Don't Drink the Water

This was the best ep in the back end of season 8!

After the last three eps I was genuinely mad about the way the show was handling storylines. But this EP brought back every thing I love about the show in the first place; the genuine connection between the 118, the calls, the callbacks of past calls, A Chris-Buck, Buckley-Daiz family reunion. Finally!!!

A few familiar faces I've been dearly missing for the entire season (Linda and Pepa) ...

It even dealt with grief in a way I wished last episode was coherent enough to do. The Chimney-Athena tension is intriguing to say the least. And with them tripped in the final I can't wait to see what will come of it.

Everything was perfect this episode. (Almost...If only Bobby was still here but alas...)

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.

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.

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!

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.