Bobby ’s investigation into Wendell’s death reached a fiery conclusion on Monday’s 911, a bittersweet hour that also highlighted on the importance of support in recovery.
In an interview with TV Line and Tv Insider, Peter Krause discusses Bobby ’s life-changing episode on 911, ponders a potential second act for his character, and reveals his and Angela Bassett’s unofficial on-set titles:
Before we jump into this week’s episode, I really enjoyed the version of Bobby that we got last week in Buck’s coma dream. Was that a fun shift for you?
Absolutely. It was nice to get out of the more reserved, in-control Bobby behaviors and have some fun. We used to do that in Six Feet Under a lot, where we’d go into someone’s mind and get a glimpse of what they were thinking in a very artistic, exaggerated way. Oliver [Stark] also did a beautiful job.
I’m proud of how much Buck has grown, but do you ever miss those early days when he was basically Bobby’s puppy?
I think we’ll always have that to an extent. Their relationship is what it is. Life does go on and people do grow, and even though Buck has grown, I think that dynamic will always exist between Buck and Bobby.
And then we have this week’s episode, which was just wild.
It’s a really strong episode. I enjoy the action-packed episodes as well as the ones with humor in them. This is also an important episode when it comes to addiction and sobriety and the support that people need. Whether you’re struggling with something like that or not, we all need each other, and that’s something that’s always been part of Bobby’s arc. He can’t go it alone. He needs his firehouse family, he needs Athena and her family. Bobby, I think more than anyone on the show, would be lost if he was alone. It could kill him. With the guilt and pain he still carries from the past, it would be too much for him to bear if he didn’t have other people around him.
I feel like we’ve heard about how important Wendell was to Bobby, but it was nice to finally see it in those flashbacks.
Yes, I was glad that everyone got to know the relationship between Wendell and Bobby a lot more. He kind of came out of nowhere for the audience, I think. He hadn’t been established in the past as Bobby’s new sponsor in Los Angeles. It was nice to see that Wendell was integral in Bobby and Athena coming together, and also just in Bobby letting go of some of his guilt when he can.
I knew a few things. I didn’t see it completely fleshed out, but I knew that in this episode — because before Wendell was introduced to the audience without much backstory — we fill in the holes, which is nice. So you understand how important Wendell was or is in Bobby’s lives.
What makes Bobby feel ready to step into those shoes as a sponsor at this point?
I think that Bobby has sponsored people. I just don’t think that that’s something that we’ve seen. But I think that the bookend of him reaching out to somebody in the same space that Wendell reached out to Bobby is showing that he wants to carry on the tradition of supporting others so that they may continue to move their lives forward the way that Wendell and other people have helped Bobby move his life forward.
This episode reminds us that Bobby is a hero, in and out of uniform. Did it give you a deeper appreciation for who he is as a person?
I like that you said that, because this is Bobby as himself, not as Captain Nash. He’s heroic in this episode, but he’s in his civilian clothes and it’s a deeply personal episode for Bobby. Human nature can infect any organization, and it’s a shame that this can happen at a rehabilitation center. This is a story that’s ripped from the headlines, so this is an opportunity — in a fictionalized way — to address the misdeeds of some who were more in it for the money than for helping patients.
Bobby has always been a natural mentor, but seeing him play the Wendell role to that man at the AA meeting had me wondering — could Bobby have a next act as a counselor?
That’s an interesting question. I wouldn’t mind seeing Bobby play that role on the show some more, to move on from his own addiction and pain to helping others with theirs. That would be very full-circle, honoring Wendell and the other people in his life who have kept him moving forward.
How do you see Bobby’s future as a firefighter? Is he riding this thing until the wheels fall off, or might he consider retirement at some point?
I think he’d like to [stay]. That’s his family, and I think he would like to remain there as their father figure. I think I can speak for both Angela and I when I say that it’s been fun for both of us to be mom and dad on this show. It really is a terrific bunch. This is a difficult show to make, and without everyone working together, it would be really, really hard. We all have each other’s back behind the scenes.
Is that how you and Angela are seen, as the parents?
Yeah, behind the scenes I would say that Angela and I are both like-minded in that we both want to set a good tone on set. We have a good worth ethic. I hope that that’s appreciated, because we try to keep a happy, smooth-running set as much as possible. It’s a very ambitious and difficult show to make.
I feel like we’ve explored every nook and cranny of Bobby ’s life over the past six seasons of 911. Is there anything you want to know about him at this point?
I wouldn’t mind recalling his blood donation and his fear of needles. That’s a fun thing we haven’t revisited.
This episode didn’t have any calls for the 126 or any scenes at the station, but there was a fire, albeit a different kind of one, for Bobby. Was filming that any different for you other than the lack of gear?
The lack of gear did play into it. We had to wear burn gel on our skin and things like that because obviously I was not protected with fire gear and it is at times a dangerous show and we did do some fire stunts in that episode. So that was different in terms of playing Bobby.
He’s not Captain Nash in this episode. He’s just Bobby and it’s a very personal episode for him in terms of what goes on at that rehab institute. And we did have some wonderful actors playing those villainous characters, Chris Johnson and Alicia Coppola. I thought [they] did a really nice job. And Maurice as Wendell is fantastic, and that’s something that I want to shine a light on. 9-1-1 does have a terrific guest cast. It has since the first season, and the guest actors who come on 9-1-1, there have been some terrific performances which had been delivered over these seasons.
What was your favorite scene to film? Because you had quite a few emotional ones.
I enjoyed the AA scenes, but like I said, I really enjoyed the action scenes and so the scenes at the rehab center I thought were really dynamic and really exciting. And certainly the scene where Bobby is saving Tamara [Diana Lu]. I thought that those scenes were really effective inside the rehab center and when Bobby goes to the rehab center to confront them and search for Tamara.
Speaking of Tamara, I really liked when Bobby went to the flower shop at the end of this episode of 911.
Yeah, and I like that he asked her how it’s going, sobriety issues and otherwise. It’s nice to see Bobby wanting to be there for others the way that others have been there for him.
And they’re realistic about the addiction. It’s not just that like, oh, great, now she’s fine because she’s away from that rehab facility that’s been shut down.
No, we live with it every day. And Bobby does too. I think, again, the support that he gets from his firehouse family and also his family with Athena, that’s what keeps Bobby moving forward and keeps him from sinking back into guilt and pain.
We saw Buck questioning things as he recovered in this episode and now he’s cleared to return to work. Will Bobby be keeping a close eye on him on 911? Does he think he even needs to? After all Bobby was busy with everything at the rehab facility in this episode.
As we move forward, we will, yeah, for sure.
Anything you can tease?
Not specifically about that, but I can say that there are some fun emergencies coming up in future episodes. There’s another body building competition mishap that we have to deal with, not a massive full body charley horse this time. There’s another emergency in a hair salon, which is fun. And there’s an emergency at a spinning class where everybody’s taking an energy drink that’s done something to all their bodies.
After seeing Bobby in the action in this episode of 911, is Bobby going to be in the middle of the action in any calls coming up?
There will be towards the end. We’re filming the last episodes now, and there are some epic action towards the very end of the season and Bobby’s in the thick of it.
What can you tease about how the season ends?
I don’t know if they’ll succeed, but I can tell you that Athena and Bobby are still going to try and get on that cruise.
They need a vacation!
Yeah. Will they ever get a vacation?
Even if they get on the cruise, there’ll probably be a murder on the cruise for them to solve.
Will they ever have a honeymoon? Yeah, maybe there’ll be a crime to solve on the ship. It’ll be like Agatha Christie or something.
But because of who they are, they won’t be able to ignore it.
Absolutely.
Your thoughts on this week’s 911 and Bobby ’s journey in general?
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Source: TV Line / TV Insider
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