9-1-1 Season Finale Review: A Whole New You (Season 1 Episode 10)

The word finale means the close or termination of something; an ending. For 9-1-1 Season 1 Episode 10, “A Whole New You,” finale means new beginnings.

All season long we have watched the wonderfully complex members of the LAPD, LAFD, and 9-1-1 dispatch grow and come together. It’s been a journey that could’ve either culminated in the characters stagnating or continuing to move ever forward.

Buck: You’re not leaving anything behind. You are moving toward something.

Lucky for the loyal viewers, 9-1-1 goes with the latter. We get to watch as all the ones we know and love find peace with their struggles and use them to create a new path in life.

Once again the show focuses more on the lives of our first responders as they use their cases to push them past whatever barriers they’ve found in their personal lives.

At first, it seems that Chimney is just going to be a background presence like so many episodes before. Then in the final moments, we get to see him seemingly take his patient’s words to heart.

He has an opportunity to live again, and based on the glances he and that girl are exchanging, it is safe to assume he takes a leap of faith.

Chimney got a bit of the short end of the stick this season, but it’s our hope that it’s due largely in part to his accident. There is awesome and strength buried beneath his surface.

I hope that season 2 chooses to explore that a bit more. I’d hate for him to become “the sidekick” when he clearly deserves the title of “hero” as much as anyone else.

Bobby: Once you get out of your own way you see everything and everyone in a whole new light.

Bobby deserves the chance to smile. He deserves to live and love again. Watching him go through the motions of his job all season long is what keeps us invested in his happiness.

We see all his vulnerabilities and pain. We see that he just needs to find someone or something to love again. Only then will he truly be able to let go of the overwhelming guilt and shame he carries inside.

The scene where his team finds out about his online profile is the kind of heartwarming love I am talking about. He deserves many moments that make him laugh and smile so genuinely.

Alternatively, watching him break down as the man died saying “I love you, son” to his kid also shows how much Bobby puts into the job. Every day he gives his team 110%, but who gives him the same?

Seeing Bobby’s growth throughout the season has been really fun and exciting. Of all the characters, Bobby has definitely grown and changed the most. He has gone from being sad all the time, working to avoid the pain to facing his pain head on and making a change.

Let’s hope his budding romance with Athena turns out to be good for both of them.

Athena: As long as your children live here. Those locks aren’t gonna change.

Talk about a hard road to happiness. Athena is a strong woman, as her name suggests. She has proven that time and time again, both on the job and off.

Knowing how complicated and messy Athena and Michael were at the beginning of the season made their exchange that much more poignant and moving. They have come so far for the sake of their children.

I truly believe that Athena learning to work through her hurt and anger at Michael is what gets them to this place. If she still harbored ill feelings towards Michael, there is no way either of them could be civil to each other or happy in their separate lives.

Athena is learning what it means to be herself. She has lived her life for her children and Michael for so long, she forgot herself. Now that she is aware she’s testing all the unknown waters.

While the Athena and Bobby pairing sort of throws me for a loop, I’m not upset it happens. Looking at who they are separately we can see just how perfect for each other they are.

Both have similar backgrounds. They know what it’s like to be parents. They both have lost the one big relationship in their lives. They are both looking for a new beginning.

Hopefully, season 2 will allow this pairing to spread their wings a bit more and test themselves a bit.

Abby: I gotta do this so that I know I have something to give.

Abby. My sweet Abby.

At the beginning of the season, I indicated that I hoped she would learn how to be Abby the individual. Well, she has.

It’s really sad that it took her mom dying for her to entirely reach that point. Sure, Buck helped her along a bit, but her mom’s death really pushed her past the barrier.

Going to Dublin will be good for her. She will be able to get away from all the responsibilities and ties to her old self. In Dublin, Abby will be able to freely explore who she is and who she wants to be.

It will allow her to reclaim her identity.

In the past, I would’ve said that Buck and Abby’s relationship won’t survive a separation like this. However, after “A Whole New You,” I am completely confident that they will be just fine.

Buck isn’t the scared kid he once was. He’s committed to her and only her. It’s really admirable.

Buck: I am excited for you. Almost as much as I am sad for me.

For a moment, that first woman showing up and getting angry with Buck for ghosting her had me worried. It made me wonder if Buck was not a fully committed to Abby as he had shown the last few episodes.

However, when more and more girls show up to complain, I realize it isn’t him they are mad about. Buck is a victim of good ole catfishing. What’s even sadder is Buck is the one who has to discover his catfisher’s dead body.

This in and of itself is a moment of growth for Buck. At the beginning of the season, Buck wouldn’t have thought twice about being showy for the cameras. Yet, now he sees the man and decides to show him a bit of compassion and dignity.

Season 2 Buck will most definitely be much more mature than Season 1 Buck. The foundation has already been set.

Hen: You must know that I love you.

Karen: I do.

When the show first gave us the Hen and Karen cheating storyline it was not without scrutiny from many fans. It’s hard enough finding a great LGBT storyline on TV but, to make a great one suddenly veer left and follow the oldest, most tired trope in the book is heartbreaking.

However, 9-1-1 is continuously showing us that we need to have a bit of faith in them. Such is the case for Hen.

Honestly, it’s been a worry in the back of my mind ever since her ex came waltzing back in. Hen is a fierce and loyal friend/female. Her moment of weakness really changes her.

Hen could’ve taken that mistake and used it as a way to throw away her marriage and her family. Yet she stays and fights; further solidifying her as a strong, black woman.

It’s been clear since day one that Hen loves her family. To see this season close with her life beginning anew is like breathing a huge sigh of relief.

Now, let’s just hope that season 2 doesn’t bring with it more unnecessary drama for these two women. Can’t we just have a loving, stable lesbian storyline?

Overall this finale leaves all of us hopeful and ready for the next season to begin. Can it be tomorrow?

What did you think of this episode of 9-1-1? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below! Be sure to check out our review of 9-1-1 Season 1 Episode 9, “Trapped” right here. And our roundtable discussion of 9-1-1 Season 1 Episode 9, “Trapped” right here.

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9-1-1 airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on FOX.

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