9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 13 ‘Invisible‘ is an episode that dials up the issues from ‘Disconnected’ and takes a very necessary step forward for not just Eddie and Chris, but also for Eddie and his relationship with his parents. Because at some point, Eddie Diaz had to remember that he is an adult and he gets to make the decisions for his relationship with Chris, not his parents. The hour also allows us a chance to delve into some of Hen’s inner fears, and for a change, it’s not about Karen or her kids.
It’s all very welcome for a show that, sometimes, gets stuck in the same patterns. The episode feels a little bit like an escalation of the last hour, but not in a bad way. It’s nothing earth-shattering, but it’s also nothing bad to get to know these characters better, to get to examine their fears in a different light than we usually do. Eight seasons in, it’s somewhat refreshing to realize there are still things we can learn about them, but isn’t that true of every relationship, every person, no matter how long you’ve known them?
MORE: We called it. Eddie’s behavior in “Sob Stories” proved Buddie was coming.
INVISIBLE
Something like what happens to Hen in this hour would make anyone feel invisible. And it’s not like anyone is doing it on purpose, not like people are actively trying to make her feel bad. Every person is an island with their own problems, and they all care about her—of course they do. Sometimes, we cannot measure how much we care about people via the little things. But the little things do matter, and they can hurt so much in the moment. They can make you feel so small.
It’s perfectly normal to feel like Hen does in ‘Invisible.’ In fact, it would be kinda weird if she didn’t feel a little bit bad. Hen is too often the rock of the 118, the one who is there for everyone. And sometimes, when you give and give and give, it can feel particularly bad not to get anything back. Because it makes you feel like what you’re doing is not worth it. Like who you are is not worth. That’s, of course, not true. And, Hen isn’t the way she is to get something in return. But that’s not an easy thing to shake off in the moment.
The feeling gets better. The people around you will have other chances to prove themselves to you. Love isn’t a one-day thing. But there’s something very human about the show giving Hen this moment to just feel… well, like no one’s seeing her. Because we do. And the more invisible she feels, the more clearly we understand her.
MORE: Is Eddie Diaz gay? ‘Holy Mother of God’ at least makes it a fair question to ask.
NOT HELENA’S KID ANYMORE
It’s hard to conceptualize how important it is for Eddie to take ownership of his relationship with Chris, considering how basically every time we’ve seen him with his parents, he’s just been putting his head down and taking it. This is particularly true of Helena because, in some ways, even though it’s not fully healed, we’ve seen him unpack more of his relationship with Ramón. And sure, Helena might not be Latina, but she seems to have assimilated into the culture pretty well—or at least the bad parts of it. I joked somewhere that if she were a Latina mom, she’d be doting on her son, and that part isn’t a lie. But she isn’t, so she can turn her judgment on him and make him believe that everything he’s done is wrong.
Eddie has internalized that, and to a point, so has Christopher. I don’t think Christopher really understands it, but Eddie is starting to. And a lot of that comes from the fact that this Eddie Diaz isn’t the Eddie Diaz that left El Paso seven years ago. This Eddie Diaz has spent seven years away from his parents, having a support system, and having a partner. And even now, away from all of that, he still has someone he can lean on. He still has Buck.
So yes, this isn’t about them; this is about Eddie having grown into a person who has a better understanding of his worth. A better understanding of what he is good at and what he can offer his son. And a better understanding of the fact that, yes, he will probably fail sometimes. And when he does, he won’t be alone. That’s why Eddie doesn’t just wait for Chris to ask him to move back in, instead, he tells Chris that he’s moving back in. Because Chris is Eddie’s kid, and it’s time for him to come back home.
“It’s time I started acting like it,” Eddie says, and that lesson, the one he never learned from his parents, is something Eddie can give to Christopher now. When Eddie messed up, when he got it wrong (not that getting nervous and throwing up is getting it wrong), all he got was people telling him “I told you so” or “See, you could have or should have done so and so.” But that isn’t the kind of parent Eddie wants to be. That isn’t the kind of person Eddie wants to be. And that isn’t the kind of parent Christopher deserves. It isn’t the kind of parent Christopher had. And though I still wish the show had given us more of how Eddie and Chris healed from not even talking to each other to this moment, this is the important step, and I’m very glad we’re getting to see it.
MORE: We said it was time for Buddie canon now. Someone listened.
PARTNERS
The joke stopped being a joke so long ago that I’m not even close to laughing. What Buck and Eddie have solidified in this episode is that they’re each other’s partners. And that doesn’t just apply on the field. It never really has. That doesn’t mean that they can’t look for advice from other people; it just means that they’re each other’s main form of support. Even from 800 miles away. And that translates to actual important advice, to cooking together, to existing together, and everything in between.
Fundamentally, nothing has changed in their relationship, even though distance could have and perhaps should have changed everything. Even though Buck feared Eddie was just another in the long list of people who was leaving him. Even though Eddie let distance change some of his other relationships—most notably with Shannon.
It’s different with the two of them because they have decided to make it different. It’s a choice the two are making. Yes, Eddie had to leave because of Christopher, and Buck and Eddie are both adults who understand that. But that doesn’t mean they care about each other less. That doesn’t mean their relationship is less important. And it doesn’t mean that they will stop making each other a priority, no matter how hard that is.
Things I think I think
- Buck is really so happy to use the ram, lol.
- THEY’RE COOKING TOGETHER.
- I read this fic, I think. If not, someone needs to make sure I read this fic. Write it.
- “Who cares if she loves it?” I like this attitude.
- “I want it to be this choice.” Eddie babyyyyy.
- Do I believe Chris is excited? I’m not sure. And I love how they just decided for Eddie & Chris, and Eddie didn’t say one thing. Wait, did I say I loved it? Because I actually hate it.
- I know we’re angrier at Helena than Ramón, and I think she’s earned it more, but I don’t think he’s going for any parent of the year awards, either. He doesn’t get Eddie, and he doesn’t want to. He now ‘gets along’ with his son because he thinks Eddie is closer to the man he wanted him to be.
- Let’s say one thing about the main point of this episode re: Hen. I don’t actually believe everyone would forget her birthday. I just don’t. Not after eight years. Like, I get the plot point, but this feels like one of those moments where the show tries too hard to make the plot point fit a situation where it just doesn’t, to tell a specific story.
- “You’re making yourself disappear, and that’s your fault.”
- “It’s okay to take up space.” It is!
- So Eddie DID remember Hen’s birthday.
- “We’re Facebook friends.” LOL
- Eddie, Buck is right. How old are you?
- “Who cares, just go anyway?”
- “Dad up?”
- Why are you upset Chimney heard that, Eddie? Like, you were fine taking Buck’s ribbing and his advice, but once Chimney heard it, you weren’t?
- I mean, only Buck can see you vulnerable yadda, yadda, yadda, but this wasn’t even all that vulnerable! And Chimney didn’t even hear the entire convo!
- LOL, poor Chris hates chess!
- “If you don’t want to play chess, you don’t have to.”
- THEY WERE MAKING THIS KID PLAY CHESS. This is actually the most Latino thing to ever Latino. I have a list of things I have done to make my grandparents happy, about 2% of which I enjoyed.
- “You’ll be my dad again?”
- Did I tear up at this scene? I did. And Eddie’s sincere response of “I’ve always been your dad.” And then the “It’s time I started acting like it”
- Maddie, I missed you!
- LOOK, I was scared this bus scene was going to be the entire episode and I’m really glad it wasn’t.
- Chimney is right, you shouldn’t have gotten on the bus.
- “And it’s my birthday.”
- Okay, but this message about police firing fast is…eh, something.
- “Didn’t want him to lose his seat on the bus.”
- Oh, God, ballroom dancing Eddie.
- You were too nice to your mom, Eddie. Truly, too nice. You’re a better person than me.
- HEN YOU MADE BUCK DO CHORES. I LOVE YOU.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 13 ‘Invisible’? Share with us in the comments below! Check out our Tales From the 118 podcast if you also want to listen to our reviews. 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.
Loved it. XD Totally agree with basically all of this. XD
Wonderful review Lizzie! Loved assertive Eddie finding his confidence as a dad again, with some encouragement from Buck. And Hen making Buck do chores and sending him his way with a doggy bag kinda cracked me up 🤣
Lol. Yeeees. 🙈
Wonderful review!
I loved how well balanced and cohesive this episode was. The return of confident dad Eddie was an absolute blast and Hen’s storyline was refreshing in its simplicity. I sure found it easier to relate to it than to the return of an estranged scamming religious mother, for example. 😆