Season 8 Episode 11 of 9-1-1, “Holy Mother of God” gives Peter Krause a juicy storyline to sink his teeth into. Aisha Hinds’ directorial debut also begins to explore “Buddie,” (Buck + Eddie), a ship that’s only gained popularity in the last several months with 9-1-1’s transition from FOX to ABC.
Episode 11 begins with Buck (Oliver Stark) officially moving into Eddie’s (Ryan Guzman’s) old place. Exciting! Then, he immediately shows up at Maddie’s (Jennifer Love Hewitt’s) place instead. Not as exciting. Clearly, there’s more to unpack there, but first, we have a sermon to attend.
On stage, Ann Hutchinson (Lesley Ann Warren) heals a woman’s bursitis with the alleged power of God. As she attempts to heal a man’s gout, he collapses, and so do several other members of the congregation. As soon as the 118 arrives, Bobby (Peter Krause) gives out commands to Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Chim (Kenneth Choi), as well as to Buck and… Eddie. From the look on Ravi’s (Anirudh Pisharody’s) face, this is not the first time this has happened.
It certainly won’t be the last.
The 118 quickly discovers that the traveling church is running gas generators inside, causing carbon monoxide poisoning. Outside, a woman screams from the roof and begins to climb a cross, which, given its tilt, I can only assume is built out of aluminum foil. Bobby instructs Buck, in not so many words, to convince the woman he’s Jesus, and she climbs onto the ladder he’s standing on.
Back on the ground, Bobby faces Ann and his brother, Charlie (Sean O’Bryan). They exchange brutally awkward pleasantries, which is, frankly, even more than she deserves. The scene ends with the 118 looking unbelievably confused that that’s Bobby’s mother.
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At Maddie’s apartment, Chim attempts to put on a brave face about Buck staying overnight at their place yet again. Maddie, on the other hand, is a bit more understandable, stating that she’s relieved to have several strong men in the house. Buck sees right through her, and there’s almost an exploration of Maddie’s clear PTSD, but she quickly deflects. Because, of course, she does.
Imploring Buck to open up, he explains that, alone in Eddie’s old house, he has innumerable reminders that his best friend is gone.
On the other side of the episode, Athena (Angela Bassett) demands answers from Bobby, as she’d previously assumed his mother was dead. Bobby tells Athena, “She’s a fraud, she’s a con artist, she’s embarrassing,” and that’s a pretty good explanation to me. He explains that after the apartment fire, he received “official Ann Hutchinson ministry stationary,” which is deeply evil and upsetting.
Athena is trying to see this in a good light, though. She’s convinced God poisoned the church so Bobby would show up and be forced to reconcile with his past. While she may not be wrong, it’d be hard to believe she’s right, given what we know about Bobby’s past.
At Maddie’s insistence that Buck makes more friends, Buck attempts to bond with Ravi at the firehouse. They don’t seem to have similar hobbies or like similar sports, but Buck invites him for a drink anyway. Buck reveals that he hates basketball, which is hilarious, given that he inserted himself into Eddie and Tommy’s game.
Siri, Play Son of a Preacher (Wo)Man by Dusty Springfield
When Charlie shows up at the firehouse to see Bobby, he tells Bobby that Ann would like to have lunch with him and Athena. The lunch goes as disastrous as you’d probably expect.
Ann hurls undercut insults at Bobby while Athena tries to divert their anger. Bobby says he’s never been able to find peace or forgiveness for his mother. He says he regrets showing up today. Ann tells Bobby that because he (a child, mind you) chose to stay with his alcoholic father, who was his idol, she’s not responsible. Then, everything blows up. It’s revealed that Ann never wanted to have lunch with Bobby and Athena, but Charlie set this up.
On his way out, Bobby tells Ann, “I do think you’re a fraud, but not as a preacher, as a mother.” And he’s right!
At a local bar, Buck and Ravi sit together as Buck tells story after story about his boyf- best friend, Eddie. Ravi, on his way back from getting a drink, runs into Tommy, Buck’s ex-boyfriend, and invites him back to their table.
The two update each other on their lives, and Buck reveals that Eddie moved back to Texas. Also, Buck himself moved. The two end up back at Buck’s place together, and in the morning, Tommy makes breakfast. Tommy hints at him and Buck getting back together, and Buck is thrilled. Hopeful, he asks what’s changed. Tommy says he may actually have a shot, “Now that the competition is out of the way.” Pause. What?
Confused, Buck explains that Eddie is straight, to which Tommy scoffs and says, “Okay” as if he doesn’t quite believe that himself. And even if Eddie wasn’t straight, Buck hits him with a searing, “I don’t have to want to sleep with everyone I have feelings for, and I don’t have to have feelings for everyone I sleep with.” Clearly, this is not what Buck wanted to say. He attempts to apologize to Tommy, but Tommy’s heard enough.
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For our next emergency, the 118 is called to a house where Elmer (Ron Orbach) is gardening, and his off-brand Life Alert has gone off. It seems like a typical emergency: a man overexerting himself until a hand flies out of the dirt and grabs Bobby’s pants.
Hen questions Suzanne (Miriam Flynn), his wife, and there’s a quick understanding that he attempted to poison his wife. He was tired of being married to her. This is, in fact, insane because divorce exists. Anyway… Elmer crashes, they’re unable to save him, and the wannabe-wife-killer dies. Too bad.
Elsewhere, as Maddie folds laundry, Buck flits around the kitchen, baking yet again. He recounts his conversation with Tommy, asking, “I’m living in Eddie’s old house, therefore I must be in love with him.”
Maddie’s counter, “Are you?” sets Buck off. He exasperatedly tells Maddie that despite people wanting him to be hopelessly pining for his straight best friend, he’s not. This is what every person in any rom-com ever says before they realize they are doing just that. But that’s none of my business. I just recap episodes.
Then they boil it down together: if Buck unpacks, it means Eddie and Chris really aren’t coming back, and that’s hard for him to accept.
While Bobby stands backstage at his mother’s sermon, she collapses, and it’s pretty lucky that he was there. At the hospital, Charlie reveals that Ann has terminal cancer, and her wish is to keep touring despite her needing proper care.
Bobby visits his mother and expresses his guilt and remorse at not staying in her life, and she somewhat does the same. Bobby and Ann apologize, and Bobby implores Ann to get Chemotherapy and actual care for her cancer, and she, again, somewhat agrees. While the relationship seems to be mended, it feels terribly fast and still unresolved.
Finally, to end the episode, Buck unpacks his apartment. It’s a sweet montage that we’ll keep in our back pockets for three weeks from now when Eddie inevitably comes back and needs a place to live. Or will he? Stay tuned! We’ll find out together!
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