(This story contains spoilers from “9-11” Season 6, Episode 12, titled “Recovery”).
“9-1-1” found resolution to a major Season 6 cliffhanger in Monday’s all new episode, giving Peter Krause’s Bobby Nash a heroic showcase as he avenged the death of his sponsor.
In a storyline ripped from the headlines, Bobby and Athena (Angela Bassett) followed up on their investigation on a corrupt rehabilitation facility in Los Angeles, where they suspected foul play had led to the death of Bobby’s longtime sponsor and friend Wendell (Maurice J. Irvin). The episode followed as Bobby revisited key moments from his past with Wendell, while he worked on seeking justice for his friend’s death in the present day.
After connecting with a patient who had been involved with Wendell’s death, Bobby finds out that Wendell was helping her put a bug inside the facility to uncover the director’s malpractices. As they suspected in earlier episodes, the facility was secretly keeping their patients on drugs to extend their dependence on their program. When Bobby confronts the facility’s directors on their crimes, he finds himself fighting for his life after they set their house on fire with Bobby and his new friend inside. Viewers watched as Bobby escaped and saved the life of the patient who’d been helping him, all without his firefighting gear or his team to back him up.
“That was really interesting to take that all away from him.We felt those fire scenes, we were just gelled up enough to protect our skin and things like that, but I did not have the added protection, the incredible protection that fire gear provides for you,” Krause told TheWrap of filming the action sequence.
“For the viewers, I think that you know, we’ve come to kind of raise the bar for a television series action, you know, it’s not your typical procedural for sure, which is fun,” he added. “I’ve become used to putting myself in dangerous situations for the show.”
In flashbacks, it was revealed that the patient and Wendell were caught sneaking around in the director’s office and she forced Wendell to take drugs to keep his cover intact. He died after he tragically overdosed on the drugs, and the facility took him elsewhere and covered up his death as an accident.
The big action sequence ended with a big twist, as the facility’s directors attempted to frame Bobby for starting the fire and he was arrested. Luckily, Bobby’s patient friend woke up just in time to share the truth of what had happened in the house with Athena. The investigation concluded with the facility’s directors getting arrested and justice being served. Viewers also got to see Bobby take a big leap forward personally, as the episode ended with him hoping to help a new person to kickstart their own journey of sobriety.
For Krause, the opportunity of headlining an action-packed, Bobby-centric episode is always fun, but the personal side of the episode was the biggest draw.
“For me as the character it was cathartic to get to a place where Bobby feels like he can pass on this sort of self forgiveness, self love that Wendell imparted to him,” Krause said. “We all need these positive relationships in our life. But Bobby, you know, without the 118 and without the team and the family I think would really be lost. So these relationships and having their love, I think really helps him.”
Krause also celebrated that his big episode this week also had him teaming up with Bassett’s Athena on the case. He said one of his favorite parts of being on the “9-1-1” cast is whenever the show gives Bobby and Athena the chance to work on an investigation together, which he compared to the show’s ode to the ABC classic series “Hart to Hart,” starring Robert Wagner and Stephanie Powers.
As for the rest of the season, Krause teased he was feeling sore from work he was filming for the upcoming Season 6 finale. Though he stayed mum on specifics, the actor revealed yet another big catastrophe will fall on Los Angeles for the firefighters and crew to help with before the show ends for the season.
“It truly is like a comic book that first responders brought to life, you know, the damage that’s been done to each of these characters over time, and they keep bouncing back. I love that that’s a part of the language of the show, Krause said. “It’s almost like a Roadrunner cartoon where we’re all Wile E. Coyote, getting beat the crap and we bounce back.”
“9-1-1” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
