9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 14 Review: Sick Day

It has been multiple seasons since an episode has left us this breathless and anxious to see its conclusion. That is until 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 14, “Sick Day,” which starts a two-part story arc centered on a contagion outbreak.

Seeing the firefighters start the episode in a happy place leads us to believe that the previews have just been hyping everything up. Chim and Maddie celebrate their new baby with Jee, Hen, Karen, Denny, and Mara. Bobby and Athena show off their new house floorplan to the kids, and Buck reassures Ravi about his abilities as a firefighter. 

This is to lull us into a sense of ease before the real crisis starts, but it does very little to prepare us for the emotions we face. After all, nothing can prepare us for Buck’s heartbroken “118, Call Out!”

Happiness Is What We Will Hold Onto

Honestly, those opening scenes with the team celebrating the good things in their lives and then transitioning to being united at the scene of an MVA are heartwarming. In fact, they are so heartwarming that we almost forget this is the first part of a two-part thrilling storyline.

It’s so great to see Maddie and Chim hanging out with Hen and Karen and the kids joking about the gender reveal. Of course, all the adults already know the gender, but Jee wanted to do a reveal cake, which ends up the wrong color. 

In the grand scheme of things, this is small potatoes, but it is necessary to balance out the episode. If the writers had presented us with nothing but emergencies and then this big contagion situation, viewers would feel like it is all too much.

Sure, it is still too much, but those happy moments help to ease our minds a little bit. They are the ray of hope we hold onto. And it’s almost certain that Athena is holding onto her memory of showing May and Harry her and Bobby’s new house plan. 

Joy in the midst of tragedy is necessary to give people hope of coming out the other side. Right now, Bobby, Ravi, Chim, and Hen are trapped in a ticking time bomb that only Athena and Buck can stop.

You can bet when Buck hears Ravi stand up and say he’s going to help all of them, he’s thinking of how, just the night before, Ravi was contemplating quitting. It’s a major step forward for the young firefighter and most certainly gives Buck hope that they will get through this.

Buck, Athena, and Maddie Defy The Odds

If there is one thing we know, without a shadow of a doubt, about Athena Grant, it is that she will always break the rules for the people she loves. Her husband and best friend are trapped below ground with a dangerous virus; you can bet she will walk through fire to save them.

In addition, we see her implicitly trust in Buck’s talents, a far cry from their position during 9-1-1 Season 1 Episode 1, “Pilot.” It’s so beautiful to see their growth take center stage as they handle a crisis.

While they might be the eyes and ears on the scene, Maddie is holding down the fort from the Dispatch Center. Despite her obvious distress regarding Chim being infected with the virus, she handles her own, does research, and tries to find alternate ways out.

All three of these characters have to fight back their emotions in order to stay level-headed. Of course, Buck is the least level-headed of them, but his spiral is actually an asset because he’s that much more determined to do whatever it takes.

Honestly, it’s heartbreaking to hear Buck spin out when he realizes that he won’t be able to return and save his team. This is a character with abandonment issues who has finally started to feel stable in the friendships he holds dear.

And now they are all in danger of dying. That gives him a free pass to spin out a bit. And, of course, Oliver Stark handles each of these nuances with ease, showing his deep love and appreciation for Buck as a character.

Going back to Athena for a second, please tell me I wasn’t the only one who got chills from Angela Bassett. Her delivery of “You didn’t think I was coming here to ask for permission, did you?” is iconic beyond words. That’s our Sergeant Grant!

Even though we don’t get a rescue by the end of the episode, we can definitely bet on these three pulling out an amazing rescue next week.

The 118 Will Always Be a Team

The most heartbreaking part of this episode, of which there are many, is Bobby realizing they are in it alone and Hen is dying. This is where we see the leadership of Bobby, but also of Chim.

Chim has been exposed to the contagion, which, as far as they all know, has an incubation period of a few days, but that doesn’t stop him from taking charge to keep Hen alive.

Unfortunately, when Maddie reminds him he might’ve been exposed, Chim realizes while he might be the most qualified, he needs to relinquish control to his team. It’s a moment of trust from a man who doesn’t give that away too often. 

Instead, he isolates himself and gives orders to Ravi and Bobby, trusting that his knowledge is going to be enough to get them through. It’s a level of leadership we rarely get to see with him and one he deserves to be acknowledged for.

In addition, Kenneth Choi’s very visible emotional acting is reflected in everything Chim does and says. It takes this anxiety-inducing moment to another level.

He knows he might be dying and that his best friend is dying, and there is nothing he can directly do to help her. When Choi’s voice breaks as Chim tells Maddie, “Hey, honey, I’m not sure I’ll be home in time for dinner. I caught a little bug at the office.” it brings tears to our eyes.

This is a monumental episode in terms of emotional stakes but also the acting talents of everyone involved. We feel for these characters because Bassett, Hewitt, Stark, Choi, Krause, Hinds, and Pisharody are giving their all and then some.

Stray Thoughts:

• It’s nice to see May and Harry for the first time in forever.
• Moira Blake is so infuriating. What do you mean you released a contagion and then stole the cure?
• Maddie’s sigh of relief when Chim responded to the request for the 118 to sound off is all of us with each of them.
• I’m not sure my heart can take it if any of them die in the next part.

 

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

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