whether she's Moira. Even in this life-or-death situation, Roz can still muster enough hate in her heart to recoil: “God, no!” It's a good bit. To be fair to Roz, she has a good reason to be such a top-tier hater. Moira has kind of lost the plot. She sped up the process of CCHF, with symptoms starting to manifest in hours rather than days.

It also doesn't really matter why she does it, albeit the show gestures that she might be driven by the thrill of discovery, or she might be driven mad by the pending environmental collapse of Earth itself. Either way, Moira is fired for supercharging CCHF. She responds by attacking a co-worker, stealing his authorization key, and setting fire to the lab. It's absolutely batty. It's also exactly what 9-1-1 should have done with Detective Braeburn (Abigail Spencer).

If the show isn't going to treat its antagonists with nuance, then don't be half-hearted about it. Embrace the lack of sturdy logic embedded in most Ryan Murphy productions. I love that Moira feels like she's beamed in from a far campier and winking thriller about environmental terrorism. It's fun and light while also keeping the suspense appropriately leveled. It is also, unfortunately, the only aspect of the contagion-related emergency that really works.

The Actual Contagion Is Kind Of A Letdown

It's All Too Familiar

Once the 118 arrives at SoCal Tech, with Maddie guiding them on dispatch, the centerpiece of the episode unfolds solidly enough. Roz and Allen (Brian Knoebel), who were targeted by Moira and left for dead, are both saved. But the explosion sends the lab into lockdown mode. Howard, Hen, Ravi, and Bobby are trapped inside. Buck just made it out while rescuing Roz. Athena arrives at SoCal Tech soon after to help. A representative from the U.S. Army, John Hartman (Rick Worthy), has also arrived to assess the situation and keep the biohazard from getting out.

While trapped inside, Howard gets infected with the sped-up CCHF. This leaves Bobby to operate on Hen, who is injured. Maddie is on the phone, worrying about the man she loves. It's fine but familiar. You really start to get the sense of understanding why 9-1-1 has chosen to focus more on the characters' personal lives rather than the emergencies they respond to. Especially on a network budget, even a special two-part event tends to play out like a dozen other crises that have happened over eight seasons.

"Sick Day" does a bit better when the conflict is personal rather than operatic. Not much at all comes from the rare Buck and Athena team-up promised by the promotional photos, though they do trick Hartman, who would rather let the 118 die inside the building than risk the virus spreading to the general population. Ravi also gets a nice hero moment, tying back into his crisis of confidence from the earlier rescue when he defies Hartman and some serious prison time to get the antidote that could cure Howard. The problem is, of course, Moira.

The episode ends with the deranged microbiologist walking the streets of Los Angeles, all shifty eyes. Chris Isaak's "Baby Did A Bad Bad Thing" plays while she carries the only anti-virus in her bag. It sets up a livelier second half for the two-parter, as the 9-1-1 teaser trailer hints at some twists that will change the show forever. I'm willing to bet against that, but it will at least be a delight to see Moira and Athena face off.