With every episode on Fox’s 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lone Star comes a disaster for our beloved first responders to help with, but some have been much greater in scale or spanned multiple episodes, like the tsunami that hit Los Angeles at the beginning of 9-1-1 Season 3 or, most recently, the ice storm that shut down Austin to begin Lone Star Season 3. Some of these major disasters have brought such enjoyable, emotional moments to their respective series that, in comparison, others have fallen flat and caused the entire event to falter. We’ve put together a list of these memorable disasters from the 9-1-1 universe, ranked from worst to best.
7. The Blackout (9-1-1 Season 5, Episodes 1-3)
The events of all three episodes are vitally important — whether the blackout has begun or not — to what goes down when Los Angeles loses power for over a week. While the first responders are out wrangling escaped zoo animals and dealing with the consequences of a blackout within a heatwave, the event is interspersed with focus on Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and what she’s going through as a new mom with postpartum depression, concluding with Maddie leaving Chimney (Kenneth Choi) and their baby as she feels they’re better off without her.
However, the bulk of the event’s focus falls to the hunt for the serial rapist Athena (Angela Bassett) caught that almost killed her back in Season 3: Jeffrey Hudson (Noah Bean). Right before the blackout, the time for Hudson’s trial had finally arrived, and Athena had to testify. However, due to some technical difficulties caused by a city-wide ransomware attack, Hudson managed to escape in the crowd. After a series of unbelievable events that nearly kill another officer, Hudson goes undetected long enough to kidnap Athena’s son Harry (Marcanthonee Reis), putting a clock on Hudson’s capture.
Altogether, the event has some highlights (like learning Athena shot Hudson in the groin), but is dragged down by uninspired stories and unenjoyable calls that the 118 are responding to. Hudson, too, was not a villain worth revisiting, and the event just seemed unnecessarily dedicated to showing Athena as a failed cop that couldn’t realize she was Hudson’s target and put her family at risk. There was potential, but it never quite reached that potential.
6. The Ice Storm (9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3, Episodes 1-4)
Honestly, the primary reason that the ice storm that recently kicked off Lone Star Season 3 isn’t ranked last is due to the powerful moments around Grace (Sierra McClain) and Carlos (Rafael Silva) in the finale of the event. Otherwise, like the blackout, it felt uninspired and like something the show “had” to do to keep the trend of beginning the seasons with a disaster going. Putting TK (Ronen Rubenstein) on his deathbed from hypothermia didn’t help either, as there was never any doubt that he would survive, making most of the concern and panic around his life-or-death status feel unnecessary.
The highlight of that story was, without a doubt, the emotional impact it had on Carlos as he and TK both revisited why they had broken up (off-screen) and their true feelings for one another. Another highlight is Grace delivering her baby while caught in the storm with Billy (Billy Burke), a man she despised, which gave McClain a chance to shine while Judd and Grace welcomed their child into the world in the most appropriate way possible for these shows.
The 9-1-1 universe has stood out for making the first responders help with some insane situations, but that wasn’t delivered here either, aside from in the premiere when a man was nearly decapitated by a chunk of ice while road skiing. Plus, instead of showing many emergencies during this four-episode event (longer than any other in the history of the universe), so much time was spent on just convincing Owen (Rob Lowe) to come back and become everyone’s savior instead of giving the other members of the 126 team a chance to shine, an aspect of Lone Star that is just so tired at this point.
5. The Dust Storm (9-1-1: Lone Star Season 2, Episode 14)
In the Lone Star Season 2 finale, a dust storm comes to Texas just as the 126 are reassigned to new firehouses following the explosion that destroyed their own. Though not a multi-episode event, or perhaps because of that, this storm really shook things up for everyone. Following her husband’s recent and sudden death, Tommy (Gina Torres) plans to quit her job as a paramedic captain to be at home with her girls, but the storm makes her presence in the field a necessity and helps her see how much she loves her job (with the blessing of her twin daughters, of course).
For the first time, Mateo (Julien Works) gets to play a pivotal role, too, as he’s caught in the middle of the storm after being mistreated by the captain at his new firehouse. The dust storm gives Mateo a chance to show off how much he has grown and how far he’s come as a firefighter since the series premiere. His heroic actions earn the respect of his new team, but also allow the audience to see the character in a new light, which is one of the factors that usually make these crisis episodes so special. (Plus, that climactic ending with Owen punching Billy after he reveals the 126 firehouse will not be restored is always so delightful.)
4. The Dam Break (9-1-1 Season 4, Episodes 1 and 2)
Otherwise remembered for the mudslides that dam break caused, the beginning of 9-1-1 Season 4 is, for the most part, well done. After nearly being killed, Athena returns to work and, on her first day, is called to action from desk duty to help evacuate the area in Hollywood Hills. Unfortunately, she meets a woman with agoraphobia that hasn’t left her house in years and doesn’t plan to, ending the first episode of the crisis with the house collapsing and the women trapped inside. Focusing on their very different fears to temporarily bond Athena and Sylvia was a great choice from the writers, and made their situation even more enjoyable.
Other highlights of the disaster include Chimney stumbling upon a group of pregnant women and the labor that followed, and May’s new role at the dispatch center that really tests her given what happens to her mother and the fear she’s been dealing with since her mother nearly died. This crisis isn’t nearly one of the best but is still above average.
3. The Solar Storm (9-1-1: Lone Star Season 1, Episode 10)
The solar storm in the Lone Star Season 1 finale is a great, powerful episode for many reasons. One of which is the devastating call that Grace gets at the dispatch center in the middle of the storm from an astronaut that is dying, up in space, from radiation poisoning and wants to speak with his wife and daughter one last time. One of the most emotional calls — if not the most — to be done on the spinoff, partly thanks to the performance that McClain gives as the gravity of the situation hits Grace hard.
The chaos that ensues after the storm hits creates devastation all over, as phone calls cannot go through and electronics (like stoplights) are misbehaving. Among other things, the episode also works as a great unexpected ending for Michelle Blake (Liv Tyler), who finds her sister that has been missing for three years and begins trying to help with her sister’s untreated schizophrenia. The episode is thrilling from start to finish and filled with moments that enhance the characters’ journeys, like TK and Carlos helping off-duty when they’re on the site of a bus crash before any first responders, or show the impacts of their career.
2. The Tsunami (9-1-1 Season 3, Episodes 2 and 3)
The tsunami episodes at the beginning of 9-1-1 Season 3 remain some of the series’ strongest episodes to date, particularly due to the fact that the writers chose to put Buck (Oliver Stark) and young Christopher (Gavin McHugh) in the middle of the disaster, as the tsunami hit while they were at the Santa Monica Pier. Buck’s desperation to save Christopher — particularly after he goes missing — is so fantastic and emotional, bringing out a vulnerability and protectiveness in Buck that hadn’t been seen before but added so many layers to the character.
How the crisis was handled, with various flashbacks and glimpses at disasters the tsunami caused across the city, kept viewers glued to the edge of their seats, waiting to see what jaw-dropping thing would come next. While the event is very focused on Buck’s emotional state, the first responders are simultaneously helping people all over the city — whether it be the 118, Athena in the field, or Maddie using her quick wit at the call center to make a difference for those in the tsunami’s wake. Simply put, there’s such a great balance between everything that makes the series so good.
1. The Earthquake (9-1-1 Season 2, Episodes 2 and 3)
The first major disaster in the 9-1-1 universe began Season 2 on a high note, especially for new additions Maddie and Eddie (Ryan Guzman). On her first day at the call center, Maddie’s training was abruptly finished so she could step up and help with incoming calls as a result of the 7.1 magnitude quake that had hit Los Angeles and created quite a few crises around the city. Meanwhile, Eddie’s life at the 118 got off to a dangerous start as the team was called to a crumbling hotel that was in the process of completely coming down.
The friendship between Buck and Eddie has been a highlight of 9-1-1 ever since their trek through the upper floors of the hotel. Because it was the first of its kind, it was unclear what to expect from this disaster. The first episode ended with Hen trapped in the parking garage of the hotel with no way out, looking for a little girl that had gone missing. Every second of the crisis was shocking, enjoyable, and tested these characters in ways we had never seen before. It’s probable that nothing will ever top this disaster, as it truly came together in such satisfying ways, bringing viewers even closer to these characters and making us really start to care for all of them.