The death of Bobby Nash in 9-1-1 last season still has fans reeling, and even though 9-1-1 season 9 is finally making amends for killing Bobby, one rumored decision would have made his death unforgivable. Bobby’s death in 9-1-1 season 8 necessitates an enormous shakeup within the show; characters and storylines alike will never be the same.

Nor, for that matter, will audiences. While many have accepted it in the months since, plenty of 9-1-1 fans are still downright angry at the choice to kill off Station 118’s beloved captain and leader. 9-1-1 season 9 has made a point of memorializing Bobby and honoring his heroic legacy, helping to smooth over some still-ruffled feathers. If one decision had been made earlier this year, however, the aftermath might have been very different.

Actor Anirudh Pisharody Debunked The Fan Rumor That They Shot A Fake Ravi Death Scene

Bobby Nash’s death in 9-1-1 was a shocking moment that the show’s cast and crew wanted to keep under wraps, understandably. This eventually led to a rumor circulating among fans that 9-1-1 season 8 had shot a fake death scene involving the young firefighter, Ravi, to throw fans (and perhaps even the cast itself) off the scent.

On the surface, it was a plausible theory. It wouldn’t be the first time fake scenes were shot as red herrings, though that most often happens with movies, not network TV shows. Another not-uncommon practice is to circulate multiple versions of scripts, so that if any get leaked, no one is certain if they’re correct.

But in a new interview with former ScreenRant Network TV host Rachel Foertsch, Ravi actor Anirudh Pisharody shot that rumor about the fake Ravi death scene down:

“No, it’s not accurate. We hadn’t filmed a fake death scene. There was a – there were scripts going around, but that was really it. I didn’t have to film anything,” he explained.

Filming A Fake Ravi 9-1-1 Death Scene Would Have Made Bobby’s Real Death Unforgivable

ABC via MovieStillsDB

It’s a relief that the rumor of the fake Ravi death scene was just that – a rumor. Had it actually been shot, it would have made Bobby’s death even worse, and arguably tipped over the line into unforgivable territory. The loss of Bobby Nash was already devastating enough, and fans are still reeling.

Pisharody alluded to that in the same interview, explaining that the 9-1-1 team was acutely aware that they had to handle the storyline with delicacy: “It was one of those situations where it was like… It was such a bombshell, you know, and it’s such an impactful situation that it had to be treated with a lot of caution, with a lot of trepidation because, as you can see how fans have responded – very polarizing.”

“Very polarizing” is an understatement. Bobby’s death is one of the rare kinds that is so heartbreaking and infuriating that it threatens to drive fans away for good. Had the production been disrespectful enough to the cast and audience alike to include a fakeout death simply to throw people off, that would have been unfathomably callous.

While Bobby’s death will never not be painful, the 9-1-1 creative team had the awareness to not actively make it worse for the sake of avoiding spoilers and leaks. Now, while it still hurts and will take time to get over, season 9 has left the door open to fully win audiences over again after the devastating loss.

Release Date

January 3, 2018

Showrunner

Tim Minear

Directors

Bradley Buecker, David Grossman, Brenna Malloy, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Jann Turner, Jennifer Lynch, Marita Grabiak, Sarah Boyd, John J. Gray, Barbara Brown, Robert M. Williams Jr., Kristen Reidel, Marcus Stokes, Tasha Smith, Millicent Shelton, Juan Carlos Coto, John Gray, Greg Sirota, Alonso Alvarez, James Wong, Kevin Hooks, Varda Bar-Kar, Shauna Duggins, Sharat Raju

Writers

Tim Minear, Andrew Meyers, Brad Falchuk, David Fury, Ryan Murphy, Christopher Monfette, Nadia Abass-Madden, Nicole Barraza Keim, Erica L. Anderson, Matthew Hodgson, Stacey R. Rose, Taylor Wong, Tonya Kong, Adam Penn

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  Angela Bassett

  Athena Grant

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  Peter Krause

  Robert ‘Bobby’ Nash