‘9-1-1’ Star Peter Krause Speaks Out After Devastating Season 8 Twist, Says It’s a ‘Bold Creative Choice’

Note: This story contains spoilers from “9-1-1” Season 8, Episode 15.

Peter Krause’s fire Captain Bobby Nash has been through a lot in eight seasons on “9-1-1,” including a near-fatal heart attack, being shot and almost drowning on a capsized cruise ship and somehow survived. Until this week, when he sacrificed himself to save a member of his team and died by the end of Episode 15.

The actor’s exit had not been announced ahead of time, making his character’s death that much harder on fans. Although a trailer scene in which Buck (Oliver Stark) lets out an anguished scream sparked speculation that only losing his father figure Bobby would affect him that deeply. (Buck’s BFF Eddie and his son Christopher were, of course, safely out out of harm’s way in Texas.)

This also marks the first major death on “9-1-1” in eight seasons, changing the stakes for the hit TV franchise moving forward.

In a statement to press, Krause said, “I’ve heard that many fans are upset by this loss and they have a right to be. It is a loss.”

He went on to say, “That said, it was more than a bold creative choice on a bold show. Bobby Nash was written in sacrifice and he was built for this. First responders risk their lives on the job so that others can see another day. His story arc honors them. We at ‘9-1-1’ salute all the incredible men and women who do these dangerous jobs and strive to keep us safe. Our show is incredibly difficult to make at times with long hours, challenging stunts and elaborate disasters. We couldn’t do it without each other.”

“Lab Rats” saw the team fight to save Chimney (Kenneth Choi) from a deadly supervirus after his helmet cracked while responding to a lab fire. The second half of a two-part storyline seemed to be headed for a happy ending once Chimney received the antidote in the nick of time.

And then Bobby refused to leave the lab with the rest of the crew, telling Buck and then his wife Athena (Angela Bassett) that there was a leak in in the air hose to his Hazmat suit and that he knowingly gave the only existing dose of the antidote to Chimney.

He said a heartbreaking goodbye to Athena from the other side of a contamination zone in a clear homage to Spock (Leonard Nimoy’s) death in “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” before kneeling to pray one last time.

Showrunner Tim Minear told TheWrap that it was his decision, not Krause’s to kill off the beloved character. With three episodes left this season, Minear said the show will follow the immediate aftermath of this massive loss and catapult into one last major emergency in the Season 8 finale.

But is Bobby really dead?

In March, footage of a funeral procession, with Bobby’s wife Athena (Angela Bassett) and her children walking behind a fire engine leaked, with fans assuming it might be a dream sequence.

Add in an image of a script — taken from a video posted by Aisha Hinds — that has Bobby calling 9-1-1 from his coffin that he’d been buried alive and it’s all fueled the fan theory that Bobby’s tragic death is going to be one big fakeout.

This week, Minear told TheWrap that the fire captain is absolutely, 100% dead, but then again, this is the franchise that featured a bee-nado in LA, a tsunami in Santa Monica and a volcano and an asteroid hitting Austin, Texas. Not to mention characters surviving despite being hit by lightning, having their throat cut by a serial killer and, perhaps most memorably, having a length of rebar rammed through their skull.

Minear did tell TheWrap, “Episode 15 is not Peter’s last appearance this season,” but he also insisted, “[The show] needed a major character death for the audience to feel that there were real stakes in any of these cases … Next season, when our characters are in a precarious situation, you might be gripping the arms of your chair a little bit tighter.”

“9-1-1” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.

The post ‘9-1-1’ Star Peter Krause Speaks Out After Devastating Season 8 Twist, Says It’s a ‘Bold Creative Choice’ appeared first on TheWrap.