Spoilers ahead for the winter finale of 9-1-1, “Wrapped in Red.” Read at your own risk!
Although audiences prepared themselves for another festive Christmas episode from FOX’s hit procedural drama 9-1-1 tonight to mark the show’s midseason finale, they were left on the edge of their seats with a shocking and unexpected cliffhanger in the final moments.
9-1-1 explores the high-pressure experiences of police officers, firefighters and dispatchers in Los Angeles, who are thrust into frightening, shocking and heart-stopping situations. The show’s fifth season has kept the 118 on their toes with disasters like a city-wide blackout and deadly prison riot, and the personal lives of our main characters have also seen their fair share of ups and downs.
As episode 10, “Wrapped in Red,” came to a close, the 118 and their loved ones went to spread some much-needed Christmas cheer at the motel housing the displaced families that had to evacuate their apartments due to structural integrity concerns. However, the festive celebration very quickly went from happy to somber when Eddie approached Buck, Hen, and Ravi to drop a surprising bombshell: he’s leaving the 118.
Eddie Diaz has certainly been through the ringer since he joined 9-1-1 in its second season, with traumatic events like his near-death experience in the well in “Eddie Begins” and the loss of his estranged wife, Shannon. Meanwhile, the end of season 4 saw Eddie shot by a sniper while on the job, which resulted in him revealing to Buck that he had changed his will after the well incident and made him Christopher’s legal guardian in the event of his death.
Moving on to season 5, Eddie broke off his budding relationship with his girlfriend Ana following the panic attacks that the thought of their future together brought on. And, unable to catch a break, he then found himself held hostage at gunpoint by a prisoner in “Brawl in Cell Block 9-1-1.” Later, in “Defend in Place,” the normally stoic Eddie was uncharacteristically shaken up on the job when he thought he and Buck had failed to rescue two children. The trauma has just kept piling on for him, which has left audiences wondering when Eddie will hit his breaking point and when the show will address what’s happened to him. Tonight’s episode seems to have finally answered that question.
Throughout the course of this episode, Eddie found himself struggling to grapple with Christopher’s attitude toward the holidays this year, and he eventually learned that his son is deathly afraid of losing his father, too. As much as he wants to tell Christopher that’s not going to happen, the firefighter in him won’t let him make a promise to his son that he can’t keep. His job simply presents too many hazards to his safety. And so perhaps it’s time for him to find a safer career …
Actor Ryan Guzman took to Instagram earlier this week with a photo hinting at “stage 4 Eddie Diaz.” While the first three emojis speak for themselves (his time in the army and as a firefighter), the last one — a bird — is certainly a mystery. It remains to be seen what this means for Eddie Diaz’s future on 9-1-1, and unfortunately we have quite some time to wait to find out what’s next for him.
Season 5 of 9-1-1 will return to FOX in March 2022, and fans can catch the season 3 premiere of the spin-off 9-1-1: Lone Star on January 3 in the meantime. Make sure to catch up on all of our 9-1-1 coverage, including episodic recaps and more!
