9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 16: Bobby’s Funeral and Eddie’s Return

9-1-1’s world is reeling after the death of Captain Bobby Nash.

The show’s Thursday, May 1, episode, titled “The Last Alarm,” caught up with the members of firehouse 118 and their surrounding loved ones as they faced the fallout following Bobby’s (Peter Krause) tragic passing. The episode picked up two weeks after the events at the lab, where Bobby and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) contracted a deadly virus after a mass explosion. Under the impression there was only one sick team member, Chimney was given the single anecdote before Bobby revealed that he was also experiencing symptoms due to his protective suit being compromised.

“I had been toying with the idea for a couple of seasons, actually, maybe even longer, feeling like at some point I’m going to have to do this,” showrunner Tim Minear told Deadline in April about the decision to kill off a main character. “And then once I came up with this idea for the lab leak episode, that’s when it solidified for me that it was time to do it, it felt like a real opportunity to give somebody an epic Wrath of Khan-like death.”

Calling it a “wretching decision,” Minear added, “When it came down to deciding who should that be, I wanted it to be a character that affected all the characters’ stories in a very specific and yet different ways. There was only one man for the job, and it was Bobby.”

Warning: Spoilers below for season 8 episode 16 of 9-1-1: 

Keep scrolling for a recap of how each character handled the aftermath of Bobby’s death in “The Last Alarm”:

Athena Grant

The episode begins two weeks after Bobby’s death, with Athena still deep in the denial stage of grief, something she credits to her husband’s body not yet being released. Desperate to avoid planning a funeral — leaving her children, May (Corinne Massiah) and Harry’s (Elijah M. Cooper), rather concerned — Athena directs her energy to a man who shows up at the 118 looking for Bobby.

He tells Athena that years ago, Bobby saved his sister, Leah, from a house fire but was unable to get to her infant child in time. Leah was then arrested years later for “stalking, breaking and entering and attempted kidnapping” a boy who she believes is her dead son living in Santa Clarita. He explains that his sister believes her son was stolen from her by another mother. The man was hoping Bobby could shake some sense into her since he was there the night of her son’s death, and Athena agrees to go instead.

When she gets to the prison, however, Leah convinces Athena — who is already deeply grieving Bobby — that the little boy she kidnapped may actually be her son. Athena agrees to help her, quickly becoming obsessed with the case and spending all her time putting together clues in the home she was building with Bobby.

One night, Bobby’s ghost visits her and tries to get Athena to see she is mistakenly channeling her pain into a case, but Athena refuses to listen.

Athena continues searching for answers about the possible kidnapping. She ultimately exhumes the grave of the infant, finding no body. She learns the reason there is no body is because there were no remains, but Leah was unaware as her family kept the secret from her.

Athena then does a series of DNA tests, realizing that Leah did, in fact, kidnap the boy and that her baby did die the night of the fire. It’s at that moment she realizes she’s been avoiding her own grief and breaks down into Hen’s arms.

After letting the woman down gently, Athena attends Bobby’ funeral, leading the procession in downtown Los Angeles.

Henrietta ‘Hen’ Wilson

After sustaining major injuries during the lab fire, Hen (Aisha Hinds) heads back to work one week earlier than expected at the start of the episode, much to the dismay of her wife, Karen (Traci Thoms).

Back at work, Hen spends her time supporting Chimney and the rest of the team. She finally lets herself feel her grief ahead of the funeral, where she breaks down in Karen’s arms.

Maddie Buckley-Han

Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is in a very supportive role for “The Last Alarm,” checking on Buck to make sure he’s handling Bobby’s death in a healthy way — “I’ve been to a lot of therapy at this point, I’m pretty good at it,” he explains — and making sure she communicates her love for her sibling.

She’s also trying to give her husband, Chimney, space as he works through the guilt of surviving the virus over Bobby.

She attends the funeral and can be seen crying during the procession.

Evan ‘Buck’ Buckley

Buck (Oliver Stark) takes a surprisingly pillar-like role in the wake of Bobby’s passing, expressing that his previous time in therapy has almost prepared him for the loss. While he’s clearly hurting, he manages to hold it together well enough to be there for Chimney, as well as pick Eddie (Ryan Guzman) up from the airport, who flew in from Texas for the funeral.

Chimney Han

Along with Athena, Chimney is struggling with Bobby’s death the most. The two find themselves at odds when Athena explodes at Chimney for persistently calling the higher ups and pestering them about releasing Bobby’s remains. Athena explains that as long as there is no funeral, people won’t move on from Bobby’s death, while Chimney insists “no one is going to forget Bobby, least of all me.”

Chimney spends much of the rest of the episode running and doing yoga off screen, which Maddie tells Buck “clears” his mind. On the job, he explodes at a civilian during a car crash as well as Captain Gerrard (Brian Thompson), who has been standing in before a new “more worthy” captain is named. Chimney makes it clear that Gerrard will never be “half the man that Bobby was.” When Gerrard reminds Chimney that he is the captain, Chimney replies, “Only because I killed our last one. So I’d be very careful if I was you.”

When the funeral day finally does arrive, Buck finds Chimney drinking vodka straight from the bottle on the roof of the 118, where he admits that he blames Bobby for sacrificing himself and “kind of hates” him “right now.” Chimney adds that he doesn’t know “what to do” with the fact Bobby exchanged his life for his, but Buck reminds him of his pregnant wife and daughter at home, telling him all Bobby expects him to do is “live.”

Eddie Diaz

Eddie makes his anticipated return to Los Angeles, though he wishes it was under better circumstances. He stays at Buck’s house before the funeral, revealing to Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody) and Buck that he feels guilt over not being there to help save Bobby. Although he’s no longer an active firefighter, he participates in the funeral with the rest of the 118 and helps carry the casket. (He also eats some crumpets.)