S01.E04: Worst Day Ever

[Drogo]

In the aftermath of a deadly plane crash, Bobby and team race to help the survivors, while Athena deals with panic and chaos at the airport. Bobby confronts his past demons; Athena is out for revenge against a group of teen bullies; and Abby delivers an important message from a 911 caller.

[bilgistic]

I'm going to need Buck to stop answering the phone when he's on a call!

Why didn't the guy calling 911 from the plane call his pregnant wife instead of 911 to tell her he loved her?

[AgentRXS]

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

I'm going to need Buck to stop answering the phone when he's on a call!

I literally cried out "For fucks sake!" when he answered the phone. No way would he even have time to check his phone on a call like that.  He would probably be too emotionally run down to take a phone call anyway even if he DID have the time.

I'm still recovering from the huge "Abby's mother is about to go missing" anvil that dropped on my head during the scene where Abby shoo'd the nurse away.

I'm extremely afraid of flying, so this was a tough one to get through. I felt sorry for Mets cap guy and his wife. It was predictable that the mom got out just in time. I was almost ready to be impressed if they were going to show that they didn't get to her in time, but nope. Bobby is the hero that gets there just in the nick of time, every time. Him being an alcoholic is so cliche.

Sigh, Athena, you knew exactly what you were doing with that privileged brat. Take your desk duty and accept it.  She is extremely lucky that she didn't get placed on administrative leave.  I feel her pain though. I wanted to reach through my TV screen and slap that brats harpy mother.I see too many moms like that creating monsters IRL that I just can't take seeing it on my TV too.

[NJRadioGuy]

I wanted to snark on tonight's episode so bad. I've held a pilots license, I know a few things about accident investigations as well as first response so I was ready to tear this one apart. But then a funny thing happened. I liked it. Yes, yes, we can savage the crash and rescue but a rookie TV show's budget just wouldn't allow for the necessary VFX, the 200+ emergency vehicles and extras, etc. I handwaved much of that part. The reactions by the crew of L118 were the focus and for the most part, they resonated with me. I also loved the "last message" plot.

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

Why didn't the guy calling 911 from the plane call his pregnant wife instead of 911 to tell her he loved her?

What if she's out or doesn't answer, or voice mail has been having problems, etc? Not a bad call, in fact. Assuming cell service works from about 5000 feet to the ground—it didn't when I was last acting as pilot in command about 10 years ago. And the expression of the wife listening to the call on the headset was heartbreaking.

I think it would have been better dramatically for the mom to die in the crash—Nash would have a far better reason to hit the bottle, trying and having failed to save her. But the ol' softie in me is glad she didn't.

Don't give a crap about the Abby's mother plot. Sorry. And yeah, moron-Probie, put the @#$%ing phone down and turn it off when you're on duty. Maybe make that call when you're in the R&R tent on a short break.

I liked Athena's actions. Too bad she's on the rubber gun squad for a spell, but it's worth it. Brat goes into the system, goes to court, etc. Wonder if the brat's parents could be held liable in civil court?

[Raja]

5 hours ago, NJRadioGuy said:

I wanted to snark on tonight's episode so bad. I've held a pilots license, I know a few things about accident investigations as well as first response so I was ready to tear this one apart. But then a funny thing happened. I liked it. Yes, yes, we can savage the crash and rescue but a rookie TV show's budget just wouldn't allow for the necessary VFX, the 200+ emergency vehicles and extras, etc. I handwaved much of that part. The reactions by the crew of L118 were the focus and for the most part, they resonated with me. I also loved the "last message" plot.

snip.

I liked Athena's actions. Too bad she's on the rubber gun squad for a spell, but it's worth it. Brat goes into the system, goes to court, etc. Wonder if the brat's parents could be held liable in civil court?

I was too. It was the only the Sergeant's story which had me saying well okay they missed the opportunity. In both cases where were all the bystanders with their cell phones out recording her every movement? If they let her back on the street she needs a body-cam on. Or the airport police Captain acting like he was mall security when "real police" arrived only to have her to remind the officer on the plane he was an actual police officer.

They are killing me with local geography, one week they are the first responders to the valley, the next week off of LAX, it is just like Station 51 back in  the day on Emergency. I was surprised that "Baywatch", the local lifeguards and the Coast Guard made an appearance. I couldn't help but think if this was a doctor show the mother would have had her leg amputated to get her out . 

[BooksRule]

I was surprised that none of the other teens were recording Athena's confrontation with the brat (unless I missed it).  I thought that the brat's mother had an expression like she totally understood that her daughter was a terrible person, and that it might have gone too far (although she had obviously not done anything to stop it).  The father seemed clueless, though.

I figured that the names in Bobby's little black book were the people that he couldn't save (although if he's been on the job awhile, it would be more than 5 or 6 names).  Now I'm guessing that the names are those of his family (I've already deleted the episode, or I would go back to look at the glimpse we got of at least one of the names) or of some who died while he was drunk (maybe?).  

As a fan of Kurt Russell all the way back to his  Disney movie days, I laughed at 'God bless Goldie Hawn and that mouth-watering white boy.'  

[break21]

Is next week when the Cruise Ship goes down?

[NJRadioGuy]

3 hours ago, Raja said:

They are killing me with local geography, one week they are the first responders to the valley, the next week off of LAX, it is just like Station 51 back in  the day on Emergency.

Hehehe. Yep. I know very little about LA geography, but, having visited Station 127 in Carson, where the Exteriors of "station 51" were filmed, I knew there were no dirt roads or canyons or farms anywhere nearby, and yet the boys always found themselves up in the hills somehow. Every show does it, of course.

I was also thinking "field amputation" but that's not something you can do underwater in the ocean with 4 minutes left before the plane goes under. What got me is how there were lights on inside the cabin. Again, dramatic license, but SO annoying.

[bilgistic]

I'm guessing Bobby's kids/family are dead, and the plane rescue of the mom and son reminded him of it and sent him reeling and off the proverbial wagon. It was kind of alluded to when he was cooking and was talking to an imaginary kid. The previews at the end of the show hinted at it, too.

[TWOPrefugee]

I had to stop watching this garbage before I threw something at my television.  Angela Bassett's character engages in a felony act of Official Oppression on a juvenile in one scene and in the next she is berating a fellow LEO in public for duct taping a passenger. 

[marymon]

So these characters are going to do at least something once a episode that is a fire-able offense.

[juliet73]

My theory: Bobby's family died and he couldn't save them. That's why he decided to go into Fire & Rescue. Just like every other TV cliche - becomes cop because of dead parent's unsolved murder or becomes attorney to get justice because family got screwed by the legal system or became doctor to cure cancer because sibling got sick and died.

The wife listening to the tape was heartbreaking!

I understand shows have budgets, etc but they really couldn't throw a few more extras in the background acting as first responders? They have this team of 3 (or 4) rescuing 100+ people with one small little boat? And then to make it even worse, Abby calls...ugh!!!!

[NJRadioGuy]

3 hours ago, marymon said:

So these characters are going to do at least something once a episode that is a fire-able offense.

So it would seem. Although to be fair, Hank Voight's TortureCage™ on Chicago PD says "hold my beer and watch this."

[vavera4ka]

I'm familiar enough with Ryan Murphy work to suspend all the questions and enjoy the ride.

Good thing I'm not afraid of flying, love it, actually. This is the first episode that when it ended I was surprised it did. It went by a lot quicker than the previous ones. Or maybe I'm used to multiple crazy rescues and here we had just one and I was expecting at least one more? lol

[jtb34]

On 1/25/2018 at 12:45 AM, bilgistic said:

Why didn't the guy calling 911 from the plane call his pregnant wife instead of 911 to tell her he loved her?

He said his wife was having a difficult pregnancy and someone needed to be with her when she heard.

[thuganomics85]

Damn, Captain Sully really made that "land the plane in the water" look easier then it is!

OK, that teenage bully really did look and sound like a nightmare, but it was so obvious that Athena was going to end up getting blowback for the way she approached and arrested.  Lying about a "noise complaint?"  Slapping cuffs on her simply for mouthing off?  Not saying I'm not for that brat getting taken down a peg, but she had to have known that was going to come back and bite her.  Not sure what to make of her scene in the airplane.  It's like the show somehow thought rescuing survivors from a crashed, burning plane would somehow not be enough drama, so they wanted to throw in a little take on the whole "passengers get roughed up on airplanes" controversy.

So, Bobby doesn't have a family, now?  I guess they are either separated or even dead.  And despite his claims, he is totally going to keep falling off the wagon, right?

Abby's mother is now missing and is no doubt going to cause her guilt for falling asleep and not keeping an eye on her.  I feel bad that I don't really care all that much despite the awesomeness of Connie Britton.

[iMonrey]

Here's the thing that gets me about these rescue scenarios. The plane is quickly sinking, people are scrambling to evacuate, the little boy (understandably) doesn't want to leave his mother, so the mother wastes valuable time trying to mom-splain to him why it's important for him to go with the fire fighters. Like, yell "GET OUT OF THE WAY" and save time lady! They can't waste precious minutes having these long winded dialogues explaining their motivations and feelings and hopes and fears and asking "Do you have children? Let me tell you about my complete medical history as the plane quickly slips underwater and you are frantically trying to free me."

Also, we're just four episodes in, and Athena is such a hot-headed loose cannon it's impossible to believe she's held onto ANY job for any length of time. I'm assuming she's been on the force for a number of years - did she only just recently go crazy rogue?

Edited January 26, 2018 by iMonrey

[tinderbox]

34 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Here's the thing that gets me about these rescue scenarios. The plane is quickly sinking, people are scrambling to evacuate, the little boy (understandably) doesn't want to leave his mother, so the mother wastes valuable time trying to mom-splain to him why it's important for him to go with the fire fighters. Like, yell "GET OUT OF THE WAY" and save time lady! They can't waste precious minutes having these long winded dialogues explaining their motivations and feelings and hopes and fears and asking "Do you have children? Let me tell you about my complete medical history as the plane quickly slips underwater and you are frantically trying to free me."

Also, we're just four episodes in, and Athena is such a hot-headed loose cannon it's impossible to believe she's held onto ANY job for any length of time. I'm assuming she's been on the force for a number of years - did she only just recently go crazy rogue?

I agree with your post on all counts, especially what you said about Athena, but enjoyed this episode.  First one that held my attention the entire hour.  

[bilgistic]

Mom-splain!

[Ailianna]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Also, we're just four episodes in, and Athena is such a hot-headed loose cannon it's impossible to believe she's held onto ANY job for any length of time. I'm assuming she's been on the force for a number of years - did she only just recently go crazy rogue?

Probably, yes.  She's only a few weeks from her husband of many years telling her he is gay, telling her kids he is gay, and on purpose or not, shoving a new boyfriend in her face.  That alone, even before some punk ass entitled brat bullies her kid into a suicide attempt, is enough to rock anyone's boat.  I think we are seeing a lot of emotional fallout from her recent traumas, but that doesn't rally have any bearing on what she was like or her professionalism before all this happened to her.

[mojoween]

I agree that Buck needs to turn his damn phone off while on a call, but Abby KNEW he was on a call and called him anyways.

I know she was trying to find out if that guy lived, but surely she should know to call a supervisor to check on that?  Not ask some kid who is six months on the job and in the middle of an ocean rescue?

[Zoe]

Claudia Christian?!?!

[Clanstarling]

On 1/25/2018 at 5:50 AM, BooksRule said:

I figured that the names in Bobby's little black book were the people that he couldn't save (although if he's been on the job awhile, it would be more than 5 or 6 names).  Now I'm guessing that the names are those of his family (I've already deleted the episode, or I would go back to look at the glimpse we got of at least one of the names) or of some who died while he was drunk (maybe?).  

As a fan of Kurt Russell all the way back to his  Disney movie days, I laughed at 'God bless Goldie Hawn and that mouth-watering white boy.'  

My guess, given the rookie's comment that there was room for some specific number of names (148? 175?), is that the list is for the people he needs to save to make amends for those he couldn't/didn't save when he was drunk on the job.  He's trying to balance the books, as it were.

12 hours ago, Zoe said:

Claudia Christian?!?!

I know, right! She looks good too. :) 

I'm surprised the cop got desk duty instead of suspension. She's had a rough time, but there's no way to spin a personal vendetta while on the job, particularly when it involves a minor. Sure, the girl is portrayed as being completely awful, but still. 

Connie calling the rookie on the job does bug. Seems like she could call the official sources who distribute that information, since her need to know wasn't actually urgent. I work with my city and know many of the cops, but when there was an active shooter lock-down at my daughter's high school (found out from a text from my very frightened daughter), I didn't call them. I figured they were too busy and I didn't want them to lose focus. Thankfully, it was a false alarm. (but boy, the rumor mill goes wild when the kids are texting each other)

Edited January 27, 2018 by Clanstarling
Sure, there were too many sures.

[watch2much]

surprised Athena wasn't smart enough to have a burner phone to call in a noise complaint.

[llewis823]

On 1/25/2018 at 7:50 AM, BooksRule said:

As a fan of Kurt Russell all the way back to his  Disney movie days, I laughed at 'God bless Goldie Hawn and that mouth-watering white boy.'  

Overboard...best movie EVER...especially that mouth watering white boy! LOL

On 1/26/2018 at 10:32 AM, vavera4ka said:

This is the first episode that when it ended I was surprised it did. It went by a lot quicker than the previous ones.

My husband and I were both shocked it was over "that quickly"...It did not seem like a whole hour (minus commercials) went by.

[Raja]

On 1/27/2018 at 6:47 AM, Clanstarling said:

 

I'm surprised the cop got desk duty instead of suspension. She's had a rough time, but there's no way to spin a personal vendetta while on the job, particularly when it involves a minor. Sure, the girl is portrayed as being completely awful, but still. 

 

I do wonder how much power do real life police commanders have to suspend without Internal Affairs, boards of rights. officer's unions and all the legal/city personal department process getting involved?

[Clanstarling]

10 minutes ago, Raja said:

I do wonder how much power do real life police commanders have to suspend without Internal Affairs, boards of rights. officer's unions and all the legal/city personal department process getting involved?

I work for the municipality, and there've been a couple of cops suspended or put on paid leave (not sure which anymore) almost immediately. The actual firing and/or resignation, took much longer (which is, I imagine, when all the other players hashed out the details). In one case, it was someone I did some work with and liked very much, but the decision was absolutely correct, much to my dismay.

Edited January 28, 2018 by Clanstarling

[luna1122]

Finally, Peter Krause got a chance to act here. The show is cheesy and heavy handed and nothing is new or original, but his 'help!' moment was well done. I actually teared up, to my own surprise.

Clarence Weidman!

Kurt Russell sure was a mouth watering white boy.

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, luna1122 said:

Finally, Peter Krause got a chance to act here. The show is cheesy and heavy handed and nothing is new or original, but his 'help!' moment was well done. I actually teared up, to my own surprise.

Clarence Weidman!

Kurt Russell sure was a mouth watering white boy.

That moment was very moving, I might have gotten a wee bit choked up. 

IMO Kurt Russell is still mouth watering - then again he's only a little younger than my husband (who is a bit older than me). I thought he was pretty vanilla while playing Disney heroes - Snake Plissken in Escape from New York made me step back and go "oh my."

[Tatum]

23 hours ago, watch2much said:

surprised Athena wasn't smart enough to have a burner phone to call in a noise complaint.

I wondered that too! While aggressively cuffing a non violent minor and loudly proclaiming it was the fault of said minor that the cop's daughter attempted suicide was probably never going to end well, the fact that she had no legitimate reason to be there is going to sink her for sure. She was lucky to get a desk job, and I wouldn't expect we've heard the last of this. I would have to imagine the only way out of this is if the mother of the mean girl has a conscience and drops any talk of a lawsuit. But even then, I think this is something internally that has to be investigated.

 

I did laugh though when Mean Girl yells that her father is a lawyer, to which Athena dismissively scoffs tax lawyer.

 

I do wonder in real life how the parents act when confronted with the awful things their kids have done to bully others. When presented with digital evidence of your child's awfulness, how do you defend that?

[heatherchandler]

On 1/26/2018 at 8:26 PM, Ailianna said:

Probably, yes.  She's only a few weeks from her husband of many years telling her he is gay, telling her kids he is gay, and on purpose or not, shoving a new boyfriend in her face.  That alone, even before some punk ass entitled brat bullies her kid into a suicide attempt, is enough to rock anyone's boat.  I think we are seeing a lot of emotional fallout from her recent traumas, but that doesn't rally have any bearing on what she was like or her professionalism before all this happened to her.

Except - we don't know if she was professional before all of this happened, since we meet her after her husband has told her he is gay.  So, she may have always been this unprofessional.

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, Tatum said:

 

I do wonder in real life how the parents act when confronted with the awful things their kids have done to bully others. When presented with digital evidence of your child's awfulness, how do you defend that?

Depends on how much they are like the kids. I have encountered parents who actively encourage their kids to push ahead in lines, and cheat. They might be proud that their kid is a shark.

[Tatum]

4 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

Depends on how much they are like the kids. I have encountered parents who actively encourage their kids to push ahead in lines, and cheat. They might be proud that their kid is a shark.

Perhaps, but when confronted by a text that your child clearly sent that encouraged a classmate to commit suicide (and there was a real life case like this somewhat recently) I do wonder how the parent would defend that.

 

It seems that in the episode, Athena hit a nerve with the mom, so it wouldn't surprise me if the mom reaches out to make amends with May. From what Athena said, the parents have been made aware of the bullying their daughter has done. The mom looked guilty when that was thrown back at her.

[jhlipton]

5 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Snake Plissken in Escape from New York made me step back and go "oh my."

Was that a George Takei "Ohhhh myyy!"?

[nittanyvolleyball]

The things that bothered me this episode: in the event of a plane going down, the flight attendants are to be seated in the jump seats and yelling out instructions. Then during the water ditching, it's their job to make sure everyone gets out safely. I noticed they didn't even have one of the rafts deployed, that's the first thing they do during an evacuation. Then their job is to make sure everyone is on the raft. Sooo many things wrong with this show during the "big" events.

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Was that a George Takei "Ohhhh myyy!"?

Indeed. ;)

3 hours ago, Tatum said:

Perhaps, but when confronted by a text that your child clearly sent that encouraged a classmate to commit suicide (and there was a real life case like this somewhat recently) I do wonder how the parent would defend that.

One would hope that they would be shocked to their core, and wouldn't be able to defend that - but I've had some experiences that have made me deeply cynical in that regard. (nothing as horrifying as that, though, thank goodness).

[SmithW6079]

This show is kind of a mess, but there are elements I like. However, as great as Angela Bassett may be, I hate the character, and I care absolutely nothing about her story. In fact, I think her story arc drags down the entire series because it's out of place with the firefighters'. There's no real connection between her and the others.

[jhlipton]

3 minutes ago, SmithW6079 said:

However, as great as Angela Bassett may be, I hate the character, and I care absolutely nothing about her story.

For me, she was redeemed, at least somewhat, by her actions on the plane.  "Everyone here is under arrest!"

[Raja]

On 1/29/2018 at 7:18 PM, SmithW6079 said:

This show is kind of a mess, but there are elements I like. However, as great as Angela Bassett may be, I hate the character, and I care absolutely nothing about her story. In fact, I think her story arc drags down the entire series because it's out of place with the firefighters'. There's no real connection between her and the others.

She desperately needs a partner, even a driver since she is a Sergeant, to play against. I think they tried to go the Third Watch or Chicago Fire/PD route where the first responders all party together off duty and in Third Watch shared the same work hours. But only the Fire Captain is suppose to be her contemporary and there is no reason for her to be around the rookie tail hound.

[mostlylurking]

On 1/27/2018 at 9:47 AM, Clanstarling said:

I figured that the names in Bobby's little black book were the people that he couldn't save

That's what I thought too.  I'm glad he was able to save the mom.  Mets cap guy didn't make it.  That was enough for me.  I loved the Overboard reference, that is one of my favorite movies.  Totally cosign on the mouth watering white boy comments!  Was and still is!

Edited February 7, 2018 by mostlylurking

[Neurochick]

I loved what Athena said to those two “parents” because they weren’t parents.  All they did was spawn.  Athena should not have gotten into trouble, shit some cops have kept their jobs after actually killing someone.

[BooBear]

On 1/29/2018 at 2:56 PM, nittanyvolleyball said:

The things that bothered me this episode: in the event of a plane going down, the flight attendants are to be seated in the jump seats and yelling out instructions. Then during the water ditching, it's their job to make sure everyone gets out safely. I noticed they didn't even have one of the rafts deployed, that's the first thing they do during an evacuation. Then their job is to make sure everyone is on the raft. Sooo many things wrong with this show during the "big" events.

Were they dead?  I don't know why I love this show but I do. I agree it is very unrealistic. But I get the feeling they don't want to be realistic. 

This was the first episode I watched but already getting tired of Angela Basset's character with her "sassy black woman" lectures.  If the cops were acting at the CEO's direction I am betting strongly the CEO was acting with some law enforcement's direction. Why don't you just make a call and figure out what is going on.  What if it WAS terrorism? 

[Chas411]

Ugh Angela Bassett crossed the line into rly annoying with this one. The plane speech and everyone cheering - yawn. The speech about airplanes and how awful they were as well was a snore. I agree with above that her and her family drama don't fit with the flow of the show. Maybe if her husband was  involved in the firefighter or police work it would fit better.

[MarylandGirl]

On 1/30/2018 at 10:25 PM, Raja said:

She desperately needs a partner, even a driver since she is a Sergeant, to play against. I think they tried to go the Third Watch or Chicago Fire/PD route where the first responders all party together off duty and in Third Watch shared the same work hours. But only the Fire Captain is suppose to be her contemporary and there is no reason for her to be around the rookie tail hound.

Yes, I think that's a big part of the issue, that she's the only cop. If she had a partner, it would feel different, I think.

It's also sort of weird to me how Abby is really the only 911 operator they show, too. But then it's the whole group of firefighters. But she's at least connected, though a bit dubiously, by talking to Buck.

A highlight of this one was a song from one of my favorite bands, The National, over the Nash rescue scene of the woman on the plane. I was like, "Wait, is this 'Heavenfaced'"?