9-1-1 - “The Last Alarm” - Following the tragic events at the lab, the 118 must come together to lay their fallen hero to rest. Meanwhile, despite her own grief, Athena re-investigates the death of a child to help a grieving mother. THURSDAY, MAY 1 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Christopher Willard) OLIVER STARK, RYAN GUZMAN
911 had already shown signs of undergoing a massive transformation when Bobby Nash died at the end of season 8's "Lab Rats." But, series regular Oliver Stark, who portrays fan-favorite character Buck, has confirmed that the upcoming season 9 will be a season of rebuilding.
"It’s gonna be interesting in the sense that at the end of Season 8, we lost Peter Krause’s character, [Bobby]. I think Season 9 is gonna be about rebuilding and growing from that, seeing how it’s possible to grow from that, and restructuring of the 118, which is the firehouse in the show, and seeing how everybody can kinda come together and try and move forward."
The series does need some updates, such as a confirmation of who will fill Bobby's role as Captain of Station 118, and if season 9 of 911 can avoid its previously overused trope of introducing an incompetent or frustrating Captain before inevitably bringing in the person the audience has been waiting for. The conclusion of season 8 suggested that it may be Chimney who is stepping into that leadership role. However, overall, 911 may benefit from a rebuilding year on many fronts.
Throughout its eight seasons, 911 has rarely taken monumental risks that resulted in significant changes for the series overall. The main characters enter life-threatening emergencies all the time, especially in the season premiere and season finale, where the stakes always tend to be raised. Yet, every character, up until Bobby, has been safe from any real sense of stakes. But has Bobby's death triggered the avalanche that could mean that the stakes of these emergencies have just gotten more real? Or, will a rebuilding year transform relationships in ways they have yet to be changed before? The show's ensemble cast has created a found family with deep bonds, as seen in cases such as the individual friendships between Chimney and Hen or Buck and Eddie, or the firehouse as a whole, in addition to Athena Grant, who while not a member of the firehouse, is just as integral to the show's main cast as any firefighter.
The firefighters of Station 118, along with Athena, will have a lot of rebuilding to do mentally and emotionally as 911moves outside of the direct aftermath of Bobby's death. While his legacy may still be an overarching part of the narrative, and a shadow hanging over the heads of the rest of the main characters, ultimately, a rebuilding year could mean many positive things for these characters, as the new narrative makes room for character growth and development that the series had not previously had the space to create.
Still, it can also not be denied that the decision to kill Bobby was one of the most difficult the series has made, resulting in overwhelming backlash from the show's fanbase. 911 will have to pull out some spectacular moves in order to regain some of the excitement the series may have lost from fans who were devastated by the show's decision to go against its previously established theme of allowing its main characters to survive pretty much everything.
Over the years, many characters have evolved, and season 9 may be the time to start putting some of that growth to good use. In the final episodes of season 8, it appeared as if Chimney was stepping up as a new leadership figure. Meanwhile, although Buck had once been upset not to be put in charge, at least temporarily, perhaps Buck could start smaller, such as becoming a mentor to a probie, and begin his potential journey to a role of authority that way. Ultimately, season 8's conclusion left the series in its lowest place yet, and the idea that season 9 could be a rebuilding year suggests that there may not be anywhere to go but up for a series that now needs to re-center itself after losing one of its most grounded focal leads.
