911 season 9, episode 17 brought back an arc involving Buck that fans had a feeling might return but were unprepared for the outcome. Plus, Maddie tried to go back to being friends with her coworkers while Athena got involved in a case that put her in danger.
Starting with Maddie, she began to feel left out at work when everyone seemed to gossip while she was left out. She worried that she was no longer cool since she was now the boss, so she tried to do things to show her friends she was still fun to hang out with. However, she was trying a little too hard, and things ended badly when she brought food for everyone that gave them food poisoning.
Maddie has to learn how to navigate being the boss while also being friends with her coworkers
Josh ended up telling her that they loved her for who she was but also realized he could still invite her to group activities with the rest of Dispatch. He admitted that for karaoke night in particular, they stopped inviting Sue because of her terrible singing.
While this storyline definitely had a moment of grossing us out (did anyone else think of that scene in Stand By Me?), it was nice to see an update on how Maddie was doing in her new role. She just needed assurance that being the boss didn’t mean she was seen differently.
As for Athena, she became involved with the case of the migrants who had been trafficked in an earlier episode. When ICE arrested the migrants, both she, Hen, and Eddie tried to get help from her friend, the lawyer. She also realized that Detective Hooks was involved and went to talk to him. He seemed to be too busy to actually talk to the witnesses who had seen the migrants arrive at the apartment building before the fire.
Detective Hooks told her he had been working on the case involving the Russian man named Nikolai, who was connected to the apartment property manager involved with trafficking the migrants. He planned on making an arrest, and Athena joined him.
However, things went sideways, and when Athena saw Hooks standing over Nikolai, she didn’t see a weapon on him. In fact, she only found a phone but was too late to react when she turned around, only for Hooks to shoot her.
While we had a feeling Hooks was dirty, seeing this happen to Athena was so shocking. Plus, given the promo at the end of the episode, it looks like Athena won’t be the only one we’ll all worry about.
A season 6 arc is brought back on 911 season 9 episode 17
Now onto Buck’s story, which is causing the most conflicting feelings about this storyline. Back in season 6, he was a sperm donor for his friend Connor and his wife, Kameron. After years of not seeing them, by Buck’s own admission, it was his doing; Buck and the 118 came across them when Theo disappeared from daycare to chase a runaway balloon.
He climbed up a power pole and got stuck, leaving Buck on the ladder to get him. Because of how young he was, no one knew who his parents were, so they brought him to the 118. It turned out that his parents were Kameron and Connor, which surprised Buck.
He had avoided them because when he delivered the baby, he realized it wouldn’t be a good idea to be involved in his life. Kameron and Connor eventually asked to go to dinner at Buck’s house, which he agreed to eventually.
Things were rough from the get-go, as Theo was super hyperactive and broke things in the house. As sweet as Buck was with him, it was clear the parents were overwhelmed and didn’t know what was going on. They asked Buck about his childhood, thinking maybe his genes were influencing Theo’s personality.
The issue with this is that Buck’s behavior in childhood was the result of his parents' neglecting him. He did dangerous things to get their attention, and while it is likely Buck could have had undiagnosed ADHD, which exacerbated his activities in childhood, it’s not his fault how Theo turned out.
It really did seem like Kameron and Connor loved their son but didn’t know how to handle the situation they were in. Unfortunately, they didn’t have a chance to figure this out, as they were involved in a car accident on a freeway. A boat came unhooked from a truck, and it crashed, causing Connor and Kameron’s vehicle to turn over.
Buck was horrified to watch his team try to revive Kameron and Connor. Thankfully, Theo was unhurt, and Buck immediately carried him away from the scene so he wouldn’t see what happened to his parents.
Maddie immediately came to support her brother, letting him know Deidre, the social worker who had helped Hen and Karen in the past, would help Theo find a place to stay until his next of kin was located. Buck was so sweet, saying goodbye to Theo and offering to check on him. With how young Theo was, he didn’t understand that he wouldn’t see Connor again.
The issues with this episode mainly stemmed from how Buck’s storyline was executed and how people have been talking about Buck. Chimney made a slight dig at him before complimenting Buck, while Harry seemed surprised about Buck having donated sperm to help someone. Buck always seems to be the butt of the jokes, even when it is shown that he has been responsible for a long time.
The show seems to have an issue with making Buck seem like a child in everyone else’s eyes when he has grown into a capable man who can take care of himself and has been there for the people who seem to only view him in one particular way. Plus, the storyline involving Kameron and Connor dying felt like it took away from the experience Buck went through to help them, and now this little boy is left in limbo.
Buck’s storyline this season has left fans wondering where he will end up, since at first it was believed he might eventually find love. Maybe love looks different for now, but we just want Buck to be happy and settled and surrounded by people who believe in him. 911 needs to allow Buck to grow and not be seen as the screw-up that this episode seemed to try to make him out to be. If Buck does end up taking Theo in, then maybe there’s a story there about how Buck can find happiness taking care of someone who truly needs him.
The next episode is the Season 9 finale, and it looks like both Athena and Eddie will be in danger. We’ll have to wait until May 7 for answers, but for now, you can catch up on the rest of the season on Hulu.
911 airs Thursdays on ABC at 8/7c.
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