9-1-1: Season 6/ Episode 3 “The Devil You Know” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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The cause of Tanya’s death is revealed in probably the most extensive story “9-1-1” has ever done.

This content contains pertinent spoilers.

Recap

Is My Father A Villain? – Athena, Bobby, Joanne, Reggie Sr., Reggie Jr, Detective Dixon, Tanya

On a superficial level, Athena sees all evidence pointing to the idea her father murdered Tanya. And it is perhaps because of this, Detective Dixon, assigned to Tanya’s case, doesn’t want her interfering and explicitly warns her about that. But, between being a cop herself and Bobby, Athena can’t help it – it’s her dad, for goodness sakes!

So, with the two of them coming upon Reggie junior and senior, they ask them questions about the building of the attachment to the house, which happened the day after Tanya went missing. Also, Bobby takes note of Reggie senior’s old car due to it making a very unique sound and its age.

Following that, Joanne, Tanya’s older sister, is visited, particularly the window where Tanya was allegedly taken. Going onto Joanne’s property leads to a gun being pulled on Athena and Bobby, but luckily, Bobby disarms Joanne before she gets Florida-styled justice. And through empathizing with Joanne that triggers Joanne to tell the truth about the night Tanya went missing.

To make a long story short, Joanne had been sneaking out for ages, and Tanya decided she was going to as well to see what the hype was about. But, sometime throughout the night, Tanya disappeared, and by the time Joanne got back, her sister wasn’t there. The window was still open from her sneaking out, and thus began the tale that has lived on for 45 years. And no sooner than most of the truth is gained, Detective Dixon arrives since Joanne called the cops before pulling a gun on Athena and Bobby, leading to Athena being held for messing with an active police investigation.

What You Hiding? – Tanya, Joanne, Reggie Junior, Bobby

Once Athena is gone, Bobby finds himself with Joanne, who reveals a put-put-put sound heard that night, but it was dark decades ago, and she was hiding from it, so she isn’t fully sure what car it came from, just the sound. But we know that Reggie Junior was one of the last to see Tanya, via a flashback, where it seemed like he was going to take her home. However, as we know, that didn’t happen.

The Truth Is – Detective Dixon, Athena, Bobby, Reggie Junior, Reggie Senior, Samuel, Beatrice, Joanne

So what is the whole truth and nothing but the truth? In collaboration with Reggie Senior, Reggie Junior is why Tanya is dead, and this case hasn’t been solved. Reggie Junior, a full-blown pedophile, with 6 girls meeting the same fate as Tanya in the last 45 years, killed Tanya, and Reggie Senior helped him hide the body.

Athena, when she gets to interrogate Reggie Senior gets him to confirm, and with the help of Bobby and Detective Dixon, they’re able to stop Reggie Junior from killing Joanne for changing the narrative surrounding Tanya’s disappearance and death. Thus making Samuel and Beatrice quite happy about their daughter’s stubbornness and Bobby, who takes no credit, is happy for his wife and her kin.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Can we get more arcing storylines like this?

What Could Happen Next

1. Us likely going back to a string of happen this episode, never seen again stories, with characters who might show up after two seasons.

Collected Quote(s)

The devil wears a familiar face and tricks you with his lies.
— Athena

Review

Highlights

A Hell Of a Case That Makes You Wish The Show Wasn’t So Episodic

Writing television, in general, is difficult, but I’d give the edge to episodic television because with serial television, at least you’re building to something. With episodic television, you have to handle an entire arc within an hour, sometimes 10 minutes, in the case of “9-1-1.” Which, 6 seasons in, has become so bland that you don’t often feel the need to fear for someone’s health or safety because you’re not given a reason to.

Which is why, even if only for two episodes, “9-1-1” switching to a serial style, in which you need to have seen a previous episode to understand what is going on in this one, was so refreshing. By giving us a case that wasn’t open and shut in one episode, even if in the world of “9-1-1,” it was within days, it showed how much this show could do if it didn’t have to rush through everything.

I mean, look at Athena, Beatrice, and Bobby’s performance. By not rushing through the emotions they are going through and doing the usual song and dance to uplift first responders and maybe keep their insiders, we got one of the best episodes “9-1-1” has had, potentially in seasons.

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