Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of 9-1-1 Season 8, called "When the Boeing Gets Tough..."
9-1-1 always starts a new season with a particularly epic emergency, and the eighth has been no exception in the fall 2024 TV schedule. In fact, there was a bit of a bait-and-switch, as ABC went all-out in hyping a bee-nado as the big threat of early Season 8, only to deliver a twist when a small plane collided with a passenger plane in a bee-induced loss of control. (You can rewatch the premiere streaming with a Hulu subscription.) The real crisis of Episode 2 and beyond is a mid-air plane crash, with Athena on board and rolling with punch after punch in the air.
Just when it seemed that the crisis was averted, a twist made everything even worse. While there's nothing funny about what she's going through, I got enough of a chuckle out of Bobby's reaction that I've already rewound and rewatched it a few times.
What Happened To Athena
The passengers survived the initial collision, although with a considerable number of issues. The pilots weren't so lucky, with one immediately being sucked out of the cockpit and the other so worse for the wear that the task of flying the plane fell to Athena and a young boy.
As fans undoubtedly expect after seven full seasons and that cruise ship crisis, Athena rose to the occasion and was doing pretty well, all things considered, with keeping the plane in the air with the help of experts over the phone. But she – and everybody else – was relieved when the copilot woke up and was ready to take control of the plane.
And then, of course, the copilot began to have a heart attack. Just when it seemed that all the passengers were going to be saved, they lost their best chance at survival unless he recovers right away in the next episode. Plus. there's the whole Dennis Jenkins situation to deal with on the ground, assuming they land safely.
What Happened On The Ground
"When the Boeing Gets Tough..." wasted no time in confirming that Buck attempting to attack and/or save the problematic Captain Gerrard hadn't resulted in his death, but the captain was carted off to the hospital with a possible concussion and Hen stepped up as acting captain. The dance party at the 118 didn't last long, though, when word came down that Athena was attempting to pilot a damaged plane full of injured passengers.
Bobby couldn't be reached, but the 118 started doing triage over the phone to help the passengers help each other. When it seemed like the plane was going to come down one way or the other, the 118 was sent to help (along with much of the rest of the LAFD). Buck had had enough of nobody being able to reach Bobby and drove to the TV set to tell Bobby in person about what was happening with his wife.
And all it took Bobby to suspect that Athena was involved in an emergency was a news report of the plane situation with a passenger piloting and an "I love you" voicemail to fear the worst. When Buck arrived, he didn't even have to say anything before Bobby said "Oh, you've got to me kidding me." Then, this exchange happened:
- Bobby: "Athena's on the flight, isn't she?"
- Buck: "She's flying it."
- Bobby: "Of course she is. What else would she be doing?
Bobby Nash is officially genre-savvy after seven full seasons and counting! His reaction felt like 9-1-1 really leaning into how reliably ridiculous the show is, in the most fun way. The exchange was followed by Bobby deciding to take off in the TV show's fire truck to get through traffic faster than Buck's car. If that wasn't enough, Brad the actor hopped into the back, and Bobby just said "Whatever" and started the truck.
It would have been a bonkers sequence on any show other than 9-1-1, but this just came across as a very fun setup for the next episode. A little bit of fun was also nice in light of the intensity of Athena's storyline in the air, and I'm not even embarrassed to admit that I've rewatched Bobby just assuming the most complicated explanation for whatever is happening to his wife. The 9-1-1 version of Occam's razor!
And who can blame Bobby? What should have been a relaxing honeymoon cruise went wrong in just about every way not even a full year ago. To quote the man himself, "of course" she's in the worst-case scenario. Fortunately, Athena is more than capable of handling worst-case scenarios, so I for one am more excited about the resolution of this plane crisis (and the Dennis Jenkins situation) than I am worried for her.
See what 9-1-1 has in store for Athena and Bobby next with new episodes of 9-1-1 on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, followed by Doctor Odyssey at 9 p.m. ET and Grey's' Anatomy at 10 p.m. ET. Co-creator Ryan Murphy is also working on another spinoff that would release on ABC, which reminded me of what 9-1-1: Lone Star co-showrunner Rashad Raisani told us about the Fox spinoff getting the axe.