9-1-1 Set Up A Huge Potential Loss In The Season 7 Finale, But One Cliffhanger Detail Is Bugging Me

Spoilers ahead for Episode 9 of 9-1-1 Season 7, called "Ashes, Ashes."

It's usually safe to expect a cliffhanger when it comes to 9-1-1 ending a season, and that clearly hasn't changed with the move from Fox to ABC. In "Ashes, Ashes," Bobby and others from the 118 (plus Tommy) were being rewarded for their heroics during the cruise ship crisis that started Season 7 in the 2024 TV schedule, but he wasn't feeling particularly heroic. In fact, he decided to quit his job, have meaningful last exchanges with his coworkers, and give Athena quite a scare.

The episode ended with Bobby quite possibly on death's door due to a fire, which is a very stressful way to end the penultimate episode... but I'm bugged by something else as I start thinking ahead to next week's finale.

What Happened to Bobby In "Ashes, Ashes"

While Buck and Eddie seemed pretty happy to get their medals to start the episode, Bobby used his speech to try and absolve himself of any heroics and give all the credit to his fellow firefighters. After arguing with his superior officer at the ceremony, he broke the news to his wife that he'd quit his job. While he insisted that he was just tired and ready to retire, Athena knows him better than to just accept that without digging a little deeper.

While Bobby's behavior at the 118 100% felt like he was saying his goodbyes to the firehouse – up to and including letting Buck cook – Athena tracked down Amir to recruit him to talk to her husband. It was a bold move, considering that Amir was scarred from when Bobby had accidentally started a fire that also killed his wife years earlier, and encountering Amir in the previous episode was a reminder of all that Bobby had lost.

Amir initially agreed to help Athena, but was overwhelmed when he visited their house ands saw the beautiful life that Bobby had been able to build for himself. He ran out of the house just as Bobby got home, starting a big argument between the couple. While Bobby made some valid points, Athena emotionally pointed out all the ways that he seemed like he was getting his affairs in order.

Bobby finally admitted that he'd gone to a dark place and was back to believing that he should have died in the fateful fire all those years earlier. Later, Bobby seemingly woke up and walked into the kitchen, only to encounter his dad, who of course died many years earlier. His dad addressed Bobby's preoccupation with all the people he hasn't been able to save, then told his son that he next needed to save himself.

Because the house was on fire, and I don't just mean somebody had left the oven on too long! The house was already nearly consumed by the inferno when Bobby woke from his dream and ran to find Athena unconscious in the bedroom. He was able to get her outside and save her life, but the ordeal was evidently too much for his heart. While EMTs were on the scene, his heart stopped, and the promo for the finale shows Bobby alive in the hospital but possibly doomed. to die.

The Detail That Doesn't Make Sense

Perhaps I'm just used to near-death experiences for major characters in network TV finale season, but one question was on my mind immediately after the episode that wasn't about Athena and Bobby's recoveries. After all, fans can be pretty confident that their statuses will be confirmed in the upcoming finale, unless 9-1-1 wants to end Season 7 on a cliffhanger about their health.

What isn't quite such a sure thing is an explanation of why the house was suddenly engulfed in flames. When Bobby woke up, the building was already a lost cause due to the fire, and it took some serious heroics from him to get out with Athena.

There was no sign of a fire hazard that might have caused the blaze in the first place, and it couldn't have been something that Athena did in their room while Bobby was elsewhere, as their bedroom hadn't yet been consumed when he came to rescue her. Athena passed out on the floor from smoke inhalation, not burns. I do have to wonder if her being on the floor rather than on the bed meant that she had detected the flames and gotten out of bed to try and get out and/or get to Bobby before the smoke became too much for her.

The inferno was in fact so sudden and so massive that I initially assumed that it was part of Bobby's dream sequence. I suppose it's possible that Amir set the fire to try and get his revenge on Bobby for building a family again, but he didn't seem quite so triggered by the household that he'd go out, get some arson supplies, and set the fire. It did look like the fire started outside before spreading to the house.

It's just not clear how the fire started and how it got as bad as it did before Bobby realized. I'm no firefighter and have fortunately never been in a burning building, so I certainly am not an expert on what would or wouldn't wake up a firefighter. Something just isn't adding up, and the finale will have to do some legwork if Amir is presented as an arsonist who would do this. And yes, of course I'm concerned about Athena and Bobby in the aftermath, but dang it, I want to know!

What To Expect From The Season 7 Finale

Unfortunately for fans who are dying for spoilers after this particular cliffhanger, ABC has not yet released an episode description for the Season 7 finale to shed some light on whether most of the story will be set at the hospital or there will be time to investigate what caused the inferno.

The show has been renewed for Season 8, but without confirmation about whether or not Peter Krause will be back for Season 8. Of Bobby and Athena, he appears to be in far worse shape after his heart stopped as soon as he revived his wife. The promo confirms this, with what looks like a heavy episode for Angela Bassett. Take a look:

Based on the promo, I find myself wondering if 9-1-1 could do something like what spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star did back in Season 3, when a hypothermic T.K. was on death's door but living out a dream sequence in his mind 4before finding the will to live. If 9-1-1 does something similar, it would give Peter Krause more to do than lying in a hospital bed, but only time will tell. All in all, I'm hoping that the Season 7 finale won't be the end of Bobby Nash, and I doubt that I'm the only one!

It was a simpler time when the biggest problem was Eddie emotionally cheating with his late wife's doppelganger! Tune in to ABC on Thursday, May 30 for the Season 7 finale of 9-1-1, and revisit earlier episodes streaming with a Hulu subscription now and over summer hiatus.