9-1-1 – Season 6 Episode 3 “The Devil You Know” Recap & Review

The Devil You Know

Episode 3 of 9-1-1 Season 6 begins with Athena’s flashback to the year 1977. It was the night Tanya went missing. She remembers her dad coming home late after getting a flat tire on his way. She goes to sleep and is awakened by a ruckus as Tanya’s mom shows up looking for her daughter. Her dad offers to help and joins the search party. At the time, Athena was scared.

45 years later, Tanya’s body has been discovered underneath her home and Athena wonders what that means – especially for her father. At the moment he is the prime suspect and the police are collecting his DNA as they wait for him to be brought out of his coma. They have questions and they want answers immediately.

After coming from the hospital, Athena comes home to find Mr. Franklin senior and his son waiting for her. Mr. Franklin stops by to check on the family and offer a helping hand. He is the man who built the original structure. Athena and Bobby ask him what he remembers from that time. According to him, Athena’s dad asked him to build the room the day after Tanya went missing.

Athena finds herself torn between being a daughter and a police officer. The police officer in charge of the case sees Athena as a liability and prefers if she stays away from the case. Athena is scared of what she will find once she goes snooping and confides this much in Bobby. Her father is her idol, her role model but she more than anyone knows that people can keep secrets .She has seen it a lot in her line of work. Bobby hears her fears but he hopes she can put them  aside and work on the case to clear her dad’s name.

With Bobby by her side, Athena visits Tanya’s home and Tanya’s sister welcomes them with a gun to their heads. She has heard that Athena’s father is the prime suspect and she wants them gone from her property. Bobby as always steps in to de-escalate the situation. Joanne is a woman who has been carrying hope and a secret for 45 years. One look at her and it is clear it has been weighing her down not knowing what happened to Tanya.

She reveals the truth about what happened that fateful night to Athena and Bobby. Once she tells the truth, it changes facts about the case and Joanne gets relief. The secret weighed heavy on her conscience for decades. As they talk, the police show up and arrest Athena because they believe she is interfering with an active investigation.

At the police station, the detective listens to Athena’s side of the story and he shows her the police files on the case. As Athena ruffles through the papers, something catches her attention. She and the detective start filling in the blanks and within no time, hone in on a new suspect.

Meanwhile, Bobby is left behind with Joanne and they continue to talk about the events leading up to Tanya’s disappearance. Later, as he drives home, he realizes he might have a clue about who the culprit is. He calls Athena who is on her way to arrest the suspect with the detective.

The culprit is none other than Reggie, Franklin’s son, and the current contractor they hired to fix their home after the accident. He didn’t do it alone, his father helped him hide the body. Sadly, Tanya is not the only person Reggie killed over the years. It is sickening that he was right under their noses pretending to be friends knowing what he had done.

The Episode Review

The alternating scene where Athena chases Reggie through the orange clove and it switches to Tanya running away from Reggie was impactful. It felt like we were there with Tanya as she ran for her life wishing she made it but knowing too well she doesn’t. On the other hand, every time the scene cut to Athena it felt cathartic, knowing justice was finally about to be served.

This case was personal for Athena; it shaped her life and led to her being a cop. After 45 years she was able to give Joanne and herself closure. It must feel like a chapter in her life is closed and I am glad she got answers.

Once again, we were reminded that Bobby and Athena are great partners and they make a formidable team.