9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 7 Review: Hotshots

Whenever the show decides to focus on Bobby and Athena, fans know they are in for a good time. In that respect, 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 7, “Hotshots” is a hit.

However, the nature of some of the storytelling feels a bit off and doesn’t quite have the proper build-up. Especially when it comes to Brad and the dynamic of the in-show show, Hotshots.

Do we get Athena being a damn good cop, despite an injury? Yes. Do we get Bobby being a rational and reasonable foil to others? Yes. And yet, we find ourselves less than impressed with the bigger picture.

Athena Becomes a Mentor

Let’s start with the Athena half of the episode. At the start, she’s working a sting operation, which feels very normal, but then things quickly turn sideways.

Not only does Athena pull a hamstring in pursuit of a suspect (which is a great story plot, but we’ll get into that in a bit), but she also does a very over-the-top speech to the suspect while he’s standing right in front of her instead of cuffing him first. This isn’t typical for her, which puts a bit of a sour taste into the rest of this plot point.

Athena has always been a character who speaks her mind and throws fantastic speeches in the face of suspects. Only, she typically does so once they are officially in her custody. 

It makes sense that the writers did things this way to have her chase down Flash Rob, an action that leads to an injury. After all, Athena has been on the job for a couple of decades, she isn’t getting any younger.

It’s a storyline that needs to be addressed and should be addressed, considering she’s no longer a spring chicken. However, it shouldn’t come at the expense of Athena’s typical character behavior.

Thankfully, that is the only element of 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 7, “Hotshots,” that doesn’t mesh with the rest of Athena’s arc. From that point on, Athena is her usual brash, observant, experienced self especially concerning Sparks.

I won’t get too much into the whole out-of-control, over-eager cop storyline because, honestly, it’s something we see enough of in real life. Sparks’ quick downfall from department hero to accidentally shooting a woman as an unnecessarily aggressive cop is a bit too real for even my tastes.

That being said, I find it interesting that the writers chose to go with a plot point such as this just to prove Athena’s assessment that Sparks is a loose cannon on the verge of causing a problem. There are so many ways the show could’ve shown Sparks isn’t ready to be on patrol without landing on an overly aggressive cop with a quick trigger finger.

At least they chose to make the victim a belligerent white woman refusing to follow clearly stated laws instead of it being a case of a Black person being targeted unnecessarily. Hooray for small victories, I guess.

Bobby and Brad — The Awkward Continues

Despite Athena’s portion of the episode being a bit off, it is nothing compared to the Bobby portions. From the start, 9-1-1 decides to have the 118 respond to a mishap on the set of Brad’s, the overzealous actor from the premiere arc, TV show. 

That would be fine in itself, but very quickly, things get weird. Brad, from the kickoff, seems very invested in Bobby’s presence on set. That isn’t what’s weird, it’s what comes after the emergency call that has us scratching our heads at the purpose of it all.

The Department Chief telling Bobby that Brad has requested him to come back to his position on the set, replacing Gerrard and that the department is encouraging it is red flag number one. Why is the set of a TV show able to have that much sway with the LAFD?

The flimsy excuse that this TV show donates a ton of money to the department kind of harkens back to the mess with the Councilwoman only a month or so ago (not sure of show timeline here). Unless, of course, the writers are setting up some further exploration of how the LAFD is easily swayed, this part of the plot feels out of left field.

Moving on from this, we have the biggest head-scratcher of the episode: Gerrard falling apart in Bobby’s arms. Gerrard is a very unemotional type of firefighter; this has been well-established since he was first introduced in the flashback episode, 9-1-1 Season 2 Episode 12, “Chimney Begins.” 

When he starts to get emotional about nobody wanting him and feeling like he always comes second fiddle to Bobby, I check out. Honestly, it’s jarring and completely pulls the viewer away from credibly believing whatever storyline is being cooked up.

I wish I could say the episode evens out from there, but it doesn’t. In a very cartoon villain fashion, Brad’s character evolves into someone who is extremely rude to people who serve him while being overly attached to Bobby.

It’s a very weird juxtaposition that turns what could be a very serious and dramatic character development into a clown show. Bobby ends up blowing up at Brad, calling him a “limey,” which feels like he himself is reading from a script instead of being himself.

Maybe the writers were trying to lean into acting as though 9-1-1 has now become a show within a show. Unfortunately, the moment really doesn’t land and pulls viewers out of the plot even further. 

Obviously, the after-effect of the team teasing Bobby about going viral on TikTok is very in line with who the 118 are. And in fact, it’s what saves this whole Brad situation from being so ridiculous, even by show standards. 

Brad shadowing the 118 while his character is in a coma means we aren’t quite done with Brad yet. And I have a sinking feeling he’s going to create some not-so-savory situations in the near future.

At the end of the day, we can’t complain about the weirdness of this episode too much because we do get an episode that is almost exclusively focused on our favorite badass couple: Bathena.

Stray Thoughts

• Buck is now an established crisis baker. Like father, like son. 
• Tell me why it’s hilarious that Eddie and Hen antagonize Buck by taking his phone away instead of letting him text or call Tommy.
• We love Uncle Buck, especially when he gets to bake with Jee-Yun. 
• After years, the Hen and Athena friendship chats have returned from the war. It was so good getting to see them sit down with a glass of wine and chat about their lives

 

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

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

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

Follow us on X and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!