The end of 9-1-1: Nashville Season 2 Episode 5 “Ding-Dong-Ditch” had me howling in the same way as Gloria from Modern Family did when she was in the car and she started screaming, “I knew it.” Which is perfect because Cammie was watching that show in this episode. But that’s beside the point. This episode had a campy ending that was just so ridiculous that it felt like the perfect dose of laughter I needed after everything that happened on 9-1-1 10×05.
I knew there was something fishy about Dr. Zellner. Because you don’t hire a familiar face like Camryn Manheim for a role like this unless there’s something brewing behind the scenes. And there’s definitely something brewing with this doctor. I think she got this job so she can keep an eye out on First Responders because she’s Pharaoh, or to help Pharaoh. I think it might be the latter, though, because of the photo of her son. Everything matters on the TV show, and she would be perfect bait to manipulate and have work with you if first responders let her down when it came to her son.
Whether she’s Pharaoh or not doesn’t matter as much right now because the mystery is going to continue into next week’s episode. What really does matter is that ending scene where she calls Cammie. It’s high camp that feels like it came straight out of a soap opera where the villain has been revealed. And somehow 9-1-1: Nashville makes it work even as the doctor reveals her evil smile, that she’s wearing a wig, and that she likes to do evil things to the tune of Enya.
Unfortunately, the ending was the only thing that I really cared about in “Ding-Dong-Ditch.”
RYAN PHILLIPPE, CHRIS O’DONNELL
Nashville is continuing to give Ryan and Rogue screen opportunities. And while I love their chemistry, the totally intimate moments, and how Ryan is finding himself within this detective work, I can’t help but think about Sam. And it’s not even because of the ship floating on social. It’s because I thought we were expanding the hospital in the same way that 9-1-1 is with May. But apparently we’re not. Apparently we’re not doing anything with Sam besides some vague appearances here and there.
Then there’s the Don and Blythe of it all. I don’t care that Don is having erectile dysfunction problems. After a continued frustrating storyline where he allowed Dixie to come between them, he hasn’t earned the right for us to care for him and his private bits, even if we love Blythe and want her to be happy. Because she might have forgiven him, but we haven’t because the writing isn’t there to support that.
If anything, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, have we forgotten about Blue? Because I know the show already treats Taylor and Roxie as secondary characters, something I don’t like either. I want more of those two. But thinking back to Season 1, Blue had a huge impact. And yes, the actor wasn’t doing so well in the beginning. But he started hitting his groove. And I’m kind of scratching my head as to why so much investment was made in that to just dump it for more Dixie drama?
If 9-1-1: Nashville is planning to survive past Season 2, they can’t depend on buffoonery in its emergencies or my love for Blythe to keep us watching. They need to work on the found family at the heart of 9-1-1: Nashville in the same way that 9-1-1 has done. Because they’ve gone to space, and we’re still watching. But it’s because found family is at its core. 9-1-1: Nashville needs to find that or at least invest in their characters enough so we can invest in them.
9-1-1: Nashville airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.
