Things Will Never Be the Same on ‘9-1-1’ After Bobby's Shocking Death

9-1-1 is known to put its characters through hell — this season alone, multiple characters had close brushes with death. As stressful as these emergencies can be, there's a sense of reassurance in the knowledge that the 118 always comes home at the end of the shift. However, last week’s shocking episode, "Lab Rats" changed everything: in a truly unexpected twist, Bobby (Peter Krause) succumbed to a deadly virus just after delivering the only cure to Chim (Kenneth Choi), in a character-typical act of self-sacrifice.

That’s right, 9-1-1 just had its first major character death – and it couldn’t have been a character more major. Bobby's death is not only a massive blow to the series and its characters, it also forever changes the trajectory of the series. This not only kills off Athena's (Angela Bassett) husband, but it disrupts the beloved found-family dynamic and permanently raising the stakes for any of the show's leads to die.

Athena Will Never Be the Same

Some of the strongest parts of 9-1-1 are the relationships central to the series: Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Karen (Tracie Thoms), Chim and Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), and even Buck (Oliver Stark) and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) if you believe. Still, the heart of the show has always been Bobby and Athena. Since the couple finally got together at the end of Season 1, Bobby and Athena have been there for each other through it all, from a sinking cruise ship to Bobby’s addiction struggles. The couple is foundational to the series, providing a tie between LAPD officer Athena and the 118. Now that Bobby is gone, it’s undeniable – Athena Grant-Nash will never be the same.

Not only will Athena’s character and storylines now be far more detached from the firefighting antics of the 118 (outside of the brief moments when they cross paths at an emergency), Athena’s life will be changed forever by losing Bobby. The couple had built a life together, and were even in the midst of building their dream home. Athena has now lost three significant others in some way, and I honestly can’t imagine what Athena’s story will look like after losing Bobby.

Bobby’s Death Permanently Disrupts the 118’s Found-Family Dynamic

The 118 have never just been coworkers, they’re a true family that have been with each other through thick and thin. Bobby was more than just a boss to his team. They relied on him for everything from often ill-fated romantic advice to making the kind of decisions that often saved lives. Bobby served as a kind of patriarch for the 118, and his role is truly irreplaceable. One character who especially had a crucial relationship with Bobby was Buck (who has already had a rough go of it this season). Buck’s parents, the Buckleys, had never been the most present for him in his childhood, something established in the Season 4 episode ‘Buck Begins.’

Buck was born with the intent of serving as a bone marrow donor to his brother Daniel, but after Daniel passed in Buck’s youth, the Buckleys struggled to accept Daniel’s absence and, as a result, neglected Buck through his childhood. The relationship Buck formed with Bobby was important to them both: Bobby served as the kind of mentor and guidance that Buck’s father never could’ve been, and Buck often served as Bobby’s chance to step into the role of being a father after losing his children in the apartment fire that he spent so many years attempting to atone for. "Lab Rats" only gave us a glimpse at how affected Buck was by Bobby’s death.

In addition, the first half of Season 8 established just how hard it was for the 118 to work with another captain. After Bobby’s brief retirement, Captain Gerrard (Brian Thompson) caused major friction and disruption at the firehouse that persisted until the team eventually fought to get Bobby back from his job on the set of the in-universe firefighter drama Hotshots. While Hen has more than proven that she has what it takes to be captain, having served as interim captain on multiple occasions, the team has always needed Bobby’s guidance and support, and will undoubtedly undergo major changes after losing him. Not only will a new captain lead to major changes at the firehouse, the found family dynamic that led so many fans to watch 9-1-1 will never be the same without Bobby at the heart of it.

Bobby’s Death Permanently Raises the Stakes

Watching 9-1-1 can always be a unique kind of stressful: these characters truly go through it. I mean, how many people do you know have survived getting their throats slit? Still, it’s hard to truly fear for the lives of any of the characters when they have survived the unsurvivable again and again. Despite their frequent misfortune at landing in these scenarios, the 118 seems to have had really good luck up until this point. Now, though, everything has changed: Bobby’s death means that none of the members of the 118 are safe from threats of death.

Up until "Lab Rats," there hadn’t been many major losses on 9-1-1. Sure, sometimes an emergency had fatalities, but the series had never dared to kill a main character before. Now that a major character has died, the stakes are permanently raised for the future. It’s typical for a procedural to eventually cross the line into killing their leads; after all, contracts end, actors leave, and stories need to stay fresh. After a while, the knowledge that your favorite characters will always be safe can get a little boring. Still, Bobby was arguably the core member of the 118- if he’s not safe, no one is. Suddenly, watching the 118 go through trials and tribulations will be a lot more stressful.

'9-1-1' Will Never Be the Same

Bobby and Peter Krause have been central to 9-1-1 becoming the show we all know and love. Onscreen, Bobby has become the clear leader and patriarch of the 118, and offscreen, Peter’s long-held success on network TV was a huge draw to the show. His role as executive producer means he has always meant more to the show than the average lead. Killing Bobby off was possibly the riskiest decision 9-1-1 has ever made, and comes at an undeniably shocking moment as the show is more successful than it has ever been. Only time will tell whether this decision will pay off for the series.

And P.S. Tim Minear – it’s never too late to surprise us with a fake-out.

New episodes of 9-1-1 air on Thursdays on ABC in the U.S.