9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 16 Review: The ABC Drama Picks The Worst Time To Deliver Such A Disappointing Episode

This article contains spoilers for 9-1-1 season 8, episode 16, "The Last Alarm."Episodes like "The Last Alarm" are a staple of television. They center around the show and its characters saying farewell to a significant presence after a devastating death. Buffy the Vampire Slayer had "The Body," which is often regarded as the best episode of the series, even though it's not representative of the supernatural drama. Succession had Logan Roy's funeral, which featured all the gut-wrenching performances you might expect. This Is Us had its flashback episode, where it finally revealed every detail of how Jack Pearson died. 9-1-1 has "The Last Alarm", which should feel like a much bigger deal than it is.

The episode is co-written by Tim Minear and Kristen Reidel, both of whom have been showrunners on the drama, and directed by franchise veteran John J. Gray. It has the ingredients to delve into just how shaken the 118 is after losing Captain Bobby Nash (Peter Krause), holding concerned viewers by the hand and demonstrating the impact of Bobby's sacrifice. But, save for a few scenes, it's fairly standard 9-1-1 that's just a little sadder than usual. For the most part, it doesn't rise to the level of what it's actually depicting.

Unsurprisingly, Angela Bassett Is The Best Part Of The Episode

Athena Works On A Case That Hits Close To Home

The first person viewers see in "The Last Alarm" is Bobby. It's a flashback to eight years ago, with a previous iteration of the 118 responding to a massive house fire. A baby dies as a result, leaving the mother distraught. In the present, a few weeks after Bobby's passing, Athena is in no hurry to go through the motions of putting her husband to rest. Bobby's body has yet to be released, due to being infected with a deadly virus, but Athena doesn't want to rush the process. If there's no funeral, then she won't be expected to move through the stages of grief.

A call from Howard (Kenneth Choi) is apparently enough to make those in charge reconsider the practice of holding Bobby's body. They agree to release it, which speeds up the funeral proceedings. "The Last Alarm" sets up an interesting clash between Athena and Howard, the two characters who get the biggest spotlight in the immediate aftermath of 9-1-1 season 8, episode 15, "Lab Rats", but they back away from it just as quickly as the idea is introduced. Instead, Athena puts her energy into the massive fire from eight years ago.

The mother, seen briefly in the flashback, lashing out at Bobby, has recently become convinced that her baby didn't perish in the fire. She thinks that her child was stolen from her, coming to that conclusion after meeting a young boy at a party with the same birthday as her child and the same birthmark. The mother ended up behind bars after confronting the young boy in public. But she's convinced that it's actually her son, asking Athena to look into it.

The obvious question is why 9-1-1 would choose to spend time on a guest character during an episode that should be entirely devoted to the fallout from Bobby's loss. Is the case itself, about a boy who turns out to be very much alive, some sort of hint that Bobby will crawl out of his grave? No. In her grief, will Athena push too far in identifying with this woman and do damage to her career? Also no. "The Last Alarm" attempts to honor Bobby by showing his kindness to this random woman, but the effort would have been better spent elsewhere.

Athena Breaks Down In Henrietta's Arms

It's Easily The Episode's Best Scene

The point of connection between Athena and the woman is that both were blindsided by those closest to them. Bobby decided to sacrifice himself without telling anyone, keeping his condition hidden from his wife until the final moments. The mother never had the opportunity to grieve the loss of her child because her loved ones kept hidden to the extent that the fire tarnished the baby's body.

It takes a DNA test to prove to the mother that the boy isn't hers. Athena is sympathetic to the fact that the mother was kept in the dark, just as Bobby kept her in the dark, which only makes the pain of the loss hit harder. It's a long walk to get to an admittedly effective scene of Athena finally crying and admitting how angry she is at Bobby for his passing. If network shows still received any traction at the Emmys, then this would be the kind of scene that would be in conversation for a nomination.

It is also a gut punch to hear Bobby say in a flashback that he believed he would be reunited with his dead children someday. Even if I disagree with how 9-1-1 chooses to devote valuable screentime in a crucial episode, there are at least a few grace notes in Athena's storyline that save it from being a complete disappointment. That's more than I can say for what the rest of the 118 get.

9-1-1 Sticks To A Formula To Its Detriment

There Are Some Odd Choices All Around

Since the move to ABC, 9-1-1 has maintained a general structure to its episodes: time is split between one main character and an emergency or, at most, two characters and an emergency, with the rest of the ensemble getting whatever is left at the margins. If there was ever a time for the show to break off from its structure, if there was ever a time to put as many main characters in the same room as possible, the aftermath of a major death would be the time.

Eddie (Ryan Guzman) suffers the most from the fact that "The Last Alarm" is largely an average episode. He shows up with about ten minutes left in the runtime, having about as much to say about Bobby's death as Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody) and far less to say than Gerrard (Brian Thompson). Guzman, a main cast member who's had the presence of a recurring guest star since the Texas storyline, appears long enough to mumble something about how he should have been there when Bobby passed.

Gerrard, a villainous bigot for most of the series, gets a tearful speech about how he could never hope to fill Bobby's shoes. It is another weird example of where 9-1-1 puts its focus during what should be a monumental episode. The show might eventually get around to how Eddie feels about Bobby's death in the third episode of 9-1-1 season 9. Or he may get a nice little monologue in the finale. I don't care. Now, more than ever, characters like Eddie should be prioritized.

It is astonishing how little the 118 are factored into "The Last Alarm." Henrietta (Aisha Hinds), outside of being there for Athena, quietly pushes herself to return to work and fades into the background. Buck (Oliver Stark) is a sounding board for Howard, and we learn briefly that he's been having therapy sessions. Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is also a sounding board for Howard, even though she was on the call for Bobby's last stand. There's no indication about how she feels about any of it.

It might have been forgivable if Howard's storyline had been at least as decent as Athena's. It is pretty lazy overall and downright hard to believe at one point. Howard is angry that Bobby is dead while he gets to live. He lashes out at the teary Gerrard. He distances himself from Maddie. It's all fine, if unremarkable. However, one line, towards the end of the hour, was so out of character that I'm genuinely surprised it made into the final script. Howard confesses to Buck before the funeral starts that he's not sure what Bobby wanted him to do with his life.

It would be acceptable enough if this were Howard from seven seasons ago. But the Howard that says this is a married father with another baby on the way. As sad as he is about the death of a close friend and mentor, he wouldn't be confused about his purpose and what he has to live for. It's especially galling after everything Maddie has been through this season alone. It is a perfunctory expression of grief and loss that works in isolation, but it has no business being uttered by Howard.

It is a solid encapsulation of "The Last Alarm", though. Perfunctory and seeming to be in a hurry to get Bobby's funeral out of the way, speeding through his funeral procession in a maudlin montage, It is not the next great addition to the canon of television episodes about death and loss. It is not even a good episode of 9-1-1. If anything, it might be among the most disappointing.

9-1-1 season 8 airs Thursdays at 8 PM ET on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.