WARNING: There are spoilers for Thursday’s “9-1-1” episode in this story.
This week, “9-1-1” broke a long-standing TV procedural convention by murdering off not only a prominent character but also the show’s top male actor, Captain Bobby Nash, who was portrayed by Peter Krause, a former cast member of “Six Feet Under” and “Parenthood.”For the past few weeks, there have been rumors that Krause would leave when pictures of the “9-1-1” team filming a massive funeral scene in downtown Los Angeles appeared on social media (along with the title of the upcoming episode of the season, “The Last Alarm”). After serving as captain of LAFD’s Station 118 for eight seasons and nine years, Krause is aware of the effect Bobby’s passing will have on viewers who already suspected his time was running out.
“I’ve heard a lot of supporters are furious about this defeat, and they’re justified in feeling that way. In a statement released Thursday, Krause stated, “It is a loss.” Nevertheless, it was more than just a daring artistic decision on a daring show. Bobby Nash was designed to be sacrificed and sacrificed. In order for others to live another day, first responders put their lives in danger while on the job. They are honored in his tale arc. At “9-1-1,” we honor the amazing men and women who work in these hazardous occupations and fight to keep us safe. With long hours, demanding feats, and complex disasters, our program may be extremely challenging to make at times. Without one another, we couldn’t have succeeded.
Since the eight-season premiere of the Ryan Murphy-produced series on Fox, Krause has been a star of “9-1-1.” Bobby gave up his chance to be rescued from a deadly infection by handing his crewmate Chimney (played by Kenneth Choi) the sole bottle of vaccination available, and he died as valiantly as the character lived in Thursday’s episode of “9-1-1,” “Lab Rats.”
In the last seconds of the show, Bobby’s wife, LAPD sergeant Athena Grant-Nash (Angela Bassett), and the “9-1-1” audience were both informed of the decision he made. Speaking through a barrier of protection, Bobby fought through bloody coughs to offer Athena a heartfelt farewell address. Then, before his body failed due to the infection, he went to a table, knelt, and clasped his hands in prayer.
Athena, Chimney, Buck (Oliver Stark), Hen (Aisha Hinds), Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), and the other 118 were all in grief at the close of the episode due to the abrupt change in circumstances. Bobby’s captain’s helmet was left behind as medical personnel carried out his zip-locked body bag.
Since Connie Britton left the show at the end of Season 1 (and that departure was not through character death), fans of “9-1-1” will find the image difficult to accept. However, showrunner Tim Minear stated that he needed the conclusion to be “unambiguous.”
Minear told Variety, “I had to persuade everyone of this.” “Yes, it will save us money to get rid of him,” the network did not say. That was not the case. As a writer, you could understand how the entire universe felt more alive as I pitched it, so I had to pitch it to the highest levels and basically walk them through the entire story and attempt to infect them — it’s an odd word choice, considering the plot. The fact that this had occurred made it seem more real.
According to Bassett, the last sequence involving Bobby and Athena was “shot a couple of different ways.” “There were various situations and conclusions, but one thing remained constant: the connection and bond between them,” she continued. And I believe we were emotionally present when we gazed into each other’s eyes, and that was what conveyed the tale. And when it came time for editing, I believe that also told the tale. that this is the feeling between the two of them at this very instant.
Krause was “such a trouper” during the episode’s production, according to Bassett, who has been starring with Krause in “9-1-1” since the beginning (their characters have been in an on-screen romance since Season 2). “It was tough for both of us, but he made you feel as comfortable with it as he could,” she remarked. After that, I simply laughed and said, ‘Well, I’ve died twice. I understand how you feel because I’ve had a few characters who passed really horribly. Everything will work out. We’ll see how the audience responds, but we’ll be fine.
Bassett claimed she has “not dared” to ask Minear what would happen next, given that there are three episodes remaining in Season 8 and a Season 9 renewal has already been agreed upon: “However, I can’t help but feel that this indicates that Athena will have to deal with more.” “I’m fairly certain that Athena is “probably done” with relationships,” Bassett continued.
Bassett stated, “We just didn’t see this coming, so it was just surprising, very surprising.” We’ve been surviving really perilous situations and acting like superheroes for the past eight years, but we all manage to survive. As a result, it was really confusing when we read this and I read the script. Then, since Athena and Bobby were such a happy couple and a great team, I had the chance to speak with Tim and ask him why, if he was certain, and why we were heading in this direction. It was depressing.
Below is Krause’s complete statement regarding his departure from “9-1-1,” which is followed by Variety’s interview with Minear regarding Bobby’s passing and the future of the program.
I want to express my gratitude to Tim Minear, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, and Dana Walden for giving me such a complicated character to work with over the past nine years. The role of Captain Bobby Nash has been an honor for me.
We started addressing issues like loss, guilt, rage, and addiction via him in October 2017 as we looked at his connection with grace, forgiveness, and a higher power. We saw him embrace his new family at the firehouse and his new family with Athena Grant, where he found acceptance and love, as he progressed through his healing process. We also had a great time traveling. It was enjoyable.
I want to express my gratitude to all of you for assisting me in giving the character in our larger-than-life emergency scene a feeling of dignity and authenticity. I was humbled by working in tandem with our technical adviser, Chief Mike Bowman, and actual firemen. Your warm and encouraging remarks have meant so much to me.
Many fans, I’ve heard, are outraged about this loss, and they have good reason to be. A loss has occurred. On a bold show, it was more than just a daring creative decision. Bobby Nash was designed for sacrifice and was written in it. For the sake of others’ survival, first responders put their lives in danger while on the job. His plot pays tribute to them. In order to keep us safe, 9-1-1 honors the amazing men and women who perform these risky tasks.
Making our program, which includes intricate disasters, difficult stunts, and long hours, may be really challenging at times. Without one another, it would be impossible.
I want to express my gratitude to everyone at ABC, 20th Television, and Fox, as well as to everyone in every department. Our team is really large.
My entire 9-1-1 family will be missed. Our outstanding team, whose professionalism is unmatched. Every author who consistently pulls rabbits out of hats. Every director was given the same task. Jennifer Love Hewitt, the call center cast, and all of the amazing guest cast members over the years.
Angela Bassett, my partner, will be missed. We were holding hands, and she was wonderful and strong. We said our goodbyes too soon. Much affection.
Brad Buecker and Tim Minear, two of the greatest in the industry, have been my rock. Both of you will be missed.
Lastly, I will miss the 118’s adored and mischievous youngsters. It’s a difficult farewell, Aisha Hinds, Kenneth Choi, Oliver Stark, Ryan Guzman, and Anirudh Pisharody. Be professional and do the task at hand while remaining unruly. Misfit heroes are dependent on one another. At our firehouse, we do it that way. Give it to the next fresh man.
What a crazy adventure this has been. I sincerely thank each and every one of you.
Was Peter Krause’s desire to quit the show the reason for Bobby’s death, or was it a creative choice?
Tim Minear: It was completely original. It was a really tough artistic choice because Peter is the person I love the most in the world.
What then led you to make that decision? Because it has been rather reasonable to expect that they will always survive and find a way throughout years of watching “9-1-1.”
You simply provided an answer to your own query. After eight years, it seemed like someone had to die if we were to have any chance of developing stories with real stakes in the future. I still believe that people become thrilled and hold their seats when Athena lands a jet on the freeway or a ship capsizes.
And Bobby must be the one?
For a variety of reasons, I believe Bobby had to be the one. The first is that it was logical. It didn’t feel random because, if you follow his character’s sad journey, his beginnings, and his journey to Los Angeles in search of atonement, it all makes tragic sense for him in a way that it wouldn’t for another character. I simply didn’t want to go small, though. Bobby’s passing has an impact on each character’s story that really no other character’s death would, not that any of the characters are minor.
Perhaps I should have started out little. Perhaps I ought to have thrown a red shirt, beaming down to the planet, and had an alien or something eat him. However, if you’re going to do something, simply do it. Although they were never any of the primary characters, I had a lot of success on “Lone Star” with some stunning deaths. It was like, “I’m going to kill you, so you can just kiss their ass goodbye if you had a great father or a mother who wasn’t a first responder.”
Have you discussed Bobby’s death, the proper way for him to pass away, and how you would depict it on TV with Peter and Angela?
Many discussions, especially with Peter. He probably didn’t want to die like a zombie from a horror film. So, the idea was really, how do you play the poignancy of it and thread that needle without it just becoming body horror? And when you watch the polished final episode, I believe Peter came up with the concept of having Bobby go to that table and adopt this posture of prayer, which I found to be just about ideal.You see him as a figure that is out of reach. Peter, our episode director Dawn Wilkinson, and I were responsible for a large portion of the staging for that. However, Bobby’s number went up when I reached this lab leak episode and saw that there was a chance for a character to die an epic death. Because I didn’t reveal the first part of that, which was that Bobby would die in this episode! However, as the narrative began to unfold, I came to the realization that “Oh, he’s not walking out of here.”
How did you choose the episode’s last scene, which showed a cut to Bobby’s helmet followed by medics removing a zipped-up body bag?
The body bag is visible. I simply felt that I couldn’t leave this episode, especially because we won’t be back on for a week and people will be wondering if he died or not. This was a contentious issue. His death wasn’t something I wanted to use as a cheap cliffhanger. I simply had the impression that the image was clinical and icy, and it turned out to be the corpse bag as seen by the security camera. It is therefore extremely impersonal and detached.However, I included a last picture of that helmet alone, sitting in the wreckage, with the words “118 Captain” written on it. It makes you want to gasp. However, it was the rationale behind my desire for it to be both poetic and somewhat of a shock to the senses.
With three episodes remaining, where does the rest of the season go?
Usually, I wouldn’t use Episodes 14 and 15 for a major two-part thriller. I knew there would be a hiatus after Episode 15, so I didn’t want to make this the season finale because I felt like you need at least three episodes after. Now, for a little sausage-making: they were shot as Episodes 13 and 14. I thus filmed Episode 15 and broadcast it as Episode 13. I would have three episodes to deal with the fallout after we shot it so quickly that episodes 14 and 15 might be this two-parter. Therefore, it’s not as if Bobby passes away and everyone continues with their day.For both the characters and the audience to fully understand it, I believe three episodes are necessary. The last three episodes aren’t exactly therapy sessions, mind you. As we approach our finale, there are still exciting adventures and intense first-responder action, but Bobby’s death is the focus of each and every one of the following three episodes.
What was your conversation with Angela like about what this means for her and her character, because she’s going to stay and Athena’s now going to be carrying all of this moving forward?
I had to give each cast member a call. To begin with, Peter and I were aware of this for a long time before the rest of the cast. Prior to that, we had been discussing it for approximately a month. At last, it was time for me to inform the cast of the situation. And because we didn’t want the script to leak, we attempted to be cautious—you can see how that worked out—by giving separate versions of it to some of the crew, day actors, or background artists. Naturally, that kind of went out the window when we went out and shot stuff in the middle of the day.
However, each member of the cast reacted slightly differently. For example, Aisha simply didn’t trust me when I called her. “No, really, come on,” she said. You’re not serious, come on. The same thing, Kenny. No one could believe it, really. I had to persuade them that it was real, not just make a fast phone call saying, “I’m going to kill off this character.” Angela was taken aback. “You’re going to kill my husband?” she exclaimed. “And it’s going to create a lot of story for you,” I say.
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