‘9-1-1’: Major Premiere & Finale Emergencies, Ranked
9-1-1 has become known for its major emergencies to kick off or end a season (for the most part).
Now in its ninth season, there have been dramatic storylines that have put at least one member of the 118 in danger, brought back key characters in the middle of a call, and stretched across multiple episodes. Who could forget the water receding during the tsunami? The state of the hotel during the earthquake? All of the 118 going down when an overpass collapsed? Season 7’s cruise ship disaster—with Athena (Angela Bassett) and Bobby (Peter Krause) right in the middle of it? Athena landing a plane on the freeway after the bee-nado in Season 8! And now, Season 9 kicked off with four episodes that sent Athena and Hen (Aisha Hinds) to space!
But some of these emergencies, as a whole, ended up being more exciting than others. Below, we’re ranking the major emergencies from the premieres (including Season 9’s) and finales below, from the least to most memorable.
9-1-1, Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC
Blackout: "Panic," "Desperate Times," and "Desperate Measures" (Season 5 Episodes 1-3)
It begins with a reminder of the 118’s greatest hits, courtesy of text messages and ransomware, and sure, we enjoy the callbacks (and escaped zoo animals). But the blackout itself isn’t as thrilling as the others, and while Jeffery Hudson (Noah Bean) does kidnap Harry (Marcanthonee Reis) to get back at Athena, at no point does it feel like that is going to end tragically.
Building Collapse: "Seismic Shifts" (Season 8 Episode 18)
What stands out about this one is it’s the first major emergency without Bobby, and it’s mostly the moments we get as a result that are the highlights. Chimney (Kenneth Choi) and Athena are trapped together, which helps them reconcile after the tension that resulted because Bobby used the only antiviral to save Chimney and died. Eddie (Ryan Guzman), even though he should be heading for Texas, arrives on scene to come to Buck (Oliver Stark) and Ravi’s (Anirudh Pisharody) aid. Chimney gives a speech at the 118 at the end that makes it clear he should be the next captain (and he’s interim when the next season begins). But it’s not as splashy as some of the others, and if not for the aforementioned character moments, it wouldn’t be particularly memorable.
Train Derailment: "What's Next?" (Season 3 Episode 18)
Visually, the vertical train and Buck and Eddie, then Bobby, climbing up to rescue trapped passengers is stunning. It also reunites Buck with his ex-girlfriend Abby (Connie Britton), whose fiancé he risks his life to save. But considering how much the firefighter and former dispatcher still have to talk about (which they do near the end of the episode), we know his life’s not truly at risk doing so.
Overpass Collapse: "Pay It Forward" (Season 6 Episode 18)
This one could have easily been much higher on the list simply for the fact that it puts the entire 118 in danger. However, there’s not as much urgency as expected, considering Chimney’s impaled (again), Eddie’s in a van that can get crushed at any moment, and Bobby is briefly missing and at the bottom of the wreckage. And despite all of those and Hen’s seemingly serious head injury she ignores to help her fellow first responders, we barely spend any time with them in the hospital or recovering since it’s a season — that could have been a series — finale.
Dam Break: "The New Abnormal" and "Alone Together" (Season 4 Episodes 1 and 2)
The Hollywood Reservoir dam breaking leads to the 118 having to rescue people in a bus that crashes several stories up in a building and gives us a great moment for Bobby as he helps one of the passengers. Thanks to a series of flashbacks, we also care about a cyclist (Nikki DeLoach) who’s trapped and has to help rescue herself. Plus, while we don’t, at any point, think Athena will die in a landslide, it’s great watching her fight to survive and Bobby going to find her. Bonus: While COVID is prevalent and very much part of the season, these emergencies keep it from being the full focus.
Space: "Eat the Rich," "Spiraling," "The Sky Is Falling," and "Reentry" (Season 9 Episodes 1-4)
Perhaps the main problem with this one, besides stretching out over four episodes, is that it’s hard to imagine where 9-1-1 goes from here. Once you send two of your main characters to space, how do you top that? Everything that can go wrong does go wrong for Athena, Hen, and the others who head to space, culminating in a trip to the International Space Station, Athena doing a spacewalk and nearly dying, and an eventual crash landing back to Earth. It does give us great Hen and Athena material — their friendship has been prevalent on the show since the beginning — and the heartbreak of Athena grappling with being without Bobby and even having a conversation with her younger version. But story-wise, it’s a bit uneven, because it’s hard to care about what’s happening in L.A. — even with space debris causing emergency after emergency and hospitals overrun with patients to the point the 118 becomes an overflow center — as much as in space. And the episodes keep Athena and Hen separated from the others, even with calls to connect them back to Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Karen (Tracie Thoms). There’s no contact between them and the rest of the 118, which hurts the arc.
Cruise Ship Disaster: "Abandon 'Ships," "Rock the Boat," and "Capsized" (Season 7 Episodes 1-3)
No one expects Athena and Bobby to go on their honeymoon without something going horribly wrong, but an international smuggling ring, a bomb causing the cruise ship to sink (then capsize), and the couple trapped in a room, thinking they’re going to drown, is a lot, considering how it ends. Sure, we get a great scene with Athena and Bobby saying things they’ve needed to while trapped in the second episode, we love the way the 118 rides off in a helicopter to come to their aid once Hen realizes something’s wrong, and Hen and Maddie finally are sharing scenes, but all in all? There are bigger emergencies. We (briefly) see Buck and Eddie come to Bobby’s aid, but we don’t see any reunions for Athena, especially with Hen (who’s the one leading the charge). More of the 118 together on the ship, maybe after Athena and Bobby get everyone most of the way, for some sort of bigger onscreen rescue? That may have landed this higher.
Bomber: "Careful What You Wish For" and "This Life We Choose" (Season 2 Episodes 17 and 18)
As introduced at the end of the penultimate episode, the city deals with mail bombs, including one sent to Athena’s house. And then the 118 is targeted, with one under the ladder truck. It all connects back to “Bobby Begins Again,” and while he’s not the captain at the time, the bomber (the son of a man who went to prison for insurance fraud) demands to speak with him. Bobby, of course, steps forward, with this all happening while Buck’s leg is pinned under the truck. It takes not only all the first responders but also all the civilians on scene to lift it off him, and that injury and recovery play a major role in the following season.
Sniper: "Suspicion" and "Survivors" (Season 4 Episodes 13 and 14)
Buck and Eddie aren’t even technically on the clock when, while helping out a kid from an earlier call, they come under fire from a sniper — with the danger beginning when Eddie takes a bullet and goes down. Buck drags him to safety, and, along with the other firefighters on scene, they rush off to the hospital in the truck. (This gets extra points for Buck telling Eddie’s son, Chris, what happened, a heartbreaking scene.) Bobby, too, is shot, when the sniper lures the 118 to a call, and it’s Athena, in turnout gear, walking through fire, who rescues him (which earns this more bonus points, ranking it this high).
Bee-nado/Plane: "Buzzkill," "When the Boeing Gets Tough...," and "Final Approach" (Season 8 Episodes 1-3)
Did we expect more bees given the promotion ahead of the season? Yes. Were we disappointed? Maybe just a bit, though we at least got the humor of Eddie running away from the bees in the first episode. But there was plenty else to enjoy about this run, from Athena taking control on the plane (with her young co-pilot right there with her) to the showcase of Bobby and Athena’s love as they tried to reach each other and finally did to the dance party at the 118 after Gerrard (Brian Thompson) was taken to the hospital with a concussion. The only downsides? There wasn’t enough of the 118 and Gerrard’s still in charge at the end of it.
Earthquake: "Under Pressure," "7.1," and "Help Is Not Coming" (Season 2 Episodes 1-3)
This is the first major, multi-episode disaster, and it sets the bar high going forward. Not only does it come as the show introduces two new characters we can’t imagine it without at this point (Maddie and Eddie), but we also see how everyone experiences the beginning of the earthquake — Athena on the road, the dispatchers at the call center, and the 118 in the station. Plus, who can forget the way the hotel collapses, the man falling to his death when the window breaks, and Hen being put in danger, only to save herself and a missing little girl?
Tsunami: "Kids Today," "Sink or Swim," and "The Searchers" (Season 3 Episodes 1-3)
It’s the emergency that just feels never-ending: Every time it seems like there’s a moment of calm, there’s another wave. Buck’s out at the pier with Chris, as part of Eddie’s attempt to cheer up his best friend with the injuries to his leg (from the bomber) preventing him from returning to work when the tsunami hits. And during the course of the disaster, the two are separated, with Eddie only finding out they were in the middle of it all when he sees Buck at the VA hospital … without Chris. (Father and son are reunited moments later.) The tsunami also is the cause of one of the most heartbreaking 9-1-1 calls: Maddie can only listen as a man trapped in his attic dies.
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