Season 8 Episode 12 of ‘9-1-1‘ brings Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) back to the dispatch center, and gives us a glimpse of Eddie (Ryan Guzman) in Texas. They’re both… unique experiences, that’s for sure.
The episode begins with Maddie arriving back at the 911 dispatch center, where everyone greets her as if nothing happened. She sits down to take her first call, answering a call from…herself. She’s begging herself for help, stating that she should’ve saved the people hurt by Braeburn (Abigail Spencer). During the call, her neck starts to profusely bleed, and Maddie wakes up from her night terror.
In the morning, she talks to Chim (Kenneth Choi) about it. Maddie thinks that these night terrors, which are happening every night, are signaling to her that she needs to go back to work. This is where we find out it’s only been five weeks since the kidnapping and subsequent throat slash. Apparently, the knife missed anything really important.
In Texas, Eddie deals with a terror of his own. At the interview for a new firehouse, he sees that the captain is very fond of taxidermy. Eddie and the captain, Jim Morales (Eric Neil Gutierrez), have a good conversation before the alarms go off, and Morales tells Eddie he’ll be in touch.
When Maddie actually returns to work, Sue (Debra Christofferson) and Josh (Bryan Safi) greet her and tell her about what she’s missed: listeria and a squirrel’s nest in the drop ceiling. Uh, sure.
For Maddie’s first actual call, she speaks with Chance (Ryan Anderson Lopez), who is stuck in a structure fire as his father passes out. As the 118 arrives at the scene, Maddie attempts to instruct Chance to make himself known to the 118. In the middle of them talking, Maddie’s voice gets more raspy and squeaky until eventually it simply disappears. Josh jumps into action and takes the rest of the call, with a stunned Maddie forced to watch her job go on without her.
[Daddy Issues Intensify]
Eddie, his mother, Helena (Paula Marshall), and Chris (Gavin McHugh) are having dinner when Eddie’s Dad (George DelHoyo) joins them, carrying a box addressed to Eddie. In it is a PS5 – which retails for about $500 right now – by the way. He explains that he bought it for Chris, and he can barely finish his sentence before his mother is on him about costs. Eddie, frustrated, gets up from the table. His father has the sense to follow him, telling him he doesn’t need to buy Chris’s love.
Eddie, clearly broken up, says he wishes Chris would just be excited that he’s back. His father, clearly more empathetic than his mother, says that Chris loves him even if he has a hard time showing it. Ramón tells Eddie about overhearing Chris bragging to his friends about “My dad, the firefighter.”
Back with Maddie, Dr. Turner (Thomas Anthony Jones, and for any readers who may be familiar with The Real Housewives of Potomac, it’s TJ. Yes, that TJ.) shows her and Chim scans, stating that her larynx looks fine. Maddie and Chim are confused. If her voice box is fine, why can’t Maddie speak more than a whisper?
His response? “I think it’s a trauma response triggered by something specific.” That’s so crazy, Dr. Turner, do you think that event could be that her throat was slashed? Tell me more.
He tells her she needs speech therapy and gives her a few exercises before delivering the big blow: it could take months or years for Maddie to get her voice back, if ever.
What Not to Do in Court 101
On FaceTime, Eddie tells Buck (Oliver Stark) that he didn’t get the job with the new fire department. After his interview, the department was forced into a hiring freeze, which could last months to a year. Eddie debates simply coming back to LA, and Buck refuses to let that happen.
Eddie is upset, stating that he doesn’t know what he’ll do without this firefighting job. Buck reminds him that he went back to Texas to be Christopher’s father, and he doesn’t need to be a firefighter to do that.
For our next emergency, we’re in a Zoom courtroom. A man, Ozzie (Rob Benedict), is currently “in court” while driving, after his license was suspended for driving without a license. Woof. As the judge states that his bail is being revoked, he gets into an accident, and his call drops out.
The crash leaves his car hanging 12 stories up off a parking garage. When they eventually get him out of his car, Ozzie surrenders himself to Athena (Angela Bassett). As she cuffs him, the car axle finally snaps, and Ozzie’s car comes crashing down onto a police cruiser. Now why in the hell would anyone park there?
Back at Maddie and Chim’s place, Chim is doing vocal exercises with Maddie. She’s clearly frustrated, and she eventually asks Chim, “How do you kill a monster that’s already dead?” Personally, I would try therapy, but I’m not Maddie.
I Never Went to Oovoo Javer
Back in Texas, Eddie trades in his pickup truck for a Prius. Then, still needing a job, Eddie begins to drive for a ride share service. And he is terrible at it.
He won’t stop speaking to the passengers, even when they’re clearly busy kissing, and he even dismisses one of his riders’ careers to their face. With no tips and an average rating of probably zero, he picks up a college-aged girl and begins telling her all of his woes.
Bless her, she takes pity on him. Aubrey (Sol Romo) explains the dos and don’ts of ride share driving. She tells him when to get good money, what surge pricing is, and more. Using her tips, he finally gains tips. Then, though, he stops to pick up a middle school/high school-aged child and his friend. The friend? Yep, it’s Christopher.
Christopher pretends he doesn’t know him, and after dropping them off, Eddie calls Buck. He says he’s embarrassed to be caught in a lie again, which is like, just stop lying? Buck encourages him to speak to Chris, and despite texting him, he doesn’t hear back until much later.
Meanwhile, someone knocks on Maddie’s door, and despite her being kidnapped from her own home recently, she opens it without hesitation. It’s Athena! A cop! Who… doesn’t remind her that she has a giant peephole in her door she should be using. Okay. Cool.
Athena and Maddie speak – or more, Athena speaks, Maddie types – and Athena tells her that being frightened is normal and that she’s scared most of the time. Of her job, of confronting suspects, of pulling someone over.
Maddie says that she’s not scared, but Athena can see right through it. She offers her hand and her phone anytime Maddie needs her. After their conversation, Maddie brings Jee-Yun (Bailey Leung) to the park to get some fresh air.
She promptly loses her and races through the park to find her. As she’s unable to yell, she gestures to the other parents in the park, whispering Jee’s name as loud as she can. Finally, gaining her voice back, she yells Jee’s name, and Jee appears from a nearby tunnel. Jee and Maddie embrace as Jee is clearly excited that her mother can speak again.
On the other end of things, Eddie is still waiting for a text from Christopher. Chris decides to go old-fashioned and show up at Eddie’s door with his PS5. He tells Eddie he wants Eddie to sell the PS5 to save more money.
Christopher, 1000x more mature than Eddie in this entire episode, tells Eddie he’s always proud of him, despite what Eddie thinks. The two hug, and their relationship seems to be finally on the mend. Yay!
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