Seismic Shifts

The two stars are me being generous, and to give credit to where it's due - Kenneth Choi.

Season 8 in general was very shaky and inconsistent with its writing and balancing out storylines, and this episode was no different. Unfortunately, a lot of the personal storylines got overlooked or overshadowed by the 2- and 3-parters, and most characters seemed to be in a same position they were two episodes ago.

The emergency itself was depicted alright, but drew too much attention away from the progression of personal storylines. You'd think that after killing off one of your main characters, you'd give the other characters around him have their open arcs at least somewhat resolved by the end of the season.

Killing off a beloved main character in a show that already had one of the most lovable casts was one of the worst decisions ever made in television history.

It was nice while it lasted, 9-1-1.

It's upsetting how clear this season was basically only outlined by the head writers and showrunners, given a greenlight and possibly a far to soon to manage deadline, and then churned out as last minute as possible.

Nearly every major arc from the beginning of the season involving a main character was not properly given time or resolve. The only exception possibly being Chimney, whom Kenneth Choi did another stellar job injecting emotion into. Every other character and their relationships were handwaved yet again.

Much of this season has felt wholly impersonal and a bit mean to both the cast and the fans. I'm leaving a season finale disheartened. For an episode titled seismic shifts, we are circled back yet again to status quo. Even the unexplained, seemingly unjust firing of a mainstay actor whom was adored on and behind the camera feels to be an afterthought. There has been and will never be closure on his death due to the circumstances that surround it. And that would be fine if the show was not pounding the pavement to move on as quickly as possible from any meaningful plot point it has had.

Overall I'm shocked at the variation in quality of season 8. How the showrunners have created a story so human and uplifting yet their goals seem to be aligned with how to remake your favorite movie of the week. And then churn out a script and cobble together footage then put it to screen, not caring how that comes across because the money was already made and spent, and the show is already renewed so we can just fix it later.

Well later won't come now, and if we as viewers do not see the work, then the issues don't feel fixed, they feel ignored and thrown away. Very bitter taste left in my mouth.

Tim Really said let's take everything everyone has said NOT to do and throw it in a dumpster fire and while we are at it let's make sure that every person is dissatisfied no matter what corner of the fandom your in. It's as if HE ACTIVELY SOUGHT out what NOT to do, and did it anyways, not too interested in seeing where this goes. They genuinely could have had it so good, gained alot of money, followers, and made some type of history, or at least left us with something to think about. However it is over.

So as a fan who gave her heart to this show i am sorry to say I will no longer be in to with my whole heart peace out!

Between arcs going nowhere, having important scenes happening off screen or being rushed to give time to boring emergencies and side characters, this finale had me once again asking myself a question I've asked one too many times this season: what was the point?

If a viewer chose to skip season 8 for whatever reason, they could go right away into season 9 without feeling too lost because none of the characters had any major development and there are maybe four or five things that have actually changed, and none of them are worth sitting through 18 episodes for.

With season 7 being shorter and mostly a way to fix certain things and considering that this was the first 18 episode season on the new network and with the original showrunner coming back, viewers most likely expected the show to go back to what it was like in the earlier seasons just to be left disappointed.

There have always been inaccuracies and questionable choices have been made in the past too, but season 8 in particular clearly suffered from a lack of direction and consistency. Too often characters either said one thing just to do the opposite the following episode or had scenes that seemed to set up some sort of arc that was poorly flashed out, if it even happened at all.

Maddie and Hen were given some spotlight only when scenes involved their families or they had something bad happened to them, Chim had a few moments throughout the season but still felt sidelined, Buck's storyline in 8b lead nowhere and 8 seasons in, he's still stuck on a hamster wheel, Eddie's arc had too many moments happening off screen and the core issues that had to be dealt with were completely ignored. And well, so much could be said about Athena and Bobby but none of it would be positive.

Out of all the things I had hoped or expected to see this season, Gerrard being the only character with some sort of development was not on my list at all.

Season finales used to give viewers some sort of closure and most of them ended in a way that felt hopeful. This season finale, however, was a perfect example of what has been wrong throughout the whole season and doesn't leave anyone hopeful for the next.

At this point, it's becoming harder and harder to believe things may get better as clearly, the fans' opinions are totally ignored and nothing can stop the derailed train this show has seemingly become.

This was one of the more lackluster 9-1-1 finales: a generally lame emergency and very few good character moments. What happens with the 20 unfinished storylines now? The resolution with Chris and Eddie's relationship? The new captain? The pacing of the second half of season 8 felt both rushed and dragging already, full of off-putting characterizations, so I suppose this finale was fitting in some ways. I thought for a moment season 8 had found its groove, but I was sadly wrong. This will probably be my last season as a dedicated watcher, as I would rather remember the show for how well-developed and interesting it used to be. Unfortunately I see 9-1-1 going the way of Dexter and Glee, lasting one or two seasons past its natural end and leaving a sour taste in past fans' mouths.