9-1-1’s season 8 finale had a lot to live up to following the tragic death of Peter Krause’s Captain Bobby Nash.
The ABC procedural wrapped up its eighth season with an emotional episode on Thursday, May 15, after which viewers took to social media to share their mixed thoughts on what went down. Many fans were happy with how the characters paid tribute to Bobby after his death three episodes prior, as Chimney (Kenneth Choi) and Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) named their newborn son after him.
“911 season 8 finale ending with athena saying ‘hello bobby’ to madney’s baby boy ????,” one X user wrote over a clip of Angela Bassett’s Athena meeting her late husband’s namesake in the hospital with the entire 118 crew.
Another fan called the episode “one of the best season finales of all time,” as the 118 crew decided to stick together in order to preserve Bobby’s legacy at the firehouse following a passionate plea from Chimney. “That speech that [Chim] gave at the end gave me chills,” the X user wrote. “It’s like Bobby was there leading them all one last time.”
Following his speech, Hen (Aisha Hinds) mistakenly refers to Chimney as “Cap,” hinting that he may take over Bobby’s role in season 9. “CAPTAIN CHIMNEY I KNOW THATS RIGHT,” another fan wrote via X.
On the flip side, some viewers were upset with how the finale mainly focused on the building collapse emergency instead of the characters.
“Ok so instead of giving any of the 118 actual storylines on the 911 season finale, they decided to waste screen time on cart guy looking for underwear in a dryer,” one X user wrote on Thursday, while another added, “The last 10 minutes felt so rushed, most storylines were not properly resolved, bobby is still dead, like what are we doing here?”
The lack of hints about a romantic connection between fan favorites Buck (Oliver Stark) and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) also came as a disappointment to some fans after the season heavily teased the possibility of “Buddie.”
“So no buddie kiss in the 9-1-1 finale?” one user wrote via X on Thursday. Another joked, “Another season finale of buddie clowning complete.”
The finale saw Eddie make his triumphant return to the 118 and Los Angeles after moving back to Texas to rebuild his relationship with his son, Christopher (Gavin McHugh). While the father-son duo moved back into their old house, Buck moved out and ended the episode looking for a new place.
Ahead of the episode, Stark, 33, exclusively told Us Weekly that exploration of Buck and Eddie’s relationship “got a little bit derailed by the death of Bobby.” He explained, “When something like that happens, everything else kind of falls by the wayside. So I don’t know if that will come back.”
Reflecting on Buck denying he is in love with Eddie during an episode 11 conversation with Maddie, Stark added, “I don’t think Buck is lying in the show when he says, ‘No, that’s my best friend.’ I don’t think he’s intentionally lying or trying to hide anything. I don’t know if that will play again in the show. Eddie is, as we’ve seen thus far at the very least, been a straight character. So I don’t know what else there is to explore, but that’s not my job!”
Guzman, for his part, exclusively told Us that he feels Buck and Eddie are “best [the way] they are right now.” He shared, “I know a lot of people want to see something and maybe the enticing part is that and we keep it that [way]. … They love each other and they’re there to support each other and I think that’s all, honestly, what we need more in our world.”
9-1-1 returns for season 9 this fall.
