'9-1-1' Leaves Athena's Fate Up in the Air As a Makeshift Pilot

Athena’s the captain now.

In this week’s episode of 9-1-1, the second installment in Season 8’s three-part opener, the fallout of the "beenado" emergency leads to a dual plane collision, on which Angela Bassett’s Sergeant Athena Grant-Nash and prisoner Dennis Jenkins (Glenn Plummer) are passengers. With the pilot out cold (and another sucked through the numerous holes in the vessel) and plenty of injuries, Athena must spring into action as the 118 provides ground support.

Read on for a recap of what happened in Season 8 Episode 2, "When the Boeing Gets Tough."

Related: Everything to Know About 9-1-1 Season 8

What happened in 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 2?

What is Gerrard’s status?

Last week, Buck (Oliver Stark) was struggling to adjust to the reality of a 118 under the iron fist of Gerrard (Brian Thompson). Often berated for simply doing his job, the new captain also belittled Buck’s more out-of-the-box and handy contributions when the crew was fighting the unforeseen beenado.

“I think going back to Season 1, Buck was a character that took issue with having to take orders and having authoritative figures above him,” Stark told Parade last week. “And then the growth that we've seen him have throughout the years as he's settled into his role in the 118, I think this is just testament to how much Bobby was crucial to that. And so now taking Bobby out of 118, you see how much of a rock Bobby Nash was to Buck. Without him, he's regressed back into that kind of earlier version.”

Ending with a cliffhanger of sorts in the premiere episode, viewers witnessed Buck tackle Gerrard, unknowingly sparing his life from a flyaway cut-off wheel. As Episode 2 opens, the upstart questions the minutiae of his split-second decision making. Did he mean to save Gerrard, or just throw him to the ground out of anger?

Either way, Hen has now been instituted as acting captain, eliciting a brief dance celebration from the likes of Chim (Kenneth Choi) and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) as Gerrard is carried on a stretcher to the hospital.

What happens on the plane?

As established in the premiere, Athena has been unwillingly tasked with serving as the police escort for Jenkins, who personally requested her as he travels to testify in a case bringing justice to a sex trafficker and child molester. Working with the U.S. Attorney’s office, Jenkins—who killed Athena’s fiancé Emmett Washington decades prior—would get an early release from his sentence. But he won’t agree to the deal unless Athena gives him her blessing.

What was initially supposed to be a fairly standard operation was quickly rerouted, as Athena and Jenkins faced violent opposition along the way, in the form of hired guards attempting to stop him from baring public serial rapist Maxwell Folton’s black book. As such, the two are last minute additions to a flight out of Phoenix to Los Angeles.

Related: 9-1-1’s Oliver Stark Breaks Down the ‘Ludicrous’ Beenado Premiere: ‘It Feels Silly and it Feels Fun’

As is the 9-1-1 way, the regular flight soon turns into a catastrophic emergency with the remnants of the beenado obscuring the pilots’ view; the aircraft crashes into a propeller plane, and mayhem abounds: missing and unconscious pilots, respectively; a high school athlete in danger of losing her leg and a man struggling to breathe in the oxygen-scarce high altitude.

News of the incident reaches air traffic control, which works with the emergency call center to loop in the 118, now acutely aware of the stakes with Athena present as a passenger, and unwitting commander of the airliner. With more than half the Los Angeles Fire Department dispatched to the airport and all flights grounded, everyone must team up to land the besieged plane. Though Bobby (Peter Krause) was previously unreachable on his film set, Buck shows up last-minute to scoop him up from filming in a makeshift fire truck. Without missing a beat, the former captain-turned-adviser wouldn’t expect anything less than Athena taking charge.

What’s next for Athena and the 118?

Lucky for Athena, a boy on the flight with his father, en route to Hawaii, is an aircraft enthusiast, and knows his way around the cockpit controls and panels. When air traffic control calls a coach from flight simulator class to help out, Athena has the leg up with a confident pre-teen who guides her way around the overwhelming number of buttons.

With the flight now turned around to its proper destination, leveled out after a dip in altitude from when a hole ripped out of its main cabin and the remaining pilot awakened, everyone claps in joyous relief. However, the reprieve is short-lived, as the professional collapses from a heart attack, leading Athena to administer chest compressions. As time threatens to run out, will Athena and her impromptu sidekick be able to ground the plane without any more casualties?

New episodes of 9-1-1 air on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Next-day streaming is available on Hulu.

Next, Jennifer Love Hewitt Unveils Matching 9-1-1 Tattoo With Costar.