ABC
Well, that was an incredibly stressful hour of television: “9-1-1” wrapped its ninth season on Thursday with an all-hands-on-deck finale that sent several members of the 118 (and its extended family) on exciting new paths.
The episode began with Athena fighting for her life in the hospital after being shot by Detective Hooks last week. A flashback revealed that trafficking mastermind Nikolay Caster wanted to kill Athena himself, but his son Anatoly suggested that they leave it to Hooks. When that trust resulted in his father’s death, Anatoly took matters into his own hands, bringing a gun to the hospital to finish the job.
What transpired was pure madness: Anatoly stabbed Eddie while he was praying for Athena in the chapel; Anatoly shot a man whom Chimney and Hen then struggled to keep alive; May and Ravi had to move Athena to a new room without the aid of a ventilator, all while hiding from Anatoly; and Buck and Harry went full “Die Hard,” traveling through the air vents to cut power to the hospital.
Anatoly nearly shot Ravi through the door, but Harry swooped in at the last minute, taking down the gunman and allowing the authorities to bring him into custody. As for Hooks, he snuck into Athena’s hospital room to finish what he started, but he was thwarted by Athena (she lives!) and her fellow officers, who were waiting in the wings to arrest him.
We’d also like to give a shout-out to Athena’s former partner, the late Brogan McCluskey, who encouraged her to keep fighting during a coma dream. (Side note: Did anyone else, for a fleeting second, think that Bobby was going to be the one visiting Athena from the great beyond?)
And what would a “9-1-1” finale be without a tease of what’s to come this fall? The closing moments of the episode revealed that Athena is now a detective, May is training to become a nurse, and Buck signed the paperwork to become Theo’s legal guardian.
Below, Oliver Stark takes TVLine inside the episode, offering his reactions to the biggest twists — including what single fatherhood will look like for Buck:
Is Buck officially adopting Theo?
ABC
TVLINE | Well, Buck has always been a daddy, but now he’s an actual father. Congratulations.
[Laughs] I don’t know if he’s a father yet. He’s stepping in to be a caretaker, and we’ll see what that turns into. I think he sees a kid in need, one he obviously has a connection to, including a biological link, but I don’t think Buck sees himself as now being this kid’s dad.
TVLINE | So the paperwork he was filling out at the end wasn’t an official adoption?
I don’t think it would be possible for that to be adoption paperwork. I don’t know what the [process] is, but I think we’re talking right now about fostering. And there’s a lot to dive into with the foster aspect: Why is Buck the one fostering him? Who else is not in Theo’s life that it needs to be Buck who steps into this situation? We have some storylines to dive into and lessons to learn there.
TVLINE | So then he won’t just be leaning on Eddie for single-dad advice, but also Hen and Karen for foster advice.
Yeah, I feel like each character has something they can offer Buck in terms of advice and support in this situation. It will be interesting to see how everybody shows up for him, because I know for sure he will be leaning on them.
Oliver Stark had no idea that Buck’s donor storyline would resurface
ABC
TVLINE | When the donor storyline happened in Season 6, did you ever imagine that it would circle back to this?
I really didn’t, not at the time. Now, as I look back, it makes sense that it was a storyline that always could be there if needed or if wanted. But at the time, I was oblivious to that. I genuinely thought it was wrapped up as it was back in Season 6.
TVLINE | Well, I’m glad the show unwrapped it, because Buck and Theo are very cute together. And kudos to the casting department — Theo looks like he could be your son.
I certainly see it. And the twins that play Theo are are so fantastic. I can’t tell you how much they’ve already opened me up as a person just by spending time with them. I’ve loved working with them so far, and I’m interested and really excited to see what what that turns into for the characters.
TVLINE | Well, we don’t have to worry about chemistry. Even from that first scene of Buck playing with Theo in the firehouse, it’s clear you have a lot of fun working together.
It’s funny, I remember Ryan [Guzman] speaking on this years ago when he was first working with Gavin [McHugh]: When you work with a kid, it’s not pretend for them. Those little moments are real. I really am chasing him around the firehouse. He is really saying things like, “I’m too fast, you can’t catch me!” It’s so easy to bounce off them because they’re just so present in it. It’s really a delight. It’s really special having them on set.
Can Oliver Stark tell the twins playing Theo apart?
ABC
TVLINE | You know, it didn’t even occur to me that it would be twins playing him. Of course.
[Laughs] Well, not always, but it’s helpful logistically for the production if they are, because they can only work something like four or six hours at a time. I want their schedule.
TVLINE | Lazy kids.
Yeah, write something about that.
TVLINE | I know you’ve only been working with them for a little bit, but can you tell them apart?
In person, yes, but I don’t know if I could from a picture.
TVLINE | You’ll get it by Season 20 when they’re all grown up.
Yeah, when they’re captaining the firehouse.
How will single fatherhood affect Buck’s dating life?
ABC
TVLINE | I have to ask… Kameron and Connor came back into Buck’s life and immediately started blaming him for their kid’s behavioral problems. Do you think we were supposed to dislike them so we wouldn’t feel as bad about them getting killed off?
[Laughs] I don’t think so. It’s funny, I didn’t see them necessarily as blaming Buck as much as they were just at their wits’ end. They didn’t know what else to do. So I don’t think that was the intent, but that may be a question for [showrunner Tim Minear].
TVLINE | This would probably be another question for Tim, but how do you think having a son will impact Buck’s dating life?
It certainly means that he’ll have to give more consideration to those he chooses to date. If Theo ends up being a permanent fixture in Buck’s life, he would need to be sure that any partner is compatible with being a father or mother to a child long-term.
How Athena and May’s new career paths will shift their working dynamics with the 118
ABC
TVLINE | This twist isn’t necessarily Buck-centric, but it’s still worth discussing: Athena is a detective now! I feel like this will change the way she deals with the 118.
It’s huge in terms of the dynamics of the show. She won’t be on the calls in the way that she has been for the past nine seasons. We’ll have to interact with her in a workspace very differently now. I don’t know what that will look like, but she’s not going to be at the car crashes. She’s not going to be at whatever it is on any given day anymore, so it’s definitely a big change. I’m excited to see how those worlds still weave together.
TVLINE | And May is becoming a nurse! I feel like we’ll be spending a lot more time at the hospital.
That’s another fun storyline, and I’m super excited for Corinne [Massiah], because it brings her in a much more central role. At its heart, this is a show about first responders, and now she is akin to first responders, which brings her more into our world.
Your thoughts on the “9-1-1” finale, including all of the teases for what’s to come in Season 10? Grade the episode and season in our polls below, then drop a comment with your full review.