9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 10 Review: All Fall Down

There wasn’t a massive, high-stakes cliffhanger in this finale, but boy, did this final hour leave us with much to think about over the summer.

9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 10 was a fast-paced affair, as they had a lot to fit into a short amount of time, and they did their best to hit every plot point, though you can’t help but wonder what could have been if they had more time.

And ultimately, that sentiment feels like the theme of the season.

I must admit that, in my sheer anxiety about Athena and Bobby’s well-being and the destruction of the Bathena house fire, I didn’t give much thought to what caused the fire.

That was an oversight on my part, but I was in my feelings, okay!

Good thing Athena isn’t me because she went into investigation mode the second she figured out that arson was at play. However, the trail she set out on wasn’t the right one.

Can you even imagine what Athena was going through, looking on helplessly as her husband fought for his life on a ventilator, and she couldn’t even get inside the room to provide some comfort?

Within the blink of an eye, her life was in turmoil. She’d lost her home, and there was a chance she was going to lose her husband.

It was an oddly genius idea to bookend 9-1-1 Season 7 with Bathena-heavy storylines, though both were fraught with angst.

Bobby and Athena couldn’t communicate until they literally needed to in order to save their lives. Then, in the finale, there was once again a wall up between them, and this time, there was a possibility they wouldn’t have the opportunity to make things right.

Athena has made a career off her instincts, but even the best of us can get tripped up when things get personal. As soon as she heard the word arson, her whole demeanor changed. The cogs began to turn, and she worked through everything that had happened the night before.

Her thoughts immediately went to Amir, and at first, I wanted to be upset that she jumped there so quickly, but considering his very presence in her home the same night it caught fire, I couldn’t exactly blame her.

But everything we knew of Amir pointed to a man who wasn’t looking to hurt Bobby. Or Athena, for that matter.

He left their home during 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 9 because everything became too real for him, and he was suddenly thrust into this position he wasn’t ready for when faced with such a profound reminder about his past and his grief.

I task anyone in Amir’s shoes to not feel overwhelmed as things unfolded around him. And he walked away, rightly, back to the decent life he’d been living.

Amir was no killer. I knew that from the jump, but it took Athena a little longer to work things out. When she did, we got a scene that was an absolute masterclass in acting from two of the greats.

Angela Bassett and her resume goes without saying, but Malcolm-Jamal Warner has been around for a long time, and his quiet yet assertive delivery as an actor has always been his greatest gift.

There was a dance being played between Athena and Amir as she tried to get him to crack in the way she so often does in her line of work.

But Amir was innocent, and not only did he flip the script to prove that, he did so in such a calm and clever way by relating their own experiences and using the rage that still lived inside Athena from the past to get her to see reason.

Considering he had a gun pointed at him during the whole exchange, Amir stayed remarkably calm, but that seems to be a baseline mood for the man who’s known so much sadness yet hasn’t allowed that to close his heart off completely.

I didn’t think we’d get Athena talking about her past. But this season has taken great strides to remind the audience about many plot points from former seasons that truly help inform the audience about the main characters.

Perhaps that’s a product of the move to ABC and enticing new viewers. Or maybe they thought that with over 100 episodes in the can, it wouldn’t hurt to remind the audience who these people fundamentally are, in part due to their pasts.

Athena and Amir had a lot in common, more than Athena ever really considered when she first sought Amir’s help. But more than their shared traumas, they also knew what it felt like to be overcome with fury.

Everything Athena did from the moment she heard the fire was arson forward was rooted in a haunting agony caused by the real prospect of losing the man she loved most.

9-1-1 never lets us catch our breath with these emotionally moving stories!

While I knew Amir would have never set that fire, I didn’t guess that Herman found his way to Los Angeles to finish what he started in that desert. And side note, lets flush the cartel storylines. Please, and thanks.

Amir once again proved what kind of man he was when he walked outside his house, giving himself over to Herman and his men before they could descend upon the house and potentially putting Athena in danger as well.

On the flip side, Athena was never going to not follow them and do what she could to protect Amir because that’s the kind of person she is.

Why was I worried about Athena heading into that warehouse with no backup while she was severely outnumbered? You should know better, Whitney.

This is MRS. BOBBY NASH, we’re talking about.

Herman: Who the hell are you?
Athena: I’m Mrs. Bobby Nash.

Athena saving the day was on par for her, but one of the most powerful images in the whole hour came when Amir was frozen by the flames around him.

It was a surging moment of PTSD at its cruelest best, and as the seconds crept by and his eyes became more haunted, I screamed at the television for someone to help.

Someone just needed to hold his hand, and Athena never lets me down.

Transitioning from Amir almost dying to Bobby waking up in the hospital was like emotional whiplash, and it had to feel like that for Athena as she came down from the adrenaline rush of that situation into the arms of her husband.

Bobby being in serious danger wasn’t something I ever considered because, to this point, 9-1-1 hasn’t dared to touch any of the mains. The most shocking death this series has seen came way back when Shannon passed in Season 2.

Since then, every main has been in danger, but they’ve never actually went there, and it seemed unlikely they would do that here.

Having said all that, they tried REALLY hard to raise the Bobby stakes, and even knowing he would be okay, that reunion with Athena hit on every level.

This season has not been overly kind to them, but through everything, one thing that never wavered was their love for one another.

I could sometimes be upset with Athena while acknowledging that everything she did was born from a place of concern and pure love for Bobby.

If Amir facing his demons within those flames was the most powerful moment, then the sweetest goes to Bobby, Athena, Harry, and May, just being a family in a random hospital room and remembering the most important thing about this life we’re given; enjoying every second you get to spend with the people you love.

They could have tied the story up right there, and I would have been satisfied, but bringing Amir back to not forgive Bobby but come to a place of understanding was nice, if not wholly necessary.

Amir has always been entitled to his feelings, and he stayed true to that, even when he expressed himself to Bobby surrounded by ash and decay reminiscent of the event that forever tied their lives together.

Bobby has earned his second chance, whether he can ever believe that. He’s got a network of people who will believe it for him and continue to show him the support and love he’s worthy of.

Because Bobby Nash is worthy of the life he’s living.

Naturally, Bathena’s plight was the highlight of the hour, and while the core four at the 118 (and Maddie!) were also wading in and out of the drama surrounding Athena’s whereabouts, some had personal issues to work through as well.

Hen and Karen should never have lost Mara, and it’s getting ridiculous that they must face constant obstacles to expanding their family.

Drama for the sake of drama will never be entertaining, and continuously throwing obstacles at the couple isn’t forward storytelling.

As much as we know Athena, we know Hen Wilson, and she wouldn’t let Mara think she wouldn’t be there for her, even if she had to bend some rules to do it.

I wasn’t sure where Hen was when she first visited Mara, but my heart dropped into my stomach when Hen walked in, and it was like the first night Mara stayed with them all over again.

Mara deserved so much better in life and had better with the Wilsons.

She was safe, and each day was a new, brighter day to be colored in after years of darkness. She was right where she needed to be, but one gross abuse of power made it all evaporate overnight.

You couldn’t blame her for shrinking in on herself at first because when you’re so used to never getting good things, the minute you do and it’s taken from you, you vow never to allow yourself to fall for the ruse again.

Since little could be done about the situation at that moment, things were pushed to the side until Hen told Karen about seeing Mara and did so conveniently in front of Maddie and Chimney.

It was obvious at that point where things would go, and I’m of two minds about the decision here to have Madney foster Mara for the time being.

Maddie, Chimney, and Jee-Yun are familiar people to Mara, and she’s spent enough time with them that she’d feel comfortable, at least to a point, staying with them instead of a total stranger.

Staying with them also ensures she’s in close proximity and still maintains a healthy relationship with the Wilsons.

All of that is wonderful and a positive outcome for Mara, whom this is ultimately about.

But there couldn’t have been another way to take this storyline?

Even if we absolutely had to bring Councilwoman Ortiz back to follow through on her revenge plan, couldn’t we have gotten to a custody hearing, where Madney could have been involved (especially Chimney as someone with direct knowledge of Hen’s work record), and then ultimately, they could have gotten Mara back?

9-1-1 makes it a point to avoid having evil win too often, yet seemingly nothing can ever go right for Hen and Karen when giving Denny a sibling.

This may sound overwhelmingly negative, and Mara getting to sleep under the roof of people who will care for her, treat her as their own, and protect her will NEVER be a bad thing, but my heart mourns for Hen, Karen, and Denny, who had to get knocked down again.

Season 8 better see a positive outcome with actual consequences for Councilwoman Ortiz, who came in to spread her malicious agenda and then just went back to her job like nothing was wrong.

I’m all about ending things happily for Mara, but here’s hoping this will be better explored next season and Mara gets home to her family.

While Bobby and Athena’s house burned down, Eddie’s house crumbled differently.

Christopher had every right to shut Eddie out. Let’s start right there.

My biggest issue with the whole Eddie and doppelganger saga was what this could do to Christopher if he ever saw Kim. That’s a wildly traumatic experience for anyone, no matter the age.

There’s no need to rehash all the ways Eddie messed up this situation, but Christopher seeing he and Kim together, IN HIS HOME, wasn’t Eddie’s fault on the surface, though his actions ultimately affected how things ended up.

During 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 1, Eddie dug out an old letter from Shannon to help his son, who expressed his feelings about everyone leaving eventually and starting to forget his mother’s voice OUT LOUD, only for Eddie to start an emotional affair with a dead ringer of said woman and scar Christopher.

His intentions may have never been for the two to meet. Still, he seldom thought about Christopher throughout all of this, unfortunately.

The result was a kid who was suddenly confronted with deeply complex emotions regarding his late mother and the few moments he thought maybe she’d come back to him.

How do you work through something like that?

There’s no rulebook on grief. No one can snap their fingers and take away that pinging pain that always ricochets in your chest.

We’ve seen moments over the series where Eddie and Christopher have talked about Shannon, including what I just mentioned, but for as much as Eddie maybe wasn’t as in tune with his feelings about Shannon and her death until he saw Kim, the absolute same could be said for Christopher.

Eddie, as the adult here, is responsible for protecting Christopher as his parent, and he’s always done that. Eddie is a good dad, but he’s not perfect. No one is perfect.

And not to agree with Ramon Diaz of all people, but finding out your parents aren’t God-like figures is quite the experience, even when you’re an adult yourself!

Eddie: I know I screwed up. But he’s so angry.
Ramon: Fathers are human. Sons don’t always handle these things well.

What do you mean your parent isn’t an actual doctor? When they told you your stomach ache was nothing to worry about, you believed them wholeheartedly. They’re your parents! They know everything, right?

No, they really don’t. They’re not some mythical creature that knows all. They are human beings, fully capable of stepping in it sometimes and not always realizing what their actions could lead to.

Christopher calling his grandparents should not have been as surprising to Eddie as it was, though to be fair to him, he was spiraling and not necessarily looking at the bigger picture.

He and his son have such a strong rapport that it probably never dawned on him that he would never forgive him or, at the very least, engage in some serious conversations.

But Christopher was hurt and confused, and he felt the best way to deal with those things was to get a little space from his father.

Now, he’s 13 years old. Eddie’s his parent and guardian, and he has to decide what’s best for him.

It’s interesting to look at from the outside, as we surely all have opinions about what we would do if put in this position.

Eddie’s naturally defensive, and his hackles were raised, especially considering his past with his parents, who haven’t always championed him as a father.

But if he told Christopher he had to stay with him, he risked further alienating him, while allowing him to leave probably felt objectively like a failure. But doing right by your children isn’t failing them.

When I think about the Diaz parents, my mind always goes to a not-so-great place, but acting as if they don’t love Christopher wouldn’t be fair to them. There’s a reason he reached out to them and felt safe enough to ask this of them.

Before the Diaz parents made their presence known, Eddie’s decision to go to Buck to essentially fix the situation with Christopher was a great callback to Evan ‘you’re the guy who likes to fix things’ Buckley.

Eddie and Buck depend upon each other at work, but that also extends into their personal lives. This season has done a fantastic job of highlighting their importance to one another, how intertwined their lives are, and what a genuine bond looks like between two people.

If there was one person in the world Eddie trusted with this, it was Buck. This thing being a monumental, colossal mistake that has changed the very fabric of his relationship with his son.

Buck’s there for him, and he’ll step in to help them because they’re family. Yes, in all the ways that matter, Buck, Eddie, and Christopher are their own family. We should all be lucky to have someone in our lives with whom we can be our authentic selves and not fear judgment or condemnation.

Christopher is no longer a child, throwing salad bowls and taking Ubers across the city (saying that out loud makes it sound much more grown-up than it played out in real-time, but you get the point).

Your son is trying to tell you what he needs. Don’t wait thirty years to listen. You’ll regret it.

Ramon [to Eddie]

Christopher decided, and there was no taking it back. It just fell on Eddie to decide what to do next.

Letting Christopher leave had to be one of the hardest things Eddie ever had to do, even knowing it wasn’t some permanent banishment or something.

One of the saddest moments of the season was seeing how hurt Christopher was, even while talking to Buck and saying goodbye to Eddie. Ryan Guzman’s impassioned plea, all while desperately trying to get the light of his life to just look at him, was painful.

I didn’t want Christopher to go; of course, I didn’t, even if there were valid reasons for him to want a respite from his dad.

But the enormity of the decision and what it could mean for Eddie will be significant heading into the next season.

We’ve never seen Eddie without Christopher. When we met Eddie in 9-1-1 Season 2 Episode 1, we saw him through the lens of him being a father.

He’ll still be a father, but things will be different for him and Christopher.

Does he use this time apart to start having those tough conversations about Shannon, their marriage, her death, and what he sought out of connecting with a visual reminder of her?

Or does he use the time to wallow in his pity?

Eddie should use this time apart to work on himself, which will only strengthen the relationships around him.

There will be a lot to look forward to when the series returns and we see what physical time apart from Christopher does to Eddie. As we know, Eddie and change don’t always mix well.

And to think he’ll also have change at work, which had become such a constant for him over the years.

I don’t even have the words to express how disappointing it is to think about Gerrard being back and in a leadership position at the 118.

His reign was terrible then, and it will be even worse now as he carries a chip on his shoulder the size of a boulder.

No one signed up for this!

I love a good cliffhanger as much as the next person. But the cliffhanger of a bigoted fire captain, who’s got something to prove, lording over our firehouse family was the last way I wanted to see this reimagined season conclude.

Loose Ends

Seriously, how has Gerrard not been fired yet? He’s got complaints against him, and there’s no way you could spend time around him and think he’s best qualified to lead anyone.

I guess Eddie and Marisol broke up off-screen, and Kim is just…gone? They left those plot points dangling in the wind for some reason.

I will say that whatever direction they take Eddie next romantically, it should come after Eddie makes serious strides to move forward from Shannon and with him having a STRONG idea of what he’s actually looking for in a partner.

After 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 5, they seemed content to let Buck simmer in the background for the rest of the season and, with it, the relationship with Tommy.

Their dinner date scene was barely a minute and felt thrown in last minute to remind us they’re still hanging out (and to make a Daddy joke), then do anything to advance their relationship.

My biggest wish for next season regarding Buck would be for them to dive deeper into his journey outside of a relationship. That’s not to say he can’t be in one, but I’d love for that not to be his main focus.

Madney chilling in these last few episodes was such a change of pace. I’m sure they’ll come back down to earth in some terrible way before too long.

Where do we think Bobby and Athena are staying? Will they rebuild? Move? I wouldn’t mind seeing them start over in a beautiful apartment, though; how will they have the barbecues? I guess it’ll fall to Madney.