After the events of Beenado and a plane landing, nobody could’ve seen coming, Season 8, Episode 4, “No Place Like Home,” of 9-1-1 delivers a calm, cool, and collected episode of the show.
I’m lying.
There’s a tiger in a Los Angeles apartment.
The episode opens with Buck (Oliver Stark) and Gerrard (Brian Thompson) golfing, which is super normal and not suspicious at all. Gerrard explains to Buck that everyone at the 118 is soft and that it’s “better to be feared than loved,” which historically is always correct and never a horrible misjudgment.
Then, Gerrard breaks the news to Buck: he’ll need him to pick someone to fire from the 118. While this feels like it could be avoidance from Gerrard, it’s pretty clear that Gerrard thinks he’s helping shape Buck, as if Buck isn’t a fully grown adult.
Elsewhere, Bobby (Peter Krause) and Athena (Angela Bassett) are still on the house hunt. They had to pause so Athena could land a plane, and she says nothing they’ve seen so far feels like home to her.
Because of this, Athena comes up with a great plan: have Michael (Rockmund Dunbar), her ex, send over blueprints from the house he built for her that just tragically burned down. As expected, Bobby isn’t incredibly thrilled with rebuilding a home his wife’s ex-husband made for her.
Mayor? I Hardly Know Her!
Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Chim (Kenneth Choi) find out that Olivia Ortiz (Veronica Falcón) has decided to enter the mayoral race. If you need a refresher, Ortiz is a councilwoman and mother of the man who died while driving under the influence in season seven.
Throughout the end of season seven, she worked tirelessly to make Hen’s life miserable, including taking her foster child, Mara (Askyler Bell), away from her. According to Ortiz, she’s launching the “Eyes and Ears Program,” which will “hold first responders accountable.”
Gerrard explains this for us: the 118 has been chosen for a pilot program where first responders wear body cameras – like police – during their interactions with the public. Even Eddie (Ryan Guzman), who was in the army, was shocked and confused about this new initiative.
On cue, we’re called to the first emergency; a cheerleader has collided with a footballer and ended up with an open book fracture, AKA a broken pelvis in several places. Eddie is the only person who’s ever seen this injury in person, so he takes the lead on this scene.
Eddie takes charge and ensures everything goes well until Weston (Trent Mason), our victim, is raised onto a gurney, where he can feel his lower extremities and give a big thumbs up. Stunning! Emergency over!
Siri, Play Daddy Lessons by Beyoncé
Just kidding. This is network television. Wes starts coding, and Eddie, Hen, and Chim rush into the ambulance to get him to the nearest hospital. In the ambulance, Eddie performs a REBOA: a resuscitative endovascular balloon of the aorta. If Eddie punctures Weston’s artery, Weston bleeds out. If Chim runs over a bump and Eddie inserts the thread incorrectly, Weston bleeds out. There are not incredibly good chances going for any of them right now.
But, alas, this is 9-1-1, so Eddie and Hen get the balloon in, Weston comes back to them, and he survives with minimal injuries. As he’s fading back into consciousness, Weston calls Eddie ‘dad,’ which throws Eddie into an existential crisis.
When they arrive at the hospital, Eddie almost immediately leaves Hen and Chim to “start paperwork,” AKA crying in the bathroom. Hen voices that he probably misses his son, seeing as Christopher (Gavin McHugh) still lives in Texas with his grandparents.
Cut to: Hen and Karen (Tracie Thoms) in the courtroom requesting their foster license be reinstated after it was removed when Mara was taken from them. At first, it’s going seemingly well until the opposing lawyer brings out photos of HenRen, Madney, and the kids hanging out in a public park together. Not exactly their finest (see: smartest) moment, but who am I to judge? The judge?
[Pause for applause.]
‘Old Friends’
Hen goes on to tell the judge about how Ortiz is framing her, and though we don’t see the judge’s reaction, we can assume it’s not very kind as she then sets a no-contact order for HenRen and Mara. If a woman potentially adopting a child was in a courtroom yelling about how a councilwoman was framing her, I fear I would also recommend that the child not be placed with her. She admittedly seemed a bit erratic.
In a last-ditch effort, Hen visits Councilwoman Ortiz at her offices. She explains that despite Ortiz being hurt because her son is gone, Mara shouldn’t have to face the same fate. Councilwoman Ortiz, a certified sociopath, tells Hen that maybe Mara needs to learn early how to go on without them.
Then Ortiz drops the bomb that she’s old friends with Gerrard. She’s why he got the position at the 118, and Hen is why Gerrard is at the 118 in the first place – to break her like Ortiz (allegedly*) was broken after her son died.
Captain Bobby ‘Dad’ Nash
This brings us to the best part of the episode: members of the 118 stopping in at Bobby’s house and venting, ranting, or getting advice from him. Hen reveals that this entire Gerrard situation was because Ortiz was trying to get back at her. Buck tells Bobby about how attached Gerrard has become. Eddie expresses frustration at their victim’s father not wanting to be in his life. Chim tells Bobby he must return to the 118 (…again.)
Athena arrives at the hospital in response to a call about a man who’s been attacked by a pit bull. Except this man has clearly not only been attacked by a pit bull. We get an absolutely wild reveal that the animal who attacked him is actually a tiger, and the 118 is dispatched to the scene where they must repel down a building and into a window to tranq the tiger before it kills the landlady who entered the apartment after hearing who she thought was the tenant inside.
I love this chaotic show.
After his discussion with Bobby, Eddie sees Weston’s father and tells him why he thinks he should be in Weston’s life. He explains that it’s not too late and that he doesn’t want other people to end up where he and Christopher are. Later, when Weston’s father does show up at the hospital as Wes is being discharged, there’s a beautiful moment where Weston’s mom (Brandee Steger) turns to Eddie and mouths, “Thank you.”
The Cahoots Are Coming From Inside The (Fire) House
After speaking with Bobby on the Hotshots set, Gerrard decides to visit Councilwoman Ortiz. They discuss why Gerrard was placed at the 118, and Ortiz states that they should shutter the 118 to make budget cuts. Gerrard is, of course, all for it and agrees on the condition that he’s made fire chief when Ortiz wins her mayoral seat.
Except, gasp, Gerrard wasn’t all for it! At the next city council hearing, Hen plays the footage from Gerrard and Ortiz’s conversation during the meeting since Gerrard was recording it on his bodycam. After all, Ortiz pioneered the Eyes and Ears Program, so now “everything on there is public record.”
As the episode ends, there’s a beautiful montage featuring a group hug between Eddie, Buck, Chim, Hen, and Bobby; Mara being brought back to Hen and Karen’s home; and Bobby explaining to Athena that he loved her house because he was there with her—and they decide to use the lot and build something that’s just theirs.
Also, Ortiz dropped out of the mayoral race because, duh.
*I say this because I do not believe Ortiz can have enough feelings to be broken by something happening to her.
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