9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 18 ‘Seismic Shifts’ feels like anything but a seismic shift for the show. Instead, the season finale, after confirmation that ABC sees this show going on for a while, only feels like the show playing it safe. And though in the wake of the decision to kill Bobby, the sense of family this episode provides is not just needed, it’s welcome, the episode does leave a sour taste in our mouths when we consider all the dangling plot threads from the season.
Starting with Bobby, who we still feel died in the most anticlimactic way, for reasons that don’t actually make all that much sense to anyone. Moving on to Eddie’s storyline, which was set up to be a focus this season, and ended up being an afterthought that in no way furthered his connection with Christopher or gave us any real insight into who Eddie was. And in many ways, that’s the same for Hen, a character who continuously and frustratingly keeps giving up career advancement opportunities for reasons that haven’t been fully explored outside of just a line or two. Oh, and Maddie’s thoughts about her second pregnancy? Who has time for that?
Then there’s the Buddie of it all, which feels like one of those things the show didn’t exactly promise to deliver, but it did promise to at least explore when they raised the question of whether Buck was in love with Eddie. To end the season without an answer, or even a concrete hint, feels not just like a missed opportunity, but part of the same frustrating cycle we really don’t want to be caught in the middle of.
MORE: How did you feel about the Buck and Eddie kitchen fight last episode? We broke it down.
LEGACY
Chimney speaks of Bobby’s legacy in this episode, and his words are one of the most emotional in an episode that somehow misses most of its emotional beats, because this we do see. We believe in it. The 118 is Bobby’s legacy. And that means Eddie can’t leave, that Buck can’t transfer out, and that they cannot just go their separate ways, like what they built together all these years doesn’t matter. Because it does.
That it’s Chimney that finds the words, and the strength, to say what needs to be said—to be the voice Bobby would have wanted him to be—is so great to see, and not just because we really couldn’t have imagined the 118 with a new face as Captain. It’s great to see because it’s actually good forward progress for Chimney, a character who has felt stuck in the same place for a while.
He doesn’t take the easy way out in this episode, though. Not with Athena, not with Buck and Eddie, and not with the job. Chimney goes all in, and that’s instinct. This leader has always been there. Bobby knew it. And after a rough go of it at first, it’s clear Athena sees it too, just as Buck, Hen, and Eddie do. And we still don’t like what happened to Bobby, will never agree with that decision. But if someone has to step into his shoes going forward, we’re glad it’s Chimney, and we’re glad it looks like he’ll get it because he deserves it and he’s good at it, not because he feels like he owes Bobby.
MORE: 9-1-1 EP Tim Minear says killing Bobby Nash was realistic, but 9-1-1 has never been a realistic show.
LET’S NEVER GO BACK TO TEXAS
Eddie Diaz gets to save the day in 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 18 ‘Seismic Shifts’, or at least gets to save Ravi and Buck and help out with saving the day. He also ends the episode back in Los Angeles, where he belongs. It’s just that the moments between point A and point B are so rushed, that it ends up feeling like there was really no reason for him to be in Texas other than… no one he would listen to had told him he shouldn’t he? That he belongs in Los Angeles?
The entire Texas storyline feels like it was about nothing. We didn’t get more bonding between Eddie and Chris, and they never addressed the issues that made Chris move in the first place on-screen. Hell, we didn’t even get to see the conversation about moving back to Los Angeles, because apparently all Eddie needed to do was tell Chris that they were moving? It’s a little absurd considering how much of a big deal was made of Eddie being in Texas because of Christopher, and how much we already know in-canon Eddie hated being in Texas when he was younger.
But the Texas storyline also didn’t really teach us much about Eddie. This was supposed to be about him figuring out who he was without Christopher. Did he? A priest told him to drink juice instead of water, and Eddie just… what? Danced in his underwear and presumably drinks some juice now, and that’s it? Was that the extent of Eddie finding his joy? There was no confrontation or at least conversation with his parents about how his upbringing might have contributed to this. There was no conversation with Christopher, even, about Eddie not wanting Chris to feel the same. It always felt like this storyline was heading somewhere, and then the show just… did absolutely nothing with it.
That’s the frustrating part about all these little missed opportunities. The setup was there. If 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 18 ‘Seismic Shifts’ feels like a letdown, it’s because, in the end, the episode was just about paying off storylines from the last four episodes, not for the entire season. And that’s very much not what fans wanted.
MORE: Remember the cinematography of that Buddie goodbye scene? We’re still thinking about that.
WHY NOT?
The Hen question that continues to plague me in 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 18 ‘Seismic Shifts’ is why not Hen? And it’s mostly about what this says about her character. Sure, she’s got kids, but so does Chimney. So did Bobby. And Chimney’s kids are younger than Hen’s. So why is this a good fit for him and not for her? The show gives us one throwaway line about temperament, and then seems to make it all about other things, but just like when Hen quit medical school, there really isn’t a good reason why it could not be her.
It’s valid for her to think the job isn’t right for her or that she’d be happier doing something else. Women’s stories always follow the same path, so if the show wants to chart a new one for Hen, that’s great. It’s just that her storyline has been so much about giving up stuff or saying no to things she “doesn’t want.” Fine, valid, but when will the show explore what Hen does want? When do we get that?
Even the Mara storyline, which was such a focus at the beginning of the season, only gets a tacked-on moment during the ending montage. And we get it, killing Bobby made it so the show didn’t really have time to come back to all the storytelling threads they’d set up during the season. But again I say, perhaps that’s why they just… shouldn’t have killed Bobby?
MORE: We almost miss the days when Abigail Spencer slashing Maddie’s throat was the worst thing that had happened on this show
A TRANSFER?
Buck’s storyline in in 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 18 ‘Seismic Shifts’ is particularly frustrating in that it seems the show forgot to give a payoff even to what was happening for him in this very episode. Because Evan Buckley asked for a transfer? The 118 is just a number? Buck? That feels very much like a response to Eddie leaving, because Bobby has been dead for weeks, and Hen and Chimney will still be at the 118. But… we don’t get any follow-up?
Even if it’s a response to the whole “everyone is pulling away” thing, compounded by Eddie—who made everything better for a bit—leaving too, it’s still very out of character, so the least the show could have done is explored how or why someone like him has such an out of character response. But the episode doesn’t even deliver on this very thing it set up at the beginning, instead it’s all brushed away by one good Chimney speech, and Eddie not leaving.
But feelings don’t go away because circumstances change, and it’s sad that throughout this episode of 9-1-1, we barely saw people really deal with the death of Bobby. Sure, things get better, even in grief. And when things go your way, it can feel like the grief recedes for a bit, because good things are happening. But I’ve been there more times than I care to discuss, and the only thing that actually helps is facing your grief head-on. And Buck, of all people, doesn’t seem like he got to truly do that in the way he needed.
MORE: Is Eddie Diaz gay? ‘Holy Mother of God’ at least makes it a fair question to ask.
STARTING FRESH
I understood Athena’s desire to stay in the house she and Bobby built, but not only was that house too big for her, it just had too many memories. I would have sold it too. And her decision to do just that in the end signals an understanding for her—and for the show—that things are never going to go back to what they were. This is uncharted territory we’re heading into, and that’s scary.
From a storytelling perspective, Bobby’s death affects Athena the most. We’ve spent basically the entirety of this show with one Athena, and now we’re going to have to get used to another one. Because the person you are after the loss she experienced is not the same person you were before. It can’t be. No part of me will ever believe the decision to kill Bobby was right, or that it was a good thing for the stories this show is telling and wants to tell going forward. But now that it did, the least it can do is honor his memory.
And that means still finding family in the 118, yes. But it also means exploring the highs, the lows, and the crashouts of what comes after. I never wanted this for Athena. But if I’m going to get it, I hope they do her justice.
MORE: The fan reaction to Bobby Nash’s death was somewhere between angry and heartbroken. We’re still feeling like that.
AN AFTERTHOUGHT
Maddie’s story was one of the biggest losers in the decision to kill Bobby, and 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 18 ‘Seismic Shifts’ is a perfect example of that. The episode ends with Maddie giving birth to her second baby, Robert Nash Han. It’s a beautiful moment, particularly as they introduce him to Athena, but the moment becomes all about Athena and, to a lesser degree, Chimney. There’s not much storytelling space there for Maddie’s feelings.
This is especially frustrating when we remember how much of a risk this pregnancy was after her first bout with PPD and how she almost got killed right after she learned she was pregnant. These are things we kinda wanted to see Maddie deal with, and yet they fell by the wayside because the show had to focus on the grief and moving on part. And again, this is one of those things that we understand. Of course, grief derails everything. I’ve been there. It feels like your life becomes grief for a while. It’s just not what we wanted from the show, and it certainly doesn’t feel like it was the plan from the beginning, or we wouldn’t have so many dangling plot threads that either didn’t get addressed or barely did.
We won’t get another chance at this one, unlike some others that weren’t at all touched upon. This is the last we’ll likely see of pregnant Maddie. A time jump to start Season 9 makes sense. Then what? Are her legitimate fears something we never discuss again? I hope the answer is no, but either way, it’s sad that we got to the baby with so much of this storyline feeling like an afterthought.
MORE: We said it was time for Buddie canon now. Is someone listening?
IF BUDDIE IS A THING WE ALL SEE, THEN WHY NOT TAKE THAT STEP?
9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 18 ‘Seismic Shifts’ was, perhaps, always a bad time for Buddie to really go anywhere. But it felt like a season that asked so many questions in regards to the relationship had to deliver at least some answers. Instead, 9-1-1 chose to leave those questions unanswered, a matter for another day. We’ve already gotten somewhat of a time-jump at the end of the season, and we will likely get another one by the time Season 9 starts, and we’re still in the same place we’ve been for… way too long.
Or wait, we’re worse, because now we know some fictional people (and Maddie and Tommy) think Buck is in love with Eddie, and that Tommy viewed Eddie as the competition and doesn’t really believe Eddie is straight. Not that we’ve talked about that!
The Buddie thing has been simple for a while. Buck and Eddie are two people who, at this point in the narrative, have no other possible romantic love interest that would make sense than each other. This is not just because people ship them. It’s because of how they’ve been written, over and over again. It’s because of acting, writing, and directing decisions that have been consciously made. Fans did not make Buddie up. It’s there. It’s always been there.
So why does the show seem reluctant to take that final step? It’s hard to tell. Part of it could indeed have been that the decision to kill Bobby and explore that fully meant everything else got pushed until next season. But there were a few instances in the finale where we could have gotten at least a look or a moment that could have hinted at more; instead, the choice was to make it about the family. And it makes sense, you just killed Bobby (again, why?). But this isn’t a storyline that’s been going on for half a season, one that makes sense to wait on. The buildup is already there. This is where the show should have made a choice, one way or another.
Hell, if Buddie is never going to be a thing, then that’s also something that could be clearly put forward for the fans. That way, people can make their own decisions about whether to be invested or not. The problem is that this will-they/won’t-they that absolutely everyone can see at this point has moved past the point of being tired. Instead, it now feels a little like baiting, by virtue of being another thing that just wasn’t addressed at all right now. And no one likes being baited.
MORE: This is what ABC’s fall lineup is looking like.
Things I think I think:
- Latina moms everywhere be feeling this woman and her daughter.
- SLUT STRAND.
- Buck looks so sad. Chris healed him for 0.2 seconds!
- “I don’t need that right now.” Right now?!
- “You don’t have to apologize. You just have to do what’s best for you.” Is that what you’re doing, Buck?
- Eddie’s LOOK.
- “Out of the 118?”
- Eddie’s LOOK again. Or more this time. Way more pointed.
- Lindaaaaa.
- So good to see call center stories again.
- “Pretty boys,” lol.
- Sueeee
- Hen is a badass paramedic.
- Ravi, look at where you’re going.
- Narnia, lol.
- Eddie’s face at the TV!
- “If Bobby taught me anything, it’s that we always have a choice.” (Except about saving Bobby, I guess.)
- “I was watching the news, had a bit of FOMO.”
- The way Buck and Eddie still understand each other perfectly.
- Ravi is so funny, “would it be better if I were joking?” lol.
- The way Eddie is looking at Buck when Ravi interrupts by hugging him.
- It’s clear where his focus was.
- “I thought, if Bobby were here, what kind of crazy stunt would he be yelling at Buck for pulling?”
- Their smiles as Buck says “this one was all you.”
- Graeme, why you making me sad?
- The Chimney and Athena hug healed a part of my soul.
- I personally loved Chimney stealing the phone from Eddie.
- “Especially you.” lol
- “Nobody is transferring out. And nobody is staying in Texas.” TELL THEM CHIM.
- “This team, we are his legacy.”
- The song being all like “this is not the end of the story” is rude AF.
- What you liked about your previous place was that it was Eddie and Chris’s place.
- Teenagers, man. Social agenda is full.
- Mara!
- Ravi being at the hospital makes me so happy.
- “Hello, Bobby.”
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 18 ‘Seismic Shifts’? 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.
Agree on all points!