No one expects Athena to move on from the events of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 15 so quickly. She helplessly watched her husband die between a glass window. How can someone just swallow that and continue with their life? In true Athena fashion, she shuts down by burying herself in her work. She takes up a case investigating the possible kidnapping of a baby that allegedly happened during a fire that Bobby’s team was called to several years ago. It’s a case close to home — not because Bobby was involved, but because Athena sees herself as the grieving mother.
Ever watched 9-1-1 and felt like you were peeling back layers of emotional complexity beneath the sirens and high-stakes rescues? Yeah, same here. Especially when it comes to Athena Grant. She’s not just a badass cop — she’s a symbol of strength, trauma, resilience, and sometimes… the inability to move forward.
The show recently dropped a symbolic subplot that hit like a ton of bricks. Athena isn’t just stuck because of circumstance — she’s stuck because the past refuses to let her go. Let’s dive into this symbolic arc and how it brilliantly weaves deeper themes into a fast-paced drama.
The inclusion of this subplot is tonally a bit off. There’s some goofiness to the way 9-1-1 approaches the mother projecting her grief onto a boy she believes was taken from her. And given that this episode is a sendoff to Bobby, the storyline doesn’t always fit Athena’s mourning period. But in the end, it does bestow one of the best performances Angela Bassett has given on 9-1-1. It’s already been said enough that Bassett is worthy of every award possible, but to give this type of anguished performance that’s conflicted between anger and sadness is a gift, particularly on a procedural series.
9-1-1 Tries to Establish a Show Without Bobby Nash
The Series Future Looks Incomplete, Yet Also Full of Potential. Once Athena tells the mother that her baby was not stolen and really did tragically die in the house fire, it allows Athena the closure she needs to put Bobby to rest. The funeral scene is beautifully done, honoring Bobby as a firefighter, mentor, husband and father. The episode perfectly ends with Athena, May and Harry flying out to Minnesota to bury Bobby next to his former wife and children. “You’re home now, baby,” Athena tells Bobby, kneeling next to his casket.
So now that Bobby is six feet under (a nod to Krause’s superb role on the HBO series of the same name), what happens to 9-1-1? How does everyone just go about their normal lives? What’s weird about this episode is that the only people given ample time to mourn are Athena and Chimney for obvious reasons, but that two-week time jump means viewers aren’t privileged to see how Buck, Eddie, Hen and May initially cope with the loss. The deprivation of time results in a strange effect where it feels like they don’t care as much as they actually should.
But more importantly, how does this affect Athena’s storyline? Female characters don’t always need men to carry and support their stories, but Bobby has always been a staple in her arc. Without him, where does she go from here? As long as Bassett is game to see Athena through this troubling time, she’ll be around. But when 9-1-1 ultimately wants to move on for good, it may just be a matter of time until 9-1-1’s other starring lead takes a final bow too — and then the show will be in even more trouble.
Athena’s symbolic subplot in 9-1-1 wasn’t just about solving a mystery — it was about facing one. The mystery of herself, her wounds, and her inability to let go. It’s a powerful reminder that the past doesn’t knock — it barges in, and it stays until you deal with it. This kind of storytelling doesn’t just entertain — it connects. And in a world full of noise, that’s what makes 9-1-1 something special.
