9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 11 ‘Going Once, Going Twice‘ brings back the show after the hiatus, and a lot happens in the episode, and yet… not much really happens in the episode? It’s a weird thing, because in an hour that has Christopher’s “kidnapping,” a LAFD bachelor auction, and a car accident involving one of our own, one would think it would feel like go-go-go. Instead, it’s one of those hours where a lot happens and not much really sticks, emotionally.
This has been a consistent problem for 9-1-1 lately, and it’s gotten to a point where the show doesn’t feel like appointment television anymore. This wasn’t a bad episode; it was entertaining, and we already like these characters, so we enjoy seeing them interact, but there wasn’t much gained from this hour, or most hours lately. Instead, it feels like we’re just back to the status quo, one that the show likes. At one point, last season, I was looking forward to this show every week. Not sure that’s as much the case anymore.
And we do get some highlights in this episode. Eddie and Maddie finally interact, hallelujah! Am I seeing something with May and Ravi? I’m invested. Please give it to me. But all in all, it feels like I’m collecting crumbs instead of enjoying a meal that will leave me full. And though this is hardly the first procedural to go into cruise control and refuse to budge I’ve ever seen, it does feel like the type that doesn’t even understand it needs to course correct. And that can be a problem.
Will this good episode help the show move forward? We hope so. But we’re not holding our breath just yet. We need more to be convinced.
MORE: Remember when 9-1-1 killed Bobby Nash because “realism”? We’re still mad.
THERE’S GOTTA BE A BETTER USE FOR CHRIS
It’s been a while since Chris has had a storyline that emotionally resonates (I’m not counting the moment he had in the Dia de Muertos episode because it was just that, a moment), and even the one he did get last season ended up falling flat for everyone. We had two small good moments for Chris and Eddie, and that’s it. And I understand that the show has to film around issues of availability and that filming with younger actors is always more complicated. But we came into this show with Chris as an essential part of Eddie’s life, and now he feels like an afterthought.
This hour’s storyline doesn’t really help in that regard, mostly because it’s not really one, and if it is, then it’s about Abigail, not Eddie, and certainly not Chris. The only saving grace of the storyline is that at least the show was consistent enough to have Eddie call Buck when he thought Chris was missing, because Eddie would, and that earlier, Eddie was hoarding all the details about Buck at previous bachelor auctions because Chris would want to know.
But all we’re getting from Chris and from his relationship with Eddie is second-hand accounts and little things here and there. We haven’t seen Chris grow. We haven’t seen how his relationship with Eddie has changed after Texas. We didn’t even see how they put in the work to fix what was so broken that Chris had to run away from his father for months. And at this point, it doesn’t seem like we ever will. Or like we’re ever getting a good storyline with Chris ever again.
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DOES THIS SHOW KNOW HOW TO DO A ROMANCE?
Asking for me and a few friends. We lost Bobby and Athena for… reasons. Stakes, or something. Hen and Karen have been solid for a while, but even they had to go through the cheating debacle that we try to forget ever happened. Chim and Maddie are our number one ship, but most of their storylines together lately have involved parenting, when we even get to see them together. And sure, that happens when you become a parent, but this is a TV show. We want to see the romance, too.
Then there’s Buck and Eddie, who are perfectly incapable of maintaining a romantic relationship with others (and Alex doesn’t even seem to be a LI for Eddie, not that we wanted that), but who right now we’re not sure will ever get to attempt a romantic relationship with each other, which makes the most sense, because… reasons. Harry hasn’t had a real love interest. And May… well, there’s Ravi. Or is there? Who knows what this show wants to do there? Or if we’ll get to see it actually flourish, or just get tiny crumbs of it here and there.
Romances aren’t needed in every procedural. But a good will they/won’t they is a tried and true procedural staple. 9-1-1 hasn’t had that in a while, not explicitly. And even Maddie and Chim didn’t really take that long. They could have that, but again, they’d have to do this thing called commit. We shall see where this goes.
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PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO CHANGE
The theme about change in this episode is a little over the place. Buck doesn’t want to be sexualized anymore, which is fair. Hen doesn’t want to go back to a job that could affect her health, which is also fair. But in the end, it turns out that Buck is just concerned that he isn’t as young anymore, and Hen just needed a reminder of how much she loves her job! And look, I get that those things could happen. But it’s giving the impression that these characters are the same and will remain the same, no matter what. Change, real change, is an illusion.
Not that I’m complaining about getting Hen back, I’ve missed her. We’ll just handwave away how likely her being back even is.
But Buck can change. Hen can change. And those changes can turn us into different people. It’s okay. And these two characters have both changed a lot in nine seasons. But this episode seems in some ways to be about how things shouldn’t change instead of how people need to adapt to the fact that change is a part of life. And yet, the voiceover at the end promises a different thing.
In the end, the message sort of lands, even if it does so in a very messy way. Buck finds that he can still be attractive, even if he’s not that young anymore. Hen finds that she can handle the stress and still be a paramedic. But a voiceover cannot replace actually seeing these things. I hope these lessons that these characters continue to learn actually mean something, actually change them in some meaningful way. I’m not always sure that’s the case.
Things I think I think:
- “Still bothering you?”
- “It’s 2026, outdated is making a comeback.”
- You are only complaining about it because you can go on dates with him for free, Eddie.
- Yeah, Christopher would have questions about this, Buck.
- Thank God Eddie called Buck. THANK GOD.
- So she just took him home? That’s so weird.
- “Do it.” Oh, Eddie’s mad voice.
- I like boundaries, Eddie. I like boundaries.
- “That’s all you’ll ever be, my job” was kinda rough. But she did take your kid!
- I mean, at least they’re using May.
- “You love being objectified.”
- “Maybe I’m just not that guy anymore.” But are you not that guy anymore?
- Okay, Buck, what’s up?
- Buck, you can be that guy without the same moves!
- Okay, Eddie, can I be honest with you: this thing with Abigail isn’t on you. You need to let go.
- Look, I agree, she is a mixed-up kid with boundary issues.
- Fun, Abigail is gonna go after this woman because she was giving Eddie good advice! Like she said nothing wrong. And it felt like the hand thing was just tacked on so Abigail would see it.
- People are allowed to change, Chim.
- Eddie, have you learned nothing from scary movies?
- Maddie and Buck, finally!
- “I don’t feel young anymore.”
- Look, being in your 20s actually sucks. Maddie is right!
- Blackmail material is a perfectly fine reason to go to the auction.
- Apparently, Hen can indeed handle the stress.
- Eddie, you and everyone else should listen to Athena.
- But also, this dad shouldn’t have gotten the best of you, Mr. I was in the Military.
- “She’s lucky you can’t mind your own damn business.”
- Buck coming to check on Eddie at the hospital and being so worried is my villain origin story if it doesn’t mean anything.
- Athena, you shouldn’t be bidding on your kid.
- Maddie, you devious woman. I love it, Eddie.
- The things this man will do to avoid going on a date.
- May, you can get a date with Ravi without bidding on this auction. I promise you.
- And Buck didn’t really get a date date either.
- Is this you being loud, 9-1-1? Am I getting some romance here?!
- Hen is back!
- Eddie helping Abigail at the end was kinda cute, but I’m glad we’re done with this storyline.
- Aisha Hinds, the director that you are. This was one of the best-paced episodes of this show in a while, and it had a lot of little things that are proof of a director who knows the cast and the show.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of 9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 11 ‘Going Once, Going Twice’? 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.
