Did 9-1-1 Just Destroy Its Own Heart? Why Killing Off Bobby Nash Could Be the Show’s Biggest Mistake Yet

It’s been exactly one week since we lost 9-1-1‘s Captain Bobby Nash, and I don’t feel any better about it.

Killing off a beloved actor like Peter Krause was a big swing, a point of no return from which some shows never fully rebound. Can the ABC procedural avoid that same fate? I’m not so sure.

Reflecting on the monumental loss, I find myself haunted by those heartbreaking final moments between Bobby and Athena; by the sudden void, both in the cast and in the firehouse, that can never be filled; and by the palpable pain and fury still rippling through the fandom.

More than anything, however, I’m haunted by this excerpt from Bobby’s final speech: “I’m not choosing to leave you,” he said before succumbing to a deadly virus. “I chose to save my team because it was the right thing to do. It was never because I wanted to go. I don’t want to go. If I could choose, I would stay with you. Always.”

Those were some of the last words Bobby spoke to his wife, but at the risk of appearing fully detached from reality, doesn’t it also feel like he was speaking to the viewers? Or even to the show itself?

When I learned of Bobby’s death in advance of this episode, I was sad, but not entirely shocked. Saying goodbye to a beloved character is always tough, but three-time Emmy nominee Krause has already embodied multiple beloved characters in his career — from Six Feet Under‘s Nate Fisher to Parenthood‘s Adam Braverman — and I just figured he was ready to find his next one. Eight seasons is a long time for anyone to play the same character, especially in today’s ever-changing TV landscape. So if Krause thought it was time to say goodbye, who was I to question his decision?

Then came my interview with 9-1-1 showrunner Tim Minear, which changed my perspective entirely. Killing off Bobby, Minear explained, was “entirely a creative decision” on his part. It was not, as I had previously assumed, a decision made because Krause chose to lay down his fireman’s helmet. “For the health of the show, and in order to give all of the characters more story, something like this needed to happen,” Minear told me.

Anticipating that most viewers would disagree with the necessity of Bobby’s death, I asked Minear to elaborate: “When I landed on this idea, the world suddenly felt more real to me,” he explained. “The characters felt more real to me. They felt like real people.”

I don’t know about all of you, but these characters have always felt pretty real to me. When Maddie attempted suicide amid her struggle with postpartum depression, that felt real. When Eddie was shot by a sniper, that felt real. When Hen nearly lost her son in a car accident this past Halloween, that felt real.

In spite of those clearly established stakes, 9-1-1 is also a comfort watch. Viewers are already invested in these characters’ lives and relationships because we care about them, not because we’re actually worried about them surviving a beenado or tsunami or any number of over-the-top emergencies thrown their way.

Even if I agreed that a death was needed to reinvigorate the show, why did Bobby have to be the sacrificial lamb? Without naming any names, there had to have been another expendable character in the 118’s orbit whose sudden loss could inspire personal growth.

9-1-1 returns Thursday, May 1 (ABC, 8/7c) with Bobby’s funeral, and the next few weeks will be crucial. I’m certain that fans will never be “OK” with Bobby’s death, but it’s still possible for 9-1-1 to soften the blow.

We know that Krause will make appearances throughout the season’s final three episodes, presumably in “flashbacks” to moments we never got to see, or perhaps in various characters’ imaginations. Beyond being heartbreaking, which feels like a given in this situation, these scenes have some heavy lifting to do — they need to both justify the character’s loss while also providing genuine comfort to devastated viewers.

And make no mistake, the viewers are devastated. Look no further than the top comment from ABC’s own tribute to Bobby on YouTube: “His death doesn’t just feel like the loss of a character,” user @craftylady11 wrote. “It feels like the loss of someone who reminded us how to keep going. 9-1-1 has been my comfort show for years, and Bobby was its soul. Knowing this was just a creative decision, not something the cast or network even wanted, makes it hit that much harder.”

This is among the more eloquent comments I’ve seen online — and there have been thousands across TVLine articles, official 9-1-1 social media channels, and anywhere else disappointed fans care to scream into the void — but it accurately conveys the general consensus among fans, a portion of whom are considering dropping the show from their viewing schedule altogether.

Personally, I’m hoping that 9-1-1 proves me wrong. I’m hoping that Bobby’s death propels these characters in dramatic, exciting new directions that keep things interesting for years to come. Because if there’s one thing Bobby would want — you know, besides an uncompromised breathing apparatus — it would be for us to keep hope alive.

Where do you stand on Bobby’s death? Do you agree that it will benefit the show in the long run, or do you believe it was a mistake to kill him off? If you’re in the latter category, what (if anything) would you need to see over the next few episodes to change your mind? Drop a comment with your thoughts on this polarizing development below.