9-1-1 Season 9 Needs To Bring Back This Character After Bobby's Funeral Weirdly Erased Them

Side characters come and go frequently in 9-1-1, but one character deserves to return after Bobby’s funeral bizarrely ignored their importance to the deceased. Bobby Nash’s 9-1-1 death was one of the most controversial moments in season 8. The only way 9-1-1 season 9 could even make up for it in many fans’ eyes is to somehow bring him back.

That wouldn’t make much sense story-wise, no matter how many commenters on 9-1-1: Nashville’s social media refuse to watch until they bring back “the other Nash.” However, providing one character with proper closure could help the show’s viewers find it as well, and it would mean bringing back one of the most esteemed guest stars from 9-1-1’s season 8 cast.

9-1-1 Season 8 Introduced Lesley Ann Warren As Bobby Nash’s Dying Mother

Their Relationship Is More Than A Little Complicated

While Ellen Wroe played a younger version of Bobby’s mother in 9-1-1 season 7, one-time Lois Lane actor Lesley Ann Warren portrays the present-day version of evangelist and faith healer Ann Hutchinson in 9-1-1 season 8, episode 11, “Holy Mother of God.” And, as Bobby’s flashbacks in season 7 might’ve suggested, their relationship is hardly on solid ground.

Bobby regards Ann as a fraud, openly accusing her of preying on the weak and faithful to get rich in God’s name. But their falling out started long before she even took up her life of touring ministry, when Bobby began resenting Ann for leaving home with his brother Charlie while he stayed behind to watch alcoholism kill his father.

Lesley Ann Warren’s 9-1-1 episode does end on a slightly optimistic note, albeit still a very bittersweet one. Bobby forgives his mother while admitting that he loves her and has missed her all this time, but he only does so after learning from Charlie that Ann’s been secretly living with terminal cancer. And that secret almost never came out.

Charlie would have abided by Ann’s wishes to conceal her cancer from Bobby forever had she not collapsed onstage. It appeared that Bobby was at least starting to believe his mother truly valued her work, but her collapse leaves it uncertain whether they would have formally made amends under happier circumstances. Bobby’s death makes that uncertainty even worse.

Ann Hutchinson Is Barely Present During Bobby’s Funeral In 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 16

She’s Only Featured For A Brief Second Of Screentime

As if Bobby didn’t already suffer one of 9-1-1’s most tragic deaths, the fact that he only made amends on Ann’s hospital bed is unsettling without future scenes together to corroborate the moment’s sincerity. Now, not only will they never get those moments, but Ann’s reaction to Bobby’s death only accounts for one shot of the entire funeral scene.

She does technically reappear when Bobby’s coffin is being carried outside, but she’s far enough in the background to go largely unnoticed. For all intents and purposes, a mere still image could represent Ann’s full impact on an episode dedicated to processing her son’s death. Not one line of dialogue is set aside to give her a semblance of closure.

9-1-1 Season 9 Needs To Provide Ann With Closure While Bobby’s Death Is Still Fresh

It’s The Most Logical Way To Close Out Her Storyline

The odd backlash against 9-1-1: Nashville simply for including Bobby’s last name in the title demonstrates that even fans who spent years with the character have had issues finding closure in the wake of his death. Imagine, then, how much worse it must feel that all of Ann’s closure with Bobby is limited to a single conversation in the hospital.

Ann therefore never truly got to reconnect with Bobby, or at least not that we’ve seen much onscreen. He came back into her life and forgave her before dying while she still knows relatively little about who he is, even if she was evidently keeping close enough tabs on him to send him a letter after his home burned down.

It’s unrealistic that this wouldn’t leave Ann seeking some sort of postmortem clarity. And, not only would it be odd for her to pop up again when everybody’s already moved on from grieving, but her cancer puts such a clock on future appearances that it makes most sense for her to seek (and receive) that closure in 9-1-1 season 9.

How 9-1-1 Season 9 Can Incorporate Ann Hutchinson Into The 118’s Story

There’s No Better Place For Her To Find The Closure She Needs

Right now, it naturally seems as if Bobby’s 9-1-1 replacement would be the 118’s top priority. Even if it seems obvious that it’ll be Chim, he has a lot of kinks to iron out before he’s worthy of the job. One might also expect that Ann would most likely seek out solace from Athena if anyone, since they’ve already met.

However, Ann was proud of Bobby for becoming a fire captain. Between her religious values and losing Bobby so soon after getting him back, it stands to reason she’d want to know more about his life-saving work and the virtuous life he led. As much as they idolized him, Buck and Chim could provide better insight than even Athena could.

Although not in the same way as Ann or Athena, the 118 was Bobby’s family. And, assuming the “Bobby Nash is still alive” theory turns out to be as incorrect as it should be, everyone in Bobby’s 9-1-1 family should be given a chance to lean on each other right now. Ann should be a part of that as well.