Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of 9-1-1 Season 7, called "Rock the Boat."
9-1-1 could hardly have given the second episode of Season 7 a more appropriate name than "Rock the Boat" in the 2024 TV schedule, as the cruise ship incident from the Season 7 premiere escalated into a full-on crisis for Bobby, Athena, and all the other passengers. Isolated out at sea with a hurricane to go along with an explosion, the ship capsized in a sequence that was pure Poseidon Adventure, with all of their first responder friends back on dry land. Peter Krause and Angela Bassett did some emotional heavy lifting, and co-star Oliver Stark was full of praise for them when speaking to CinemaBlend.
Bobby And Athena On A Sinking Ship
The episode seemingly wrapped up the pirate subplot pretty early on, but the passengers learned that wasn't the case when an bomb crippled the ship just as a tropical storm was turning into a hurricane. Bobby and Athena worked together to save the vessel, and nearly lost their lives for it. They survived after Krause and Bassett managed to turn in wonderfully emotional performances while chin-deep in water. Unfortunately, in a cruel twist of fate, a massive wave overwhelmed the ship and flipped it over just when escape seemed possible.
And it was straight out of the classic 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure, down to the iconic stunt of a man falling from the ceiling of the flipped ship down on his back. The homage was only fitting after Athena revealed in last week's premiere (available streaming via Hulu subscription) that she'd been traumatized from watching The Poseidon Adventure on TV as a kid!
Whether there are more parallels in the final episode of the cruise ship three-parter remains to be seen, although I think it's very safe to say that neither Bobby nor Athena will go the way of Gene Hackman's ill-fated Reverend Scott from the film.
Oliver Stark Hypes His Co-Stars
The good news is that Hen caught on that something was wrong back in Los Angeles, and it may just be a matter of time before the heroes of the 118 are en route to save the survivors on the high seas. Speaking with CinemaBlend, Oliver Stark – who plays Buck, currently on dry land as of the end of "Rock the Boat" – shared how long he went without working with Peter Krause and what it's like to watch him and Bassett work:
I went like six weeks without working with Pete, which I'm not used to... I missed him so much. Listen, these are two truly iconic actors, and the fact that we have them anchoring this show is so humbling for me and inspiring. To get to watch those two do their work is something that I get to learn from. As you say, there's lots of it that I haven't seen, so I'm just excited to see that come to screen, and I love their characters, and I love their relationship.
It's not hard to understand why Stark would describe Krause and Bassett as "iconic," considering what they've achieved over the courses of their careers! Krause came to 9-1-1 as a veteran of Six Feet Under and more than 100 episodes of Parenthood. For her part, Bassett was generating Oscar buzz as far back as 1994 and was awarded an honorary Academy Award this year. Is it any wonder that they could deliver heart-wrenching performances as Bobby and Athena in a room filling with water?
Not having yet seen the "Rock the Boat" episode when we spoke, Oliver Stark went on:
We have these trailers coming out where that's the most that I've seen of these episodes, and I'm like, 'This is so good. Oh, my God!' Because it's one thing to read a script. It's a whole other thing once it is put into production, and it's made. Whatever my mind or my imagination has conjured up while I'm reading these words on the page, put in the hands of Angela Bassett and Peter Krause, it turns into a whole other thing. I'm just really excited to see the work that they've created.
Oliver Stark was at the center of the tsunami that was arguably the most epic emergency in the history of 9-1-1 during its run on Fox prior to cancellation, but he explained why he thinks the cruise ship crisis is "one step bigger." 9-1-1 built what Peter Krause described as the "industry's largest roll room," which is what enabled "Rock the Boat" to turn the casino set upside down when the ship capsized.
As for the final episode of the three-part premiere event... well, like Oliver Stark, fans can just check out the trailer for what's next for a taste of what's to come. Take a look:
Keep tuning in to ABC on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes of 9-1-1 Season 7. The hit drama will reach 100 episodes after the three-parter concludes, and Peter Krause opened up about reaching that milestone after making the move to a new network.
