9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 2 Review: When the Boeing Gets Tough…

9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 2, “When the Boeing Gets Tough…” continues the bee-nado saga even though, by our count, there is only one visible bee on the episode. However, the aftermath of their passing is definitely visible and catastrophic.

Just like they have viewers used to, 9-1-1 does a great job of making the airplane catastrophe look as real as possible. Every bit of the plane flying out, the oxygen masks, and the passengers’ fear makes the audience feel how extreme and desperate the situation is.

But truth be told if you found yourself in that situation, you too would want Athena Grant flying the plane and the 118 on the phone guiding you through what to do.

The flight attendant telling Athena this must be her lucky day for making it to the plane as they are closing the doors and the little kid knowing everything about the plane are clear signs of everything about to go wrong.

Even though 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 1, “Buzzkill,” ended with the hole in the plane and the captain flying out, one could have never imagined how intense things were about to get.

As chaotic as this episode is, it depicts everything that is going on extremely well. Multiple things happen at the same time, but it never becomes overwhelming.

The truth is that the calmness that Chimney and Hen are able to convey over the phone while helping the passengers helps keep viewers calm as well.

We’ve seen Athena go through hell and back multiple times, so we know the passengers (and viewers, too) are in good hands. Like Bobby says when he discovers she’s flying the plane, “What else would she be doing?”

Whether some like it or not, the show’s heart is Athena Grant. Of course, the show focuses on the 118 and the meaning of found family, but in the end, it all comes back to her.

Angela Bassett delivers such an incredible, heartbreaking performance that one can not take their eyes away from the screen. If there’s a catastrophe, we know Bassett will give everything of herself to the role.

Athena’s relationship with Bobby ties all of this together. If they weren’t married, the 118 wouldn’t care the way they do now.

Yes, they would have done their job to help get the passengers to the ground safely, but this becomes personal because Athena is on the plane.

There are two very obvious reactions to this. The first is Maddie’s facial expressions when she hears Athena is on the plane. By the way, it makes no sense that Josh doesn’t recognize Athena on the phone.

The second one is Buck’s attitude throughout the episode. All he can think about is making it to Bobby and getting him to his wife.

Athena’s captain mentions that there must be a simple explanation for why they weren’t at the airport and that the sergeant probably has everything under control. This is definitely an understatement, but it helps put things into perspective.

The contrast between the 118 spending the day on the phone helping passengers and Bobby being on set trying to guide actors reminds us how desperately Bobby wants to get back to his old job, particularly when he is clearly falling asleep on set.

Bobby’s ultimate FU to being on set is stealing the prop truck to find his wife. Maybe this and Gerrard’s injury will finally get him back where he belongs.

But before he gets to that, we know he will do everything in his power to save Athena. After all, these two characters have spent a big part of 9-1-1 finding their way back to each other and keeping one another safe.

Their relationship keeps the 9-1-1 wheels turning and viewers happy.

The last episode of the bee-nado is coming up, and we wonder how many more bees we’ll get to see. Even though this storyline has been great, it is disappointing that the bees have lost the importance they first had.

For a storyline that promoted the bee-nado so heavily, we’re missing the bee count. What happened to those 14+ million bees that were still out there?

Hopefully, the final episode of the saga will wrap everything up nicely.

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What did you think of this episode of 9-1-1? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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9-1-1 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.

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