This article contains mentions of addiction, suicidal ideation, and death.

Bobby’s death was indisputably 9-1-1’s intense disasters. Beyond being a great boss, Bobby was also a father figure to many characters.

Additionally, Bobby and Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) were 9-1-1’s central love story, with the couple’s entire relationship unfolding during the events of the first responder drama. Each call that the LAFD and LAPD worked on together immediately took on new depth, due to the married couple being as committed to their jobs as they were to each other. Though the 9-1-1 season 8 finale brought some semblance of closure, Athena and Bobby’s storylines have been largely intertwined since the beginning. Yet, Bobby himself is, ironically, most in need of further development in 9-1-1, even if indirectly and posthumously.

Audiences Are Still Angry About Bobby's Shock Death In 9-1-1 Season 8

Bobby Marked The Procedural's First Main Character Death

When 9-1-1 season 8, episode 15 turns the tables completely by curing Chimney and evacuating the 118, only for Bobby to reveal at the last second that he also contracted CCHF.

CCHF typically takes weeks to fully run its course, but Moira created a super-strain in 9-1-1: Contagion with a mere 90-minute incubation period.

Bobby’s confession frustratingly left no time for action, and the main character died soon after saying one last goodbye to Athena. Initially, Bobby’s death felt purely for the sake of shock value, and many believed it was an elaborate ruse that would be backpedaled on by the end of season 8. Sadly, the fire captain’s fate was sealed at the end of 9-1-1 season 8, episode 18, when Chimney and Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) welcomed their second child and named him Bobby Nash Han, cementing the fallen fire captain as a heroic martyr figure for the procedural.

The Context Of Bobby's Backstory Made Killing Him Off Particularly Cruel & Insensitive

Bobby's Harrowing Past Added Another Upsetting Layer To His Death

Bobby’s death was devastating, especially considering how he and Athena were optimistically planning their future in 9-1-1 season 8. Yet, it’s Bobby’s past that makes his untimely demise even more difficult to accept. As a pillar of the main cast, Bobby’s detailed backstory has been revealed in pieces over the years and brought unique shadows to his contemporary storylines. Undeniably, the most defining moment of Bobby’s past was when his wife and two children died in 2014— from a fire that Bobby himself was responsible for.

Although Bobby had a history of alcohol abuse, a back injury suffered on the job introduced him to prescription painkillers, leading him to develop a drug addiction that worked in tandem with his alcoholism. One night, Bobby accidentally left a space heater on in an empty apartment before a fight with his wife left him to sleep on the roof. The night proved to be Bobby’s first near-death experience in 9-1-1, as the space heater caused a fire strong enough to engulf most of the apartment building and claim the lives of over 100 people, including his entire family.

To Bobby, death was his fated penance.

Bobby then moved to L.A. to be the 118’s captain, but the festering guilt over the apartment fire consumed him. Throughout the first season of 9-1-1, Bobby had a detailed suicide plan, vowing that he would only take his life after saving 148 people— the same number that died in the fire. To Bobby, death was his fated penance. Regardless of his sobriety or heroic public service, Bobby couldn’t let go of his past. It wasn’t until people like Buck, Athena, Hen, and Chimney intervened that Bobby even realized death wasn’t his only option to move forward and make amends. It makes his tragic death, after he had finally chosen to live, particularly cruel.

Fans Are Also Upset At Athena Burying Bobby With His First Wife & Kids In Minnesota & Telling Him He Was Home

The Divisive Burial Makes Future Storylines Difficult

Bobby’s death itself callously ignored how much the character had grown since the first season, but Athena’s decision to bury her husband in Minnesota only further complicated matters. Bobby never explicitly stated what he’d prefer, but burying the fallen hero over a thousand miles away means that his family in L.A.— his step-children, his friends, his coworkers— will never be able to visit Bobby’s grave or pay their respects. While, at face value, the gesture is kind, it was incredibly dismissive for 9-1-1 to call Minnesota Bobby’s true “home” after eight seasons of him building a life in California.

All episodes of 9-1-1 are streaming on Hulu.

Bobby’s late wife and children were important to him, but honoring their relationship shouldn’t have been at the expense of the bonds Bobby forged throughout the series. While his first family’s death haunted him, Bobby was happy and embracing life to the fullest by Athena’s side in 9-1-1 season 8. The pair was even in the midst of building their own forever home, setting up an idyllic future of retirement, grandchildren, and an implied happy ever-after that would never materialize. In a way, Bobby’s burial in 9-1-1 was the first step to Athena moving on, but it felt somewhat apathetic.

9-1-1 Season 9 Must Address This Tragic Aspect Of Bobby's Death - Thoughtfully

Until Then, Bobby's Storyline Will Feel Perpetually Unresolved

Whether it’s how the 118 will honor Bobby’s memory with his grave across the country or what Athena’s future holds, 9-1-1 season 8 left many unanswered questions for season 9 to contend with. What’s much more imperative, however, is how the first responder drama will resolve Bobby’s storyline. Most of Bobby’s character development over the years was dedicated to forgiving himself, learning to let go of his guilt, and allowing himself to live when 148 people couldn’t. Suicidal ideation was central to the character, but Bobby’s death threatens to erase years of his healing if 9-1-1 fails to simply acknowledge it.

Furthermore, Bobby’s suicidal past has been ignored to preserve his “heroic” sacrifice. 9-1-1’s found family helped Bobby grow through his pain and choose life, only for the captain to imply the near-decade he spent in LA was somehow less legitimate than his life in Minnesota. It’s one thing for Bobby to die a martyr, it’s another matter entirely for 9-1-1 to use Bobby’s death as a way to rewrite history. Without a character so much as mentioning Bobby’s history, his 9-1-1 season 8 death is worse than upsetting; it’s an irresponsible abandonment of a pivotal mental health storyline.

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