he last few weeks of 9-1-1 have been super intense. This week’s episode did have some serious issues, with Buck struggling without Maddie and Chim, and Athena’s family still trying to recover. Luckily, “Peer Pressure” did include some much needed humor as well. Let’s start with that.
Narcissus
The first case this week involves the Narcissus exercise program. Craig keeps seeing ads for Narcissus everywhere. At first, he ignores it, but when it promises to make him a Greek God, he goes all in. We’re going out on a limb here, but after watching him do push-ups, we’re going to guess that he’s not used to vigorous exercise. He ultimately pushes himself too far, and collapses on the toilet.
Hen and Eddie help sit him up, and then Hen does a medical evaluation. We couldn’t help but laugh when Hen asked him if he felt any pressure, and he said he felt so much pressure. She meant pressure from her touching him, but he said he felt pressure to get fit. Then, after Hen explains to him that he over did it and has a pinched nerve in his neck (yes, we would consider 300 sit ups excessive, too!), he asks Eddie and Buck what kind of workouts they do. We would say we hope Craig has learned his lesson but probably not.
Problems with Harry
Harry continues to have problems after being kidnapped from Jeffrey. He gets suspended from school and calls Bobby instead of his parents. He says Bobby understands him more than his parents, but Bobby sees right through Harry. Nice try, kid.
Later in the episode, he lashes out at both Athena and Michael and tells Athena she’s a terrible mother. Athena loses control and hits Harry. Later, Michael suggests Athena go to a therapist. Honestly, we think it’s a good idea. Yes, we know it was a stressful situation and what Harry said was awful, but still, hitting a child is never the answer. Plus, Athena probably does need to talk about everything she’s been through in the last year. We also really hope Harry gets the help he needs. He’s starting to scare us.
May also has more problems with Claudette this week. During May’s first call, Claudette starts out just helping, but then she takes over completely. And she’s condescending by telling May “there’s no shame in asking for help” because it’s “better than letting someone die”. Like we said last week, a 9-1-1 operator is a very important job, and we know that Claudette does want to help people. But the way she’s treating May is unacceptable.
We’re proud of May for standing up for herself during the call at the end of “Peer Pressure”. Maddie knew exactly what the caller was going through. Her experience with taking pills helped the 118 find the girl and save her life. Hopefully, May will keep standing up for herself because, unlike Claudette, we think she’s already pretty great.
Helping Buck
Buck struggles this week, and it’s understandable. He misses his sister, and he thinks it’s his fault that Chim left. He takes some of his problems out on Ravi, and Hen has to intervene. It was funny that Ravi hid in Bobby’s office, and Hen told him she would protect him from Buck and his chainsaw. (Side note: If we ever need someone to talk to, we’re going to Hen.) Luckily, at the next call Ravi impresses everyone, especially Buck, with his CO2 knowledge.
At dinner that night Buck announces that he’s transferring houses. He blames himself for Chim leaving and thinks the house would be better off without him. But the 118 steps in and tells him they all told Chim to go find Maddie. It wasn’t his fault! And like Taylor said, it wasn’t all about him. We’re so relieved that Buck isn’t transferring, and his friends made him feel better. We do have to wonder, has Buck figured out what where Maddie is based on the sounds at the end of that phone call? We hope so!
