9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 15 Review: Lab Rats

*This review contains spoilers. Be sure to watch the episode before you continue reading!

It is never easy to say goodbye to one of your own. And 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 15, “Lab Rats,” reminds us of this with one of the biggest sacrifices the show has ever seen. 

While our first reactions are obvious tears and disbelief, denial and anger are also mixed in there. After all, some of the best character deaths are done in a way that makes us feel like we are losing a close family member.

These characters are the ones that bring us back week after week. They help us find our way in a world that isn’t always easy to navigate.

Athena and Buck Take Down Blake

Before we discuss the symbolism and emotional weight of losing Bobby Nash, let’s examine Athena and Buck’s race against time.

First and foremost, Athena Grant is serving every second of this episode as she works against the government to save the people who matter the most to her. Despite knowing Buck is a loose cannon, she brings him along with her.

Her reasoning is completely sound; to be honest, if she leaves Buck out of her sight, he is likely to let his emotions get the better of him. When the episode starts, you think these moments of sleuthing are going to be the major moments to talk about with this episode, but looking back now, it’s weird to say that they are small potatoes, considering.

That doesn’t mean these moments aren’t well-orchestrated and necessary. One of the things that fans love about Athena is that she doesn’t back down from a fight. And boy, does she fight til the bitter end.

Even in the mess of trying to get the cure from downtown back to the lab with the FBI and military on her tail, Athena has time to question Buck’s choices. She clocks that his exit strategy is his boyfriend, err, we mean ex-boyfriend, as Buck quickly points out.

It’s a moment of levity in what is about to be an extremely heavy back half of the episode. Athena is extremely composed, which makes her final scenes with Bobby, where she is fighting the urge to break apart, that much more noticeable.

The 118 is Disjointed at The Worst Moment

Before I explore what works about Bobby’s demise, I want to point out some glaring issues throughout the episode, especially in those final moments.

The best thing about 9-1-1 is the found family element, which reminds us that family doesn’t always have to be blood. One of the hardest parts about this death is that the entire team is in various places, and not all of them are even in L.A.

It’s understandable that sometimes, goodbye scenes aren’t the whole team with that person, especially on first responder shows. The lack of goodbye for some characters gives fuel to keep moving the narrative forward.

One of the biggest ones that comes to mind for me is when Otis died on Chicago Fire Season 8 Episode 1, “Sacred Ground.” The whole crew was at the hospital but only Cruz really got a meaningful goodbye.

The difference here is that Eddie, who looked up to Bobby as his mentor and the father he never had, is stuck in El Paso. Even more sickening is the interview Tim Minear did post-episode, which states we won’t even get to see Eddie finding out on screen. 

That itself is like a slap in the face to the longtime fans. This show has been going strong for eight seasons because people can relate to the connectedness of the 118. So many fans flock to this team because they, too, are misfits in search of a family.

It’s hard to see Ravi, Hen, and Chim unable to say their final goodbyes to Bobby, but they at least get to be in the same area. Even still, the death isn’t perfect by any means because Bobby might’ve felt he said his goodbyes, but none of his trapped teammates knew that’s what these moments were.

Trying to Make Sense of Bobby’s Choice

As a huge fan of 9-1-1, I can completely understand that this episode’s final moments ruined the whole show for some fans. Yes, for eight seasons this show has been silly and defied logic in terms of survival. 

It’s an element of the show that everyone loves. It’s why 9-1-1 is so important to the fans and why we still enjoyed it even when the writing was at its worst (looking at you, Seasons 5 and 6). 

That said, expecting that everyone is going to make it out alive is exactly why this death hits the episode so hard. We aren’t expecting it, especially not from Bobby. The writers have shown us time and time again that everyone survives everything.

And sure, that logic has sustained the show, but at the end of the day they haven’t ever had an emergency before that could actually kill members of the team no matter how you look at it.

Bobby Nash is a character who, from Season 1 to present, has felt he was living on borrowed time due to the events that killed his family. In fact, 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 9, “Ashes Ashes,” felt like he was giving everyone the goodbyes they deserved before he died.

So, to have him die a whole season later feels like whiplash and a disservice to the character, and in some ways, it is. However, Bobby knows his air is compromised, so he does what he can to keep his team (who are visibly hurt and infected) calm. 

All because he knows that between him and Chim, the latter is the one who needs the cure more. They both have things to lose, but Bobby knows he’s lived a good, long life, and Chim’s is only just getting started.

Despite some writing choices not being ideal, Bobby’s death is the kind of death that truly encapsulates who he is as a character. It hurts so much because it’s the only way we could see Bobby dying — in the place of the ones he loves.

Oh Captain, My Captain

Now, let’s look at what I absolutely loved in terms of Bobby’s final moments. Fans can harp on the show all they want, but looking at the writing and acting from an objective standpoint for these final scenes, it is all very well done.

The emotion on Buck’s face when he turns around to discover that Bobby isn’t leaving with everyone else will probably haunt me for weeks to come. That immediate shift from relief to despair is so well acted on Oliver Stark’s part, and Peter Krause, for that matter. 

Here is a father and son having to face the reality that one of them isn’t going to make it out this time. As captain of the 118, Bobby Nash will always make sure he is the first one to die if it means his team gets to survive. 

What hurts the most about these initial moments with Buck and Bobby is that Bobby spends his time reassuring Buck. In previous moments on the show, Buck has told Bobby he doesn’t know what he’d do without him.

So, what does Bobby do in his moment of death? He tells Buck that he loves him and that Buck will get through this. Sure, it’s going to be tough and heartbreaking, but he will manage everything with a strength Bobby has always known Buck to have.

Then, his insistence that Buck leave and not allow anyone else to come back in is another moment where Bobby reminds us who he is. Krause nails the emotional nuances of Bobby’s unspoken words with a level of talent that just adds to the overall devastation this episode brings. 

He doesn’t say it, but we can tell that he doesn’t want his son to see him die. He wants to protect Buck one last time while he still can. 

Bobby and Athena are Eternal

If Buck’s devastation is heartbreaking, then Athena’s is earth-shattering. This is a woman who is coming back into the building, unaware that she’s being called back because the love of her life is dying. 

Bobby says all the things we want him to say to her in this moment. He reminds her that he loves her and that he doesn’t want to leave her like this. That he doesn’t have a choice.

He knows that he could be selfish and leave quarantine, potentially exposing everyone to a virus that they have no cure for, but he doesn’t. Instead, he reminds Athena that her saying yes to his date request gave him seven more years of living.

She gave him something to live for.

Holding each other’s hands through the glass for as long as Bobby can handle gives Angela Bassett and Krause the opportunity to really flex their acting muscles. There are no words, just emotions and love.

Despite Bobby’s insistence that she leave, too, Athena reminds him that she promised to be with him through all of it. Once again, this writing choice really highlights what makes this couple so damn good. 

There is the argument that it is cruel and evil for the writers to rip another love from Athena’s arms, but that’s life. Sometimes people lose multiple loved ones in their lives. 

And yes, this show has never been realistic or followed logic, but maybe after all these years, they should have a moment of realism.

Stray Thoughts:

• The camera cutting to Tommy’s reaction to watching Buck break down is a major slap in the face, considering we could have had Eddie there instead.
• Looking back, there were signs that Bobby knew: he was okay talking about his kids, he pretended to add oxygen to his tank, and his sign reading “Get My People Out” instead of a statement that encompasses him as well.
• How the show survives beyond this point depends on the next three episodes and much of Season 9 as well.

 

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

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