Recap: The 118 Faces a Crazy Day in ‘9-1-1’ Season 4, Episode 6 “Jinx”

Brianna
13 Min Read
Jack Zeman/FOX

After a few emotionally heavy episodes over the last few weeks, episode 6 of 9-1-1 brings some lighthearted moments back to our screens as the 118 battle against a firehouse jinx! Let’s jump right in.

The episode kicks off with a highly unusual opening, even for 9-1-1, with Athena and assisting officers in hot pursuit of the engine 118 fire truck that is clearly not slowing down for anyone. With that we flash back to earlier in the day at the firehouse where Buck and Eddie are double checking the equipment on the truck. Chimney and Hen give him some grief about it (he was a little bit of a nightmare with a clipboard before) but he assures them that Buck 3.0 is much improved. His parents agreed to go to some therapy sessions with him, and he feels like he’s grown beyond his self-proclaimed Buck 2.0 era. He turns to ask a new probie about his first shift. The probie says it’s been quiet and Buck, Hen, and Chimney immediately panic at the Q word. Of course, the sirens blare and they are off on what the trio deem to be a jinxed shift thanks to the probie.

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On the way to their call, the team explains to a skeptical Eddie that they are doomed by the EMS gods to a shift full of strange and often dumb calls. He thinks they’re acting ridiculous, and Hen shares that the last time Buck said it (the gods took it out of context, he swears!) they had 36 calls (a house record), and Buck ended up trapped in a room where the fire suppression system went off and he was covered head to toe in the foam the system releases. They arrive to the fender bender call (that’s not weird, says Eddie) which was caused by a rapper, Izzy Chainz, who is duct taped to a billboard promoting his new album (that’s weird!). Buck makes his way onto the ladder to get him down while Hen and Chimney tend to the young woman and older man in the accident. As a crowd gathers, Buck tries to talk Izzy down, and makes sure to ask the important questions, “Are you wearing anything underneath that?” He’s not. Buck tells him he’s going to regret that later as teams on the ground get the jump cushion into place. Athena tells Bobby that Izzy’s story checks out, which makes everything legal. They can only control traffic until he comes down. Bobby fills her in on the morning panic over the jinx, telling her he doesn’t believe it but the team does, which makes them “get squirrely”

Meanwhile, a firefighter dressed in gear from the 147 helps Ana Flores (Christopher’s teacher), who has a severe burn from her coffee. The firefighter gives her ice for it. Moments later Eddie notices her and correctly tends to her burn (bandages and keeping it dry, not ice!) as she tells him about the firefighter. Ana also shares that she has a new job, vice principle at a different school (which removes any conflict of interest for that potential budding romance we saw last season). They part ways after he fixes up her hand. Over at the billboard, the tape starts to release and Izzy falls straight onto the jump cushion where all the tape falls off as he jumps around yelling to the crowd.

The crew arrive back at the station where they are just about to dig into Bobby’s mac and cheese (we’d like that recipe please!) when the alarm sounds again. From here a hilarious montage of odd calls ensues as Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” plays. They rescue a cat (and a man) from a tree, report to an accident, help a woman whose head is stuck in a mascot lion head (she proceeds to barf on poor Buck), an octopus stuck on a woman’s head, and more. These are interspersed with the team back at the station desperately trying to eat the mac and cheese (or anything at all really), which is eventually completely burnt as it’s left in the oven. Buck hilariously drinks coffee straight from the pot at one point.

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At yet another call, Eddie tells Buck about his conversation with Ana earlier in the day. Inside the party store, a clown is trapped under several large tanks of helium, one of which is opened. Buck and Eddie try (and fail) not to laugh at Bobby, Hen, and Chimney, who all have very high pitched voices thanks to the helium (thank you to whichever writer came up with this). As they help move tanks, their laughter gets higher until they too sound like squeaky chipmunks. Fresh off a boring call, Eddie ridicules them again for believing in a curse as they all climb into the truck, when a live power pole falls onto the fire engine trapping them in their own truck. At the dispatch center, Josh finds out the team is stuck and gets a text from Chimney asking about breaking curses. Meanwhile Hen argues the semantics of a curse verses a jinx until another firehouse arrives. Of course, before they help, they stop to take pictures of the 118. Bobby isn’t amused.

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Back at the station later that night, Eddie finds Bobby in the kitchen and Hen, Chimney, and Buck reading (“Medical, babies, women,” Hen clarifies for him) and Buck asks Eddie what Ana’s love language is. Everyone’s interest is immediately piqued and Eddie unwillingly (thanks, Buck) fills them in on Ana and her new job. Before he has to share more, he’s saved by the call bell. They arrive on scene to a house fire in a man’s garage, where Bobby attempts to take over the garden hose from the homeowner until everyone can get set up. The man is panicked over the fire, and Bobby asks him what’s inside. Just as the man tells him it’s old files, the garage erupts as fireworks ($10k worth of fireworks, according to the homeowner) ignite. Eddie needs help with the hose and calls for a nearby firefighter wearing a 147 helmet to assist. It’s Brian, the same one we saw treat Ana that morning. As Brian leaves, Eddie tells him about the wrong injury dressing that morning. Bobby shows up to help, and Eddie tells him the 147 firefighter already assisted but Bobby assures him that’s impossible, that fire station was damaged thanks to the mudslide and no one is there.

Back at the station, Eddie and Bobby look at a photo of the 147, and Eddie confirms that the man helping him was not the Harmon in the picture. Bobby guesses he could be a criminal using it as a way to get into people’s homes, but Eddie thinks the guy genuinely wanted to help. The conversation shifts to Bobby giving Eddie some sage advice explaining that he’ll never get back the piece of himself that Shannon took with her, but he will begin to heal slowly. It’s an emotional moment between the two, and Eddie thanks him for the advice.

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An employee at Jim’s Burgers answers the phone as a mother and son exit to eat outside. Just as they sit down, the same man throws a chair through a window and begins screaming for everyone to get out, prompting the mother to call 9-1-1. Athena and the 118 arrive on scene, where she asks Larry to explain everything. He tells her he received a call from the fire chief telling him the restaurant had a gas leak, and he needed to bust all the windows to save everyone. Athena isn’t happy that he asked literally no other questions (can we blame him though?). Bobby and Buck confirm there’s no gas leak, and Bobby comments about yet another person pretending to be LAFD. At that moment he spots Brian (the fake firefighter) in the crowd and when Brian runs, Buck chases after him. Now, we’d normally expect Buck to catch up and tackle anyone on the run, but he’s in full gear so we’ll let it slide that Brian not only outruns him, but steals the 118 fire engine in a bid to evade the police. Hen and Chimney finally got their food, but at what cost?!

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Athena jumps in her car and calls for backup as she follows the truck in the same chase that opened the episode. A five-alarm fire comes across the radio, and everyone piles into the ambulance, Buck hilariously having to lay on the gurney to make room. On their way to the call, Eddie talks to Brian over the radio, appealing to his desire to do good and help others in distress. Eddie tells him that they need his help again, and he can help save lives by taking the fire truck to the five-alarm fire. It takes some persuading, but Brian ultimately agrees. On scene, he jumps out and tries to make a run for it, but he doesn’t get far. Brian is arrested as the 118 assist with the fire.

Back at the station Buck, Chimney, and Hen rejoice that the shift is over and things will go back to normal now. Bobby offers to take everyone out for breakfast, and they agree, all except Eddie who already has plans. At breakfast, Bobby fills everyone in on Brian. He found the 147 firefighting gear in the debris from the mudslide, cleaned it off and passed himself off as a firefighter by using a scanner to listen to their calls. He was even responsible for the fake LAFD fire chief call, having believed there was an actual gas leak. Just as they dig in to their breakfast, a nearby person drops to the ground and they jump into action (and so the jinx continues?). Meanwhile, Eddie meets Ana for breakfast, both clearly a little nervous but excited to be there. The settle in to order food and catch up.

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9-1-1 airs Mondays on FOX at 9 p.m. ET.

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By Brianna
Brianna works full time in the publishing industry, passionately building books to bring to the masses. Her first fandom was Harry Potter, which she joined at age 11. Her love for books took her abroad to earn her Masters Degree at University College London, after which she lived in New York City, and now resides in Austin. She loves all things fandom including Supernatural, Doctor Who, and more. Ever the introvert, she can usually be found reading, playing with her dog, listening to music and practicing yoga. Brianna joined the Nerds and Beyond staff in 2018 where she unites her love for all things "nerd" with her passion for writing. Find her on Twitter here: @bookbag09
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