Spoilers ahead!
When I learned a few months ago that this season’s disaster was going to be a “bee-nado”, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. Maybe some (more than usual) over-the-top emergencies, maybe goofy stuff, perhaps a sequence of bigger and unrelated to each other emergencies caused by the bees. And yeah, a version of every single one of these happened.
But the part I didn’t see coming, the best part, is that this disaster is mainly about revisiting Athena’s (Angela Bassett) foundational tragedy in ways that finally allow her to move on. Just like the season 7 final arc was about Bobby (Peter Krause) confronting his past mistakes (and his childhood traumas) because of Amir (Malcolm-Jamal Warner) — the man whose life was ruined by Bobby —, here Athena is stuck with Dennis (Glenn Plummer), the man who destroyed her life. By the time Amir met him, Bobby was an entirely different person looking for redemption and doing his best to make amends with his past; here, Dennis is also on his way to becoming a better person. The redemption he’s seeking is directly tied with what is going to be Athena’s biggest sigh of relief yet — the moment she finds her inner peace. The plane disaster caused by the bees, along with the trafficker’s storyline, are just the way they both are getting there.
“Final Approach” – 9-1-1. Pictured: Angela Bassett as Athena. Photo: Kevin Estrada/ABC © 2024 Disney. All rights reserved.
After Athena discovers no one can turn the plane anymore, LAX is no longer an option for landing. On their way to the airport, Bobby is helped by Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and finds a way to talk to his wife. This moment was so good; Bobby acted like a man capable of anything to bring Athena back to him safely. And that’s exactly what he does, the impossible, as Bobby, Buck (Oliver Stark), and Brad (Callum Blue) (their names all starting with Bs — this’s the bee season for real) clear the 110 freeway so the plane can land there.
There are so many good shots in these “clearing the freeway” sequences; Buck riding the motorcycle, Buck shaking those red lights while the plane flies over him (the scene in LAX with the rest of the 118 watching the plane fly over them is so beautifully shot too), and obviously, Bobby waiting on the top of the fire truck as the plane approaches. Callum Blue’s comedic charm, Stark’s fiery performance, and Krause’s passionate acting all come together to elevate this segment and make it both tense and fun.
With Gem’s (Carter Young) help, Athena successfully lands the plane — and her dialogue with Bobby at this moment is so good and convincing, reminding me why they are the 9-1-1 couple. After this, the other fire stations (and Brad... kinda) help disembark the passengers, while Bobby and the 118 help Athena with the co-pilot situation, and a fire that starts after the landing happens.
“Final Approach” – 9-1-1. Pictured: Oliver Stark as Buck, Peter Krause as Bobby, Callum Blue as Brad. Photo: Kevin Estrada/ABC © 2024 Disney. All rights reserved.
Then, it’s time for the final act. The Attorneys are looking for Dennis, but not all of them have good intentions. Athena senses that Dennis might be in danger, so she decides to take matters into her own hands, teaming up with Bobby and Dennis. They go to the LAX car park, looking for the book that has all the information about the people involved in the trafficker’s schemes. Just as they find it, Asst. US Attorney Spencer (Sean Hemeon) appears and reveals himself as one of the names in the book. The last episode gave me this feeling that the US Attorneys were being too weird, and I wasn’t entirely wrong; Spencer wants the book, and when he shoots in Bobby’s direction, Dennis takes the bullet for him, later using his makeshift knife to defeat the Attorney.
Case solved, the plane landed, and (almost) everyone survived — it’s time for Athena’s biggest sigh of relief. And it comes in this final moment with Dennis at the hospital — he’s still recovering from the bullet, but he’ll live — and after a thoughtful conversation, Athena gives him her blessing to take the deal and the early release. It’s a moment in which Angela Bassett shines once more with a brilliant performance, as she always does, supported by Plummer’s great acting. Finally, the episode ends with Gerrard (Brian Thompson) back to the 118, still the worst boss ever to everyone… Except for Buck, who is now, to his and everyone else surprise — being taken “under his wing.”
Overall, Final Approach was a great finale for the “bee-nado/plane crash” arc. For me, it feels like they upped their game this season, creating an emergency that had a lighter, funnier tone in the beginning, but was also allowed to grow as a refreshing, unnerving, and intimate story for Athena, and a compelling way to start the season for Bobby and the rest of the 118. It’s my favorite big disaster since the tsunami in season 3, and it made me optimistic about what’s coming next.
Now you tell me! What do you think about Final Approach and the Bee-Plane arc as a whole? What are your expectations for this season? Feel free to leave a comment with your impressions/theories, and thanks for reading!
