On the heels of Bobby Nash’s heartbreaking death and Peter Krause’s Season 8 departure from the series, 9-1-1 fans kicked off Season 9 by fearing for Athena Grant’s safety and Angela Bassett’s future on the show. In an unfortunate full-circle moment, we’re ending the season the exact same way!

Spoilers for 9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 17 ahead.

9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 17, “I Got You Babe,” was an eventful, agonizing hour that ended with a genuinely jaw-dropping cliffhanger. We saw Buck (Oliver Stark) reunite with his biological son Theo, whose parents later died in a tragic car crash. After the 118 rescued a group of migrants last week and worked to help them get back on their feet, ICE raided the hospital and took everyone to a local holding facility to be deported. Then, after Detective Hooks (Josh Stamberg) convinced Athena to accompany him to make arrests in the trafficking case, he SHOT HER right before the end credits rolled.

Naturally, with just one episode left in 9-1-1 Season 9, fans will be fearing for Athena. So does Athena die in 9-1-1 Season 9? And is Angela Bassett leaving 9-1-1? Ultimately, we’ll have to tune in and see, but here’s everything we know about Athena’s 9-1-1 fate ahead of Season 9’s finale.

Does Athena Die On 9-1-1? 9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 17’s Ending Explained

In the final minutes of “I Got You Babe,” Athena accompanied Hooks and an armed SWAT team into a mansion to apprehend Nikolay Caster, his son, and a number of associates believed to be involved with the trafficking case. They disabled security cameras, and as the team rounded up suspects, Athena and Hooks went off on their own to find Nikolay. Hooks opened the door to his office, walked inside with his gun drawn, and Athena followed. But once he was out of her sight, Hooks screamed “gun,” fired his weapon twice, and killed Nikolay. When Athena caught up to them, she saw no weapon in the Nikolay’s hand. Instead, she found a phone on the ground nearby and picked it up to investigate. When she turned around to confront Hooks about his hasty firing, he shot her and she fell to the ground. Right before the episode cut to black, we saw her slowly open her eyes, but with Hooks in control, eager to silence her just like he did Nikolay, her fate admittedly doesn’t look good!

The shooting happened so fast, so it was difficult to see where exactly the bullet hit. But we know the gun was shot at incredibly close range, and though Athena was wearing a bulletproof vest for protection, a spurt of blood flew through the air when she was shot, which suggests the bullet did, in fact, hit skin. So does Athena die in 9-1-1‘s Season 9 finale?! The preview for next week’s episode was downright harrowing. It showed Eddie and Hen tending to Athena in an ambulance, Harry crying out in agony when he saw his mother, and reports of an active shooter in the hospital. It even looked like Eddie was injured! (Tim Minear, let us REST!) But back to Athena for now…

When DECIDER spoke to co-creator/showrunner Tim Minear earlier this season, he teased, “I’m excited for all the characters, actually. I can’t really spoil where we’re going in the last three episodes, but I’m also excited and scared about what’s going to happen to Athena. I think it’s going to be a really thrilling story.”

I’ll repeat what I said earlier this season when Athena’s life was on the line in space: I, for one, can’t imagine 9-1-1 killing another core character — especially MS. ATHENA GRANT NASH — this soon after Bobby’s death. Doing that to viewers? The 118? Athena’s kids? I mean, it’s downright diabolical. That said, I and many other fans never imagined the show without Bobby. And Minear also said he was “very excited about” the two-part Contagion-inspired episode that featured Bobby’s death. So never say never! That said…

Is Angela Bassett Leaving 9-1-1?

Minear recently told TV Fanatic he’s “a little superstitious about having an episode that doesn’t have [Athena] in it,” so hopefully that means Bassett isn’t going anywhere. Fans (I) would straight-up riot. The series is an incredible showcase for Bassett’s talents, and Athena is a critical, complex character who regularly makes the impossible possible and absolutely shines in big emergency episodes.

As we said, we can’t imagine putting fans and characters through the ringer again by killing the show’s biggest star. And 9-1-1 landed a milestone Season 10 renewal from ABC, so there are undoubtedly more stories left to tell with all of the core characters!

When teasing Season 10 for DECIDER, Minear said he already has ideas in motion. “I’m going to start a story here at the end of this season that’s going to carry over into next season. I’m pretty excited about it!” he shared. The showrunner is likely talking about Buck and his son, which is a life-changing event with lots of potential to explore in Season 10. So hopefully Athena recovers, the investigation will be wrapped, and Bassett will be back in action when new episodes return! Stay tuned for updates!

9-1-1‘s Season 9 finale premieres Thursday, May 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu.