9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 3 Review: Final Approach

Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

4.5

Vintage 9-1-1.

That’s what this opening emergency arc has been from start to finish.

Showcasing Angela Bassett and having Athena land a commercial plane on the freeway while giving us Bathena feels, AND the 118 working in tandem? Give this closing hour all the awards, no notes.

I lied. OF COURSE, I have notes because I’m me, and there’s so much to talk about with this one.

The plane’s landing was only some of the drama of this hour, which is wild to think about. They could have drug it out even longer, and I would still have been wildly invested.

And that had everything to do with Angela Bassett, who constantly reminds you why she’s a Hollywood A-lister.

She’s always played Athena with such confidence and assurance, but there have been moments where Athena was unsure, this being one of them. What did she know about flying a plane, let alone landing it?

She didn’t know anything, but she’s a leader by nature. She’s a leader of people, brave, and always going to step up to the plate when her name is called. And even when it’s not called.

With Gem as her co-pilot, the race was on to get that plane on the ground. Of course, it would never be as easy as just getting to LAX and landing at terminal F1, with everyone hugging and bidding each other farewell.

With the number of parts flying off of that plane, it’s a shock they were even going to be able to land the plane without much fuss, but once they lost the ability to turn the aircraft, there were very few options.

Well, there were very few options for the average person, but Bobby Nash is no average person.

One thing I’ve loved about these early hours of the eighth season is seeing how much of a united front Bathena is. It’s not like we don’t see that, but it contrasts how we saw them during 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 1.

When they were on that cruise before it went to hell, they weren’t communicating well, so much left unsaid.

Amidst all the chaos that ensued, they only got a chance to open up when faced with the possibility of drowning together (oh, that scene still gets me!).

But after everything they endured last season, you could tell in their quick interaction during 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 1 that they’re as strong as they’ve ever been.

Their love runs DEEP and was showcased so beautifully during this hour.

Stealing the Hotshots rig with his accomplices, Buck and Brad, the three Bs were on a mission to help Athena in any way they could, including shutting down a prominent Los Angeles freeway.

Bobby and Buck team-ups are always great, but there was something extra special about this one, as Buck rushed over to literally get Bobby and keep him abreast of the situation before they ran off in the truck.

Buck will always look out for Bobby and follow him into anything because he trusts him explicitly. And Bobby trusts him.

All the scenes in the truck had me absolutely cheesing, from Brad’s complete obliviousness to what he’d gotten involved in, to Bobby’s insistence that he get ahold of Athena by any means necessary.

Athena would have done the same thing if she were in Bobby’s position.

Nothing would have stopped her from talking to Bobby as he careened toward the ground, and nothing was stopping Bobby from talking to the love of his life just so she knew he was there.

This may have been an all-time Bathena, and that’s saying something, considering some of the fantastic scenes we’ve gotten between the pair over the years.

Bobby must have been reeling on the inside, but he stayed calm in the face of everything, which undoubtedly helped Athena steady herself. They’re such a great team, balancing one another and knowing what the other needs.

It’s one of the biggest strengths of their relationship. It’s that yin and yang, which has always allowed them to work side-by-side instead of independently.

Once Bobby came up with the idea to land on the freeway (what WERE they doing over at air traffic control besides panicking?), shutting down the highway involved Buck jumping on a motorcycle and throwing himself into the middle of oncoming traffic, and I’ve perhaps never loved Buck more.

With each step of this landing, the action was intense. As previously stated, they could have spent the entire hour navigating that whole landing, and I would have been thrilled because it was THAT gripping.

Once everything was in place to land the plane on a mile stretch of highway, the dramatics ramped up even more, with Bobby standing on top of the rig and safety concerns blown to hell.

Athena and Jem were working so hard to get that plane on the ground, and Gem’s slight hesitation when the shock seemed to wear off a bit and the realities of the situation set in was such a genuine moment.

Everything was scary and big, but the two of them worked together to save that plane. I won’t even admit how much I cried when the plane touched down right in front of Bobby, increasing the drama by one thousand.

And Athena and Jem hugging one another? Wiping my tears with a tissue wasn’t enough. I needed a TOWEL.

9-1-1 always does the emotional beats amid action so well, and it thrives in situations like this where you truly feel the emotions of what you’ve just witnessed, even if it’s ridiculous.

Make no mistake about it—landing a plane on the freeway IS ridiculous, but it works because everyone’s committed and leaning into the extra ridiculous beats and the feels.

On many other shows, these kinds of things would not work, but with Angela Bassett and Peter Krause at the top of the call sheet, ANYTHING is possible.

I was so confident that once they landed the plane, we would dive right into the aftermath, with everyone headed home and decompressing after all the bees and the plane. But it immediately became another mini-emergency, with Bobby stepping in to take charge like he never left.

The past two hours have sidelined the 118 a bit, and that’s okay because the star of this part of the story was always meant to be Athena and everything encompassed on that plane.

But when their number was called, the 118 was right there to step in where Cap wanted them and to help put that fire out and get Athena off that plane.

I can’t believe a network drama made me swoon like I was watching the rom-com of the century when Bobby came aboard to gather Athena up and get her off that plane. Could these two be any sweeter?

Naturally, there was still a pretty big open plot point after the plane rescue since the only reason Dennis and Athena were on that plane was that someone was after Dennis because he was set to testify.

I’m glad they allowed this story to come full circle during this emergency opening. They didn’t choose to drag it out any further, even if things moved rapidly from Athena possibly suffering from smoke inhalation to Bathena and Dennis driving a firetruck to LAX.

Whenever Bobby and Athena team up to do a little investigative work, it always works, and with Dennis, that black book was found in record time.

It says something about this day and age that the little black book was full of QR codes that seemingly linked to disgusting proof of the pedophiles Dennis was going to help put away.

AUSA #1 being the bad guy wasn’t a surprise, but I’m not sure why it surprised me when Dennis took a bullet meant for Bobby. At a certain point, I should have recognized that they were going there with the Dennis storyline.

If you want to call it a redemption arc, I will not stop you, and while it certainly wasn’t wholly necessary, it did play out in a way Athena could extend grace on her own terms.

She spent minimal time with Dennis, but she knew that in the years after Emmett’s death, he tried to be better and do better, and she was hopeful that he would continue that as a once again free man.

I have mixed feelings about this part of the story, but I do like that this completely unexpected journey allowed her to let go of much of the pain she maybe wasn’t even aware she was still holding onto.

It sometimes takes something small or momentous to open up old feelings you may have thought you had worked through. But so many challenging emotions truly never leave us, and we each learn how to process them individually.

I will always be here for Athena’s peace.

While this hour was devoted to wrapping up all things plane, the ending to the hour took us back to the firehouse where Gerrard made his unwelcome return to the Captain’s seat.

They’re taking a comedic angle with the Gerrard stuff, and I am severely unmoved. However, having him back and now a semi-changed man (as in only his feelings toward Buck), thanks to his near-death experience, switches the 118 dynamics and creates a VERY interesting storyline for Buck moving forward.

Gerrard returned with a profound disdain for everyone, as usual, but taking Buck under his wing? What exactly does that look like?

One has to assume he won’t be subjected to cleaning the crapper anymore or made to run until he passes out, but what else?

How will Buck becoming Gerrard’s number 2, even against his will, affect his dynamic with the rest of the team?

I could speculate for days, but I’d much rather see how it plays out and how this treatment affects Buck, especially considering he’s not even sure he meant to do what he did.

Buck has many complicated emotions about Gerrard and himself and what he’s capable of.

It should create an internal debate for Buck, who, in addition to questioning his own actions, will likely also have to contend with how he feels about receiving a different kind of attention from his nasty boss.

With the big emergency in the rearview, the series should settle back into the character stories put on the back burner to accommodate the flight disaster.

We’ll have Buck dealing with Gerrard and revisiting his relationship with Tommy, whatever is happening there. Eddie continuing to deal with Christopher’s absence, and Hen and Karen fighting to bring Mara home.

We’re already three episodes down this season, yet the season is now taking off in many ways.

Loose Ends

• I love a little inside jokey joke, and Buck telling Brad he didn’t know he was British was SO perfect. If you know, you know.

• Bobby is genuinely so out of the loop. He has no idea what’s going on at the 118, and I understand he’s got his own job and life away from the firehouse, but it makes me sad!

• Chimney and Bobby’s little catch-up session was excellent. I am the biggest Hotshots defender, but seeing Bobby back with everyone will always feel so right.

• The shot of the firefighters on top of the truck looking out at the airport was gorgeous.

• Brad’s shenanigans throughout the episode made me laugh out loud, but perhaps none more than when he interacted with the young girl with the broken leg. The Hotshots story can’t last forever, but Brad is too good right now.

• They really used those bees to set up the plane crash and then said, ‘Okay, thanks for your service.’

• Now that Bathena has slayed another dragon together, I need them to get a fun house-hunting arc at some point. Get them looking at houses and accidentally stumbling upon a murder mystery.

The three-part tsunami arc during 9-1-1 Season 3 will forever be a staple when discussing the opening emergencies because it was truly an event. In recent memory, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything comparable to it on broadcast television.

But the bee-nado/plane emergency has settled into the number two spot, and no, I won’t be taking any pushback!

I kid. Yell at me in the comments!

After next week’s installment, we’ll already be almost a quarter of the way through the season! Time flies when you’re watching strangers on a plane become family.

Let me know in the comments how you felt about the start of the season and what you’re looking forward to seeing now that the opening emergency has concluded.

You can watch 9-1-1 on Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.

Watch 9-1-1 Online