‘9-1-1’ Reveals What’s Going on With Buck — What It Means for His Future at the 118

Well, 9-1-1 doesn’t take long to reveal what’s going on with Buck (Oliver Stark) as he continues to recover from his and Eddie’s (Ryan Guzman) road trip. But in the Thursday, March 26, episode, it does take those around him a bit longer to figure out what’s going on. Warning: Spoilers for 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 15 ahead!

The second scene of the episode shows Buck at a new doctor trying to get painkillers, only to be told that he’s in the CURES database (Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System) for going to three doctors that month. The doctor can tell that he’s drug seeking and advises the firefighter to go get some help.

Buck doesn’t listen and instead goes to work — though, as he insisted to the doctor, he never takes pills at work — where he starts going through withdrawal, and it’s very obvious, except to all the first responders around him. He yells when there’s a backup of patients at the hospital in front of Hen (Aisha Hinds), then Eddie (Ryan Guzman) is too focused on restocking the ambulance to look at him while he rambles on about trucks and getting a new one. Buck looks terrible during this scene, to the point that Eddie should’ve picked up on it without even looking at him. And when he does glance in his direction, he accepts Buck’s excuse about food poisoning. This isn’t just small signs here and there; Buck looks exactly like any person going through withdrawal very, very obviously on a TV show does.

When Eddie leaves to answer his phone, however, he leaves the meds drawer open — and Buck immediately grabs two vials. He puts them back, but he then later approaches Chimney (Kenneth Choi) and tells him he needs to fire him for stealing fentanyl — almost. He put it all back and doesn’t know if he trusts himself to do that again. Buck explains that he was prescribed oxy after the incident in New Mexico, but he ran out and needed it. He insists he’s never been high at work. Chimney can tell, looking at him — finally someone does — that he’s been in withdrawal for a day or two and asks if he’s told his sister Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) or Eddie. “Just you, captain,” Buck says.

Protocol says that Chimney relieves him of duty and reports it so the department can determine if he ever returns to work or faces criminal charges. But Chimney’s instead choosing the option Buck doesn’t want to let him: keep it in house, watch him like a hawk, and risk his own career. As he points out, Buck came to him for help and that’s what he’s going to give him. (He is, however, calling the chief.) Chimney’s not shocked, he admits. “This week, it’ll be one year since we lost Bobby,” he says, and Buck admits he didn’t remember. “That’s grief. You don’t see it coming, then it sucker punches you in the face,” the captain points out.

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And so with that the 118, Maddie, Athena (Angela Bassett), and May (Corinne Massiah) band together to help Buck, which means searching his house and making sure it’s clear of anything that might tempt him. Eddie shares with Hen that he wishes he’d questioned Buck more after New Mexico. Eddie’s son Chris (Gavin McHugh) sits with Buck outside, and the firefighter admits that he feels like the others are going through his stuff because they don’t trust him. “Would you trust you?” Chris asks. “Probably not,” Buck concedes. As Eddie reminds him, while Buck worries what the disciplinary committee will do, chain of command ties them all together, so no one person has to carry the weight alone.

With that, we get a montage of his withdrawal and recovery, with everyone there for him — and yes, it’s better than stretching this out over multiple episodes, especially this close to the end of the season, but it is weird to montage that — to “Rescue” by Lauren Daigle (which was used for a Season 3 promo).  Then, one night, Buck wakes and finds Athena in his living room. He apologizes for her spending the anniversary of her husband’s death babysitting him. “We take care of each other every day, so being right here is exactly where I’m supposed to be,” she tells him.

Buck admits, “He’s been on my mind these past few days. And I know this is weird to say, but I feel like I know him now in a way I didn’t a year ago.” Athena assures him, “He really loved you, Buck, but I think he would’ve wished that part had remained a mystery.”

With that, they join the others outside as they share stories about Bobby. Buck thinks he’s through the worst of it. And, as the clock strikes midnight, Athena notes, “We survived the year.” Buck thinks that Bobby “got us through.” Chimney then leads the toast, “To Bobby.” (Doesn’t it feel like there should’ve been more for the anniversary and for Bobby?)

What do you think of the way 9-1-1 handled the one-year anniversary of Bobby’s death and about Buck’s addiction? Let us know in the comments section below.

9-1-1, Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC