In a tale as old as time, or rather, a tale as old as 9-1-1‘s premiere in 2018: Fans of the hit first responder drama once again went through hell watching their favorite characters in danger.

9-1-1 Season 9’s penultimate episode was jam-packed with eventful twists and important storylines, including Buck (Oliver Stark) reuniting with his biological son Theo, a car crash killing Theo’s parents, ICE raiding the hospital and detaining the migrants that the 118 rescued, and more. But when the end credits rolled and the harrowing teaser for 9-1-1‘s Season 9 finale aired, fans were left fearing for the lives of two core characters: Athena (Angela Bassett) and Eddie (Ryan Guzman).

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. The finale teaser showed the 118 bringing Athena to the hospital, an emotional Harry (Elijah M. Cooper) crying out for her, and her seemingly getting surgery. But the teaser also revealed that there’s an active shooter in the hospital and the building goes on lockdown. We saw a concerned Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) trying to manage the dangerous situation, but crucially, we also saw Eddie, covered in blood and clutching his side as he banged on the button of an elevator. The teaser showed a machine flatlining, but it’s not clear exactly who was having a brush with death in that moment. All fans know is that Athena and Eddie’s lives will be on the line. So they’re stressing accordingly!

i GASPED when athena got shot! SHES BEEN THROUGH TOO MUCH TIM MINEAR PLEASE LEAVE ATHENA ALONE

— mac-kerel (@birdclip_) May 1, 2026

EDDIE IS SHOT WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK WHAT

— niki 💥 (@divadiaz118) May 1, 2026

ICE storyline followed by an active shooter in a hospital is fucking crazy…ABC I wasn’t aware of your game

— emma (@boycrushbuckley) May 1, 2026

Some fans struggled to process the emotional whiplash of Athena and Eddie’s injuries being revealed within seconds of each other. Others screamed at showrunner Tim Minear for putting Athena through hell YET AGAIN. She already lost her husband, and as a reminder, the season quite literally opened with her fighting for her life in space! But piling on and putting characters in danger is classic 9-1-1. I mean look at Eddie, who’s getting shot AGAIN! Can this man rest?! No! Not on 9-1-1‘s watch, because the show thrives on drama, danger, and emotional storylines that bring the characters closer together.

A number of fans who also watch ABC’s medical drama Grey’s Anatomy called out early parallels between active shooter episodes, right down to a character in surgery and another bleeding out in an elevator. Some theorized that if and when Athena recovers from her surgery and injuries she’ll become a detective instead of an LAPD field sergeant. And a number of people couldn’t help but call out visual and circumstantial parallels between the Season 9 finale and Season 4 finale.

For those who need a refresher, the Season 4 finale saw Buck save Eddie after he get shot by a sniper. Buck was wearing a white striped shirt in that episode that wound up splattered in blood, and fans couldn’t help but notice it looked a lot like his white striped shirt in Season 9’s penultimate episode, which got splattered in chocolate milk. Was it foreshadowing for Eddie getting shot again? And Buck potentially helping save him? Only time will tell! But there’s certainly a lot to think about in the week leading up to the finale.

TW: Shooting Storylines

9-1-1 lowkey reheating Grey’s Anatomy nachos

-Derek/Athena being in surgery while there is an active gunner in the hospital
-Karev/Eddie getting hit and bleeding out in the elevator pic.twitter.com/T1DBuC1h4D

— Yes Why Not 🦒 (Jay) (@yess_why_not) May 1, 2026

eddie is going to be bleeding out in that elevator and buck is going to save him just like last time eddie got shot and was bleeding out and buck walked into active fire to save him pic.twitter.com/RhAllUiZNu

— nap (@eddiebodie) May 1, 2026

While we won’t know Athena and Eddie’s fates until 9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 18 airs on Thursday, May 7, DECIDER can’t imagine the show going on without either character, so we’ve laid out reasons why we think (AND HOPE!) both Athena and Eddie survive the finale.

Despite the underlying feeling that everything will be OK in the end, and Bassett and Guzman won’t be departing the series, fans still understandably have major trust issues after the show unexpectedly killed off Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) next season. So never say never! But for the sake of my sanity, let’s think positive thoughts for the next week! Because, again, I need both of these characters up and running again in Season 10.

Stay tuned for more 9-1-1 Season 9 coverage from Decider.