9-1-1 fans — spoilers are ahead in case you haven’t watched the most recent season 8 episode. The series just lost a major character, and fans are reeling from the loss. Weeks after social media users speculated about on-set photos that resembled a funeral scene, viewers expressed their fury and sadness over the death of Peter Krause‘s character, Captain Robert Nash, a.k.a Bobby. So, one question still hangs in the air for everyone who watched the recent episode: why did 9-1-1 kill off Bobby?
Below, News47.us is breaking down everything we know about Bobby’s final moments and why Peter left the show.
Apart from Peter, the rest of the 9-1-1 main cast features Angela Bassett as Athena Grant-Nash, Oliver Stark as Buck, Aisha Hinds as Hen, Kenneth Choi as Chimney, Rockmond Dunbar as Michael, Connie Britton as Abby, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Maddie, Ryan Guzman as Eddie and Corinne Massiah as May.
During the final moments of the April 2025 season 8 episode, Bobby is revealed to have a hole in his breathing apparatus, which lets the virus into his mask and infects him. He quarantines himself from the rest of the 118 crew, and he doesn’t initially tell anyone about the hole because Chimney would never take the antidote.
Bobby and Athena’s final moments are heart-wrenching. As he bids his love “farewell,” Bobby tearfully apologizes and says, “This isn’t how I wanted to leave you. I’m not choosing to leave you. I chose to save my team because it was the right thing to do. It was never because I wanted to go. I don’t want to go. If I could choose, I would stay with you. Always. … L.A. was supposed to be my penance, not my home. And then you said yes to a dinner invitation and I started to live again. I love you, baby.”
Peter released a statement on his character’s on-screen death in a statement obtained by Variety. He said that the reason behind Bobby’s death is because his “story arc honors” real-life first responders.
“I’ve heard that many fans are upset by this loss, and they have a right to be. It is a loss,” Peter said after the episode aired. “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.”
