Just when Music City was starting to recover from being ripped apart by tornadoes, along came the “9-1-1: Nashville” midseason finale to plunge its citizens into a new crisis — or as showrunner Rashad Raisani calls it, a “calamity.”
Before we dive into our Q&A with Raisani, here’s a quick recap of Thursday’s events: While fighting a fire at a distillery owned by Blythe’s father Edward (Tim Matheson), Don was forced to have the 113 drain a highly flammable — and incredibly expensive — ingredient. Actually, “forced” is too strong a word. Don probably could have stopped the fire without costing his father-in-law so much money… but he hates the guy.
Don admitted as much during a sit-down with Edward and Blythe, during which Don also asked his father-in-law for a donation to stave off layoffs in his department. Edward obliged, but his final condition — that Don fire Blue, throwing in a colorful word about him being born out of wedlock for good measure — was a dealbreaker for Don. Instead, Don blackmailed Edward into forking over the money after discovering that his distillery was stealing water.
Meanwhile, Cammie had her own headaches to deal with at the call center. In an effort to make things run more “efficiently,” an outside agency was brought in to monitor the dispatchers’ workflow, including penalizing Cammie for saying “please” and “thank you” too much — a total waste of precious call time!
The agency eventually changed its tune after witnessing Cammie save a woman from choking, despite the caller not being able to speak. That kind of commitment and dedication can’t be measured. Plus, they found out Cammie’s boss has been embezzling money for years… so her job is safe.
Nashville, however, is not safe. The midseason finale ended with a nasty virus striking what appeared to be every computer system in the city. A hijacked tornado siren even spooked Blythe’s horse, leaving her rider unconscious and snared in barbed wire. And with a six-hour countdown on the clock (“or Nashville gets bloody”), it’s going to be a heck of a wait for the show’s Jan. 8 return (9/8c).
Read on for our full Q&A with Raisani about those bloody cliffhangers, Don’s dark secrets and, of course, the next crossover between “9-1-1” and “Nashville.” (Spoiler alert: We’re getting one, and soon!) When you’re finished, grade the midseason finale in our poll and drop a comment with your thoughts below.
This story originally appeared on TVLine
