‘9-1-1’: Buck Opens up to Eddie About Theo — Is He Right?

Things are tense between Buck (Oliver Stark) and Eddie (Ryan Guzman), but will they start shouting at each other in a supermarket again? Well, the latest 9-1-1 episode starts out with it very awkward between the best friends. Meanwhile, Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) begins questioning her future. Warning: Spoilers for 9-1-1 Season 10 Episode 4 ahead!

Theo’s still making a mess of Buck’s house, to the point that his therapist Dr. Murphy’s recommendation is a referral … to a therapist for adults.

Then, at work, all that’s missing is some popcorn as Hen (Aisha Hinds), Chimney (Kenneth Choi), Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody), and Harry (Elijah M. Cooper) watch the following very awkward exchange in the kitchen.

“Hey,” Buck says.

“Hey, didn’t you see there,” Eddie replies.

“Well, I am here,” Buck says.

“Know that now,” Eddie tells him.

“You were headed into the kitchen,” Buck says.

“Just need a refill,” Eddie says, referring to his coffee mug. Buck fills it for him, and Eddie thanks him, then says he’s drinking it black when Buck asks if he’s putting anything in it.

“OK then,” Buck says, and Eddie repeats it.

At least Hen or Chimney should make some money off this since they’re betting on how long the fight lasts.

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The cutting remarks then begin in the engine between calls while they discuss a man in his 30s who pretended to be a high school student. As Buck sees it, high school was great.

“No responsibility, never accountable for anyone but yourself, sounds right up your alley,” Eddie remarks.

Buck retorts, “At least I got to experience the joy of being a kid instead of thinking life was nothing but a series of rules and regulations to follow.”

Eddie says, “I’d settle for you learning just how to follow one.”

Buck then suggests, “Why don’t you try breaking one? You might be a less miserable person.”

Eddie’s “Oh, because you seem so thrilled with your life” is the last comment since a call then comes in, and Chimney is more than happy to respond to the multi-vehicle accident.

It gets worse for Buck when Theo doesn’t want to leave the playground and yells out that Buck is taking him when he carries him to his car, leading to concerned parents calling 9-1-1. Buck’s attempt to talk himself out of the situation goes (very) poorly, Theo says he’s not his dad, and Buck ends up in cuffs, in the police station, accused of kidnapping. It’s all cleared up, but what this tells Buck is that Theo still sees him as a stranger. But when he tries to play with Theo and his toy cars and firetruck at home, he comes to a realization when he sees the crash scene that looks just like the one that killed the kid’s parents.

In the final scene of the episode, Buck and Eddie have made up, with the former admitting the latter was right, and the latter saying he overstepped. Buck explains he thought he was doing the right thing since no one in Theo’s family was willing to step up, and he didn’t want him to go into a group home, but as he sees it now, it was the wrong move. Eddie disagrees, arguing that Theo is Buck’s kid. But Buck corrects him: He’s just the guy who took him from his parents since the last time Theo saw them. Buck was carrying him away. He thinks that’s why Theo keeps trying to run away from him and doesn’t like when he picks him up. “Theo’s right. I am a kidnapper,” Buck says. “I can’t parent a kid I traumatized. I can’t be Theo’s dad.”

Disney/Christopher Willard

Meanwhile, after Maddie can’t tell that a man on the phone claiming to be a doctor isn’t actually one — he goes around an accident scene incorrectly treating and offering advice to the injured — she begins to question her future at dispatch. He shouldn’t have fooled her, she tells Chimney, and while she’d missed being on the phones when she was in charge, now she still feels like she’s missing something. Chimney suggests it’s just confidence, but definitely not skill.

He’s right: When someone calls into 9-1-1 but doesn’t say a word, she’s able to use the answers via presses of a button to figure out it’s carbon monoxide poisoning. And when that woman stops by to thank her, Maddie’s more than happy to get back to work on the phones.

What did you think of the latest episode? Do you think Buck is right? Let us know in the comments section below.

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