9-1-1 showrunner Tim Minear has shaken up the series (literally and figuratively) throughout Season 8. With a literal earthquake teeing up the highly-anticipated finale, it’s time to see if the show’s relentless chaos can settle in a satisfying way before the end credits roll.

In September 2024, the hit ABC drama kicked off its eighth season by unleashing a bee-nado, giving the 118 a new captain, and watching Athena (Angela Bassett) emergency-land a plane on a Los Angeles freeway. And that was just the first three episodes! In the weeks that followed, 9-1-1 saw Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Karen (Tracie Thoms) fight to regain custody of their foster daughter Mara (Askyler Bell), Buck (Oliver Stark) break up with his first boyfriend Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.), and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) move to Texas to reunite with his estranged son Christopher (Gavin McHugh). Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) learned she was pregnant again, then survived being kidnapped and having her throat slashed by a serial killer. And somehow, that wasn’t the worst thing to happen in Season 8! The most show-altering twist was undoubtedly Captain Bobby Nash’s (Peter Krause) devastating death by super-virus, which has characters and viewers reeling weeks later.

On the heels of Bobby’s funeral, Season 8’s penultimate episode saw a series of earthquakes hit LA, pushing our favorite fictional first responders back to the front lines in the midst of their grief. Season 8, Episode 18, “Seismic Shifts,” will send them “to a mass casualty event after a high-rise apartment building collapses.” But a grandiose emergency alone won’t be enough to satisfy viewers. After the emotional whiplash fans have endured, the finale will have to work overtime to repair the major cracks caused by the season’s own seismic shifts.

While we eagerly/anxiously await 9-1-1‘s Season 8 finale, here nine are things we’ll hopefully see from the closing episode.

1. Starting off dark, I know! But hear me out. In the direct aftermath of Bobby’s death, we saw Buck break down alone in a hallway in what felt like a palpable, authentic outpouring of emotion. While he likely had similar off-screen releases in the two weeks between Episode 815 and 816, the most honest reflection on Bobby’s death fans got to see from Buck since the bio lab was 817’s confessional booth, where he only scratched the surface of his lingering grief. If that’s the extent of his on-screen mourning this season, so be it. But it feels like Buck has been actively holding his feelings inside in hopes of helping others heal, and in doing so, he’s denied himself the kind of cathartic conversations we saw Athena, Eddie, and even Chimney get in bits. Though Buck started to tap into those feelings before an earthquake literally shook him out of it, I, for one, wouldn’t mind seeing Stark let loose and further explore the depths of Buck’s emotions around Bobby’s death. Breakdown to breakthrough, people!

3. Buck and Eddie are finally reunited, and their Episode 817 kitchen scene had everyone talking. Whether you loved it or hated it, there’s no denying that Stark and Guzman have superb on-screen chemistry, and as I can’t shake the feeling that their characters have so much more to unpack. Season 8 (and numerous FaceTime calls) proved that Buck and Eddie’s connection is no match for long-distance. The two care deeply about each other and go to great lengths to make each other happy. But when times get tough and the emotional stakes are sky-high for both of them, we’ve seen them struggle to communicate. By the end of 817, Eddie brings Chris and his Aunt Pepa for a visit to cheer Buck up after their fight. And while Eddie got some heavy emotions off his chest in 817, Buck has yet to open up about his own “spiraling.” It’s clear the two have more to discuss, so here’s hoping the finale gives them additional one-on-one time. (Maybe even enough for an Episode 8×11 debrief.) If Buck does get trapped during the big finale rescue as the 818 teaser suggests, perhaps those high stakes can inspire another deep heart to heart.

4. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Athena and Chimney’s rift is absolutely CRUSHING ME. Following Athena’s frustration with Chim when he got Bobby’s remains released early in Episode 816, Episode 817 saw Athena leave Hen’s house specifically to avoid him. Athena finally told Karen, “I don’t blame him, I really don’t. It’s just that whenever I look at him, I see the man who isn’t here. He’s alive and Bobby’s not. I know it’s not fair…Every time I look at him, I get angry. And I’m pretty sure every time he looks at me he feels guilty.” UGH!

   In Episode 817, Athena vowed to keep her distance from Chim and said their relationship would be strictly professional, but we know that’s not what Bobby — the man who sacrificed his own life to save Chim’s — would want. Avoidance is an understandable coping mechanism for Athena, but in shutting Chimney out, she’s forgetting that he shares her grief. All Chim wants is to care for Athena the way he knows Bobby would have cared for his family, and after seeing the two of them team up to rescue people from the rubble in the 818 preview, I have faith that the finale will give them quality bonding time, and hopefully even the chance to save each other’s lives.

5. We at Decider were hopeful that Season 8 would be the season that 9-1-1 made Anirudh Pisharody’s Ravi Panikkar a main character, and in the back half, it essentially did. But as you can imagine, we have trust issues now. So we need it to be official. While we keep our fingers crossed for a potential casting promotion to series regular for Season 9, here’s hoping that the finale at least drops a line or gives viewers a clear hint that Ravi is here to stay and will remain a permanent member of the 118 next season — even if Eddie returns from Texas.

6. Speaking of, the Season 8 finale better bring Eddie and Chris back to LA. Texas was fun and all (no it wasn’t), but with Bobby gone, we need the 118’s core four (and Ravi — so, the fab five?!) back together again. After seeing the life that Chris built in Texas, it seemed as though Eddie would have a difficult time trying to convince his son to move back to LA and leave his grandparents behind. But after repairing their relationship, losing Bobby, and reuniting with Buck and Aunt Pepa back home, we can see how Chris would be open to returning. All his father has to do is turn down that job offer at the El Paso fire department! While Eddie previously assured his potential El Paso fire captain that because he’s single, he would never leave the job and relocate for a spouse, his trip to Bobby’s funeral reminded Eddie that he has a found family worth moving for, so please let him and Chris be settled back in LA by the time Season 8 ends.

7. I’ll be honest, I was really open to the idea of Captain Hen. But if she genuinely doesn’t want the job, as she assured everyone in Episode 817, then I support her decision, just like Bobby would. The fact that Chimney took the news about Hen turning the job down so hard, however, has me wondering if he could be next in line. After Bobby’s death, I’m sure Chim feels like the least worthy captain in the world, but perhaps if Athena sees his empathy, leadership skills, and lifesaving medical techniques in action in the finale, she’ll give him her blessing to follow in Bobby’s footsteps. Don’t come for me, but I don’t feel like Buck has reached a place maturity-wise where he’s ready to lead the 118 quite yet. And there’s a chance that Eddie could return from Texas to take a job as captain, but I felt like the series would give the gig to an OG 118er first. I’d love some clarity on who’s stepping in to attempt to fill Bobby’s enormous shoes in the Season 8 finale if it’s a 118 member, but if the series chooses to appoint an outsider as the new captain, I think I’d almost prefer that storyline be tackled in Season 9, once the team has had more time to grieve.

8. Let the record show that I do not approve of whatever Maddie’s pregnancy timeline has been throughout Season 8. It makes no sense to me, I can barely keep track of how much time has passed, and if I think about it for two long I get a little angry. So for the sake of our collective sanity, let’s just let her have the baby before Season 8 ends, I guess! Welcome to the world, little guy, whose name will almost definitely be Bobby, right?! While we’re talking complete 9-1-1 families, can Hen and Karen please adopt Mara before the season ends, as well, to bring their earlier Season 8 storyline full-circle? Mara has been a delightful addition to the family and it’s time 9-1-1 made it official! After this agonizing season, we need all the positivity we can get in the final hour.

9. In wake of Bobby’s death, we saw the 9-1-1 family come together for his funeral, which was touching. But it was also depressing as hell, so it’s time the core characters reunite under more positive circumstances — ones that show them supporting each other, honoring Bobby’s memory, and finding hope to move forward. Be it a welcome home party for Eddie and Chris, a celebration in honor of Maddie’s new baby, a housewarming shindig for Athena, or some sort of epic family dinner, I’m begging the 9-1-1 writers to get these people under one roof before Season 8 ends in a way that helps them regain their sense of community.

10. Peter Krause has been in every 9-1-1 episode since Bobby died, so we obviously need to see him again in the finale. The ideal scenario would be him rising from the dead in one of the many ridiculous but fully acceptable fashions 9-1-1 fans begged Minear to write — from waking up in his coffin alive to being held all this time by the government for testing. But if we can’t have our Bobby back amongst the living, we’d better get a final Season 8 sign from him (not another earthquake!) that will offer much-needed closure while assuring everyone his presence will remain strong in the show. Even if every item on the wish list is checked off, it won’t erase the Peter Krause-shaped hole in the series, but things will be as settled as can be under the circumstances.

What else are you hoping to see during the 9-1-1 Season 8 finale? Let us know in the comments below.

9-1-1‘s Season 8 finale premieres Thursday, May 15 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu.