Immediately after Bobby's passing, the 118 gang started discussing who would take Bobby's place as leader of the firehouse. Obviously, those would be some pretty big shoes to fill, as Bobby always seemed to be the perfect captain. He was kind and compassionate and showed empathy towards everyone he came across. But Bobby was also firm when necessary and didn't mind doling out some tough love when the situation called for it.
In Episode 16, Captain Vincent Gerrard (Brian Thompson) steps up as a temporary captain. I was extremely worried that the 9-1-1 writers would decide to keep him as a permanent replacement for Bobby. This would definitely have felt like a repetitive storyline since we already covered that ground at the beginning of Season 8. Imagine my relief then, when, in the finale, Gerrard announces that he's going back to the set of the fictional television show, Hotshots. He actually gives his retirement speech, too, so now I'm convinced that Gerrard is officially gone for good.
Last week's shocking 9-1-1 death will have some serious consequences.
I'm So Happy Chimney Is Stepping Up To Be the Leader on '9-1-1'
The team seems to be a bit surprised by Chimney's pep talk; the usually mild-mannered man is incredibly fierce in his lecture. In this scene, it's also clear that Chimney would be the perfect person to succeed Bobby. He's smart and effective at his job, but he's also intuitive. At that moment, he knows exactly what to say to get everyone back in line and to keep the crew devoted to saving lines (which is definitely the sign of a capable captain). This speech also made it evident to me why Chimney is the obvious choice, and why bringing in an outside character for this role would have been disastrous.
An Outside Character Would Have Been a Terrible Choice for a '9-1-1' Captain
It will be interesting to see how Chimney will cope with suddenly becoming the leader. Will the 118 easily fall in line? Or will there be some bumps in the road as they all navigate their coworker and pal now becoming their boss? There are bound to be some tricky situations to handle with that. And what about Chimney's home life? It seems that being the captain would demand more of Chimney's time, and he has a new baby and a small child at home. Will his relationship with Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) experience any challenges because of his new role?
There are so many dramatic storylines to explore with Chim being the captain. Bringing an unknown to help replace Bobby (and Krause himself) would have felt out-of-touch, and would likely just have fed into the outrage over Bobby's death. This way, fans like me can still root for the 118 because they're just promoting one of their own. Season 9 won't arrive until the fall, so I'll just have to wait to see how Chimney's potential new role plays out then. I'm just relieved that I won't need to get used to a brand-new character while I'm still grieving the old one.
