The look of pure, unadulterated discomfort on Buck’s face in the final moments of Thursday’s 9-1-1 is one we’ll remember forever… or at least until next week.
The show’s three-part premiere concluded on a hilariously awkward note for Buck and Gerrard, the latter of whom returned as captain of the 118 following his brief stint in the hospital. Ever since he saved Gerrard from that flying buzzsaw, Buck has been a nervous wreck, convinced that Gerrard would be furious with him for inadvertently causing his concussion.
Quite the opposite, as it turns out. Instead of greeting Buck with yet another demeaning remark, Gerrard gave him… a hug. “Do you feel these arms?” Gerrard asked, as if there’s a normal answer to that question. “This is me taking you under my wing.” And that’s just how the episode ended, with Buck — and the audience — feeling deeply disturbed by this shift in Gerrard’s character.
There is one possible upside to this development, of course. If Buck becomes Gerrard’s new protégé, albeit unwillingly, maybe he’ll be the next member of the 118 to grow a mustache! (Speaking of which, did anyone else think that Eddie’s ‘stache would have gotten more screen time by now? The season may be young, but it still feels underexplored. We deserve an “Eddie’s Mustache Begins.”)
Gee, what else happened this week? Nothing too out of the ordinary. The hour began with Athena effortlessly landing a commercial airplane on the busiest freeway in Los Angeles, and it ended with Bobby and Athena casually tracking down the black book of a Jeffrey Epstein-level sex trafficker. We’re pretty sure Athena hasn’t slept in days at this point.
During the chaos of the investigation, Dennis took a bullet for Athena, ultimately earning her blessing to accept an early release. We were pretty sure he wasn’t going to survive the gunshot, but we’re glad he did. The last thing Athena needs is more ghosts in her life.
Thursday’s episode was also a spotlight hour for Brad (played by Callum Blue), the actor on Bobby’s show who insisted on joining him in the firetruck. Not only did he turn out to be far more helpful than we expected, but his first time meeting Buck triggered a hilariously meta moment in which Buck was surprised to discover that the actor on TV’s biggest firefighter show is actually — wait for it — British. Imagine that.
