The 9-1-1 Scene That Foreshadowed The Show's Most Controversial Death

Contains spoilers for "9-1-1" Season 8, Episode 15 — "Lab Rats"

It might go down as one of the saddest deaths on "9-1-1," let alone in a prime time drama. Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) passes away from an Ebola-like virus during "Lab Rats," his air hose having been compromised in the process of saving his team. In a way that's both utterly shocking and properly noble and self-sacrificial, he stays quiet about his exposure and allows the only available dose of antiviral to go to Chimney Han (Kenneth Choi), one of his closest friends and an expectant father. Saddening, shocking, and tragic — and completely if subtly foreshadowed.

During the show's bee-laden three-part Season 8 premiere, Bobby takes work as a technical advisor on a not-entirely-unlike-"9-1-1" firefighter drama called "Hotshots." He learns from the lead actor, Brad Torrence (Callum Blue), that Brad's character will die. This is bad, since Bobby is trying to talk down a jumper who's already distraught that the character is a coma. "You can't kill him! He holds the fire fam together!" exclaims the jumper.

While Brad, who's shadowing the team, manages to talk the person down and diffuse the situation, "9-1-1" showrunner Tim Minear has admitted to Entertainment Weekly that this was a fourth wall-breaking Easter egg which pointed toward his future plans. "That was me kind of hinting a little bit about what my intentions were," he said. But Bobby himself admits during "Lab Rats" that his death has long been a predestined thing.

During his final conversation with wife Athena Nash (Angela Bassett) in "Lab Rats," Bobby tells her he always felt as if he had been waiting to die: "L.A. was supposed to be my penance, not my home. Then you said yes to a dinner invitation, and I started to live again." The "penance" comment references a pre-series fire that kills over 100 people, including both of his children and his wife, which starts due to Bobby's own addictions. 

Bobby is injured on the job and spirals into a pain pill and alcohol dependency. He eventually rents a separate apartment to indulge in his foibles in private, but leaves a space heater on by mistake and is locked out after a fight with his wife during which she takes his keys. He survives because he goes to sleep on the roof. When he starts over in Los Angeles, he doesn't expect to fall in love with Athena, do good work as a firefighter again, or tame his addictions –  all things he manages to do. Sure, he relapses during Season 1 — but he dies a sober man.

And yet Bobby's entire existence has, in its own way, served as an Easter egg; the clock has been ticking down toward his death ever since the first episode of "9-1-1." But no matter how thoroughly his passing was foreshadowed, it's hard to deny how devastating Bobby's death has proven to be — to the show and its fanbase.

If you or anyone you know is struggling, in crisis, or needs help with addiction issues, contact the relevant resources below:

• Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org
• Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).