5 Questions ‘9-1-1’ Fans Have After Watching Season 8, Episode 14

Ever since the 2018 pilot of 9-1-1 that showed the 118 rescuing a baby trapped in a toilet pipe, the hit first-responder drama has maintained its embrace of unpredictability. Despite being in its eighth season, the show continues to keep fans on edge and intrigued week after week. With the recent 118th episode release, 9-1-1 proves that it still has the ability to surprise its audience and keep them guessing.

With just four episodes left in Season 8, that unpredictability is both maddening and exhilarating.

Watching Part 1 of the two-part thriller 9-1-1: Contagion left viewers like me expecting some clarity on what to anticipate in the final episodes of Season 8. However, showrunner Tim Minear’s strategic decisions and the season’s overall endgame remain shrouded in mystery. The unpredictability adds to the excitement and keeps me eagerly waiting for the upcoming episodes. Yet, the uncertainty also raises questions about the show’s direction, the impact of behind-the-scenes insights, and the anticipation of Season 9.

As 9-1-1 often proves, some of its best moments occur when fans least expect them. This unpredictability sets the stage for a potentially thrilling conclusion to Season 8. While viewers speculate on what the future holds, there are five critical questions that 9-1-1 must address in its final four episodes of the season.

• As a reminder, screeners don’t include the episode previews that typically follow ABC airings. So at the end of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 14 with Bobby (Peter Krause), Hen (Aisha Hinds), Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody), and Chimney’s (Kenneth Choi) fates seemed bleak AF with no hope or teases in sight. When the episode wrapped, Moira (Bridget Regan) was on the run with the antidote to the deadly virus that infected Chim, so Episode 815 will presumably feature a serious manhunt while the 118’s situation worsens. But how the heck does 9-1-1: Contagion conclude?! Right now we’re meant to primarily fear for Chim’s life, but could Bobby be the one most in danger at the end of the two-parter?

  With Athena (Angela Bassett) and Buck (Oliver Stark) calling the shots outside of quarantine, we have faith that the trapped 118 members will eventually be rescued. Provided the antiviral is retrieved in time, Chim will likely survive. But will something happen to Captain Nash in an unexpected twist? If you need a run-down on the Bobby death theories, Decider’s got you covered. Basically, 9-1-1 filmed an elaborate funeral scene for Cap, so fans have been wondering if his death storyline will be real. Since Episode 814 opened with a Bobby death fake-out and Episode 816 is reportedly called “The Last Alarm” (which may reference the final bell service at a firefighter funeral, a 1940 movie about a firefighter dying, or both!) Bobby’s fate isn’t looking good. That said, an unexpected script leak also made it seem like Bobby would be calling 911 from a coffin while being buried alive, so maybe…he ultimately lives?! (The script leak happened on April Fool’s Day so no one knows what to believe!) Though Bobby is trapped in the lab with his fellow firefighters at the end of 814, his life doesn’t seem to be the main one in danger. But is 9-1-1 trying to throw us off the trail? If Bobby gets exposed and there’s only one antiviral dose, who among us doesn’t believe Bobby would bravely take one for the team just like he did at the start of the episode?! AHHHHH!!!!

• Tim Minear recently told Decider that the door for Eddie to return to LA and the 118 is “absolutely open.” In Episode 812, we learned that Bobby would hire Eddie again in a heartbeat. And Ryan Guzman confirmed that “Eddie misses the 118 and he would love to go back.” So all signs point to Eddie’s Los Angeles return before Season 8 concludes. But how?!

  Guzman told Decider, “[Eddie’s] not going to sacrifice his relationship with his son ever. So without his blessing, there’s nothing happening that’s going to bring him back — slight of a crazy event.” Episode 813 showed Eddie and Chris take another major step forward in their relationship. So the question now, is how do they get back home? Obviously, if Bobby dies, that’s a crazy event that could get Eddie back to LA. Guzman was seen filming the funeral procession scenes, but would the loss be enough to justify him and Chris moving back to LA for good? Chris has to miss Buck and parts of his old life in LA, but he also built a new life in El Paso with his grandparents and new friends. So leaving that behind wouldn’t be easy, either. Hmm…

• 9-1-1: Contagion and potential funeral procession aside, when the chaos dies down, there’s also the possibility that Buck could revisit those conversations he had with Tommy and Maddie in Episode 811. As a refresher, Tommy said he’d be open to giving his relationship with Buck another shot since Eddie, “the competition,” was out of the way. He also implied that he might not think Eddie is entirely straight. And when Buck recapped their conversation for Maddie, she straight-up asked Buck if he had feelings for Eddie.

  A chunk of 9-1-1‘s fandom has been shipping Buck and Eddie together since Eddie’s Season 2 arrival, so could 9-1-1 finally be taking their friendship there? Obviously this major step wouldn’t happen overnight, but at the very least, will Buck confront those 811 emotions again before the seasons concludes? Ryan Guzman weighed in.

  “I think that Tommy’s a little insecure. He’s got something in front of him that he doesn’t know how to take full advantage of, so now he has to compare himself to Eddie,” Guzman told Decider, admitting he understands the root of Tommy’s emotions. “When you have such a bond like Eddie and Buck do, I think it’s going to be naturally infuriating to a significant other because it’s like, ‘Well, why don’t we have that bond?’ But I think emotions and feelings can not [always be] a full representation of what the actual relationship is.”

  “As far as what Buck is going through and what Tim [Minear] is writing, I don’t know if it’s insinuating that he might have feelings for Eddie, or not, or that he just deeply cares about him. It’s kind of open to interpretation,” Guzman continued. “But I think it does play into a lot of people’s curiosities. And I think we all — especially Oliver and I — are curious, what is their story? What is going on there? Is this something that does need to be addressed? Is this something that he needs to admit to himself or follow through? Or is this something that’s nothing, and everybody else is making a bigger deal than it actually is? So that’s TBD. The only person who really knows those answers is Tim.” What are you cooking, chef Tim?!

• Despite the gender reveal cake mixup, fans know that Maddie and Chimney are having a baby boy. But will we meet that boy before Season 8 ends? And after Maddie’s brush with a serial killer, will her delivery hopefully go smoothly?!

  “I was really excited about [Maddie having a boy], because I have a girl and two boys. So I loved it,” Hewitt told Decider in an interview. “…I’m glad that our little man is OK. We’ll see how cute he is.” Will we have time for a delivery on top of *everything else* 9-1-1 Season 8 has to address? Or will we have to wait until Season 9 to meet Jee-Yun’s baby brother?

• Last but never least, will 9-1-1 finally listen to Ravi stans at Decider and make Anirudh Pisharody a main cast member in Season 8? Or at the very least, hopefully tee up Ravi Main Season 9? In Eddie’s absence, we’ve seen Ravi start to find his place amongst the 118 and even develop a budding friendship with Buck outside of the firehouse. We want Eddie to return, but we don’t want Ravi to leave for *checks notes* all the reasons we dove into back in 2024. We got a glimpse at Ravi’s growth and potential when he stepped up to save Chimney in Episode 814, so here’s hoping 9-1-1 continues to give Pisharody’s characer more substantial storylines, explores his compelling backstory in the future, and secures him a regular spot on the team even if Eddie returns.

New episodes of 9-1-1 Season 8 premiere Thursdays on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu.