The 118 of 9-1-1 has been edging towards collapse since the death of Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) three episodes ago. It’s fitting, then, that the finale begins with an explosion that sends a high-rise (and its residents) into free fall.
As we saw in the closing moments of last week’s episode, Athena (Angela Bassett) finds herself outside an apartment complex when a massive explosion rips through it. Moments before, she broke up a fight between Graham (Sam Roach), the supermarket shopping cart monitor from episode 8, and Donnie (Adam Hagenbuch), who claimed Graham stole his girlfriend’s underwear.
The beginning of the finale reveals that the explosion originated in the laundry room, where Graham was trying to declare his innocence to Donnie and Crystal (Destiny Hernandez). And it’s strong enough to rattle the building’s foundation, collapsing floors and throwing concrete and rebar in every direction.
What follows is a harrowing rescue mission bringing together every member of 118. As they work to navigate the rubble and rescue the trapped residents, they’re forced to reckon with the lingering traumas of Bobby’s passing, as well as their team’s uncertain future. So, where does the 118 stand at season 8’s end? Did we find out who the new captain will be? And can Athena and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) ever repair their relationship? Read on as we unpack the 9-1-1 season 8 finale.
Who survived the Newton collapse? Somehow, everybody did. Captain Gerrard (Brian Thompson) informs the team that there were zero fatalities among the more than 300 residents of the Newton complex. “That’s the hand of God, and your hands,” he insists.
This is surprising given the severity of the collapse, though there were several close calls. Buck (Oliver Stark) and Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody) find themselves trapped with an elderly resident after a shift in the building destroys their exit path. Eddie (Ryan Guzman), who shows up to help despite having quit the team, saves the day with a zip line that can carry them to safety.
In the laundry room, Athena finds Donnie and Graham trapped under rubble. Donnie is bleeding out due to a torn artery, and Graham helps keep him alive by applying pressure to the wound. Chim works with Athena to keep Donnnie alive with an IV, but they’re imperiled when, like Buck and Ravi, their exit is blocked by falling debris.
Hen (Aisha Hinds), Buck, Ravi, and Eddie clear a path for them by drilling through the concrete. After ferrying an ailing Donnie to safety, they free Graham only to find that he’s been impaled by a piece of rebar and is bleeding internally. “Why didn’t you say anything?” Athena asks. He says that he knew he was dying, but that Donnie had a chance to survive. He may be obnoxious, but he has a generous spirit.
His sacrifice reminds both Athena and Chim of Bobby’s death (more on that shortly), and Chim, whom Bobby died to save, is determined to help Graham live. It’s not looking good at first, but the team is able to bring the cart cop (and alleged underwear thief) back from the brink of death.
How does the finale address Bobby’s death?
Bobby’s death, which found the 118 captain sacrificing himself to save Chim, has haunted the last three episodes in different ways. It’s killed the convivial spirit of the 118, led Buck to consider a transfer, and stirred an existential crisis in Chim, who’s suffering from a healthy dose of survivor’s guilt.
“They all have fallout, but Chimney in particular,” showrunner Tim Minear previously told Entertainment Weekly. “Chimney was the guy who way back in season 1, Bobby shared his origin story with: ‘I’m going to check out once I’ve saved this amount of people and fill up this book.’ Chimney was the guy who kind of pushed him toward maybe continuing to live, not just suffer. And now here’s Chimney alive because Bobby isn’t. So that’s going to have a particular ramification for him.” But it’s obviously Bobby’s widow, Athena, who’s hurting the most. Though she knows it’s not Chim’s fault, she admitted last week that she can’t ever see her reconciling with him. “Whenever I look at him, I see the man who isn’t here,” she said.
They’re forced to work together again during the Newton collapse, and Graham’s sacrifice triggers something in both of them. For Athena, it demonstrates the immense amount of bravery and love it took for Bobby to do what he did. And for Chim, it instilled a desire in him to fight that much harder for those he loves.
