9-1-1 Season 9’s Ridiculous Space Premise Could Secretly Be What Saves Athena

The premise of Athena and Hen going to space in the upcoming season of 9-1-1 is utterly ridiculous, only slightly more believable than Tej and Roman driving a rocket car into space in F9. Fans had good reason to side-eye the 9-1-1 season 9 trailer that shows Angela Bassett’s Athena in space alongside Aisha Hinds’ Hen. In the rankings of 9-1-1‘s absurdly over-the-top disasters, it might rank as #1.

And yet, as silly as it is, her trip to space in 9-1-1 season 9 may be the event that finally gives Athena the emotional release and closure she needs to properly say goodbye to Bobby and let him go. Bobby Nash’s death in 9-1-1 season 8 was shocking, and everyone will navigate their grief in their own way this season. None, however, will have a heavier emotional burden to bear than Athena, Bobby’s widow.

Athena Will Throw Herself Into Work In 9-1-1 Season 9

We already know that Athena confronting her grief over the loss of Bobby will be delayed this season. In an earlier interview about 9-1-1 season 9, Angela Bassett explained, “I don’t think it’s going to be, you know, that real sad, sad grieving process that we’re used to seeing…[Athena will be] throwing herself back into work. You can’t catch her. She won’t land somewhere. She keeps moving. Keeps distracting herself.”

It makes sense for the character of Athena Grant. The LAPD field sergeant has always been driven and no-nonsense, but being with Bobby Nash and eventually marrying him opened her up and softened her edges. At heart, though, Athena is still one to ignore pain and lose herself in work rather than confront the grief that might break her. Athena has always been the strong one, and it appears we won’t see her deep in her grief when the season starts.

Just because her grief is delayed, however, doesn’t mean that we won’t see it. The people who deny their grief and bury themselves in work to distract themselves from it are often the ones feeling the most. If Athena let herself feel it all at once, she may collapse. With how deeply she loved Bobby, though, there’s no doubt that the pain and grief will have sunk their roots deep into her in 9-1-1 season 9. As such, the space mission could transform her, as absurd as it is.

The Perspective Of Seeing Earth From Space Could Help Athena To Let Bobby Go

Athena Grant will head to space this season in a storyline most likely tied to the asteroids or falling satellites shown in the 9-1-1 season 9 teaser. Both Hen and Athena were shown suiting up in astronaut training suits, and then in space. Setting aside the completely implausible premise of NASA allowing a random LAPD cop and LAFD firefighter to go on a space mission, it could be a transformative experience for both women, but especially for Athena.

It’s a common refrain among astronauts who have been to space and had the privilege of looking down on our small, blue planet that the experience filled them with a mix of joy and appreciation for Earth. Seeing Earth, our only home, from so far away gave them a completely new perspective in an instant and injected them with a profound sense of gratitude for life.

The other side of the coin, and equally well-documented, is what William Shatner experienced and recounted in his now-famous essay on his experience of going to space (via Variety):

“It was among the strongest feelings of grief I have ever encountered. The contrast between the vicious coldness of space and the warm nurturing of Earth below filled me with overwhelming sadness. Every day, we are confronted with the knowledge of further destruction of Earth at our hands: the extinction of animal species, of flora and fauna . . . things that took five billion years to evolve, and suddenly we will never see them again because of the interference of mankind. It filled me with dread. My trip to space was supposed to be a celebration; instead, it felt like a funeral.”

That feeling, Shatner went on to explain, is called the “Overview Effect” and astronauts including Sally Ride and Yuri Gagarin have reported feeling it. As author Frank White explained in 1987, “All the ideas and concepts that divide us when we are on the surface begin to fade from orbit and the moon. The result is a shift in worldview, and in identity.”

In other words, one’s entire mindset is rearranged in seconds, and it clarifies what really matters. It’s not known how Athena will react when she goes to space, but it’s hard to believe that she could look down on Earth and fail to be moved in a profound way. We’re all made of stardust, and to stardust we return. Bobby is part of them now.

So, in a strange way, being farther from Earth, but closer to the stars may help Athena feel closer to Bobby. It could be the moment we see her overcome with grief over losing Bobby, finally giving way to her emotions in a cathartic release.

That’s not to say that Bobby’s death is small or insignificant. While meaningless in the vast scope of the universe, to Athena, he was the meaning of her entire universe, and that matters. It matters deeply. It would be fitting, then, if Athena were to finally begin the process of truly letting him go when she’s a little bit closer to that wider universe that we see every night when we look at those stars.

9-1-1’s Disasters Are Often Ridiculous But The Show Never Forgets The Humanity At Their Center

ABC

That’s what has driven 9-1-1 for eight seasons, soon to be nine. Yes, the disasters are absolutely ridiculous. The fictional Los Angeles of 9-1-1 would be smoldering rubble if all of the natural disasters that befell it in the show were to happen in reality. A massive earthquake, a.k.a. “The Big One,” a tsunami, a solar storm, even a bee-nado, the first responders of 9-1-1 have seen it all.

Yet, it works because the show has always remembered to anchor the drama in the characters and the humanity of the moments. The disasters are over-the-top, but it doesn’t matter. It’s what happens in the world of 9-1-1 and the only thing that matters to the main characters is saving people and each other.

That’s exactly why the silly, implausible trip to space may end up being some of the best character development we’ve ever gotten for Athena Grant. We already know Angela Bassett gives it her all no matter what. So, yes, the 9-1-1 story could be about Athena and Hen trying to stop an asteroid shower. That doesn’t mean it can’t also be about Athena learning to let go along the way.

Release Date

January 3, 2018

Showrunner

Tim Minear

Directors

Bradley Buecker, David Grossman, Brenna Malloy, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Jann Turner, Jennifer Lynch, Marita Grabiak, Sarah Boyd, John J. Gray, Barbara Brown, Robert M. Williams Jr., Kristen Reidel, Marcus Stokes, Tasha Smith, Millicent Shelton, Juan Carlos Coto, John Gray, Greg Sirota, Alonso Alvarez, James Wong, Kevin Hooks, Varda Bar-Kar, Shauna Duggins, Sharat Raju

Writers

Tim Minear, Andrew Meyers, Brad Falchuk, David Fury, Ryan Murphy, Christopher Monfette, Nadia Abass-Madden, Nicole Barraza Keim, Erica L. Anderson, Matthew Hodgson, Stacey R. Rose, Taylor Wong, Tonya Kong, Adam Penn

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  Angela Bassett

  Athena Grant

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  Peter Krause

  Robert ‘Bobby’ Nash