9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 4 ‘No Place Like Home’ feels like, in many ways, the true start of the season. Opening emergencies are fun – and usually a great showcase for the show and its actors – but it’s hard to do much soul-searching as you’re trying to survive an earthquake, a tsunami, or land a plane. The episode after is always where things start taking shape and when the show starts truly setting the board for what’s to come.
In that respect, 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 4 ‘No Place Like Home’ feels like a very obvious episode. There is, indeed, no place like home. That holds true for Mara, for Christopher, and really, for the 118 in general. Except sometimes home isn’t actually a place, but people. And for this family, well …home has always been each other.
So now, with Bobby back as the Captain of the 118, Mara home with Hen and Karen, and Eddie finally on his way to figuring out how to fix his relationship with Christopher, well …maybe the 118 can truly get the whole family back together. That’s all that matters, isn’t it?
MORE: Here’s our review of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 1! And here’s our review of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 2, and 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 3.
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Procedurals can be a bit on the nose sometimes, but in this case, it works. Particularly because this storyline for Hen and Karen, which felt like it could be one of those that would drag on, is solved in the best way possible: with the entire 118 family helping. I spoke in my hopes for the season about the desire to see more from Hen and Karen than just the same storyline where their family is threatened, and it feels good to see that we’ve solved this pretty neatly and quickly and whatever comes their way now will be something different.
This isn’t just great for Hen and Karen, it’s great for Mara, who ended up being just a pawn in a game that actually affected her life and her well-being. She’s got so much to give as a character, just like her two moms, and it will be really interesting to see her flourish and develop and yes, get her own drama if needed, but drama that doesn’t take her away from home for no good reason.
Ortiz might still be a problem, if a different one. Gerrard isn’t actually gone. So, there are a lot of chances for the show to give these characters drama that touches on something different. This episode’s storyline with Eddie was a good example of that. And the fact that we’re four episodes in and Christopher isn’t back, but Eddie is perhaps starting to figure out that, at this point, respecting his son’s wishes isn’t the answer, feels like a good thing.
There’s no place like home, and Christopher belongs home, with his father. With his 118 family. Just like Mara belonged with Hen and Karen. It’s not that Mara wasn’t doing well with Maddie and Chim, she was. But it’s the difference between putting on a warm sweater that doesn’t fit, but at least keeps you warm, and putting on one that’s exactly your size. Some things are good enough until you can get the thing you really need.
MORE: How are we doing on the list of things we wanted for 9-1-1 Season 8? Check it out here!
NEXT PROBLEM?
With Mara’s storyline more or less solved, and 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 4 ‘No Place Like Home’ pointing in the right direction for Eddie’s storyline, the next obvious hurdle is Eddie’s parents. And the show can choose not to make them a hurdle, of course. They let Gerrard off the hook way too easily for what he is, what we’ve seen him be – because he was the lesser of two evils in this regard. But Eddie’s parents, well …I don’t think they deserve to be let off easy.
Sure, Christopher called his grandparents. Christopher wanted to go stay with them. It’s good that Eddie has parents who can provide that space for Christopher when he needs it. That’s about all the nice things I can say about them. Because his parents – his mother in particular, but his father too, by virtue of not saying anything – have just taken advantage of the situation to basically make sure they got what they always wanted: Christopher, and with that a second chance to raise a son “right.”
Because Eddie, to his parents, has never been anything but a disappointment and an afterthought. He’s never been good enough. Otherwise, at this point, they would have tried to mediate. They would have encouraged Christopher to talk to his dad. At the very least, they would have checked on Eddie to see how he was doing. Instead, the little we’ve seen of them is basically gloating that Christopher is having a good time with them and doesn’t need Eddie anymore.
That isn’t true, though. A boy always needs his father. Even when they make mistakes. Especially when they make mistakes. Because it’s not about making one mistake, Eddie knows that. Or at least, he knew it enough at one point to say it to Buck. It’s that he’s willing to keep trying.
So, time for Christopher to come home? Yes, please. And if that comes with a reckoning for the way Eddie’s parents have treated him for his entire life, then I will be even happier. If Eddie is going to figure out soon that he is “good enough,” well it wouldn’t be a bad thing to get to the root of why he feels like that in the first place.
MORE: What questions do we want answered from Season 7 of 9-1-1? Here’s a list!
YOU GOTTA FIND YOUR PEOPLE
The thing about guest stars is, you don’t bring them in unless you need them. And you don’t need them unless something related to their storyline is happening, unless you want to establish a plot point that will be important later, or …unless you want to make sure they are part of the status quo of the show. That’s the case with Tracie Thoms’ Karen, who is sometimes around for the sake of the Hen and Karen storyline, who appeared more on the show as 9-1-1 was setting up the Mara issues, and yet who sometimes is around just because. She’s Hen’s wife, and she’s important.
In this regard, it almost feels necessary to ask: where is Tommy? He was around in the first episode because the show needed to establish his relationship with Buck was still going strong, but hasn’t been seen or mentioned since, even though the show has had at least a couple of really good opportunities to bring him in to establish that he is a presence in Buck’s life and that makes him part of the family this show has created around the 118.
Sure, this isn’t a Buck-centric episode. Tommy is likely to be back the next time Buck features heavily in an hour. But even that is somewhat worrying, all things considered, because it puts him firmly in the Love Interest and only that category.
The decision not to include him so far in Season 8 feels intentional, especially when so much of his past on-screen revolved around Gerrard, when Season 7 did go out of its to make sure his presence was felt, and when the natural progression of the relationship lends itself to him being around more. Tommy and Buck are doing well. He gets along with Eddie. And he has, presumably, no issues with Hen or Chimney these days. Bobby has only said good things about him. As far as the show is concerned, Tommy is a good guy who, no matter his previous actions, has changed and made amends and who is in a relationship with Buck that seems to be going pretty well. So why are we not seeing that?
Why aren’t we getting the little moments, or at the very least, the casual mentions of him? Why, in an episode about family that played a song that said “You gotta find your people, the ones that make you feel alright, the kind you want to stay up with all night,” we neither saw nor heard about him? The answer is probably because Tommy isn’t that important to the narrative the show wants to build. Not wholly surprising, but still kind of pointed, what can I say?
MORE: How did the cast of 9-1-1 do on Celebrity Family Feud? Find out here!
LET’S BUILD SOMETHING NEW
Bobby and Athena’s conflict in 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 4 ‘No Place Like Home’ isn’t a conflict, as much as it’s an opportunity for them to look at how they started and where they want to go as a couple. Because when Bobby and Athena first got together, they were two broken people trying to make a home in the middle of a wreckage. And they did just that, and the metaphorical home they built was beautiful indeed. But now, with time and some self-reflection, they are not just a little bit older and wiser, but also a little bit more whole.
Which means whatever they create now is going to be the life they intend to live, together, for the rest of their lives. That’s the promise. And that’s why it means so much to Bobby that they build something that fits both of them, that reflects who they both are and the family they have. It’s why Athena, as soon as she understands, lets go of their nostalgia. The future belongs to both of them together, and that means they shouldn’t live in the house Michael built.
Instead, they should build their own real and metaphorical house, together. And honestly, the second part is kinda easy. They already found a home in each other once before, under much worse circumstances.
MORE: All the stills from Season 8 are here! And all the trailers are here!
Things I think I think:
- “Everybody got soft” is fun (not) when you think about it in the context of “Everyone finally felt appreciated and cared for.”
- “You know what no one has ever accused me of being? Beloved.” Would have never guessed, Gerrard.
- Buck would have quit himself before telling Gerrard who to fire.
- COOK TOGETHER. YES. GET A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN COOK TOGETHER.
- Eddie’s expression every time Gerrard talks is killing me. Why is he checking on everyone quickly before raising his hand?
- Chimney, is this the moment to correct Gerrard?
- Okay, but Gerrard also kinda likes Eddie. Not sure why. Maybe it’s the military thing.
- Competent Eddie is hot. And Eddie is supposed to be competent! Sometimes the show has to have someone be the comic relief, but it’s really great to see Eddie portrayed at being good at what he does, because he is. Especially great since we rarely get to see him use the “medic” part of his training.
- Getting involved in other people’s issues because you’re projecting your own feelings is actually …a very Buck thing to do, Eddie.
- “I think he misses his kid.” Glad Hen got this line. It can’t just be Buck noticing.
- When Hen and Karen cry, we all cry.
- In a way, 9-1-1 feels too real in the fact that Gerrard can get a Captain’s job back and Councilwoman Ortiz can mess with Hen and Karen without anyone remembering what Gerrard did before or raising an eyebrow at Councilwoman Ortiz is directly affecting the paramedic who was cleared for her son’s death. I’d complain about how contrived it is, but sadly, this is one of those things that feel a little too much on the nose in that …well, power does this. And no one cares!
- Also, eh …the Gerrard from the Beings episodes is actively racist, homophobic, and misogynist. This one is just like an uncle who wants the best for you but never goes about it the right way. Sometimes (often) the show goes way too far with the attempt to redeem characters, particularly characters who don’t deserve it and who we haven’t seen redeemed on-screen.
- Bobby looks like he doesn’t want to live in Michael’s house again from second 1.
- “He’s not my Captain.” I HAVE FEELINGS.
- Everyone going to Bobby is perfect. And Peter Krause’s comedic timing? A+.
- Eddie’s “You don’t like it?” to Bobby is priceless. No, Eddie. No one likes it.
- “I have layers.”
- Eddie, Buck, do you really have to go get the gear together?
- Really appreciated how we got Eddie working with Chimney and Buck working with Hen, even if it’s just for a little bit.
- “Not so loud, the rest of the cast thinks it’s an ensemble.” HA
- I appreciated so much Eddie checking this man’s toxic masculinity. He could have tried to talk about the son without doing that, but he made sure to do that as well. It feels like a very pointed moment that’s probably a callback to Eddie’s relationship with his parents, something we really, really should unpack.
- Gerrard, of all people, helping save the day. However, let’s not give him too much credit. This was all Bobby.
- “Let’s build something new. Something just for us.” Are these tears?
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of 9-1-1 Season 4, Episode 4 ‘No Place Like Home’? Share with us in the comments below.
9-1-1 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.
