“When Boeing Goes Strong”

I’m afraid I’ve been scammed about the bees. When I’m promised a three-episode event focusing on bees and nados, I expect there will be plenty of stinging insects throughout the movie. Instead, the second episode 9-1-1eighth season – The Empire Strikes Back the chapter on the bee-nado – there is no bee in sight. The bees were merely the inciting incident of the plane crash that takes up most of the impeccably titled “When Boeing Gets Hard.” Perhaps I was wrong in assuming that the hive would return for revenge, but it’s hard not to feel a little dejected. I’m Patricia Arquette Boyhood saying, “I just thought there would be more of them,” in this case specifically referring to bees.

I’m quick to say my disappointment because this episode is actually an improvement over the season premiere, offering a more focused story that gives Angela Bassett plenty of room to shine. We’re on the plane from the moment we jump, although we pick up just before Athena and Dennis Jenkins board, giving us time to introduce all the characters we need to meet: Tia and her man-hating dog, businessman Jordan, airplane enthusiast child prodigy Jim and his dad, an older couple meeting their new grandson, and of course the entire girls volleyball team. (As a superstitious person who is very afraid of flying, I’m always looking for reasons not to get on a plane, but…Yellow jackets world, if I see teenagers in uniforms on a flight, then yes action.)

Since 9-1-1 introduced us to the passengers who will be seriously injured or help the seriously injured, the series cuts forward just before a mid-air collision. Jenkins explains why he’s being hunted by terrifying men: The U.S. Attorney’s Office actually transferred him to another prison solely to cozy up to Maxwell “Schmeffrey Schmepstein” Fulton, who eventually revealed the location of his library of incriminating evidence. Fulton also warned Jenkins that there are people who will stop at nothing to get their hands on his little black book, but Jenkins is still willing to share his information. In fact, he will cooperate with the U.S. attorney’s office without the parole he was promised – unless Athena forgives him for murdering her fiancé. It’s an interesting, if slightly less risky, moral dilemma for her (Jenkins is going to spill anyway), but before she can think about it, the bee-plagued pilot from the season premiere crashes into their plane.

The smaller craft tears two large holes in the plane. The first one, in the cockpit, takes the pilot up and into the open sky (RIP), while the second one, in the back of the plane, is a very stressful experience for passengers. Fortunately, both holes are filled with rubble quite quickly (though temporarily), so no one else will fly. The co-pilot is also seriously injured, but manages to level the plane before he loses consciousness. Athena goes to the cockpit, where she soon discovers that the radio is broken, so she does the only rational thing that also happens to be the title of the show – she calls 9-1-1 on her cell phone. (I would like to know who carries it.)

Josh answers the phone and connects Athena with air traffic control, who is very good at staying calm even though she privately wonders if they need to evacuate the entire airport. The plane is on autopilot and air traffic control is clearing the airspace around it, so everything should be fine for a minute, but the flight attendant tells Athena that there are a lot of injured people and, let’s not forget, a big hole in the plane. (That’s the last thing Boeing needs). Together they try to move the passengers away from the danger zone, and Athena gives a rousing speech over the intercom. It’s a beautiful display of Bassett’s ability to keep a straight face in the silliest of situations. She’s a big part of the reason 9-1-1 it works so well because it always tries to take the absurdities seriously.

But the show also works because it stars an ensemble, and this episode managed to get (almost) everyone else involved. 118 is still reeling as Buck knocks down Gerrard, saving him from a flying buzzsaw. While the captain is in the hospital undergoing treatment, Hen takes over – and everyone has a job to do. Maddie calls and informs the station that she will be screening the passengers on the Athens flight so that paramedics can help triage the injured from 30,000 feet away. This is a very clever way to keep the 118 in action, which is why I’m willing to give up the belief that all cell phones on the plane work.

While there are clearly many injuries, we really only focus on two cases. The first one is one of the volleyball players who has a horribly broken leg. Chimney walks Jenkins through the process of stabilizing his leg, which then begins to swell. The diagnosis is compartment syndrome and the treatment is deeply depressing – they will have to relieve the pressure by performing an emergency fasciotomy with a razor sharp object, and no, a plastic knife won’t cut it. Jenkins comes to the rescue: “I can make a blade; bring me a toothbrush and a lighter. Chimney guides them through, cutting a knife through the muscle along the girl’s leg. It’s very disgusting, but it works instantly. (Too immediate for my taste. Grotesque cracking sound is heard.)

The second case is businessman Jordan, who has been unable to breathe properly since the plane stabilized. On the phone with Tia Hen, he initially diagnoses Jordan as having a panic attack (that would be me in that situation, so I understand), but when he starts coughing up bloody sputum, she correctly identifies the problem as high-altitude pulmonary edema. Hen is a brilliant idea? Boner pills to further dilate his blood vessels, you know. Jordan can’t swallow, so Hen suggests putting the pills in a nebulizer, which does the trick and gets him breathing again. He then tells Tia to cover Jordan’s lap with a blanket as a matter of “modesty”. Thanks to the grandparents on the plane for providing both items needed to save Jordan’s life. “The perks of being a geriatrician, honey,” says Grandma the Queen.

Meanwhile, Athena faces a broader crisis: air traffic control has told her she must land the plane herself. But she’s not alone – a flight instructor was called in and taught countless students how to do it. Yes, these students landed in flight simulators, but it’s really no different, aside from the potential for mass casualties. She’s also helped by Jim, the plane-loving kid we met in the opening scene, who successfully helps Athena turn the plane around, which is the first step in the process. Honestly, everything is going quite smoothly until the injured volleyball player has the courage to say out loud that everything will be fine – never do that! — at that moment, the debris blocking the hole in the rear of the plane falls away and the plane begins to fall from the sky.

Jim, of course, knows what to do and helps Athena stabilize the plane again, with the support of people on the ground. But that’s not the only reason to celebrate: the co-pilot has woken up, which means Athena no longer has to worry or learn how to land. 118 is on its way to LAX to provide assistance after the plane lands, and Buck goes to the set of the fire show Bobby is working on to bring him directly. But it is 9-1-1 and nothing is that simple, especially when you’re halfway through a three-part event. The co-pilot gets up and immediately has a heart attack – and we’re left with another cliffhanger. I have no doubt that Angela Bassett could land a plane… but could Athena?

• I realize I haven’t said much about Bobby’s storyline, and that’s because he still hasn’t been integrated into the larger plot. For most of the episode, no one can even reach him. I appreciate that the series I’m working on is clearly outlined 9-1-1until the director admonished him: “Hey, technical advisor, this is a TV show, not reality.” Take that, fact checkers!

• I’m also waiting for the other shoe to drop with Brad, a very intense actor who seems obsessed with Bobby. What’s going on there? I’m always happy to see Callum Blue, but the atmosphere is like that off. However, I am legally obligated to point out that Brad inviting Bobby to a “men only” weekend in the mountains or to his place in Malibu is very gay.

• Buck-Tommy Watch: Speaking of gays, Tommy is MIA in this episode. Since there are no updates on Buck-Tommy to report, I will use this space to clarify that I am absolutely not trying to get into the middle of any shipper wars here. I’m delighted with this 9-1-1 it led Buck to a same-sex relationship, and I wanted to celebrate that. If he happens to leave Tommy for Eddie, you can be sure it will become a Buddie-watching section. In this house, we love and appreciate boys kissing Buck, period.

• Some great laugh-out-loud moments in this episode, as well as a few noteworthy twangs: Hen “as captain, when Gerrard is out, my first order of business is the dance party” and “Hey, we’re going to this tournament and no matter what you’re still captain of the team, okay?”

• As much as I hate the guy, Captain Gerrard’s radio silence is disturbing. If he’s dead, does that mean Buck is responsible? Or maybe it’s washing, because the blade would have killed him anyway?