RECAP: 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 14 — “Sick Day”

When 9-1-1 decides to dig in, it digs in. 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 14, titled “Sick Day,” the first part of a two-part thriller called 9-1-1: Contagion, delivers one of the best episodes of the show as of late. It wastes no time in getting to the action but there’s still room for the personal touches that allow insight into where the characters are at currently before heading into disaster.

The Han-Wilson family unit continues to be a nice touch this season. Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) do a gender reveal party for Jee, but a mix up at the bakery makes Jee think she’s getting a little sister. A cute scene, which is needed, because the rest of the episode takes some dark turns.

There’s also a quick check-in at the Grant-Nash house build, where May (Corinne Massiah) and Harry (Elijah M. Cooper) make an appearance. The build doesn’t look like much has happened since we last saw it in 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 11, though May and Harry do have some complaints about where their rooms are located or that they don’t even seem to exist. Like with the Han-Wilson family scene before this, it’s a nice little check-in on what will no doubt be considered simpler times in the weeks to come.

Ravi finally gets some time to shine, though not in the way he probably wanted. At a bus accident, Ravi saves a woman from a car, but realizes too late he missed an infant baby in the backseat. This prompts Bobby to run and make the save instead, during which there’s a dramatic fake out of his death when the car explodes. But Bobby and the baby survive, while Ravi sits with the knowledge that he was almost responsible for the baby’s death.

Ravi gets a full arc in 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 14.

While Ravi does get some of the emotional real estate this episode, it still doesn’t feel like enough for a character that’s been here since 9-1-1 Season 4. Still, it’s nice to see him travel a full arc this episode. Buck somehow managed to get Ravi to hang out with him again (at the same bar too). This is a great scene, though. A good parallel to the last time when they were at this bar and Buck talked so much that Ravi ditched him.

But this time, Ravi has the floor, and Buck talks him through his insecurities about his job. Ravi’s belief that he should quit after one misstep makes sense for this episode, but also just feels like we’ve missed so much of Ravi’s lore and mindset. That’s just the nature of Anirudh Pisharody’s role as guest star, but it’s also been established that 9-1-1 is not great at making their characters exist off screen. He feels suspended in 9-1-1 Season 6 Ravi, another time where he questioned his role as a firefighter after a bad call. So while this feels like a repetitive story beat for Ravi, at least he’s getting an arc this episode. More on this later.

Lest we forget this is a two-part thriller, lab techs arrive to explain the “contagion” part of 9-1-1: Contagion. Scientists are doing research on a virus more nasty than Ebola, attempting to create a cure. In order to create that cure, Moira speeds up the incubation period of the virus, and then gets fired for it. This leads to resentment and the burning of the lab. It’s a very quick set up, but it works.

The 118 arrive at the lab and begin their rescue mission. The cinematic scale of this set piece deserves praise. Director Karla Braun and director of photography Andrew Mitchell create a lively emergency sequence. Much like in 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 11, everything’s constantly moving and nothing feels static. From the moment the 118 steps on scene, the stakes are set and the momentum strong. The inclusion of the military provides an even grander scale, creating another eventual obstacle in the form of John Hartman, a military commander played by Rick Worthy.

9-1-1 continues to be top-tier when it comes to near-death experiences.

Inside the lab, it’s dark and smokey, with flashing lights, creating a chaotic atmosphere for the 118 to navigate. As they search for the remaining scientists trapped inside, they also have to be wary of the virus. Chimney once again finds himself in a vent, a nice callback to 9-1-1 Season 7 when he got encephalitis.

Maybe he should just stay out of vents from now on, because while they’re able to save the other scientist Roz (Sadie Kuwano), Buck (Oliver Stark) bringing her to the decontamination room, there’s an explosion that causes the whole place to go on lockdown, separating Buck from the rest of the 118. The explosion severely injures Hen (Aisha Hinds), and causes Chimney’s mask to break, exposing him to the virus.

9-1-1 is top tier when it does full team near-death experiences. This one is reminiscent of the 9-1-1 Season 6 finale, in which a bridge collapse put the entire 118 in danger, with Buck left to do most of the saving. And here we are again, with Buck on the outside left to set a rescue plan in motion.

There’s something so poetic about the last few episodes focusing heavily on Buck’s abandonment issues only to watch him fight against the military for his team. Stark’s performance in this episode is one of his best; when he asks for the 118 to sound off, that fear of abandonment creeps back into his voice, his desperation only calmed by his sister on the other end of the 9-1-1 call.

But what’s also great is that the rest of the 118 isn’t totally helpless. Bobby (Peter Krause), Ravi, and Chimney are all still standing. They work together to dig Hen out of the rubble, and then have to perform surgery to repair her collapsed lung. To make matters worse, Chimney, the only available paramedic, has probably been exposed to the virus, and can’t do the surgery.

The exchange he has with Maddie on the phone here is one of the best parts of the episode. It’s a small moment, but the way Maddie calls to check-in on Chimney for personal reasons but also to remind him that he can’t perform the surgery because he could expose Hen speaks to their ability to do their jobs under high pressure personal situations. It’s a moment that has both personal and professional layers to it that is cool to see.

This episode of 9-1-1 goes into pandemic territory.

Chimney isolates himself in another room but is able to walk Bobby through the steps for the surgery, and shortly after, Hen is stable. But now Chimney is showing symptoms of the virus, which makes Buck and Athena (Angela Bassett), who are outside giving the military a run for their money on competence, realize that the virus’ incubation period is shorter than they thought. Now we’re in pandemic territory.

Roz explains there’s a cure inside the laboratory, but Hartman decides that sacrificing the remaining 118 so that the virus doesn’t spread is the better option. This leads to an amazing moment for Ravi, who, after failing to save the baby from the bus accident earlier, goes the extra mile to save his team. Against orders from the military and under threat of domestic terrorism charges, Ravi opens the canister that contains the cure, with the code provided by Roz and Buck. Except the one vial of cure that exists isn’t there. Moira made off with it before she set the place on fire.

Thus 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 14 ends on an exciting yet terrifying cliffhanger. The 118 is still trapped inside the lab, Hen just underwent surgery, and Chimney is quickly getting worse. Athena and Buck are outside with the military they went against and there’s still every chance of someone else getting exposed to the virus, and there’s only one vial of the cure.

When thinking of 9-1-1, it’s impossible not to see it as multiple disaster thrillers disguised as a first responder show. This kind of large-scale emergency is what the show does best, from Season 2’s two-part earthquake opener, Season 3’s three-part tsunami opener, Season 4’s shooting arc, and Season 7’s three-part cruise ship (no more needs to be said about the beenado or the zoo escape, but you get what I mean).

9-1-1: Contagion is up there with some of the best 9-1-1 has to offer, certainly recently and perhaps of all time. Here’s to hoping the second part of the thriller delivers, and there’s plenty of helicopter activity to bring us home. 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 14 has all the makings of classic disaster thriller movies, rife with engaging personal stakes and fresh character dynamics.

9-1-1 airs new episodes every Thursday on ABC and Hulu.