S05.E06: Brawl in Cell Block 9-1-1

[jewel21]

Responding to a fire at a prison, Bobby and the 118 find themselves trapped in a deadly riot.

Airdate: 11/01/2021

[Crashcourse]

Well this should be fun.

[anna0852]

Buck swinging at the guy for threatening Christopher made my night!

[preeya]

What a bullshit episode. I'm surprised they didn't let Hen do the transplant. That would have been a real laugh without the laughing gas.

[chlban]

Just started here on the West Coast. Great music, if obvious, starting with the great Johnny Cash. I wish I didn't think that was going to be the highlight of the night. Or the entire season, the way it's been going.

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by chlban

[Andyourlittledog2]

As a lifetime Angeleno I am trying to figure out where in the hell this prison is supposed to be. The 118's territory stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the very eastern and northern parts of LA county apparently.  The fact that this is ridiculous takes me out of the episode entirely.

As an episode though I was bored most of the time. The plot was so worn and the 'twist' was so easily realized way before the episode revealed it. Hen doing major surgery in an emergency seems pretty OTT even for this show.

Finally, I doubt the prison has enough laughing gas (?!) to affect the entire prison all at once.

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

Bravo Probie! 👍

First half of this episode was boring. Couldn’t care less about Hen’s story.

When Mitchell said “pretty boy stays with me”, I was like… which one? Both Buck and Eddie are pretty! 🤨🙊🤣

[possibilities]

The thing that I couldn't get over was no masks during surgery. 

I figure the geography on TV is always made up. They'll put a prison here, a hospital there, whatever.

But if any of us wants realism, this is not the show to watch.

[stonehaven]

I couldn't believe Eddie and Buck would be that stupid not to really check the badges of the guards that were supposed to guiding them to the ambulance. 

It was an okay episode but it strained credibility a bit much...

[circumvent]

7 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

When Mitchell said “pretty boy stays with me”, I was like… which one? Both Buck and Eddie are pretty!

Hell, no! They are so bland and have no appeal whatsoever!

And again Hollywood paints prisons as places where all inmates are guilty, evil, soulless thugs. Such a tired trope. So far from reality! Most prisoners are just people that got forced into a plea deal that lands them in a cycle of repeated jailing. First, for some bogus charges, many times a lie. Then for the fines they cannot pay because of how they are treated in prison. But even ignoring that, death roll inmates are not treated with care and humanity either. They don't have their time outside in a area where they can see other people. They are literally cut from the world. This show negates the social service that pop culture can engage in. It is disinformation. Bad acted too. 

[alalaxmom]

Quote

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

But if any of us wants realism, this is not the show to watch.

 

My same thought when all it took to get the prisoner's sentence commuted was a phone call from Athena and the police chief!!

[Lady Calypso]

This episode...I mean, the whole show stretches believability, but this one was definitely worse than usual. Plus, I didn't find it THAT good. Buck/Eddie being kidnapped could have been a lot more interesting, especially with Mark Pellegrino involved, but it felt very...lackluster. I get it was more character driven, but with bouncing around from plot to plot, I guess I was hoping for more.

The whole prison stuff was unbelievable, but not even in a fun way. If it was more of a fun-filled sequence, I could dismiss the unbelievable parts, such as the firefighters having basically no back-up and all the back-up they DID have got knocked out immediately. This show is often unbelievable, but what makes it good is that they have fun with the unbelievable aspects. Alas, it was mostly boring, the way they solved the escape was kind of bland, and I couldn't really care much for the subplot of Hen saving the prison guard's life. I mean, if Hen is becoming a general surgeon, that means she can't be a firefighter anymore, so it seems to be a waiting game until she leaves the LAFD. 

I will give props to them giving Ravi some stuff to do with Bobby. Ravi's been underused, and since he's been part of the team this season so far, this was his best use. He doesn't feel as much of a minor character anymore.

Of course Mark Pellegrino got to donate his heart to his son. Of course that happened within 30 seconds of them saying that it has NEVER been done. 

 And Taylor seemed to be probing Buck on information, rather than genuinely asking as his girlfriend. It feels like she could be gearing up for a story, rather than her being concerned and wanting to know all the details. So let's see where that goes.

[iMonrey]

Yes I realize this show has no basis in reality, but this was a stretch even for this show. Let us hand-wave, for the moment, the plausibility that feeding laughing gas into one air duct intake would flood the entire prison to the point where all the inmates are incapacitated. I mean, laughing gas doesn't even incapacitate you when you're in the dentist chair with the mask on your face but whatever. The way Bobby had this rigged up would have taken him hours to accomplish, assuming he had the necessary hoses and couplings and duct tape and whatnot. 

Also, Bobby and Hen and the probie were all "trapped" inside the infirmary, yet when it was time to put Bobby's plan in place, he was able to just walk out the door and down the hall to the dental room unhindered. Where did all the inmates go? And what happened to their attack on the security pod? One minute the mob was about the crash through the windows and the next thing you know they were all gone and the security guard was just sitting there. WTF.

This episode was just badly written. Mark Pellegrino can do better than this.

I do appreciate the way it ended with Eddie and Christopher though, because it had the potential to be much more sappy, depending on how Christopher responded. Having him just say "you're weird" was a very normal thing for a kid to say.

[possibilities]

54 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

if Hen is becoming a general surgeon, that means she can't be a firefighter anymore, so it seems to be a waiting game until she leaves the LAFD. 

Maybe she gets a spin-off? It would be a loss for this show, but maybe a win for the greater tv landscape if she became the lead somewhere else

 

55 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

 And Taylor seemed to be probing Buck on information, rather than genuinely asking as his girlfriend. It feels like she could be gearing up for a story, rather than her being concerned and wanting to know all the details. So let's see where that goes.

I thought so, too. Bad. Buck is always too trusting, but she's burned him before so he needs to get clearer about that. On the other had, he might not know that the dad wanted his son to not know who the donor was. I 'm not sure if we saw Eddie ever tell that to anyone but the kid's mom.

I wonder how long Chim will be gone without any mention. 

After "metal rod through the head with no residual effects" I really can't work myself into any kind of expectations about realism on this show. I think there have been a lot of examples of completely absurd happenings. Not saying anyone is wrong to notice, just saying it's not the first time. 

[tennisgurl]

I wish that this show would take a breather from high concept episodes and high drama, I want some fun and wacky rescues or at least something a tiny bit more down to earth. "The gang are stuck in a prison riot" and "Buck and Eddie are kidnapped by escaped convict who wants to give his heart to his dying son" are both such big plots that neither of them got the amount of time they needed to really develop the tension they needed. This season seems like its trying to outdo itself, which is really hard when the show is already so over the top. So when so Maddie and Chim finally get back? 

Poor Buck, he just cant go three seconds without some horrific trauma. I know that everyone on this show has terrible things happen to them on a ridiculously regular basis, but Buck seems to get it especially rough. It feels like Taylor was more trying to probe him for information then checking in with him as a concerned girlfriend, I hope that she doesn't end up using him for a story, he's has so many terrible relationships it would really hurt him if Taylor ends up being shady on top of everything else.

Buck taking a swing at Mark Pellegrino for threatening Christopher was awesome though.

I know that this show loves being ridiculous, but Hen doing surgery is pushing my suspension of disbelief a bit too much. I guess if she becomes a surgeon she'll leave the show? I don't know how she can do both jobs. 

I am glad they used Ravi more, he has been around all season and this seems like the most development he's gotten besides Buck being hard on him. His last scene with Bobby was really good. 

Edited November 2, 2021 by tennisgurl

[Crashcourse]

I thought I detected a look on Ravi's face of "why do I have to be the prisoner?"  I was a little annoyed that Bobby and even Hen, just immediately thought it should be Ravi and not Bobby the white white guy.   

Bobby and Athena still act like good friends instead of man and wife.  Peter Krause and Angela Bassett are married in real life and I wonder if they made deals with their spouses that there'd be no excessive PDA on the show, lol.

Edited November 2, 2021 by Crashcourse

[Snazzy Daisy]

1 hour ago, Crashcourse said:

Bobby and Athena still act like good friends instead of man and wife.  Peter Krause and Angela Bassett are married in real life and I wonder if they made deals with their spouses that there'd be no excessive PDA on the show, lol.

Bobby & Athena, the most believable couple in 911! 🙄

5 hours ago, possibilities said:

I wonder how long Chim will be gone without any mention. 

JLH on maternity leave, we get it. But why KC has to be away from the screen too? I miss Chimney and Jee Yun…

[EllaWycliffe]

11 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I mean, if Hen is becoming a general surgeon, that means she can't be a firefighter anymore, so it seems to be a waiting game until she leaves the LAFD. 

She's a second year med student now, so she has at least one more season before she makes a difficult decision about her career.

5 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Peter Krause and Angela Bassett are married in real life

I read this and was like "Bobby and Athena are married in real life? OMG!" but now I am disappointed. 

 

11 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I do appreciate the way it ended with Eddie and Christopher though, because it had the potential to be much more sappy, depending on how Christopher responded. Having him just say "you're weird" was a very normal thing for a kid to say.

Yeah but I gotta say, the kid playing Christopher is losing his little kid cuteness and isn't turning into a good actor. 

[preeya]

12 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I do appreciate the way it ended with Eddie and Christopher though, because it had the potential to be much more sappy, depending on how Christopher responded. Having him just say "you're weird" was a very normal thing for a kid to say.

Yeah, but who was watching Christopher. When Eddie got home there didn't seem to be any other adults in his apartment.

[EllaWycliffe]

20 minutes ago, preeya said:

Yeah, but who was watching Christopher. When Eddie got home there didn't seem to be any other adults in his apartment.

I assume there's a nanny. Because firefighters can afford live in servants. (I know there was some sort of Social Services thing where the fun black woman from season 1 was 'helping' Eddie but really, I doubt life is that easy)

I wouldn't watch that kid. He's adorable but misery and death follow him around. 

[A coin in the hand]

Ugh! I fast forwarded through most of it. Stopped along the way, thinking "Nope." Yes to tennisgurl! I am onboard with what your wrote.

10 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I wish that this show would take a breather from high concept episodes and high drama, I want some fun and wacky rescues or at least something a tiny bit more down to earth. "The gang are stuck in a prison riot" and "Buck and Eddie are kidnapped by escaped convict who wants to give his heart to his dying son" are both such big plots that neither of them got the amount of time they needed to really develop the tension they needed. This season seems like its trying to outdo itself, which is really hard when the show is already so over the top.

 

 

 

[Jillybean]

I miss the wacky Halloween episodes from past seasons.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Poor Buck, he just cant go three seconds without some horrific trauma.

None of them can. What about Eddie? Isn't he still suffering from PTSD after getting shot last season? Now this kidnapper guy shoots himself right behind Eddy's head. That's gotta be a trigger.

Quote

I miss the wacky Halloween episodes from past seasons.

Looks like next week's episode was meant to be the Halloween episode, from what I can tell.

[Crashcourse]

14 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

19 hours ago, SnazzyDaisy said:

Peter Krause and Angela Bassett are married in real life

I read this and was like "Bobby and Athena are married in real life? OMG!" but now I am disappointed. 

Actually that was my quote, and I went on to mention their spouses.  

[EllaWycliffe]

I know, it was all my reading comprehension ;)

[Evagirl]

21 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I wish that this show would take a breather from high concept episodes and high drama, I want some fun and wacky rescues

Agree with you 100%.  I know that probably the entire season has been shot and filmed - but wouldn't it be funny to have a Thanksgiving episode of a guy frying a turkey and doing everything you're not suppose to do?  He doesn't have to die or be serious injured, but I think the audience would chuckle and think - how stupid can you be?  Have they had a show about a burglar dressed as Santa getting stuck in the chimney?  There are several light-hearted scenarios that would make a pretty decent show to give us a break from this heavy-handed, not-even-believable drama.  They used to do that - the girl who's skin turned purple or blue i.e.  At this point, even getting your tongue stuck 

[Nessa]

Come on......................really......................you send two trucks and one ambo to a fire/brawl/riot in a prison.

 

No back up, nothing?!

[Nessa]

18 hours ago, EllaWycliffe said:

I read this and was like "Bobby and Athena are married in real life? OMG!" but now I am disappointed. 

 

I did too and I had to run to Wiki to see if I missed something ha ha ha ha

[jcbrown]

2 hours ago, Nessa said:

I did too and I had to run to Wiki to see if I missed something ha ha ha ha

I read it the same way and had to re-read it. :-)

[marceline]

7 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

I read it the same way and had to re-read it. :-)

As someone who has loved Courtney B. Vance (Ms. Bassett's husband in real life) for a million years, I was ready to throw down. 😀

[Snazzy Daisy]

I stop associating 911 show with facts and realism since this...  sorry Bobby!

[all fall down]

On 11/2/2021 at 1:29 PM, Crashcourse said:

I thought I detected a look on Ravi's face of "why do I have to be the prisoner?"  I was a little annoyed that Bobby and even Hen, just immediately thought it should be Ravi and not Bobby the white white guy.   

Bobby and Athena still act like good friends instead of man and wife.  Peter Krause and Angela Bassett are married in real life and I wonder if they made deals with their spouses that there'd be no excessive PDA on the show, lol.

While Peter and Lauren have been together for 12 years, they are not married. But I get the sentiment you were going for. 

Include me in those that didn't think this was a great episode. Hopefully some Halloween silliness/shenanigans next week. 

[UGAmp]

On 11/2/2021 at 12:38 AM, SnazzyDaisy said:

When Mitchell said “pretty boy stays with me”, I was like… which one? Both Buck and Eddie are pretty! 🤨🙊🤣

Haha. I favor Eddie myself but it could have been hilarious if Buck had been like “Alright. Go on ahead, Eddie. Listen to the man.” and Jacob from LOST said, “I was clearly talking about him. You can leave now.” 

I didn’t hate this episode? It was entertaining even though it was far fetched. But aren’t all of the episodes at this point? I’m sure we will see an episode next season with a guy about to kill someone in an absurd situation and it turns out it is Nolan whose father’s murderous heart is overtaking him. And the gang has to convince him to find his true non-murdering self again.

I think there is potential for Hen to stay on the show even if she becomes a surgeon. Just like we see a lot with the police department and call center, we could see a lot with the hospital if she is there.

And I agree, Taylor is up to something. 

[auntiemel]

On 11/3/2021 at 5:16 PM, jcbrown said:

I read it the same way and had to re-read it. :-)

SAME! And I'm familiar with both of their significant others. I was like....WHATTTT???? THE HELL HAPPENED???? Haha.

[Crashcourse]

It really does help to read complete sentences.   I clearly referred to their spouses, although (Lauren Graham is Peter Krause's partner, not spouse as I posted--thanks, @christine falls).   Guess I won't be posting here anymore 'cause I don't want to be misunderstood. 😉

Edited November 5, 2021 by Crashcourse

[kirkola]

On 11/2/2021 at 4:29 PM, Crashcourse said:

I thought I detected a look on Ravi's face of "why do I have to be the prisoner?"  I was a little annoyed that Bobby and even Hen, just immediately thought it should be Ravi and not Bobby the white white guy.   

Bobby and Athena still act like good friends instead of man and wife.  Peter Krause and Angela Bassett are married in real life and I wonder if they made deals with their spouses that there'd be no excessive PDA on the show, lol.

I sorta appreciate that Bobby and Athena aren't all over each other all the time.  They're both in 2nd marriages, and aren't really in the throws of "young love".  Though Bobby (because of Peter Krause) has a playful side that is nice when it appears, it's nice to see a mature and stable relationship.  The touching and hugging is just as important as all the rest.  Also the fact that both actors are skilled enough that worry plays across their faces in times of stress, which lesser actors aren't able to pull off.

I also misread it as the two actors were married, but really, that's my fault for skim reading posts, instead of giving it my full attention (that it deserves).  😉

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

 Guess I won't be posting here anymore 'cause I don't want to be misunderstood. 😉

I hope you do keep posting and maybe even word some posts in a confusing way on purpose to keep us on our toes. 🙃

I imagine Mark Pellegrino thought the role sounded meaty, but then found it to be more beef jerky. 😉😆🤡

[auntiemel]

11 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I imagine Mark Pellegrino thought the role sounded meaty, but then found it to be more beef jerky. 😉😆🤡

Ha! Perfect metaphor! 😄

[Clanstarling]

On 11/2/2021 at 1:17 PM, tennisgurl said:

I wish that this show would take a breather from high concept episodes and high drama, I want some fun and wacky rescues or at least something a tiny bit more down to earth.

Amen. I've been putting off watching the episodes this season because they're just not fun to watch. I read the descriptions and go "oh, another thrilling downer, I'm not in the mood today."

I miss the ripped from the headlines stupid people rescues.

[judyri]

On 11/5/2021 at 12:38 PM, kirkola said:

I sorta appreciate that Bobby and Athena aren't all over each other all the time. 

Especially when they are working, which you see all time in the 'chicago' world, and drives me batty as to how unprofessional it comes across.

[Steph01924]

On 11/5/2021 at 12:38 PM, kirkola said:

I sorta appreciate that Bobby and Athena aren't all over each other all the time.  They're both in 2nd marriages, and aren't really in the throws of "young love".  Though Bobby (because of Peter Krause) has a playful side that is nice when it appears, it's nice to see a mature and stable relationship.  The touching and hugging is just as important as all the rest.  Also the fact that both actors are skilled enough that worry plays across their faces in times of stress, which lesser actors aren't able to pull off.

Good point, plus the fact that most of the time we see them they are at work so I'm fine with people not making out while they're at an active scene.

I also assumed that due to COVID protocols any "couples" on the show were avoiding active kissing or being all up in each other's faces. 9-1-1 was one of the few shows who were doing COVID storylines last season that actually had their characters wearing masks more than not in actual scenes so they may just be really strict about distancing on their set, especially with veteran actors like Angela Bassett around to probably put her foot down.  

[possibilities]

I think Bobby and Athena have a lot of the kind of chemistry I see in real life between people who've been married a while and/or are not kids. They use body language and verbal communication and eye contact to show their connection. I find that a lot more convincing than people who tackle each other or pant all over each other in public places. This show has more than enough excitement for me. I don't want it to be "Grey's Anatomy Outside the Hospital". All the couples are actually somewhat like this on this show, and I appreciate it. To me, it makes them seem like adults. And I want adults doing this job, making decisions with a cool head in a crisis situation, and not sidetracked by lust.

I almost didn't keep watching after the first few episodes where Buck was a sex addict fucking everything he could get access to, including on rescues. He's still the most emotionally volatile one, but now he's focused on the job more than being distracted by his dck.

[WinJet0819]

On 11/8/2021 at 8:51 AM, judyri said:

Especially when they are working, which you see all time in the 'chicago' world, and drives me batty as to how unprofessional it comes across.

Could not agree more!!!! It detracts from the episode, IMO.

[kwnyc]

On 11/2/2021 at 1:39 AM, possibilities said:

I figure the geography on TV is always made up.

I live in a neighborhood that has a ton of film shoots (and the neighborhood just next to ours). It's always amusing to see them racing from one end of NYC to the other and it's all in Astoria and Long Island City. :-)

[Clanstarling]

5 hours ago, kwnyc said:

I live in a neighborhood that has a ton of film shoots (and the neighborhood just next to ours). It's always amusing to see them racing from one end of NYC to the other and it's all in Astoria and Long Island City. :-)

My all time favorite is in The Sound of Music when Maria runs down from a freaking Alp and makes it to the church only a little late and out of breath. My family is from Salzburg and we all find it hilarious.

[kwnyc]

...also wanted to mention that I don't see how Hen is both going to med school full-time (in one of those "enhanced" programs that runs year-round) AND working full-time for LAFD. And if/when she graduates, she will have to do at least 3 years of residency (more if she actually wants to be a surgeon). Though I would absolutely watch a Hen-centered medical show.