9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 6, “Confessions,” introduces us to our central plots for season eight, and boy, we’ve got some doozies.
We jump right into the episode with an emergency: a man, Trent (Patrick Cavanaugh), calls 9-1-1 because his wife, Celeste (Helen Madelyn Kim), took off with his Mother. On the phone, he claims that his “psycho wife” took his Mother because they got into a fight discussing his wife’s crafting corner.
While his wife escapes to the roof of a building, the 118 interrupts him. The two talk and then argue, then talk again, then argue again, through Bobby (Peter Krause) and Athena’s (Angela Bassett) radios. Trent says he’ll move the urn – because that’s what he meant when he said she took off with his mother – to the bedroom; Celeste doesn’t like that. In the end, as Celeste nearly plummets to her death, only to be saved by Buck (Oliver Stark) and Eddie’s (Ryan Guzman) quick thinking in catching her, Trent is much more concerned with the urn.
As Chim (Kenneth Choi) hands him the urn, he confesses that his real concern is the urn itself: it’s been in his family for a hundred years and is worth a fortune. Then, his luck ends, as he trips and falls, dropping and smashing the urn—the 118 watches (and his wife laughs) as he mourns his newly lost inheritance.
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Eddie
In an abrupt but welcome jumpscare, Eddie enters a confessional booth. He explains to the priest, Father Brian (Gavin Stenhouse), who we’ll see more of later, that he “lost his son.” After having to clarify that his son is not dead and that he is not a necrophiliac, he says he feels horrible about lying to his son, his best friend, and his girlfriend.
Then, because he’s Eddie Diaz, he flees. Just up and runs from the confessional booth to God knows where.
We cut to Chim and Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) just making it to dinner after wearing out their toddler, or so they thought. Right after Maddie tells Chim they should have another baby because Jee (Bailey and Hailey Leung) probably misses Mara (Askyler Bell), she runs back into Jee.
Dear Abby, What If My Current BF Was My Ex’s Fiancé?
This is when we meet plot C of this episode: Buck and Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) are on a date, celebrating their six-month anniversary. Which feels both long and short at the same time. While Buck forgets a gift, Tommy gifts Buck Lakers tickets because Buck is famously a huge basketball fan.
During their date, a woman (Kristina Kane) asks Buck if he’ll take a few photos for her and her friends during their night out. Buck says yes and returns to the table, and he asks Tommy if he’s ever thought about being with a woman.
This is when the official Kill Bill siren starts going off.
Tommy explains that he tried it and was engaged to a woman for two years. It was an untruthful relationship that wasn’t what either of them needed at the time (or ever, in his case). After their breakup, he reveals that his ex started dating a Himbo half her age.
He sighs fondly and finally says, “Abby Clark.”
A Broken Clock Is Right Twice A Day
Then, we meet Liza (Jennifer Finnigan), who claims that Walter (Jonathan Silverman) sneezes every time he lies. Walter claims Liza is an untrustworthy alcoholic. Clearly, these are two very reliable people to have in a courtroom setting. After a bit of back and forth, they’re standing, and Walter lets out a sneeze that, well, spills his guts.
His intestines come out of his body. I am not exaggerating. We find out that Walter had his appendix removed last month, and his stitches burst during a sneezing fit. After the 118 puts his intestines in a biohazard bag resting on his lap –once again, not exaggerating– they bring him to the hospital, where he’s rushed into the OR.
We move from the intestines to the heart as Maddie and Buck discuss Tommy’s history with Abby and why Buck feels upset about it. In the middle of this, Josh (Bryan Safi) joins the gossip session, as he should and I would.
Ryan Murphy Presents: A Ryan Murphy Production: Glee
In the most remarkably self-soothing scene I’ve ever seen, during a Ryan Murphy show, Josh monologues about how people, especially the queer community, exist in a pre-Glee and post-Glee world (also a Ryan Murphy show, if you didn’t know).
Though his speech is fairly accurate, it shortens to this: Glee being as popular as it was allowed queer people to be seen as people instead of an anomaly, and guys like Josh and Tommy didn’t have that gift, so they had to carve out their own space in the world. Tommy’s mistakes – like Abby – don’t reflect who he is but rather who he had to be at the time.
This settles on Buck – he finally begins to understand. Josh walks out of the room just in time for Maddie to look Buck in the face and ask, “You never saw Glee?”. Maddie, be so for real with me right now.
When Chim can’t sleep and keeps Maddie up, she finally asks him what’s happening. He explains to her that he doesn’t know if having another baby is worth the risk of almost losing her again. While Maddie understands, it’s also clearly hard for her to accept, as she knows it will be different. They say right now doesn’t have to be the moment they decide but to think about it further.
A Gay Priest Walks Into A Juice Bar
Elsewhere, Eddie stops at a juice bar and picks up a juice bottle before putting it down and getting water instead. I know what you’re thinking: surely this isn’t relevant to what will happen going forward, except that it is.
Remember when I said we’d get back to Father Brian? Well, as he himself explains to Eddie, something compelled him to enter this juice bar when he’d never been there before. He prods Eddie a bit more, doing mayhaps a bit of flirting, before Eddie finally admits that he has grown his mustache because the LAFD doesn’t allow beards.
“So it’s a disguise.”
Yes, Eddie explains. When he looks in the mirror, he sees a failure and someone undeserving of forgiveness. Father Brian says that as much as he thinks God doesn’t forgive him, God will always forgive him. Father Brian implores Eddie to take care of himself and his thoughts, allowing himself some joy, before attempting to mend the break in his relationships elsewhere.
If I Fits I Sits (Child Edition)
At our last emergency, Jack (Mael F. Barthold) asks Miles (Tiberius Byrd), his big brother, to read him a story while their parents argue with a contractor. Miles denies, and even insults him, so Jack runs into the backyard right before Miles has a moment of weakness and agrees to read to him.
We find Jack exactly where you’d expect to find a small child in the middle of a construction-covered backyard without any tape or cones to be seen: inside a drain pipe. As Jack is slipping further, the pipe is thinning, causing Jack’s body – and thus, lungs – to be more compressed.
Though the 118 asks for a rescue team to get to them so they can pull him out, they’re sixteen minutes out. The next best solution is apparently to send the other very small child upside down into the drain pipe to retrieve the first child.
It’s a wonder the 118 is still open and functioning. At this point, we can’t even blame people (see: corrupt politicians) who want it shut down.
Himbo Hours (Not Clickbait)
Later, Tommy shows up at Buck’s apartment to go out, and Buck has other ideas. He asks Tommy if he’ll sit so they can talk, and then he explains to Tommy who exactly Abby is to Buck. How does he do this? He shows Tommy, his boyfriend, intimate photos of him nearly kissing a woman. Very smooth, Buck.
Then, in case Tommy didn’t understand from the photos, Buck exclaims, “I’m the himbo!”
Buck admits that he should’ve been honest with Tommy but is freaked out. He tells Tommy that he really admires Tommy’s knowing and loving who he is and then asks Tommy to move in with him.
Tommy, in turn, tells Buck that he realizes what’s going on right now, and it’s that though he’s lucky enough to be Buck’s first, he won’t be his last. He says that what Buck feels is new and exciting but won’t stick around. He says Buck would end up breaking his heart, and he doesn’t think he could take that.
Then he leaves, only after clarifying with Buck that they are, in fact, broken up. That seems like it was more for fans than Buck himself, but what do I know?
Tommy walks out the door, and cheers are heard in the distance.
Maddie gets home, and Chim tells her about their call earlier: how the brothers being there for each other, risking their lives for each other even at such a young age is something he wants for Jee. Both him and Maddie set ground rules for this pregnancy: if Maddie is feeling overwhelmed, she needs to go to Chim. Maddie doesn’t get to leave or manage everything on her own. They need complete and total transparency.
Maddie tells Chim they can’t go into it treating her like a bomb that’s about to explode or like she’s broken. A moment of silence, smiles are shared, and Chim figures it out before Maddie can say it: Maddie is already pregnant!
Eddie In His Tom Cruise Era
Finally, we come face-to-face with Eddie as he comes face-to-face with himself. Eddie shaves his mustache, changed into a white button-down shirt, and dances to “Old Time Rock ‘N Roll” by Bob Seger, a la Risky Business.
Once Eddie collapses on the couch in laughter, his doorbell rings. Guess who? It’s Buck! Buck hands Eddie a beer, walks to his couch, and sits down. And scene.
This episode opens many doors for the rest of the season, especially the mid-season finale, which is coming up in just a few episodes. Will Maddie and Chim have a boy or a girl? Will Buck ever find someone to help with his rent? Are we finally getting queer Eddie? Only God* knows.
*Tim Minear and the 9-1-1 writers room.
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