9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 17 Review: Don’t Drink the Water
The mood of 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 17, “Don’t Drink the Water,” is set from the beginning. A flashback takes us from the 118 as a family eating together to a lonely Buck sitting at the same table eating solo.
The lighting of the scenes is also a clear indicator of what’s going on. While Bobby was alive, the light was bright and sunny because he was the sun, the center of the team. Now, everything is dark and cloudy as the sun has lost its light.
It is also telling that the scene changes from everyone together to Buck alone. He feels he is experiencing the grief of losing Bobby alone because of how strong their bond was, and how different everyone is processing his loss. But just because everyone goes through grief differently, it doesn’t mean they don’t miss Bobby just as much.
For Buck, missing Bobby pushes him to do things out of his comfort zone, like going in for confession. Even though he isn’t a religious person, he believes turning to something that was so rooted in Bobby might bring him closer to the man he lost.
This is completely normal. Even though some would expect Buck to have a more passionate (so to speak) reaction to losing Bobby, it makes sense that he is silently navigating this new reality. It seems he is still not able to fully comprehend what life is like without Bobby.
But the truth is that it happens because he is trying to make good on his promise to Bobby to be there for the team. He can’t be there for a team still processing the loss on their own terms. While they are still a family, they are different people, and grief looks different on everyone.
However, Eddie’s reaction to go off on Buck is completely wrong. It does make sense in the dynamic of their friendship. The two of them are explosive people (one way or another), and instead of talking things out, they explode at the worst time.
But Eddie realizes his mistake and brings Christopher home because he knows that is what Buck needs. Buck needs the feeling of family to know that even though Bobby is gone, he hasn’t lost his family.
Because grief is different for everyone, Athena’s reaction to Chimeny is normal, too.
She makes it clear that she can’t be in the same room as him, leaving as soon as he steps into Hen’s house. She tells Karen exactly how she feels every time she sees Chimney. Even though she understands he isn’t to blame, the anger is still there.
However, that anger makes sense because she cannot be angry at Bobby. She said it before the funeral, she feels as if Bobby chose to leave her. But because he is gone and she can’t take out her anger on him, she takes it on the next person she can connect to his death, and sadly, that’s Chimney.
It is great to see that while Karen can understand her anger, she doesn’t hesitate to remind Athena that they are all still family. What Chimney is trying to do is protect Athena like Bobby would have protected Maddie had Chimney died. But as Maddie puts it, he needs to give Athena enough time to process what happened.
The upcoming season finale sets the stage for them to face one another without escape. Hopefully, it will allow both of them to heal what broke the day Bobby died. Not because they need to move on so quickly, but because it would be easier to go through the grief together.
Even though they are nowhere near where they used to be and the dynamics of the 118 will never be the same without Bobby, the end of 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 17, “Don’t Drink the Water,” gives us that feeling that they’re all starting to remember they are indeed a family. Gerard’s smile when they come up with a plan together is a clear tell of that.
Hen’s refusal of the promotion is also a sign. While she claims it’s all because she likes to be hands-on, it would have also been really hard to step into Bobby’s shoes and have to lead the team when she knows what they lost.
It’ll be interesting to see how they continue to heal into 9-1-1 Season 9 and what happens when a new captain takes Bobby’s place.
What did you think of this episode of 9-1-1? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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9-1-1 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature who works in PR. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). You can find her work published on Eulalie Magazine, Geek Girl Authority, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.