Does Athena Grant die? That was the burning question on the minds of every 911 fan heading into the season 9 finale after the shocking ending of the penultimate episode of the season. As the penultimate episode of the season drew to an end, Athena joined Detective Hooks and a squad of officers in storming the home of crime lord Nikolay Caster, who was the prime suspect in the human trafficking ring connected to the hotel victims the 118 saved earlier this season.
Upon entering the house, Athena and Hooks broke off to search for Caster, but the pair were separated when Hooks went ahead on his own into Caster's office. After hearing gunshots, Athena raced into the room to find Caster dead on the ground as Hooks alleged that he had a gun. The only problem was there was no gun, only a cell phone, which Athena discovered near the couch.
As she turned to Hooks to inform him that the gun was actually just Caster's phone, he shot Athena sending her to the floor and setting up a finale that would see her fighting for her life.
The season 9 finale opens in the immediate wake of the previous episode with Hen and Eddie working to stabilize Athena in the back of the ambulance as Chimney races the ambulance into the ER… or so we think. It turns out this was another patient who was injured and being rushed to the ER. That's when the 118 get a shock as Athena is rolled into the ER for treatment and rushed into surgery.
We flash back to 30 hours earlier. Hooks is sitting down with Caster who informs him that Athena has been making calls and looking into the case, seeming to connect the dots. Hooks assures him he has nothing to worry about as Caster presses him for information about Athena. Caster’s son suggests they let Hooks handle the situation, and Caster gives him a final chance to fix things, which Hooks assures him he will.
We return to the present timeline as the scene is being processed by Maynard and Hooks asks to be excused to check on Athena. He claims he and Athena took the office and made entry through opposite doors. Caster went for his weapon; Athena fired some shots but missed, which was when Caster shot Athena, and Hooks then took out Caster. Maynard admits something isn't adding up, as it's unlike Athena to miss at such close range.
Maddie calls to check on Chimney and she reveals tells him what they’ve heard. Eddie is worried this is their fault for pushing her to take this case as Hen notes she’ll pull through because she’s Athena.
We cut to Athena who is in a dreamlike state and sees her old partner McCluskey who had died years ago in the line of duty. In the real world, the doctors find a bullet fragment in her heart as they perform emergency surgery,
Anatoly is in Hooks' home, waiting for him with some goons when he comes home. Hooks claims he didn’t organize the raid: it was all Athena’s show. He claims to have found out at the last minute, and there was nothing he could do. He mentions pulling the files from Athena’s files, and he calls her a loose cannon as he assures Anatoly he can make sure Athena is never a problem for him ever again.
As they wait, Harry apologizes to Buck about the death of his friends as Buck takes him to the vending machine to get something to eat. Chimney approaches Hen and suggests she heads home to get some rest. Eddie steps away to get some coffee and mentions that at least the bastard who did this is dead, as we cut to Anatoly who is sitting in the waiting room.
In the OR, Athena begins to crash as they break out the paddles to shock her back. We return to the dreamscape as McCluskey laughs at how Athena never did like following orders as she recalls being shot while serving the warrant.
Back in the waiting area, Hen tries to assure an anxious couple that no news is often good news as they await news about their injured daughter. A doctor comes out and informs the group that the next 24 hours will be critical as Athena is in a medically induced coma.
Eddie is stabbed, putting his life on the line
Eddie heads to the church chapel and tells God he can’t lose Athena, nor can her kids. He begs for him to guide the hands of her surgeon and to bring Athena back to them. A man behind him asks if he thinks he hears him, having overheard the prayer, and this man turns out to be Anatoly. He tells Eddie his dad died today and it was quite unexpected. Eddie prepares to head out when he gets a text and informs Anatoly that his friend made it out of surgery. He stabs Eddie and then takes his phone as he leaves the room.
May and Ravi head back to see Athena as Harry admits he doesn’t know if he can take seeing his mom like this. He hoped being a firefighter would help him feel less powerless as Buck reminds him all he can do is be there, which is the hardest thing and sometimes the only thing.
Eddie manages to make it to the elevator as we cut to Anatoly walking through the ER waiting area. He tries to get through to see Athena, but she refuses to let him pass as he pulls out his gun. Just then, the father of the young girl approaches the desk to get an update which is when he spots the gun and shoots the man. Anatoly manages to slip through to the ICU as the hospital goes into lockdown, trapping Eddie in the elevator in need of urgent help.
Chimney calls Ravi to make him aware of the situation and tells him to get Athena out of there before the gunman can find them. Ravi pushes back against the idea, as Athena needs to be on the ventilator, but Chimney makes it clear it’s the only option, as they’re all dead if they stay in the room. Hen and Chimney work to stabilize the injured father who is not doing well. He needs a surgeon, but they’re all they’ve got.
Harry and Buck are stuck on the fifth floor as Maddie calls and tells them about the hospital going into active lockdown. She informs them that the gunman is after Athena and in the ICU and informs him there is nothing they can do as the hospital will remain in lockdown until the gunman is taken out. That’s when Josh interjects that there could be something they could do. They’ll need to kill the power which should reset the alarm, they just need to get to the basement via the ventilation room. They reach the hatch but find there are no stairs, meaning they’ll have to find another way down.
Hen works to manually bump the man’s heart for him as Eddie tries to stop the bleeding in the elevator. Ravi and May enter an operating suite and hook Athena back up to a ventilator as her stats begin to improve.
Anatoly is stopped before he can kill Athena, but Eddie's life hangs in teh balance
Using a hose, Buck and Harry make their way down to the basement, while Hen and Chimney are able to get a pulse back on the father who is still in critical condition. Down in the basement, Buck and Harry flip the switches killing the power. As the lights go out, Eddie begins to lose consciousness.
May and Ravi hear Anatoly walking through the halls calling out for them to come out as they unplug the ventilator to help hide her location as the noise of the machine would lead them to her, but her stats begin to fall. Ravi goes to plug the ventilator in as Anatoly spots him and attempt to break into the room. Thankfully, Harry and Buck arrive just in time to disarm him as police arrive on the scene.
In the dreamscape world, McCluskey bids Athena farewell, telling her she has a family and friends to get back to. She asks him if he thought about quitting as she admits that all these years sitting in her car staring out into the world dealing with the same problems, and never seeing change has her wondering if she should take it as a sign. He tells her if she’s tired of the view, she should get out of the car as he leaves the room.
Doctors arrive to help rush the injured father to surgery as May and the others are reunited with Hen and Chimney, giving them the news that Athena is okay. They all hug as Buck notices Eddie is missing. Just then the elevator door opens and they find Eddie inside slipping fast.
Thankfully, Eddie pulls through and Christopher comes to visit him with his abuela. We learn that Athena is also expected to make a full recovery and pull through as well.
Outside the hospital, Hooks arrives and uses his badge to get through and relieves the officer posted outside of Athena’s room. Hooks attempts to use a syringe he took from the hospital on his way to her room to kill her. Much to his surprise, Athena grabs his hand and stops him from proceeding as Maynard and a pair of officers come out from behind the closed door of the adjoining room to arrest him. After Hooks is taken away, Athena informs Maynard she needs to talk after she’s back up to full speed as she wants a change of pace.
911 season 9 ends with several major developments
As the 911 season 9 finale comes to an end, we jump ahead an undisclosed amount of time to a birthday celebration that brings fans several major life updates for the 118 members.
We first learn that Sue has fully recovered from her stroke, hinting she'll return to her position at the 911 dispatch center in season 10. Eddie and Athena have also made full recoveries after their own respective brushes with death. We learn that the migrants have been granted asylum and that Athena has been promoted to detective.
As for Buck? After some careful consideration, he decides to officially become Theo's new legal guardian, setting the course for season 10 to explore what fatherhood will look like for Buck.
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