9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 16 ‘When There’s Smoke‘ examines one of the hardest parts of being a first responder, the burden of making a decision in a moment of heightened pressure and then having to live with the consequences. This pressure is what makes the job so, so complicated. It’s not just about saving lives or running into fires; it’s about those choices and being willing to make them, even if you don’t always get it right.
The episode develops a little like a whodunit, with a story that starts in the middle and goes back to a tale we don’t understand even as we’re watching it. What happened? Why did it happen? And how do the stories everyone is telling match up with who these characters are? Who we know them to be? It’s an interesting exercise, at least for one hour.
And of course, it needs an outlier. It needs Sam. Without him, there’s just a group of people telling the same story. A group of people who will have each other’s backs. If you ask me, that’s just another reason why Buck needed to come back to work. You know what all those incidents mentioned in the audience have in common? A good outcome. That’s what happens when you have a good team working together. At least when they’re not sabotaged.
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I DIDN’T GET THIS JOB BECAUSE I EARNED IT
RYA KIHLSTEDT, RICH SOMMER, AL CORONEL
In many ways the structure of ‘When There’s Smoke’ is about setting up this question for Chimney, and giving him an answer. Sure, he didn’t get to be Captain the normal way. He did get the job because Bobby died. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve it, or that he’s bad at it. His team, his family, certainly believes he’s the man for the job.
We’re one year removed from the loss of Bobby, and Chimney has gone through a lot in that year. So has every person on this team. And all of them come together in this episode, alongside Maddie and May, to help save Chimney’s job. To help prove he is indeed a good Captain. And to prove that the answer the committee is presenting, the one about them being careless and their Captain bad at his job, that isn’t reality.
The best part of the hour isn’t the answer, or how we get it, is that we get it because the team comes together. Because they are indeed a family. There’s a moment in the episode where that’s presented as a liability, but we know it’s a strength. We know it’s what makes the 118 as good as they are. It’s certainly what makes us invest.
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THE BUCK ISSUE
My problem with the Buck storyline is that I’m not exactly sure why he’s out in the first place other than the show wanted a little drama. He didn’t actually take the drugs. He reported himself right away. He is managing his addiction. At least he’s on paid leave, but even the suggestion that he might not come back is a little weird for me because Buck didn’t actually do anything wrong on the job.
In real life, things might happen this way. First responders are held to very high standards. And legally, he shouldn’t be on the field unless everyone in the chain of command is 100% sure he will not be a danger to himself and to others. On the other hand, show-wise, this feels like the kind of thing we could have handwaved away if we wanted to. So the show didn’t want to. Why?
To bring in someone who wasn’t part of the team? Maybe. This doesn’t really work as well without Sam introducing doubt about Chimney. But the good thing is that, even if Buck wasn’t at the scene, he is an integral part in figuring out what happened and in clearing Chimney’s name and the 118’s, while at it. Everyone is essential and all that.
Often the most fun episodes in this show are the ones where it’s all about the team coming together to solve a problem. I enjoyed that this hour. But now we probably need to get back to the actual plot.
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Things I think I think:
- I get the appeal of stories that start in the middle, I do. As a writer, it’s fun! As a viewer, I don’t love it as much.
- Eddie isn’t very convinced about Sam. Hen either.
- “Sure. Probably.”?
- You don’t owe anyone, Buck. I’m glad Maddie said it.
- “Like you could be replaced.”
- Five times?!
- New guy what?
- I kinda like the whodunit vibes of this episode.
- Look, the building manager was shady from the beginning.
- Cell phone video of Eddie jumping off a bridge?!
- Do they really think Chimney disabled the alarm?
- How is no one asking why the building manager wanted to go back in?
- “Just stopped back to tell you to stop being an idiot.”
- Haha, good traitor, though. Proud of you Maddie.
- I like the team working together. A LOT. We need more scenes of everyone together.
- Also, Eddie’s kitchen, I’ve missed you.
- Playing princess, that’s adorable.
- “Well Sam, I am not pleased.”
- Lol Eddie, Buck, Ravi and Hen, the terrible four.
- Eddie would not break into a building. Eddie has a silver star!
- Okay, but this was THE moment to have Eddie speaking Spanish.
- Are we supposed to believe he’s understanding Spanish? The question of Eddie’s Spanish will forever haunt me.
- People are horrible, basically. That’s the answer. People are horrible.
- My one problem with this episode is that as fun as it is in a vacuum, it’s episode 16 of the season and I don’t feel like it did all that much to set up much for the last two episodes, or Season 10 for that matter. What’s next? We should probably know at this point, shouldn’t we?
- “They were trying to signal for help.”
- Are we all thinking this Detective is shady?
- It’s kind of a missed opportunity to not have Eddie react more strongly to this.
- See, shady Detective!
Are you excited for 9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 16 ‘When There’s Smoke’? 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.
