Note: The following story contains spoilers from “9-1-1” Season 8, Episode 3.
“9-1-1” is no stranger to miraculous rescues, but Angela Bassett just pulled off the craziest one yet with Thursday’s plane landing extravaganza.
Concluding the three-episode event that kicked off with the ABC first responder drama’s buzzy Bee-nado, the latest episode followed as Athena Grant (Bassett) piloted a stranded passenger plane to safety with the help of air traffic control over the phone, her husband Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) and a very young video game enthusiast.
“What I love about being a part of ‘9-1-1’ is the ability to not only bring incredible moments of television to viewers, but we as actors get to play, too,” Bassett told TheWrap in an email. “I enjoy filming those intense action scenes and especially with our younger cast members. It’s fun to see the experience through their eyes.”
The rescue involved Athena landing the plane on a stretch of the 110 freeway in Los Angeles, after Bobby — who had inadvertently stolen a fire truck from the fictional firefighter show in which he’s been consulting on since leaving the firehouse — shut down the road with the help of Buck (Oliver Stark).
Through the high-pressure situation, Athena felt Bobby’s support from the ground — who kept her confident and guided her to him. In a made-for-TV-gold moment, Athena landed the plane and it came to a complete halt right in front of where Bobby was standing atop the fire truck.
“When you have a wonderful, trustworthy scene partner like Peter along for the ride, it’s always easy to perform with authenticity and vulnerability in that moment,” Bassett said. “I am grateful that our genuine care and love for one another as friends and colleagues shows on screen.”
Beyond the action-packed plane emergency, Athena was on that plane to escort prisoner Dennis Jenkins (Glenn Plummer) with deep ties to her past back to help with an ongoing investigation — the man who killed her fiancé back in 1991, a loss that impacted her relationships ever since. After surviving the plane ordeal, Athena and Bobby help Dennis snag the information he needed to provide to the police. Then a confrontation with a corrupt officer gave Dennis a chance to redeem himself, as he stepped in front of Bobby when the man tried to shoot them.
Dennis survived the wound, and Athena called his family and let go of her series-long resentment.
“This has been a long journey for Athena, and those who’ve watched the show over the years know that this has been a painful part of her life that has remained unresolved,” Bassett said. “Athena has what I’ll call a breakthrough in that she’s able to finally put this to rest and move on with Bobby and the rest of her life.”
Bassett also celebrated the “pure joy” of working on the Ryan Murphy-produced drama through eight seasons — with plenty more to come.
“Getting to know Athena and presenting her to the world has been one of the highlights of my career” she said. “Wherever she decides to go next, I can’t wait to follow and walk in her shoes.”
“9-1-1” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
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