It’s a dark, unimaginable, deeply devastating day for ABC’s hit first responder drama, 9-1-1.
Fans spent weeks worrying about Season 8’s terrifying two-part emergency, wondering if Chimney dies, if Bobby dies, if Peter Krause is leaving the series, and if every member of the 118 makes it out alive. On April 17, 9-1-1: Contagion aired its show-altering conclusion, gave us our answers, and brought fans and characters alike to tears.
Part 1 of 9-1-1: Contagion saw the 118 report to a research lab for a run-of-the-mill fire emergency that turned into a deadly biohazard situation. While Buck (Oliver Stark) and Athena (Angela Bassett) were safe outside the lab desperately searching for a fix, Bobby (Peter Krause), Hen (Aisha Hinds), Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody), and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) were trapped inside with a deadly airborne virus.
The first installment showed Ravi and Bobby survive the lab explosion largely unscathed, but Hen sustained a collapsed lung and required emergency surgery, which Bobby performed because Chimney’s helmet shattered in the blast and left him exposed to the deadly virus firsthand. Since rogue lab worker Moira (Bridget Regan) modified the virus strain and shortened the incubation period to 90 minutes, Chimney’s health was at serious risk with time running out. When the episode wrapped, Moira was on the run with the only antidote to the deadly virus, so to save the day, Athena and Buck are teaming up to track her down before it’s too late.
So did Chimney die? Did Bobby die? Did *anyone* die? Decider’s 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 15 recap breaks down the emotional, jaw-dropping moments of “Lab Rats.” Consider this your official warning that spoilers lie ahead — and you might want to grab some tissues.
9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 15 Recap: What Happens On “Lab Rats”?
“Lab Rats” picks up with a two hour flashback and shows Moira stealing the antiviral and going on the run. Before she leaves she intentionally starts the fire in the lab and smuggles the antiviral out in a tumbler.
In present time, Bobby inquires about the speed of the super strain, asking those on the outside, “What’s the damn plan?” Just then, a new FBI head arrives on scene to take control of the investigation and butt heads with Athena. Realizing what Athena is up against, Bobby tells her, “Athena you can’t be here, it’s too personal… They are gonna find this woman soon. Hang up and go, now.” To anyone who didn’t know this power couple, Bobby’s words may sound straightforward, but Athena understood exactly what he was getting at.
A confused Buck follows her as she speed-walks away. “That’s it? We’re just going to walk away?!” he asks. “Actually, we’re going to drive away,” she replies. “You heard them. Even if they find Moira Blake and she’s still got the antiviral, there is no way in hell they’re going to give it to Chimney. He’s expendable. They all are.”
She tells Buck they’re going to do “exactly what Bobby asked us to. We’re going to find that crazy bitch and get our hands on the dose before anyone else in there gets sick.” They hop in her car and Athena calls her pal Officer Williams to ask about the BOLO out for Moira. She says if there’s a hit on her car she wants to be the first to hear about it and wants him out looking for it.
Meanwhile in the lab, Bobby is on the phone with a terrified Maddie, who tells him the first phase of Chim’s virus is fever, the second (which he’s in) is organ bleeding, and the third and final phase is organ failure. To slow down the second phase, Bobby sets out to make some DIY saline with guidance from Hen, but he has to get the ratio perfect or it can stop Chim’s heart. As he’s concocting, Ravi drops to the ground and stops breathing because his oxygen tank is empty. After realizing they’re all dangerously low on air, Bobby hatches a plan and comes up with a quick fix for them that revives Ravi just in time to avoid brain damage.
As for Buck and Athena, they head to Moira’s house only to learn the FBI beat them there. No problem for Athena, who quickly swipes a drive containing the crime scene photos, which they take to Karen (Tracie Thoms) for help making sense of things. They quickly learn Moira is obsessed with famous scientists and wants to start a pandemic so she can stop one with her cure, which means she’s likely off trying to sell the antiviral.
Their hunch is correct! We see Moira pitching a big pharma exec, who says he’s not interested because nobody has the lethal super strain. To that, Moira replies, “No, but they’re about to.”
Back in the lab, Chimney’s condition is worsening by the second. Cap reminds him he’s got a son on the way, but Chimney fears the worst and makes him promise to care for Maddie and his kids if he passes. Chimney and Maddie have an emotional FaceTime call. Bobby asks her to keep Chim awake while he checks on the saline. He starts bleeding profusely from his nose.
Athena, Buck, and Officer Williams finally Raz’s car abandoned outside of a Big Pharma building — the same one Moira’s inside. After learning 911 was already called to the scene, Buck watches the door while Athena secures Moira and the antiviral. With the FBI on their tails, Buck takes the women to the roof, where his ride (Tommy via helicopter) is waiting to save them in the nick of time.
Did Chimney Die On 9-1-1? Did Bobby Die On 9-1-1?
In the lab, things aren’t going as smoothly. The saline is finally ready, but Chim loses consciousness, giving everyone a good scare. With some help from Hen, they stabalize him just in time to learn the good news: Athena’s on her way with the antiviral. Or is she? The US Army orders Tommy to return to base, but he denies them. Two helicopters appears on their sides, but Tommy doesn’t care. He keeps flying, tries to lose them, and risks it all to save the 118. He finally lands in Los Angeles Memorial Collosseum where the FBI orders the team to surrender the vial. But in a twist, Athena isn’t with them. She already at the lab thanks to a ride from Karen! She suits up and walks in to hand deliver the cure.
She races inside to give Bobby the antiviral, and he doses Chimney as FBI agents cuff Athena and Buck for obstructing an investigation. The cure works, and Chimney bounces back. Hopeful music plays as Moira is put in the back of a cop car and the members of the 118 wait to be rescued. Ravi tells Cap he planned to quit, but decided not to, and Bobby assures him they wouldn’t have survived without his help.
Bobby watches his team head out but mysteriously hangs back, then turns around and returns to the lab. Buck follows and closes himself inside. He takes his helmet off as Buck screams, and reveals a bloody nose, which means he’s already been exposed to the virus and there’s no saving him. He tells Buck he loves him and Buck calls Athena to face her worst nightmare.
Athena suits back up and tearfully heads back in to say goodbye to her man from behind a glass wall. She asks him how? He tells her there was a whole in his breathing apparatus and he knew there was only one dose. He orders Buck not to send anyone else down to help and asks him to give him and Athena some alone time. Bobby apologizes to a distraught Athena and says he chose to save his team because it was the right thing to do, not because he wanted to go. He says his time was always borrowed and LA was supposed to be his penance, not his home, but she changed everything for him. He falls to the ground and coughs up blood, urging her to leave him behind. “I’m here for all the parts that we have left,” she says, and the two touch hands through the glass.
Outside, Ravi delivers the bad news to Karen and breaks down. Hen finds out and breaks down. Buck drops to the ground and breaks down. Chim breaks down. And finally, Athena lets herself cry as Bobby kneels to pray. The last image we see is Cap’s helmet and a body bag.
Is Peter Krause Leaving 9-1-1 For Good? Is Bobby REALLY Dead?!
In two weeks, 9-1-1 fans will return to couches to watch Cap’s funeral. From the looks of things, he’s really dead. He’s gone. And those he left behind will have to recover. But there’s no denying this tragic death occurred on the Ryan Murphy series 9-1-1, where it often feels like nothing is impossible! So in the sprit of wishful thinking and delusion, we must ask ourselves, what if this isn’t the end for Bobby Nash?!
As Decider noted in a previous article, fans have long suspected Bobby wouldn’t make it out of this two-parter alive after tons of behind-the-scenes photos and video of what appeared to be an elaborate funeral procession for him hit social media on March 30. A 118 firetruck was carrying a 118 marked casket alongside Bobby’s helmet, boots, and turnout coat. Bobby’s family — Athena, May (Corinne Massiah), and Harry (Elijah M. Cooper) — were dressed in all black walking behind the truck. And Captain Gerrard (Brian Thompson), Eddie (Ryan Guzman), Hen, Buck, Chimney, Ravi, and Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) followed. The scene looks heartbreaking and seemingly solidifies his death in Season 8, Episode 15. But there is one glimmer of hope that Bobby could come back to life…
Fearing for characters’ safety and watching them emerge from dangerous, life-threatening emergencies in tact against all odds is the sheer nature of the show. As we know from the steady string of near-death experiences these characters have survived — most recently Maddie getting her throat slashed by a serial killer — after the show takes viewers on emotional roller coasters, things usually turn out OK! When teasing Bobby and Athena’s cruise ship catastrophe fate in Season 7, Krause star told Decider, “I’ve likened the show to a comic book about first responders come to life several times. And it’s amazing when you look back on all the different things these characters lived through. The character Buck, for instance, had an entire fire engine land on his leg and he’s walking just fine. So it’s a little bit like a Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoon. We walk away from these incredible injuries all the time. I think everybody’s gonna be fine, but you’re gonna watch them go through some very difficult and perilous things for sure.”
On Tuesday, April 1 (April Fool’s Day, so we don’t know WHAT to trust), 9-1-1‘s Oliver Stark posted and deleted an Instagram story that showed a portion of an upcoming episode script. The script showed Maddie answering a 9-1-1 call, followed by Bobby (in a coffin) saying, “I’m being buried alive!” Naturally, fans are wondering if the script was real and the leak was genuine. Could Bobby Nash rise again (right after Easter!) from his coffin AND LIVE, Tim Minear?
Following 8×15, Deadline posted a lengthy goodbye letter from Krause, which read, “It has been my honor to portray Captain Bobby Nash… I’ve heard that many fans are upset by this loss and they have a right to be. It is a loss. That said, it was more than a bold creative choice on a bold show. Bobby Nash was written in sacrifice and he was built for this. First responders risk their lives on the job so that others can see another day. His story arc honors them. We at 9-1-1 salute all the incredible men and women who do these dangerous jobs and strive to keep us safe.”
Krause went on to thank his 9-1-1 family, the crew, the writers, cast, directors, and creatives. So unfortunately, his departure sounds INCREDIBLY final. As always, we’ll have to anxiously wait to see what 9-1-1 has in store, but if this truly is the end from Cap and Krause, they had one hell of a ride.
New episodes of 9-1-1 premiere Thursdays on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu.
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