Lucy-510

Let's start with the positives.

Chimney's speech to the 118 was so moving, Kenneth Choi is an incredible actor. Graham was so beloved in this episode and I truly hope we will see more of him in season 9. Eddie jumping in with the 118 was expected, and well-done. I was happy to see it.

Now the negatives.

For a finale, the whole thing felt so low-stakes, especially after a main character of 8 seasons died in a super high stakes episode just a month ago. I've been holding out hope Bobby was alive somehow and we'd see his return in this episode but we didn't. Beyond disappointment, I'm angry. Not only was the writing out of Bobby (Peter Krause) lazy and poorly accomplished, but the follow-up has been beyond dissapointing. A let down from conception to execution. He should've never been killed off, and if it must have been done, it should have and could have been done so much better. This tanked the season for me.

We didn't see Maddie go into labor, we didn't see Eddie speak to Christopher about staying in L. A., we saw no conversation between Hen and Karen about Mara's adoption, and no development of the blooming relationship between Buck and Eddie.

This whole finale fell flat, felt unearned, undeveloped, and out of nowhere. We should have seen Maddie's labor beginning, Hen and Karen talk about Mara's upcoming adoption, a moment to re-establish the upcoming relationship of Buck and Eddie, and most importantly- a hint that Bobby was alive, if not seeing him alive altogether.

Worst finale of the entire series. I feel disappointed, as well as the whole season now feeling unfinished and -incorrect-. Don't know if I'll bother continuing with season 9.

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.