‘9-1-1’ 7×02 recap: “Rock the Boat”

Season 7 of 9-1-1 has been a wild ride so far and the second episode certainly kept the action going. While Bobby and Athena dealt with an emergency on the cruise ship, Hen dealt with a call that put her career in jeopardy. What happened in the world of 9-1-1 7×02 and will Bobby and Athena make it out alive?

Before we get into the juicier parts involving Bobby and Athena, let’s focus on Hen first. The side plot for the episode revolved around Hen as she dealt with being Captain. During the scene of a car crash, the driver responsible for the accident appeared drunk and did not want Chimney to check up on him.

Since the driver just appeared drunk and did not consent to receive care, Hen handed him off to one of the cops on the scene. Unfortunately, the guy ended up collapsing and later dying due to a brain bleed. Because of what happened, Internal Affairs took over the case. The driver turned out to be the son of a Councilwoman, who wanted answers about what happened to her son.

Did Hen make the right decision?

(Disney/Chris Willard)

Even though Hen was sure she did the right thing, she felt like she could have done a better job. She did do everything she could, but we also saw how she was quick to judge the driver due to his role in the accident. To make matters worse, she felt like her team didn’t have her back.

Hen had a journey in this episode as she learned how to navigate how she perceived the driver originally and how that reflected on whether he did need help. But even though he did, how could she have seen it? Even if the outcome hadn’t changed, it was still a lesson for her to learn.

She was quick to judge someone before focusing on him needing help, despite him not consenting to care. Regardless, she needs to be able to separate her emotions about the people involved and focus on helping those in need.

The team is fractured in the aftermath

(Disney/Chris Willard)

Buck and Eddie were too far away to see what happened, working on the other car in the accident, while Chimney admitted he didn’t smell alcohol on the man’s breath. Hen has to take time off of work, and she goes home to receive comfort from her wife, Karen.

This peace doesn’t last, though, since Hen has been checking the cruise ship’s location and can’t find it. With news of a hurricane approaching and not able to get answers to her calls from either Bobby or Athena, Hen goes to Maddie to help.

As Maddie helps Hen find out if anything happened off the coast of Mexico, Hen talks to the Chief. He informs her that the toxicology screen shows the driver was drunk, and she’s not in trouble. But Hen doesn’t want to go back to work right away. Instead, she is worried about Bobby and Athena.

While the Chief tells her she needs to go back to work, Hen and Maddie learn that Mexico’s 911 system received over two dozen calls before they suddenly dropped off. This leads them to worry something is wrong.

Athena and Bobby prepare for the worst

(Disney/Chris Willard)

They are correct, as at that moment, the cruise Bobby and Athena are on is in danger. The ship had been taken over earlier by pirates looking for the drive that held the money they were searching for. Athena made a quick guess that Lola was having an affair with a staff member, Julian. Even though it was just a guess, she was proven correct.

Honestly, we have to wonder what happened since when we met Lola, she was desperate for Norman to see her, and they seemed to be doing well in a later season 2 episode. Clearly, something happened in the intervening years.

Norman is shot in the chaos of everything going on, but the bad guys do leave with the stuff they want. This leaves Bobby in charge of saving Norman’s life while Athena tries to keep an eye on Julian.

However, he attempts to escape, but Athena finds him. By the time she does, though, a bomb that had been placed on the ship goes off, causing everyone to begin evacuation procedures. Athena and Owen find the captain of the ship, who tells Athena where to find the bilge room so she can make sure the ship doesn’t capsize.

Overall thoughts on 9-1-1 7×02

Athena can save the ship with Bobby, who comes to her aid when he finds out what she did. But when they become trapped, they are scared and prepare their final goodbyes to each other. It was such a heartbreaking scene to watch. They love each other so much and did not want to die without the other knowing.

Thankfully, the pressure from the water helps them escape their prison, and they make it back to the casino area of the ship. But just as they arrive, the boat is overtaken by a huge wave.

Overall, the episode itself felt jarring in some places.  Especially when we would go from the danger on the ship to the team just going about their business. They don’t know yet that Bobby and Athena are in danger, save for Hen and Maddie.

Hen is feeling like the team doesn’t have her back. It will be a journey to watch in the next episode as everyone begins to find out what happened. They will clearly come together to rescue Bobby and Athena. Because based on previews for the next episode, they will stop at nothing to save their colleagues and friends.

9-1-1 Season 7 started strong, and we’re looking forward to seeing how the remaining eight episodes turn out! You can also catch up on the episode on Hulu.