The ‘9-1-1’ season 7 finale, explained

After a fun and also emotional season, the 9-1-1 season 7 finale reached a gratifying but unexpected conclusion that no one saw coming. We found out the answer to whether Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) will leave 9-1-1 and the episode finished with a wild cliffhanger.

Like the season finales of many procedurals, the final episode of every season of 9-1-1 has put its characters in peril and made us wonder if everyone would make it out alive. While the disaster happened before the events of this particular episode, there’s no doubt that Bobby, his wife Athena Grant (Angela Bassett), and their colleagues (who are family at this point) are put through the wringer.

What happened in the 9-1-1 season 7 finale?

Season 7, episode 10 of 9-1-1, “All Fall Down,” opens with Athena waiting to hear about Bobby’s progress at the hospital. After saving her when their house caught on fire, he collapsed and went into cardiac arrest. A nurse explains that since his heart stopped for 14 minutes, they aren’t sure when he will wake up… or if he will. After Athena and Bobby made it through that brutal cruise ship experience, it’s even more tragic to see her almost lose him a second time.

Thankfully, Bobby doesn’t die and wakes up near the end of the episode. The 118 team including Chimney Han (Kenneth Choi), Hen Wilson (Aisha Hinds), Buck (Oliver Stark), and Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) are all waiting in the hospital room when Athena learns her husband is going to be okay. The two share a few cheesy and romantic moments that prove that they have something special and that nothing, not even yet another disaster, can stop that.

But before the 9-1-1 season 7 finale gives us that good news, we have to suffer a little more. There are three main storylines throughout this episode. There’s Bobby’s health crisis, Hen and Karen’s (Tracie Thoms) grief over losing Mara (Askyler Bell) to a group home, and Eddie’s son Christopher (Gavin McHugh) wanting to move to Texas with his grandparents.

While these are all upsetting plotlines that fans hope will be resolved soon, Athena’s belief that travel nurse Amir Casey (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) set her house on fire takes center stage. Athena gets Amir’s address from Maddie Buckley (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and the two talk about the loss they have experienced. It’s a moving scene in the midst of edge-of-your-seat action. The characters realize that while they have wanted to hurt the person who took their loved one away, they know violence isn’t the answer and won’t change anything.

This scene is one of the best the show has seen, especially when Athena says the brilliant line, “Being a living testament to a dead person is a lonely existence.” The second best moment is when Amir and Bobby talk once Bobby is out of the hospital. Amir shows growth when he says that while he might not forgive Bobby, he respects him and believes Bobby needs to go back to the 118 and keep saving people. This is why we love 9-1-1: while the action is fun and the show keeps us guessing, the characters always see the humanity in each other and try to help one another, even if they’re hurting.

How does the 9-1-1 season 7 finale set up season 8?

While we’re glad that no 9-1-1 actors quit before season 8, we’re nervous about how Gerard’s time as captain will affect our beloved station 118 crew members.

In an interview with TV Line, Peter Krause said he thinks that Nash and Gerard’s tension will be great to watch: “I like them butting up against each other. could see Gerard having a real grudge against Bobby for getting all this positive attention after he took over Gerard’s firehouse, and now he wants it back.”

The 9-1-1 season 7 finale sees every main character at a crossroads. Athena and Bobby need a place to live after losing their home, Karen and Hen will fight to get Mara back home, and Eddie has to try to convince his son to come home (or live with the fact that he won’t see him often). And that’s just their personal lives.

Krause also told TV Guide that Athena and Bobby might be part of a light-hearted plotline surrounding their living situation. He said he and showrunner Tim Minear chatted about the characters “being in an apartment or a hotel and being confined together again like on the cruise ship, perhaps, for a little while at the top of Season 8 and reigniting a little romantic comedy.”

All we can say is we hope Gerard doesn’t destroy the supportive and compassionate environment that Nash helped foster at the 118. We’re sure 9-1-1 season 8 will be another dramatic journey.