9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11 Review: ‘Holy Mother of God’

9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11 ‘Holy Mother of God’ is the type of episode of TV that leaves you thinking, ‘holy mother of God, what did I just watch?’ but in a good way. It’s a good Bobby episode that delves into why he is the way he is, but it’s an earth-shattering episode for Buck and a foundational episode for Buddie, even though we don’t even see Eddie.

I think it’s fair to say this hour signals a decision for the show when it comes to Buck and Eddie’s storyline. They’ve been inching towards one for a season and a half—one might even say for seven seasons—but ‘Holy Mother of God’ is a declaration of intent. However long it takes from now, we can now say that the show made what’s coming pretty clear. The rest is just figuring out how we’re getting there.

MORE: We interviewed Abigail Spencer after last week’s episode of 9-1-1

MOMMY ISSUES

Bobby has earned his mommy issues in 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11 ‘Holy Mother of God’ and he’s earned his anger. But if there’s one thing we know about Bobby Nash, it is that he’s got a capacity for love and forgiveness that will probably put all of us to shame. So, it’s actually no surprise that, by the end of the episode, Bobby ends up right there, at his mother’s side, giving her a second chance that, for some of us, she might not deserve. Not just that, but giving her way too much grace by somehow managing to separate what she did as what was best for her, even if it wasn’t what was best for him.

At that point, for Bobby, it might not actually be about deserving. It might be about peace of mind. For him, and for her. With his mother nearing the end of her life and Bobby having already lost so much in life, it feels like peace to hang onto the little things you have left for the little time you will have them. It’s sometimes easier to hold onto your anger, especially when it’s rightful anger. Because yes, Bobby was abandoned. Not just once, either. He can be angry. Perhaps he should.

Does he gain anything from that anger? Not really. And if anyone understands what making a big mistake is, well, it’s Bobby Nash. I’m not saying I would have forgiven her. I’m saying I understand, in some way, why Bobby does, or at least why he goes into that room. Why did he take that step? Why does he reach for not just his mom but for his brother? Sometimes, you’re reminded that life is very, very short. And when you are, well… you don’t want it to pass you by without telling the people that matter to you that they matter, period.

MORE: 9-1-1 is heading to…Nashville?

BOBBY, TALK TO YOUR WIFE

Deep down, I understand Bobby not telling Athena about his family, just as I understand Athena’s position at the beginning of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11 ‘Holy Mother of God’ when she basically is like, ‘How could you not have told me your mother was alive?’. Because the thing is, for Bobby, she wasn’t. She was dead to him, and that was it. But Bobby’s got to be a bit better about communicating facts to his wife, and not facts as he perceives them.

Because Athena is his partner. His number one. And as she proves in this episode, the same holds true for her. And she’ll have his back no matter what. He just needs to give her all the pieces of the puzzle so she can do so. And I don’t think Bobby is necessarily withholding information from Athena because he doesn’t believe she’ll have his back, instead, he’s doing so in a misguided attempt to protect them both. He just doesn’t have to. This is Athena Grant we’re talking about. She doesn’t need him to protect her.

Ironically, this episode feels like a manufactured miscommunication between them, but I can let it slide because it gives us some fun moments between them and actual scenes with Bobby and Athena—plus physical proof that the house is being built, which I sorely needed to see. It’s a little bit like the last episode, which literally only had Bobby next to Athena to act as a cheerleader. Did Bobby do much? Not really. Was I complaining? Not at all. More of the two of them is always good, especially if they’re not on a cruise. I’m not too happy about Athena having to go on one by herself, but the two of them? No, that would have been a cruel joke at this point.

MORE: We said it was time for Buddie canon now. Someone listened.

PLOT DEVICE 101 (THE GHOST IN THE STORYLINE)

Tommy returns in 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11 ‘Holy Mother of God’ to fulfill the role he has always played in this show, that of a plot device. He’d already done so before, but with the show finally ready to take that to the next level, Tommy becomes the vessel for the show pushing Buck to think about some things he has never allowed himself to consider regarding his best friend Eddie.

It’s Tommy who vocalizes some things that part of the audience has already been thinking but that the show has never verbalized before. 1) He saw Eddie as competition in a romantic sense, which is why he only jumped back into trying to date Buck again when he realized Eddie was gone. 2) He does not think Eddie is straight. These are two wild revelations for a show that had, to this point, not outwardly confirmed that the issue with the Tommy/Buck relationship was Eddie—though the subtext was indeed there if you know how to read between the lines. Media literacy and all.

Perhaps the biggest revelation of an episode that doesn’t even have Eddie is that Tommy does not think Eddie is straight. In fact, the scene implies that Tommy’s “I’m not your last, I’m your first” was very much about Eddie. And now that Eddie’s gone, well, Tommy can risk dating Buck because without Eddie around, he’s got a shot. Let’s just sit with how big that is. Even if Buck can’t. Because that’s what Tommy thinks. He thinks Eddie is gay. Thinks Eddie has feelings for Buck, even if Eddie doesn’t know it yet. And he thinks Buck reciprocates, even if Buck doesn’t know it yet! And he thinks when they both come to terms with those feelings, he’ll come out on the losing end.

Tommy Kinard, an actual Buddie shipper. Who knew?

Wait, we knew. Back from Season 7, Episode 4. When he said, “My attention?” We all knew. We clocked it. Turns out we were always right.

MORE:  We called it. Eddie’s behavior in “Sob Stories” proved Buddie was coming.

IT WAS NEVER ABOUT TOMMY

Tommy isn’t important enough for his own section, but I’m going to give him one just to make one point clear—nothing about Tommy has ever been about Tommy, as Tommy himself makes clear in this episode. Every second of Tommy Kinard on our screens has been about Eddie Diaz and about Buck’s journey toward realizing his feelings for Eddie, or in some way, about Eddie’s journey toward realizing his feelings for Buck; we just haven’t tapped into that side of the journey yet.

And the plot device clocked it too, the way most fans did from the start. Season 7, Episode 4, “Buck, Bothered and Bewildered” couldn’t be about Tommy because Tommy was just a guy conveniently there while Buck was having real feelings about a guy he’d known for years, a guy he already knew and loved. He was jealous Eddie was spending time with Tommy, and because he’s the unreliable narrator in his own story, he transferred those feelings. Tommy wasn’t a risk; Eddie was. So, he went for it with Tommy.

But this episode also makes it clear to the audience and Tommy himself, that even without Eddie around, all Tommy could be for Buck is just a guy Buck has sex with to try to unsuccessfully forget about Eddie—wild thing for Buck to say because he’s not even romantically involved with Eddie at this point. And yes, Buck should call Tommy to apologize for that because even fictional characters deserve better! So, the start of the relationship wasn’t about Tommy; it was about Eddie. And the “reconciliation” wasn’t about Tommy; that was also about Eddie. Tommy was pretty on point when he called Eddie his “competition,” even from El Paso.

MORE: The cinematography of the Buddie goodbye sold us on this being the endgame.

IN LOVE WITH EDDIE

Buck turns what Tommy says in 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11 ‘Holy Mother of God’ into “Tommy thinks I’m in love with Eddie,” which isn’t exactly what Tommy told him- a very interesting interpretation, if you ask me. Almost as interesting as Maddie’s “Are you?” and Maddie’s “Would it be so crazy?” because those are meant to convey that for Maddie, the idea that Buck could be in love with Eddie would not come out of left field. She wouldn’t be shocked. In fact, for Maddie, it would be not just okay, it would be… pretty normal. She understands falling in love with your best friend.

The only one struggling with the notion in this conversation is Buck, and it’s hilarious to see how Maddie’s face goes through an entire journey at Buck’s denials. She’s not going to push him into a realization he isn’t ready for, but she clearly thinks Buck might be having feelings he isn’t ready to admit. But is Buck not ready to admit them? Because Buck’s response to Tommy when they’re having their argument in the kitchen might be the most telling thing he says in this episode, and I’m not even sure he realizes what he admits during it.

“You know, I don’t have to want to sleep with everyone I have feelings for and I don’t have to have feelings for everyone I sleep with,” is what Buck says in the moment, and though the argument has a lot of holes in it because he’s telling himself he doesn’t want to sleep with Eddie to preserve the platonic nature of their relationship, is he… just admitting he has feelings for Eddie in the middle of trying to tell Tommy he has no feelings for him and it was just sex? And does he jump straight to dismissing the wild thing he just said two seconds after? Even while turning what Tommy said into ‘he thinks I’m in love with Eddie’? Buck, baby, let’s talk about this. Hold my hand. Or hey, let’s not talk about this. Call Eddie.

MORE: Looks like Lou Ferrigno Jr. always kinda knew he was just an obstacle to Buddie, didn’t he?

IS EDDIE DIAZ GAY?

The fact that we didn’t see one second of Eddie Diaz in an episode that has us questioning Eddie Diaz’s sexuality is wild work, truly. But 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11 ‘Holy Mother of God’ throws us the bone we all knew we needed if Buddie was ever going to be canon, the one that one point we weren’t sure we were ever going to get, and that comes in the form of an unequivocal hint meant for casual fans about Eddie Diaz’s sexuality. Perhaps, fittingly, it’s Tommy Kinard who provides that.

As Buck tries to argue that Eddie cannot be Tommy’s competition because Eddie’s straight, Tommy’s response is to scoff and say, “Huh, okay.” It’s particularly telling, not just because fans have said for years there’s a lot of subtext that Eddie isn’t actually straight, but because this gives credence to the theory that Tommy was originally interested in Eddie—not Buck. He did seem to be going all out for their friendship in a way he never did with Buck for their relationship!

Then there’s Eddie stating that he was straight a couple of episodes ago, something characters don’t usually say to the camera on TV unless they’re going to start questioning it. Of course, it’s clear Eddie doesn’t know the opposite is true, and his Texas storyline will need to uncover some stuff that will set him on the path to questioning that himself. It cannot all be other characters and subtext, and it very much cannot all be about Buck. This is Eddie’s journey, and it has to be about Eddie if it’s going to be done right. But now, the general audience already has the pieces to question it. Now, Buck has already heard from someone outside of their small circle that Eddie might not be as unattainable as he has always imagined. That’s big.

MORE: We wouldn’t mind a The Rookie & 9-1-1 crossover

Things I think I think:

• Buck, baby, you look so out of place.
• Maddie’s like, oh, it’s you. Again.
• I really love that dress Bobby’s mom is wearing. Looks uncomfortable for what she’s doing, but she looks great! A+.
• “Buck, Eddie, you’re on the flanks.” BOBBY, NOT YOU TOO.
• And with that I mean, I’M SO GLAD IT’S YOU TOO.
• So nice of Buck to correct him.
• Ravi’s “I’m so used to it,” lol. And his face!
• Five minutes in, Bobby has called Ravi by Eddie’s name twice.
• “Ravi. Buck and Ravi.”
• I kinda feel bad.
• I spoke too soon, another minute, and the third time at least he corrected himself after he called Ravi the wrong name! Progress!
• Hey, and when he checked in on Ravi, he actually said his name. Go Bobby!
• “I’m guessing Buck is Jesus in this metaphor?”
• Hen catching on when Ann gives Bobby back the megaphone was kinda hilarious.
• “I used to. That’s my mother.”
• And then he’s like, okay, let’s pack up.
• “I like having strong men in every room of my house right now.” MADDIE.
• Also, she looks so beautiful. And her hair is so LONG. How LONG HAS IT BEEN?
• At least three months, right? Maybe four.
• “It doesn’t feel like my new place; it feels like Eddie’s old one, which is proving to be trickier than I expected.”
• “Everywhere I look is just one big reminder that my best friend is gone and it sucks.”
• “As your big sister, I’m gonna have to ask that you do something very uncomfortable: make new friends.”
• “She’s a fraud. A con artist. It’s embarrassing.”
• SHE SENT A LETTER AFTER THE FIRE. THAT’S ALL?
• Nah, man.
• That’s no mother.
• Athena is nicer than me.
• I’d be suspicious too, Ravi.
• “To be fair, it took me a minute to warm up to Eddie too.” No, actually, a shift isn’t that long, Buck.
• Maybe we can give the brother a chance. Maybe.
• Bobby’s answer of “two stepkids.”  MY HEART.
• Look, Charlie, you mean well, but how did you think this was going to end?
• What do you mean he chose to stay? He was a kid!!!!!!
• “I do think you’re a fraud, but not as a preacher. As a mother.” Man, that hurt me. But she deserved it, so.
• Ravi: Isn’t that illegal? Buck: What? No, it’s not illegal. Eddie would never do something illegal. Eddie has a silver star. Ravi: Wasn’t he in some kind of underground fight club? Buck: That was ages ago. And he had a ton of stuff going on.
• Okay, look, this is fanfic dialogue. And I don’t mean in I read it in fanfic, I mean in it reads like something someone would write in fanfic. I say that as a total compliment
• Also, Buck sounds smitten.
• Ravi, meanwhile, sounds like he would like to teleport to Mars.
• Of course, this is an Eddie game.
• Everything ties back to Eddie.
• Buck, baby. I need you to wake up here.
• Ravi, that was low. I mean, I get it, but it was low.
• “He pretty much stopped speaking to me after you and I broke up.” That’s best friend Eddie right there.
• As soon as Tommy clocks Eddie left he’s like okay, okay, let me go for it.
• Was there a stray ‘Eddie’ in there or…
• “Now the competition’s out of the way” is a wild line.
• THE
• COMPETITION
• IS
• OUT
• OF
• THE
• WAY
• Wild line, Tommy.
• Just, the first time I watched, I thought I was having a hallucination.
• Had to pause, rewind.
• The two seconds where Buck does not get it.
• Then Tommy trying to pass it off as a joke when it very much isn’t.
• “Come on, Evan. Don’t make me say it.”
• “Wait, Eddie?”
• WHO ELSE, BUCK?
• “I mean, you’re living in the guy’s house.”
• “Okay, this is not his house, he was a renter. And he’s straight.”
• Tommy basically laughing at Eddie being straight is gonna live in my mind rent-free.
• “You know, I don’t have to want to sleep with everyone I have feelings for and I don’t have to have feelings for everyone I sleep with.”
• Buck, baby. Let’s deconstruct that.
• Do you…have feelings for Eddie?
• Don’t have feelings for Tommy?
• What are you even saying here?
• Do you even know?
• LOL, Bobby telling Buck not to smash things. Some things never change.
• This last call is kinda wild. People rising from the grave and all.
• “What is that even supposed to mean? I’m living in Eddie’s old house; therefore, I must be in love with him?”
• Okay, but wild interpretation because Tommy never said you were in love with Eddie! Olympic levels jumping to conclusion, Buck. Have you met my friend Eddie? The one who jumped to that conclusion about having to choose between you and Chris? That one?
• “Are you?”
• Maddie, asking for all of us.
• “It wouldn’t be so crazy.”
• Another question, Buck. Who is this everyone who wants you to be hopelessly pining for your straight best friend? Tommy didn’t say that! Maddie didn’t say that; she just asked. Like, literally the only person who has brought this up is…you.
• Maddie’s face is a poem.
• I love you, Jennifer Love Hewitt.
• “Does not having him in my life, and in the field, leave a big hole? Yeah, it does. Sure.”
• “I understand him feeling threatened by what me and Eddie have.”
• Now explain what you have. With words.
• “He seemed so relieved he [Eddie] was gone, it pissed me off.”
• Of course it feels like if you unpack you’re accepting Eddie isn’t coming back.
• Buck talks about how he should call him and Maddie immediately assumes Eddie, lol
• “I should apologize. It’s probably right. I was using him as a distraction so I didn’t have to feel alone.” Yeah, apologize to Tommy. He knows at this point about the Eddie and Buck of it all, so whatever. And like Maddie says, that’s not the best reason to get back together with someone. Go figure out your feelings, Buck.
• “Maybe it’s time you learned the lesson again. How to be alone.”
• We know you hate that lesson, Buck.
• Feels kinda providential you were there, Bobby.
• Too many of the Bobby and Athena scenes lately have been in hospital waiting rooms. Way too many.
• I kinda loved Bobby and his brother, not gonna lie.
• Feeling truly conflicted about Bobby and his mom, but let’s say Bobby is more forgiving than I am.
• Buck, you did it! Now when Eddie comes back he’s gonna have to share your bed, lol.
• And your couch.
• You won’t be on your own for long.
• Look, the narrative path I would have chosen for Buddie didn’t really include Tommy. And I’m actually glad we didn’t see full realization because I don’t want Buck’s full realization to be about an ex. But I’m going to hold my reservations until I see where Eddie’s journey takes him, but this does tie up some loose ends regarding Buck. Eddie’s path towards his sexuality crisis should be about Eddie first, second, and third. Then, he can throw in Buck. But all in all, I don’t have too many problems with this because, in a narrative sense, it closes out this storyline. Please, no more questions about Tommy. I’m done here.
• Athena be like, not a ship. Not again.

Agree? Disagree? What did you think of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11 ‘Holy Mother of God’? Share with us in the comments below! Check out our Tales From the 118 podcast if you want to listen to our ‘Voices’ review. On Apple Podcasts and Spotify! Plus, if you want to leave your own rating/comment about the show, you can do so in our 9-1-1 hub!

9-1-1 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.

Our last five 9-1-1 reviews:

• 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 6
• 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 7
• 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 8
• 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 9
• 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 10