‘9-1-1’ Season 9, Episode 4 Honors Showrunner Tim Minear’s Late Father Charles Minear Sr. With Touching “For Dad” Tribute Card

9-1-1 Season 9 closed out its four-part opening emergency with a black screen that featured two touching words: “For Dad.”

When Season 9, Episode 4, “Reentry,” came to a close on Thursday, October 30, fans of ABC’s hit first responder procedural were likely wondering whose dad the tribute card was commemorating.

Decider confirmed that the “For Dad” card at the end of the episode is in honor of showrunner and executive producer Tim Minear’s late father, Charles Minear, Sr.

Details of Minear’s passing are unknown, but it’s worth noting that tribute card’s placement holds great significance. The thoughtful commemoration capped off Season 9’s ambitious four-part opening emergency, which saw core characters Athena (Angela Bassett) and Hen (Aisha Hinds) safely return home after a series of out-of-this-world emergencies in outer space. The love for Minear’s dad also came after an incredibly emotional installment in the series — one that saw Athena navigate loss, grief, and mortality, while finding the strength to move forward, heal, and keep memories of loved ones alive.

Written by Tim Minear, Molly Green, and James Leffler, and directed by Bradley Buecker, “Reentry” showed Athena putting her own life on the line to save the space crew, while flashing back to a formative day in 1998 when she lost her partner, Officer Brogan McCluskey (Karl Makinen) on duty. His devastating death came nearly eight years after her late fiancé, Emmett (Jeff Pierre), was murdered. And before McCluskey took his final breath, he encouraged Athena to put herself back out there, love again, and live life to the fullest despite her heartbreak.

In present-day, even up in space, Athena finds herself struggling to take McCluskey’s advice again following the harrowing death of her husband Bobby (Peter Krause). As she loses oxygen in her suit and has her own brush with death, Athena thinks of him, her children, her friends, her past loves, and all the other joys that life has given her. In an especially emotional scene, Athena sits across from her younger self and considers letting go, giving into the pain, and allowing the crushing weight of loss to defeat her. Instead of slipping away into the dark, she has a beautiful, hard-earned epiphany and chooses light. Life.

“All the moments in between [the pain], no matter how far apart they may be, like stars. There’s so much dark between them. Cold. Empty. Forever. But as long as there’s life, there’s hope. They keep us going, those stars, those moments. Like a dance between lovers, or a laugh between friends. They pull us along. They warm us. They blaze with all that’s good. And tell the darkness, not today,” Athena says in a soul-stirring monologue brilliantly delivered by Bassett. “Pain is the price we pay for joy. And it’s a fair trade; a good deal. Because any second, instant, moment of joy is like a diamond in the darkness. Letting go and putting away is not how you get to the next [star].”

In the past, moving forward in the face of pain and refusing to succumb to darkness led Athena to meet her ex-husband, Michael. And in present day, summoning the strength to keep fighting and surviving after the inconceivable loss of Bobby got her back home safely to her kids, where they came together to have empathy for each other’s grief. After Harry (Elijah M. Cooper) shared his plans to follow in Bobby’s footsteps and join the LAFD, Athena explained via voiceover, “The thing about this Earth, is that it just keeps turning. And what can you do except turn with it?”

The episode, its themes, lessons, emotional beats, and that painfully true line creatively capture the agonizing path to acceptance after loss. The fact that Minear chose to end the episode with such a personal touch packed the final punch. The tribute card not only shows love to his dad, but serves as yet another reminder of how precious life is. While 9-1-1‘s losses are fictional, universal stories like this reflect reality, and the emotions the show’s characters experience are relatable and real. But despite all the pain, joy persists.

Charles Minear, Sr.’s legacy will live on through the many lives he touched, and now, through 9-1-1 and Episode 4’s tribute card from his son.

New episodes of 9-1-1 premiere Thursdays on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu.