Desperate times call for “Desperate Measures” in this week’s episode of 9-1-1, which finally provides closure for Athena’s traumatic story arc that began in season 3. The city of Los Angeles is also finally given reprieve when the blackout comes to an end, but the emotional hits don’t stop there … Let’s take a look at what went down in this week’s episode.
Jeffrey Hudson’s quest for vengeance
The opening of the episode takes us back through the series of events that eventually led to Jeffrey Hudson kidnapping Harry. A scene of Jeffrey in the hospital after the season 3 showdown, which is later further confirmed by Athena, reveals that his entire quest for vengeance is seemingly based on the fact that she … shot off his junk. Yep. Serves him right.
The kidnapping
Jeffrey allows Henry to call Athena, if only to further antagonize her, which he succeeds at doing. Desperate to get her son back, Athena tries — to no avail — to convince him to let Harry go and escape while the blackout is still going on. But he doesn’t want to make a deal with her. (And as if Athena would actually let him escape.) Unwilling to remain sitting ducks during the search, Athena and Michael take off on their own to try to track Jeffrey down.
Caught on video
Harry manages to escape from the trunk of the car when Jeffrey makes a pit stop to get paint. Although Jeffrey finds him (oh Harry, why didn’t you run further?!), so does a woman who’s out for a walk with her dog. As Jeffrey begins manhandling Harry into the backseat of the car, he flashes Detective Ransone’s badge at the woman to appease her.
However, Harry cries out for her to record what’s happening, which is exactly what she does. She uploads the video online, and May finds it. Although this won’t lead them directly to Harry, it helps give them a better idea of where to search.
The PPZ
After sealing Henry up in the wall of an abandoned house (and using the paint to try to hide his tracks), Jeffrey thinks he’s being smart by luring Athena into the PPZ — the People’s Protection Zone, an autonomous, police-free area the size of eight city blocks that have been taken over by a large group of people. However, this plan backfires when Athena enters the area under the guise that she’s a citizen on the run from a cop. The video of Jeffrey waving around Ransone’s badge pretending to be a cop begins to circulate amongst the group, and they quickly chase him out of the PPZ.
You can’t outsmart Athena Grant-Nash.
The showdown and the rescue
Athena manages to corner Jeffrey in an area where the 118 surprises him by blocking his exit with their firetruck. He makes a move to point his gun at Bobby, who’s sitting in the driver’s seat, and Athena doesn’t hesitate to shoot him down, killing him. It’s a decision that she immediately regrets when she realizes that he’s the only person who knows where Harry is.
Back at the station, they pour over the items that Jeffrey was carrying to try and find a clue as to where Harry could be. They end up tracing a pair of keys back to a housing development that Jeffrey’s work was refurbishing before the job was shut down and abandoned due to the pandemic.
The 118 and the Los Angeles Police Department roll up to the housing development with a parade of cars and sirens, quickly working to search the area inside out. Buck finds a can of paint outside, which alerts them to start looking for wet paint on the walls, and they eventually find where Harry was hidden. As Athena and her family’s nightmare finally comes to an end, power across Los Angeles is also restored.
Repercussions
Harry may be home safe, but he’s not out of the woods yet. The series held on tightly to the aftermath of Athena’s trauma from season 3 until now, so it’s to be expected that we’ll also see the fallout of Harry’s own dealings with Jeffrey. As the episode comes to an end, we see Michael and Harry sitting in the living room watching the news. Michael is surprised that he’s still awake and asks him if he wants to talk about what happened. He doesn’t … but he certainly doesn’t look okay.
Adios, Ana
As the 118 clocks out from what might be their longest shift ever, Buck is surprised to see that Eddie isn’t rushing home to see Christopher. Eddie remarks that he’s not looking forward to going home and talking to Ana, who’s been staying at his house and taking care of Christopher during the blackout.
As Eddie, Ana, and Christopher sit together at the table eating breakfast, there’s an awkward beat when Ana notes that they need to clean up the kitchen, and Eddie suggests that she should go home first. He then follows her out of the room and drops a four-word bombshell on her, “We need to talk.”
Christopher loves Ana, and he thought that he could come to love her, too. But he can’t do this anymore. After his panic attacks, that much is certainly clear. Ana, shaken, goes to say goodbye to Christopher.
Maddie’s decision
After the power comes back on, Maddie calls Chimney, but it goes to voicemail because his phone is dead. It seems like she wants to tell him something in the message, but she changes her mind. She packs up Jee-Yun and says that they’re going to see Chimney at work.
Chimney comes home to find that Maddie and Jee-Yun aren’t there. He receives a call from the station and arrives to find that Maddie did indeed show up, but she left Jee-Yun there. Ravi gives Chimney a tablet, on which Maddie has recorded a heartbreaking, tearful message telling him that their daughter isn’t safe with her. She’s better off without her …
Don’t miss the next episode of 9-1-1 next Monday on FOX, and catch up on all of our coverage on the series here!
