9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 1 “Eat the Rich” is an episode about change, and an episode about how we can’t really stop the world from moving, even when we really want to. Because, to recap, Bobby is gone. Hen and Eddie are now partners. Athena is skipping Bobby’s memorial to throw herself into work. Things are… different. And yet, this is still a family, despite changes. That part stays the same.
It’s a really effective episode, and a fun one, even with the absence of Bobby hanging heavy over it. Because, like Athena, we’re having a hard time adjusting to the fact that he’s gone, no matter how long it’s been. It is, however, a season premiere, and that means it’s mostly a setup episode. For the season, for the storylines we will hopefully follow. Even for Chimney as a Captain and the new 118.
Does it work? Perhaps not as well as it did with Bobby, but there’s still a certain magic to it. Now, to see if this season can harness it.
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REMEMBERING BOBBY NASH
The thing about 9-1-1‘s tributes to Bobby Nash is that, as much as there’s an obvious emotional response to the tributes, and as we relate to both the grief and the sense of loss that comes with trying to figure out how to move on, the truth of the matter remains: we just don’t understand why Bobby Nash was killed. And yes, I am definitely beating an old drum at this point with this, but it’s hard to analyze the firehouse without Bobby without bringing up the fact that the firehouse should not be without Bobby.
And yet the show tries to examine what a loss like his would be from an honest place that it’s sometimes hard to engage with. Particularly on an episode where we’re also engaging with a man who was swallowed by a whale, and Hen and Athena going to space.
From the perspective of what “Eat the Rich” is trying to do, though, the 118 finds itself at that point of loss where it’s stopped feeling like someone’s repeatedly stabbing you every single second, and it’s started feeling like a void. Because that’s one of the things no one tells you about grief. Yes, first it’s pain, but then it’s just absence. And the second one sometimes hurts more than the first.
How do you heal? You don’t, is the other thing no one tells you. Which doesn’t mean it doesn’t get easier. But that’s not really about grief getting smaller; it’s about life growing around that grief that you, somehow, become adept at carrying. That’s what the 118 and Athena, May, and Harry are trying to do now. And boy, is it hard.
MORE: If you need a reminder, here’s our Season 8 finale review.
WE LOST BOBBY AND WE LOST YOU TOO
Athena was always going to be the person who had the hardest time adjusting to life post-Bobby, and she’s doing the best she can right now. She avoids everything that reminds her of her pain and throws herself into work. And honestly, I can’t even blame her. I’ve used avoidance, too, a lot.
But, of course, the problem with avoidance is that you risk alienating the people you have left due to your pain of losing someone. And, there’s also the fact that those people you’re alienating, like your kids, also lost Bobby. And they should not be going through that alone. Just as Athena shouldn’t be.
In grief, it’s so hard to remember that community matters. It takes a village, they say, and this doesn’t just apply to raising a kid. We heard in this episode how everyone is stepping up for May and Harry, and they would surely be doing that for Athena, too, if she let them. I get why she doesn’t. This is a very normal reaction. But, even though avoidance might feel good for a while, the problem is that it delays the grief. And if you aren’t feeling it, you can’t take the next step and the one after that.
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HOW BLIND CAN YOU BE, BUCK?
I’ll give Buck the benefit of the doubt for his first mistake. Sure, when he met his ex, he thought the entirety of “Buck, Bothered and Bewildered” was about the ex when it was really about Eddie. Back then, though, he was just figuring himself out. He had a man in front of him that he found attractive and who wanted to be with him, and that was easy and fun and wouldn’t mean risking anything. So, he jumped.
Now, however, he’s actively jealous of Hen and how close she and Eddie have become, and there comes a point where even Buck has to sit down and go, “What am I doing?” Because what in the world are you doing, Buck? It’s not just me asking, so is Ravi! And the answer, of course, isn’t that he’s interested in Hen. And though it could be a little bit that he just doesn’t want things to change, and Eddie has been his partner for so long, it doesn’t feel like it’s as simple as that.
Because things have changed before, and though he’s never dealt with change well, he’s dealt. He’s adapted. And the fact that he’s having trouble now looks more like what happened when he was silently competing with the ex for Eddie’s attention and misinterpreted that as wanting the ex, instead of Eddie, than the adjustment period he had both times Eddie left the 118, and he had to get a new partner. We know the signs; we’ve seen both things.
Of course, storytelling-wise, Buck’s jealousy isn’t just meant to be a sign for him that perhaps his feelings for Eddie go deeper than normal; it’s also supposed to be a sign for viewers. Even if Buck doesn’t or can’t see it yet. Because we have a previous situation to compare and contrast with. And we’ve already heard that “it wouldn’t be so crazy” if his feelings for Eddie ran deeper than even Buck knew. And yeah, it really wouldn’t be so crazy, would it? The evidence keeps mounting.
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Things I think I think:
- There’s trash even in space, dear God.
- SIX MONTHS. I understand it, but I hate it. Truly. Because we missed the harder part of mourning.
- Why is he still “interim”?
- But Maddie is there with Chimney, and that’s good.
- No, Ravi doesn’t know. Because he is right, Hen and Eddie have been working together for years. It is not weird.
- ATHENA IS ON A WHAT?
- She’s gotta be undercover.
- Oh, but she looks SO GOOD.
- Maddie is so competent. And I love her hair.
- “You guys went to IMAX together.”
- Buck, breathe. Eddie is not replacing you.
- Ewan McGregor is an important part of that documentary, okay?
- I love Chimney’s plan. And I love where he got it from even more.
- “Hey, I wanted to do that.”
- We know, Buck. We know.
- Wet is a good look on Eddie.
- What is this decoration, Athena? Let’s talk.
- Man, dropping out and not telling your mom? Harry, you in trouble.
- Who are Mason and Taylor? Or Garcia?
- They got the kids drunk?!
- I love how Karen first got excited and then remembered she hates this dude too much to go to space.
- That feels like a normal reaction!
- “Take one of the guys with you.”
- Athena is grieving, her own way. And I know the kids are right, but it’s hard.
- “We lost Bobby, and we lost you, too.” Ouch.
- “You haven’t been our mother since Bobby died.” Double ouch.
- It was Buck’s idea.
- Buck, Eddie, stop looking at each other like that! For me.
- I mean, to be fair, Ravi would be that high up the list. Just because she’s known the others for longer!
- That’s… a zombie.
- “Mad World” hurt me.
- “That’s stupid and reckless. Like Buck.” LOL
- Eddie and Chim makes me so emotional.
- I’m glad they tried to call Hen first.
- Oh, he has to take a test.
- “We’re lucky to have you. Most of the time.”
- Chim and Eddie are bonding over missing Bobby, I’m crying. This is such a good scene, and so necessary.
- That Buck scene with the baby kinda killed me.
- HE’S SO BIG. And so cute.
- “I just want to talk to him. And I can’t do that, ever again.”
- Hen, you took advantage. You really did. I approve.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of 9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 1 ‘Eat the Rich’? Share with us in the comments below! Check out our Tales From the 118 podcast if you also want to listen to our reviews. On Apple Podcasts and Spotify! Plus, if you want to leave your own rating/comment about the show, you can do so in our 9-1-1 hub!
9-1-1 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.
