9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 18 Review: Seismic Shifts

Ever since the 118 lost Bobby Nash, they’ve been disconnected, grieving alone, and not acting like the family Bobby built them into. That all changes with an, dare I say it, explosive finale on 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 18, “Seismic Shifts.”

From a focused, artfully written emergency that pulls out all the stops and brings everyone together from LAFD, LAPD, and Dispatch to characters stepping up in ways we’ve missed since 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 15, “Lab Rats,” this finale feels like the finales we’ve grown used to.

There is action, heightened emotions, and, in the end, a few snapshots of happiness to really round things up with a nice little bow. That said, it’s not perfect, considering the disconnected season it is bookending, but it does the best it can.

People Are Wanting to Leave the 118 (or LA)

The first time we see the whole team together at the 118 is for Eddie’s goodbye/going away party. He’s accepted the position in El Paso and needs to report there by the next day. 

It’s hard to hear, considering how much we all love Eddie. Especially when we look at how much happier he’s been (generally, underneath all the grief) about being back in Los Angeles with his true family. 

Buck tells the room at large that he’s considering a transfer out of the 118 because the house is just a number now. The shocked and confused looks on everyone’s faces are an exact mirror of what we, the audience, are thinking.

It’s a fascinating way to start the episode because it clearly highlights that these people are no longer thinking like a team. Even Hen has decided not to be the captain, and with Gerrard leaving, they are a ship lost at sea.

This, in turn, perfectly sets up the building collapse emergency. They all need an outside force to push them together with no exit in sight to work through their current hangups.

On 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 16, “May Day,” Eddie was no longer on the team but worked for dispatch. During that episode, a major emergency forced his hand and pushed him back toward the 118, much like the building collapse here.

A Finale Worthy Emergency

Putting aside our feelings about Bobby or particular ships, this emergency had everything we should love from the show. It has characters who aren’t fully on the same page in the outside world, being trapped and forced to work together, a family member coming home to rescue folks, and the team working together to save one victim on the brink of death.

It was terrific to see Athena call out for help and for Chim to answer. Even better was that he decided to do it without Hen there to run interference should he need it.

This moment, in particular, shows that Chim is going to do whatever he can to save Athena, even if she doesn’t want him to. Luckily, Athena knows what it takes to get the job done when the stakes are stacked against you. 

These two work together in a way that reminds us why we fell in love with 9-1-1 in the first place. These characters have always been close and leaned on one another as any family would do, but without Bobby, they haven’t been.

We needed this emergency to bring everyone out of their solitary grief and remind them that they’re a family because Bobby taught them how. That becomes even more apparent when Eddie comes barreling in and takes charge to get all of his team home safely.

There is something to be said about Eddie’s later decision to stay, but we’ll get into that in a bit. 

When Eddie looks Gerrard in the face and tells him that he learned from Bobby that there is always another way, it is a beautiful nod to the man they’ve lost. It’s also a wonderful callback to “May Day” because it shows that despite what Eddie thinks is the right decision, he finds that his place is actually where he was before, the 118.

When the team works together to rescue Athena, Chim, and the two victims, it’s a breath of fresh air after the tumultuous and often disconnected season we’ve just endured. Season 8 had many periods where that found family dynamic just wasn’t there. 

This is a reminder that perhaps the writers haven’t forgotten this key element of the show after all. It’s also a bit of a reset for most of the team, who are still feeling like they can’t do their jobs because they weren’t able to save Bobby.

The Final Moments Feel Good and Rushed All at Once

First and foremost, I need to give Kenneth Choi his flowers. That speech after the emergency was so beautifully stated and performed. It truly felt like Chim was putting on his Captain’s helmet.

While that hasn’t been officially confirmed, who else could fill those shoes besides Chim? His words remind everyone that they are Bobby’s legacy, and they would be besmirching it by leaving.

This is where I sort of have a bone to pick, and that is with regard to Eddie. Honestly, all season, Eddie’s been getting the short end of the stick, so I shouldn’t be surprised, but still. 

By demanding Eddie stay in LA at the 118, Chim is taking away Eddie’s right to choose where he wants to be. Sure, we can assume Eddie has no problem with it since he is shown happily moving his boxes back into the house. However, by not allowing him to say, “I’m staying,” the writers are discounting Eddie Diaz’s strength and overall character.

Then we move to the episode’s final moments, which, while normal for a typical 9-1-1 finale, feel rushed and poorly planned in light of recent events.

There is joy and happiness, to be sure, but there is also no context nor does any of it feel complete. We are missing any exploration of Buck’s emotions these last few episodes, the decision behind Athena selling their house, and the lead-up to Mara being adopted.

The only part I was OK with being short was everyone convening in Maddie’s hospital room to meet the latest Han baby. Even his name is one we all predicted, and Athena’s “Hello Bobby” reminds us that Bobby lives on beyond death.

Stray Thoughts:

• Athena telling Chim Bobby would be proud of him, who’s cutting the onions?
• Would it have been nice to have more in terms of Buck and Eddie? Yes, but we did get those flirty glances after Buck is back on safe ground.
• When Eddie takes charge like he does, I honestly started to think the writers were setting him up to be captain.
• Buck comparing each new place to Eddie’s and not liking any of them? I smell a cohabitation coming up next season.

 

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9-1-1 returns to ABC in the Fall, and you can catch all of Season 8 on Hulu.

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