Don't Drink the Water

This might actually be one of my favorite episodes. I'm obviously still very upset about Bobby and will never be okay with that but it's nice to finally see some real grief within the characters. For a long time now things just happen and then an episode or two they are completely fine again. No dealing with grief, no talking, nothing really. This episode finally gives us what we've been wanting. We want to see how the characters feel because we feel it too. The acting from all of the cast was absolutely outstanding. I love this cast so much and I'm so happy we get to see them in new situations and broader emotions. Yes we've seen them sad in seasons long ago but this is refreshing to see. Again I really want Bobby back and it will never be the same but this episode way ecceeded my expectations. Very excited for season 9!

After two painful episodes, "Don't Drink the Water" bursts in like a defibrillator to the chest, jolting the series back to life. The emotional fallout from Bobby's death finally lands - and lands hard. Eddie's grief comes to a head in a gut-wrenching confrontation with Buck, intercut with a flashback that absolutely floored me. It's hands-down Ryan Guzman's best work all season - raw, vulnerable, and completely arresting.

The episode nails what this show used to do effortlessly: balance chaos, comedy, and character. Screen time is actually used wisely (a miracle!) with side characters returning to their rightful place - providing comic relief rather than dragging us through one-off plotlines destined for the memory hole.

And let's talk about that finale setup - Athena being sent out twice to the same call? Deliciously subtle. It's the kind of slow-burn tease that proves this show can still play the long game when it wants to.

Even the pacing felt like a fever dream of peak 9-1-1, packed with emotional tension and just the right amount of shocking moments. Every beat felt earned - well, almost every beat. The only misfire? This creeping setup for Buck as captain. If Bobby's really gone, Hen is the only character who has earned that title. Giving it to Buck would feel like undeserved.

Still, "Don't Drink the Water" is a triumph. It reminded me why I fell in love with this chaotic, heartfelt, wildly over-the-top show in the first place. If this is how we're heading into the finale, count me all the way in.

They finally got the ratio of the screentime right, and also showed us what the past episodes were missing: the family ties of the 118.

What I didn't like was that how unrealistic it was that Athena is acting like shes didn't just lose the greatest love of her life and now she's back on the job all perfectly normal. Idk of they'll justify it as her coping mechanism but it just doesn't sit right with me.

The only thing they need to do next is bring Bobby back. At this point, I don't care what supernatural shxt they need to do to bring him back - I'll gladly eat it up and move along. Just. Bring him back.

After the last few weeks, my expectations for this episode were extremely low but i just got win after win tonight. Characters interacting with multiple people and in different locations, good pacing, good writing, not too much focus on the calls, AND eddie whew haven't smiled like this in a month

this is what happens when you don't spend the entire episode focusing on an emergency and actually remembering who your characters actually are and writing them correctly. Tonight is an example of how an ensemble show should be written. Not choosing to focus on one or two characters but choosing to take time and include every one of them because that right there is what makes 9-1-1 the show that it is.

The stark contrast from the last two episodes (especially the last episode) to this one is crazy.

The last two episodes had focus in all the wrong places, sloppy writing, characters feeling so out of character, poor directing choices, unnecessary action and side plots, and more.

This episode felt like it had a strong balance of the ensemble cast that was lacking previously, the focus on side characters did not overstay their welcome, all of the main characters had memorable moments that felt in-character and a part of their own personal larger arcs, etc.

We got to see the importance of their family dynamic (one of the biggest draws of the show, and so horribly lacking in the previous two episodes), and the storylines felt like they had a strong balance between work/calls and their personal lives.

THIS felt more like a classic 9-1-1 episode than anything we've seen in a while. Please bring these writers back, please fire whoever worked on the last two episodes.

The directing in this episode was also a standout. The cut from Buck's memory/daydream to the empty station table, the fight between Buck and Eddie in the kitchen, Eddie receiving the phone call... all so wonderfully shot and directed.

That goes double for the acting this episode. The acting was incredible last week and it was amazing to see that continue this week as well. Oliver Stark and Ryan Guzman especially brought the emotion, matching the performances of Angela Bassett and Kenneth Choi from last week.

This episode compared to the previous two shows perfectly how this show does best not when shoving two-part emergencies at us, or focusing on random side characters, or overdone cop plot lines, or unnecessary action sequences- it does best when it balances the ensemble cast in all their storylines, drives home the found family dynamic, gives us some goofy calls balanced with true emotion, and gives us HEART.

The difference between this week's episode and the last two has astounded me.