You’d think an hour about love would be more…cheerful?
But this is 9-1-1, the series that excels in capturing the ups and downs of the human experience. So, just like in real life, not every proposal goes as planned, and maybe an unforeseen complication keeps you from getting to the church on time on the day of your wedding.
9-1-1 Season 6 Episode 17 was all about the many highs and lows of that little thing called love, and there were definitely some lows.
For a penultimate episode, this one was uneventful in terms of setting us up for the finale, sans maybe Buck and Eddie’s romantic prospects. But let’s save that rant for the end.
Love WAS in the air for Maddie and Chimney, who didn’t have a conversation but did make an important life choice.
Coming off 9-1-1 Season 6 Episode 16, Chimney was convinced that a marriage between him and Maddie wasn’t meant to be. All the signs told him to quit while he was ahead and stay content with how things were.
And it’s not like things were terrible. He and Maddie have a solid relationship, and it’s probably the healthiest it’s ever been. There would have been nothing wrong with continuing their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend.
But that’s not really what Chimney wanted.
Chimney wanted to get married, and even though he spent most of the hour acting unbothered about everything, all his friends knew it was all a front, but no one pushed him. At this point, Chimney needed to figure things out for himself without everyone else’s input.
Chimney did seek some impromptu advice from Gina at the insurance company, but that was different because she had a completely impartial view of the situation. And he wasn’t so much looking for this random person to tell him he should propose, but more just trying to get an outsider’s perspective of his dilemma.
Not everyone believes in signs. Not everyone thinks we’re at the mercy of the universe. But Chimney does believe, though he needed a reminder that sometimes you have to take a chance no matter what you may think the signs are saying.
I’m of mixed feelings about how things ended up turning out, with Maddie ultimately being the one to propose because I was rooting for an open and honest conversation between the two about their fears and how much they mean to each other before any proposal took place.
But everything leading up to Maddie’s proposal was so good I’m willing to let it go.
We knew Maddie would find the ring, and it was great that her first inclination was to put it on. You could tell she was a little overwhelmed, putting the ring on a little pedestal and regarding it like a rare jewel in a museum.
But she didn’t seem scared by it. Quite the opposite, actually. The only fear she had was when she couldn’t get it off.
I lamented the fact that Maddie and Hen have zero relationship, and to my great surprise, the series decided to rectify that a little bit here by having them finally talk, though it starts a little tense.
Maddie: Hen doesn’t think that we should get married?
Buck: Uh, uh, it wasn’t like that.
Maddie: Well then, what was it like?
Buck: She just had some concerns.
Maddie had much the same reaction Buck did to Hen’s concerns, though it’s not like Hen ever explicitly said, “You and Maddie should not get married. I forbade it!” She just wanted Chimney to work through why he was so flip-floppy and ensure they were ready because she didn’t want to see Chimney get hurt.
Hen will always have Chimney’s back, no matter what. And that’s all she was trying to do for him.
Even though Maddie came in hot, she and Hen had a friendly chat about what marriage means, and I can’t stress enough how lovely it was to see Chimney’s top people just co-exist and share space. Don’t be scared of those Maddie and Hen scenes! We need more of them.
Ultimately, all signs pointed toward Chimney and Maddie getting engaged, especially once it became apparent that Maddie’s initial fears were no longer as prominent once the reality of potentially marrying Chimney was on her finger.
The proposal was everything you could want from a proposal. It was heartfelt, and it was so perfectly Madney. Just the three of them about to have some breakfast, deciding to commit themselves to their little family forever and ever.
For all his waffling before, Chimney couldn’t wait to say yes, and now we’ve got a 9-1-1 wedding to prepare for.
Something tells me these two won’t want a big, fancy affair, but no matter what they choose to do, it will be special.
From where these two started to now, as Buck said before, they deserve happiness.
Buck and Eddie also deserve to be happy, and after a season where Eddie didn’t get to do much, and Buck became a sperm donor, died, and came back to life, decisions were made to end 9-1-1 Season 6 with the both of them looking for love.
Eddie hasn’t dated since he broke up with Ana in 9-1-1 Season 5, and the idea of him getting back out into the dating world had potential, but something about it is not working.
Before Pepa set him up, Eddie seemed okay with his life, and sure, his blind date fiasco allowed him to see that maybe he did want romantic companionship, but everything still felt rather abrupt here.
In the last hour, we got nothing on the Eddie dating front, and now he was hitting up the golf range and going on hikes looking for the next future Diaz? It all came about so quickly, not to mention with this being literally the very end of the season, it’s going to be hard to get invested in someone he does meet at this stage.
Eddie was very preoccupied with how he would meet someone, to the point where he was severely overthinking it. And that’s common when you’re getting back into the dating game because those meet-cutes you see in the movies aren’t exactly happening in your local Whole Foods daily.
Eddie: So, how’d you make it happen for you and Athena?
Bobby: We got called to a motorcycle accident. It was a bad one. I wasn’t at my best at the time. Needed to take a minute. She sat with me. Eventually, I asked her to go to church, and we prayed together.
Eddie: Wow.
Bobby: A few days later, we had dinner, things grew from there. Now, we’re about to have our fourth anniversary.
Eddie: So, you definitely weren’t looking for it.
Once again, Bobby was the one Eddie spoke to about his dating worries, which was fine, though Bobby also seemed to give him the same advice he did in the past.
And that’s the more significant problem with this story; we’ve seen it before.
Eddie debates whether or not he’s ready to date. Bobby gives him some advice. He unexpectedly meets someone from his past. It’s extremely reminiscent of what happened with Ana, and now it looks like we’re getting a different version of that with Marisol.
Did you remember Marisol? Most won’t because she was part of a call (not a particularly memorable one), and there was no hint of anything between her and Eddie, nor was there a smidge of romantic chemistry.
Her re-introduction here was clearly supposed to be that moment where he met someone when he wasn’t looking for it, and it was magic, just like with Shannon. But what it actually felt like was a rinse-and-repeat storyline.
Nothing happened in this initial meet-up, so perhaps I’m judging too harshly, and it will go a completely other way, but it’s safe to say they wouldn’t randomly have her show up in that exact instance to never see her again.
Now, Eddie was the one who told Buck dating someone they rescued never ends well, and maybe he didn’t save Marisol, but he met her on a call, and that’s close enough.
Shoehorning in this whole love plot for Eddie should have been saved for next season when it could be fleshed out better and become something the audience could potentially care about.
Hopefully, they subvert my expectations and have Eddie decide the Marisol meeting was just that, a meeting, and he can further explore dating and meeting a partner when there’s adequate time that can be devoted to it.
And on the opposite side of Eddie’s trying to find a partner, Buck apparently thought he saw his in Natalia.
Much like Eddie’s whole arc felt like a re-tread, Buck’s also felt like a reboot.
Buck has been out of sorts and working through the lightning strike, much like he was working through the Daniel situation in 9-1-1 Season 4 when they decided to get him back into the dating world.
Buck was due a whole season of working on himself, especially after his near-death experience, and coming to terms with who he is after such an experience. Also, that pursuit of happiness! I didn’t forget about that.
And instead of seeing the culmination of all of that, we see Buck going on dates that get interrupted by different women with whom he has a history.
It’s hard to figure out what we’re supposed to be thinking about when it comes to Buck and Natalia because there is such little substance right now.
We know nothing about Natalia outside of her being a death doula, nor do we know what exactly Buck is so enamored with outside of her being a beautiful human because every time they have a conversation about mostly anything besides death, it’s off-screen.
So what are we doing here?
If Natalia is a full-blown love interest the audience is meant to get behind, then why are we wasting her second appearance having the Lucy’s and Taylor Kelly’s of the world show up so that Buck can get a little red in the cheeks and then have off-screen conversations presumably about these women?
We could have spent this hour getting to know Natalia and seeing all the things Buck saw in her reflected back at us, but instead, all we got was another character with very little development.
And then, to put the cherry on the top of the cake, her response to Kameron’s arrival was painted in a bit of a negative light as if she was judging Buck’s choices when she was probably just supremely overwhelmed with everything she was learning about a man she just met.
Buck shouldn’t be judged for his past, and especially not for being a sperm donor, but Natalia doesn’t know him well enough to know if what she wants is with Buck, and none of the distractions helped. She had every right to take time to figure out what she wanted so early into dating.
Again, Buck didn’t even need a dating arc this season because he had so much else happening. It feels very unnecessary, and I’m unsure of the point unless it’s meant to open something up in him during the final hour.
Right now, it’s just another been there, done that. Buck didn’t need that, and frankly, neither did we.
The emergencies coincided with Chimney’s emotional journey about the proposal more than anything else. The skydiving bank robbery emergency left him with even colder feet, and the wedding day emergency left him hopeful.
Athena’s call with the devastated wife was incredibly heartbreaking and moving. Feeling your feelings and allowing yourself the grace to is so important in the aftermath of loss, as is remembering the simplicity that the love you felt will live inside you forever.
It’s an important lesson in grieving and a different, albeit sad way, of depicting another avenue of love.
Loose Ends
- Eddie talking about chemistry in the firetruck was an INSANE line because we have seen Eddie have chemistry.
- Lucy hasn’t been mentioned since 9-1-1 Season 6 Episode 1, and they bring her back to tell us she was never coming back to the station and to have her make a joke about that time she helped Buck cheat? How hilarious.
- Taylor Kelly will find her way into a season one way or another!
- Bobby and Athena are already at four years of wedded bliss? Time goes by so fast. When Bobby told Eddie about how their love story began, it felt like it was only yesterday.
- Hen and Karen being avid Love Island watchers, as they should be.
- I love all the Christopher content we’ve gotten over the final stretch of episodes and all the cute Diaz boy’s moments!
- Kameron and Connor having issues right before the baby is born. Uh oh.
Heading into this finale, ANYTHING is possible!
There are a lot of questions still out there, like what will happen with Buck and Eddie’s love lives, and will we check in with Hen, Karen, and Denny again?
Will Athena and Bobby FINALLY get on a boat?
There are so many possibilities for the final hour, and I want to hear all your predictions in the comment section below!
And after you’ve finished commenting, head on back here so you can watch 9-1-1 online and refresh your memory!
Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.