“Holy Mother of God” is the directorial debut of 9-1-1 star Aisha Hinds, who plays Henrietta Wilson. It also marks the first time a 9-1-1 cast member has stepped behind the camera to helm an episode of the series. It is, in many ways, a classic outing for the long-running procedural. The emergencies that the 118 responds to are kooky, but they’re also variations on emergencies that have been done at least a few times before. The central conflict, between Bobby (Peter Krause) and his mother, is also familiar. But it’s elevated by the actors’ performances. For the third week in a row, creating something of a trend, some of the biggest developments in the episode belong to the renewed focus on the relationship between Eddie (Ryan Guzman) and Buck (Oliver Stark). Even though he doesn’t appear in “Holy Mother of God”, after moving to Texas in the previous episode, Eddie is everywhere. He’s all Buck can talk about, which is somewhat understandable, but he also looms large in a tense scene with massive implications. It makes for an installment of 9-1-1 that is fairly standard and unexpectedly consequential.
Bobby Reunites With His Mother. Ann Hutchinson Makes Quite The Entrance. The bulk of “Holy Mother” focuses on Bobby reconnecting with his mother Ann Hutchinson (played by the Oscar-nominated Victor/Victoria star Lesley Ann Warren). After an opening scene that underlines how Buck is struggling to adjust to living in Eddie’s home, the focus turns to Ann. She is proselytizing on stage, waxing poetic about the healing powers of faith and Jesus. The episode never really comes down on the side of whether Ann is doing a genuine service or preying on the vulnerable, oscillating wildly and mirroring the journey that Bobby goes through in the episode. But the primary purpose of this scene is to reintroduce Ann and Bobby’s younger brother Charlie. Played by veteran actor Sean O’Bryan, Charlie is there when something strange breaks out during one of Ann’s services. It looks like a mass hysteria outbreak, albeit it’s actually a case of carbon monoxide poisoning. It’s all fairly familiar territory for the 118 once they arrive at the location, up to and including the woman who nearly climbs to her death and needs to be rescued by the team. Hinds has a bit of fun with the emergency, especially in revealing how Ann’s audience starts to behave erratically. The choice to frame Buck as Jesus himself, as he tries to save the woman who has climbed too high for her own good, is similarly amusing. Once everything is under control, Bobby mentions to the 118 that the woman he shares a frosty greeting with is actually his mother. They’re stunned, and they’re not the only ones. Athena (Angela Bassett) is the most surprised, which is also fun to see. I’ve never felt that Athena and Bobby have the strongest chemistry. It’s something the show steered into itself, with Athena wondering whether they only share a spark when disaster strikes. Here though, as they talk about this soapy twist while some heavy construction goes on in their new home, it’s hard not to crack a smile. “When were you gonna tell me that your mother wasn’t dead?” Athena wonders, entirely fair. “I didn’t say that she was,” Bobby points out.
It’s a way for the show to wink at the fact that a significant character is just now being weaved into the story, but it works. Bobby says that he never mentions his mom because he doesn’t like to talk about her. He calls her a fraud and a con artist, saying he’s embarrassed about the fact that she fleeces her flock. But after some nudging from Athena, and after a meeting at the firehouse with his brother goes well, Bobby agrees to meet with his mother. It proves to be a mistake.
They don’t even get off on the right foot. Meeting at Ann’s hotel suite, with Athena and Charlie attempting to act as peacemakers, things go south in a hurry. Bobby feels that Ann abandoned him after his father died, refusing to claim responsibility or express remorse. Ann says she won’t apologize for building a life for herself once her marriage to the abusive alcoholic Tim Nash ended. It’s stirring stuff, well-acted by both Krause and Warren, with Bobby storming off after calling Ann a fraud as a mother. It’s still only the second most bruising fight of the episode.
