911 is now well into its seventh season, following the first responders of Los Angeles with a star-studded cast. Season 7 began on March 14, taking the audience on yet another siren-filled ride, and the penultimate episode is next.
The most recent season has been digging into the film archives it seems for much of its inspiration. From Athena and Bobby’s Poseidon cruise ship disaster to Chimney’s bachelor party that seemed like it would mirror the antics of The Hangover (before it got much, much darker), this season has been just as crazy and jam-packed with drama and action as we have come to expect from the show. We’ve seen Hen and Karen’s blended family get bigger, Chimney and Maddie tie the knot, Buck and Tommy finally kiss, and Eddie’s relationship stranded on the rocks.
The most recent episode—episode 8, “Step Nine”—focused on Bobby and the part of his past that continues to haunt him. We are introduced to Amir, a nurse who sustained horrific burns due to a fire that originated in Bobby’s apartment back in Minnesota; a fire that killed Bobby’s wife and kids and Amir’s wife as well. Upon discovering this connection, Bobby sets out to make amends as is part of his Alcoholics Anonymous program (hence the title, “Step Nine”). Those amends get rather out of hand, as Bobby and Amir are stranded in the desert.
As 911 is wont to do, the episode is heavy with flashbacks, taking us back to Bobby’s childhood and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his alcoholic father. We see Bobby deal with the memories of his father’s death, which he believes he could have prevented had he not been listening to his Walkman on full blast to drown out the noise of his father’s abuse. It allows the audience to better understand Bobby’s character, but can he move on from this, or will it continue to haunt him?
Episode 9
The next episode is titled “Ashes, Ashes” and premieres on ABC on May 23, 8 PM ET. The episode continues to explore how Bobby is holding on to his past, unable to take on the mantle of hero that the city is honoring him—and other colleagues—with for their efforts on the cruise ship disaster. Bobby is unable to let go though, and it seems like this potentially will come back to bite him in the ass.
Athena seems to be teaming up with Hen, Chimney, and Maddie in order to help her husband, but will they get to him in time? With this serving as the penultimate episode, we have to wonder whether the events of this episode will come to an end or lead into the finale. With an eighth season greenlit already, we are sure they can leave some storylines loose to build suspense for the next season.
