Is 9-1-1 about to kill off a main character after seven years? It certainly looked like it at the end of the penultimate episode, “Ashes, Ashes.” Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the 118, the knife just twisted even harder. Let’s go over what happened in 9-1-1 7×09.
The 118 receive medals of valor
The episode started extremely happy. And let’s be honest when an episode does this, it never bodes well. Eddie, Chimney, Hen, Buck, and Tommy all received commendations for their roles in the cruise ship rescue.
Bobby is surprised to learn he is also receiving a medal, but he is not sure if he has earned one. Ever since meeting Amir again, he has been questioning whether he truly is supposed to continue being a firefighter. In fact, he decides to quit without talking to Athena about his plans.
We also met a familiar, though unpleasant, face. Captain Vincent Gerrard had joined the other captains for the ceremony and he made a direct-indirect slur at Tommy. However, Chimney came along to not only stand up for them, but himself when Gerrard brought up the clean floors.
With the tone of the episode for the rest of the scenes, it feels like it’s not the last we’ve seen of Gerrard. Plus, we got another unpleasant surprise in the form of Councilwoman Olivia Ortiz, the woman whose son died after refusing treatment from Chimney and Hen, who was acting Captain at the time.
Hen and Karen’s adoption falls through
One of the most heartbreaking, and frustrating, storylines in this episode involved Hen and Karen. They were supposed to have an adoption hearing to finalize Mara’s adoption. But then they found out that the adoption hearing was no longer happening.
Councilwoman Ortiz clearly had it out for Hen, despite claiming that she did not. She had people look into different calls Hen was on as acting Captain and something went wrong. Ortiz used information such as the death of a young girl named Evelyn to threaten Hen and Karen’s chance of keeping Mara.
This ended with their foster license being revoked and Mara being removed from their home. It was a devastating and heartbreaking scene, one in which we wished we never had to see. This storyline is hard to watch. Hen and Karen did nothing but give Mara a loving home after she had gone through so much trauma.
To see her being ripped away from a family who had loved her and made her feel safe for someone’s gain was a slap in the face. We only hope the finale will see Mara return to a loving environment that made her thrive.
The second you use a child in your form of payback is when you have crossed the line. Mara did nothing wrong and neither did the two women and little boy who just wanted to provide her a loving home.
Hopefully this gets fixed next week because Mara deserved so much better!
Eddie’s Vertigo arc takes a turn
Eddie has continued to see the woman he saw at the store who looked like Shannon. Kim has noticed Eddie has looked at her a lot, but figures he recognizes her from an acting role she was played in. She seems to have picked up on some things about him, but clearly Eddie has been hiding one thing from her.
That is the fact that not only does she look like his deceased wife, but he also has a girlfriend. Although with the way we’ve barely seen Marisol, you’d think that she was invisible at this point.
Eddie was still being secretive about Kim, but that didn’t last long. Buck was leaving work when he spotted a woman in the firehouse. It was Kim, who came to drop off brownies to Eddie. Apparently, he had FaceTimed her from work. Buck was taken aback when he realized she looked like Shannon, but he managed to keep it together.
He went to see Eddie to ask him what was going on. Buck learned that Eddie was just seeing her as a friend, claiming it wasn’t an affair. With the answers he was getting, Buck revealed he was worried about Eddie.
The importance of friendship between Buck and Eddie
This was such a meaningful scene since the two of them have always been able to tell when something was going on. Their friendship has always meant a lot to viewers and this showed how much Buck cared about his friend. He just wanted to be there for him and make sure he was okay.
Eddie was far from okay, though. But he did tell Kim the truth. It freaked her out, and she rightfully decided this needed to end. But then she came back, her hair styled differently to match Shannon’s. She wanted Eddie to say what he needed to say to her as Shannon.
This was such a traumatic moment, but Eddie finally released all of the emotions that he had buried in an attempt to focus on raising his son and not dealing with the pain he had himself. But even though he finally got the release, the moment was interrupted by Marisol and Chris coming home.
The most heartbreaking sound to hear was Christopher saying, “Mom?” All he saw was a woman who looked like his mom, and Eddie looked horrified. Despite trying to protect his son from all of his issues, it came crashing down around him. We can’t imagine what will happen in the next episode for them.
Bobby is in danger in 9-1-1 7×09
When Bobby decided to resign, he was sure about his decision. However, he didn’t tell the team what he was planning. Instead, he essentially passed off knowledge to them, making sure they knew he was confident in their abilities. From Buck cooking food for everyone to Ravi learning the best way to grab the hose, he was ready to say his goodbyes.
He shared a heartwarming scene with Buck, which made it even worse, honestly. Buck and Bobby have always had a special bond, and to see this locker room scene after so many they’ve had before just showed how far they have come since season 1. Buck had no idea Bobby was expressing his last thoughts as captain before Bobby left.
While Bobby was preparing to leave, Athena went to see Amir. She thought since Bobby had originally wanted to talk to him, that maybe somehow he could help Bobby. But it became too much for Amir to see the family that Bobby had made since the fire.
Bobby was upset that Athena involved Amir and they ended up fighting. Athena admitted that while she could never understand what it was like for him to lose his family, she felt like an outsider. He tried to let her in, but there were too many hurt emotions.
Will Bobby survive?
He fell asleep on the couch, where he ended up dreaming about his father. It was almost a way of saying goodbye to the ghost of his dad that haunted him, but then he woke up to a nightmare. His home was on fire. Bobby quickly raced to rescue Athena, who was unconscious in their bedroom.
He managed to get her out on time just as the 133 arrived. But then Bobby fell unconscious, suffering a heart attack. Does this mean Bobby will die?
We certainly hope that Bobby will be okay! The promo makes it look like he won’t be, but we can’t lose our captain! He means so much to the show and the rest of the characters. It would not be the same without him.
Whatever the season 7 finale brings, we hope that it will not end on such a devastating note! The 118 needs their captain and we need him.
Watch 9-1-1 on Thursdays on ABC. Catch up on previous episodes on Hulu.
