Spoilers ahead!
The latest episode of 9-1-1 was something wildly special, a true rollercoaster. We had an unusual abduction in which a woman steals her mother-in-law’s ashes, a man sneezing his guts out, and finally, a young boy rescued from a hole with his older brother’s help. We also had many confessions and revelations about desires, pregnancies, and old relationships.
Let’s start with the first confession: Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) suggests a second child to Chimney (Kenneth Choi). After the time Mara (Askyler Bell) spent living with them, she believes a sibling would be a good companion to their daughter. Chimney is hesitant at first, given the hurdles of the first pregnancy. But after the emergency in which a child helps to save his brother, Chimney changes his mind. And while they establish some rules that should make this second pregnancy a less traumatic experience, Maddie confesses to Chimney that she’s already pregnant, and that was the way she found to reveal without being too shocking.
“Confessions” – 9-1-1. Pictured: Kenneth Choi as Chimney, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Maddie. Photo: Ray Mickshaw/ABC © 2024 Disney. All rights reserved.
The second confession: while celebrating their 6-month relationship, Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) reveals he was once engaged to Buck’s (Oliver Stark) ex, Abby (former regular star Connie Britton). Buck starts spiraling then, seeking Maddie and Josh (Bryan Safi) for advice. He’s troubled by the idea of Tommy having lied to Abby about his true sexuality. By the end of the episode, however, he tells Tommy about their shared bond over Abby, and he asks Tommy to move in with him. Tommy, however, believes he’s destined to be Buck’s first man, not last, and then breaks up with him.
Also, after decades away from the confessional booth, Eddie (Ryan Guzman) confesses to Father Brian (Gavin Stenhouse) everything that led Christopher (Gavin McHugh) to move to Texas, and how he lied to Chris, Buck, and his ex-girlfriend in the process. He doesn’t accept the penances suggested by the Father, refusing to let the pain go. Later, Father Brian runs into Eddie in public, and they have an interesting conversation about disguises (the mustache being a part of one), guilt, and allowing joy into life. That leads to the most shocking (but also the coolest, funniest) scene: after shaving the mustache, Eddie dances around his house half-naked, Risky Business style. He’s interrupted by a recently dumped Buck, and they drink their beers in silence, comfortably sharing their company while they go through their stuff.
“Confessions” – 9-1-1. Pictured: Ryan Guzman as Eddie. Photo: Ray Mickshaw/ABC © 2024 Disney. All rights reserved.
Okay, there’s a lot to unpack here. Starting with the second Madney pregnancy: I’m so happy they were finally given another plot, this time a lighter one (at least for now). I’m curious about how they’re going to make this dramatic and traumatic eventually (at this point, we all know that’s how things work on 9-1-1.) But sticking to this episode, I’m proud of these two as a couple, with their healthy communication and cute moments.
When it comes to Tommy breaking up with Buck, it makes sense to me. This show never developed Tommy that much, as he barely appeared on-screen and his few moments with Buck were almost entirely related to Eddie somehow. So his whole journey so far felt like the show telling us that he’s Buck’s first queer experience, the one who teaches him to feel comfortable about his queerness, but also show us that the problems Buck had in previous relationships aren’t gone because Buck’s dating a man. So in 8.05, “Masks”, we see them so distant from each other on frame, and Tommy doesn’t know a lot about Buck’s life, and he’s always looking from the outside, unable to be a part of his boyfriend’s circles of friends and life in general.
“Confessions” – 9-1-1. Pictured: Lou Ferrigno Jr. as Tommy, Oliver Stark as Buck. Photo: Ray Mickshaw/ABC © 2024 Disney. All rights reserved.
This remains true in 8.06 “Confessions” — they’re celebrating their 6-month anniversary, but Buck doesn’t buy Tommy anything, while Tommy buys him tickets to a basketball game. But Buck doesn’t like basketball — the whole basketball thing in 7.04 was all about Buck going after Tommy… Or Eddie… Or both… I don’t know if he has still figured that out. Also, it’s worth noticing that at this moment Tommy jokes about Buck taking Eddie instead of him to the basketball game, and I think this suits their relationship so much, haunted by Eddie from the start. Anyway, what I think Tommy truly meant when he said “I’m your first, not your last” is that while Buck seems excited to deepen their relationship, he’s not aware of how little they talk, how little they know about each other… And that’s the most Buck thing Buck could do, to be unable to recognize how little he’s invested in this relationship, trying to protect the relationship harder than actually enjoying the relationship itself.
Finally, Eddie letting the pain go (at least for a moment) and embracing joy was so beautiful to watch. This was truly Ryan Guzman’s moment to shine. I can’t wait to be surprised by what else Eddie’s storyline has to offer. This character has always been a prime example of queercoding in narratives, and while I can never say for sure what’s happening in this show, Eddie’s narratives this year have been more queercoded than ever. That little Buddie moment at the end was awesome as well, showing us once again that they will always be there for each other, and what they have will remain, and no boyfriend or girlfriend will be able to change that. Wild episode, as stated earlier, and I can’t wait to discover what else this season has for us.
Now tell me what you think about this episode, or hit the comments with theories, please! Thanks for reading!
