This week’s 9-1-1 episode showed us all the ways in which love alters our lives. It can bring people together, it can tear people apart, and it can even drag us down the street by way of parachute.
Here’s the recap for “Love is in the Air.”
Eddie Considers His Options
Eddie’s tia is still trying to set him up on dates with beautiful single women, but he would rather find love on his own. While avoiding his tia‘s phone calls, he spends his day off work hiking and golfing. In this montage, we see Eddie walking past many gorgeous women on his hike path. They notice him, and he notices them. At the golf course, it’s more of the same: gorgeous women notice Eddie, and Eddie tries to flirt back, although one woman’s husband sees the interaction and doesn’t take too kindly to it. On the hiking path, Eddie comes across a woman with a dog, and when he crouches down to pet the dog, the dog barks and snaps at him and grabs a piece of his hand. It’s at this moment Eddie decides that he isn’t going to run into the woman of his dreams on this day after all.
Later, on the way to a call, the others ask Eddie about his day. Bobby tells him that it sounds like Eddie was looking for signs of love on his day off, but Eddie dismisses it and says he doesn’t believe in “that stuff.” He says he wants what he and Shannon had — a magic spark. Buck points out that, because Eddie and Shannon met in high school, Eddie just isn’t good at dating because he’s never really done it as an adult.
When the crew arrives at the call, they find a woman, Lois, who has fallen through the wooden floor of a horse and carriage. She is also wearing a wedding dress and demands to be taken to the church to her wedding immediately. While Hen and the others treat Lois’ injuries, she explains that she is marrying the love of her life, Philip, a man she first met over 50 years ago. But they fell out of touch when they went off to college and grew apart. She had a wonderful life with another man who gave her beautiful children, and Philip had a great life, too. But when they reconnected on “The Facebook,” as Lois calls it, they were both alone again and decided to make the decision they wanted to make all those years ago.
Later, Bobby and Eddie are at the hardware store, where Eddie is picking up supplies for a school project that Christopher has made way more complicated than it should be. Bobby again asks him about his day off. He tells Eddie that he understands exactly what Eddie is going through and that he shouldn’t compare what he once had to what he may have in the future. He just needs to be open to anything.
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At a future visit to the hardware store (again), Eddie is confused about what products he needs (again) to help Christopher with his project. A woman offers him assistance, and it turns out to be Marisol, who we first met last season. They have a nice, albeit brief, chat, and it seems Bobby’s words (and Lois’ words, as well) have taken hold in Eddie’s mind. He walks away, seemingly considering to ask out Marisol at a later date.
Buck’s Past Comes Back to Haunt Him
Buck and Natalia are hanging out and seem to be getting along really well. They’re at a bar having fun, and Natalia tells Buck that she’s surprised he texted her. He tells her he wanted to hang out with her and bring her to a place where she could get the full immersive experience of Evan Buckley. Their laughter is interrupted by a woman saying, “Oh, I have some stories…” It’s Lucy Donato, whom we haven’t seen since the beginning of this season. Buck introduces the two women to each other, and Natalia puts two and two together pretty quickly. Lucy leaves the couple alone and joins her friends elsewhere in the bar, and Buck immediately starts explaining who she is and what was just now between them. He says that their “thing” was a very brief “thing,” and then it was nothing. Natalia seems satisfied with this all-too-short synopsis of Buck and Lucy’s history.
Later, Natalia is at Buck’s having dinner. He’s prepared a delicious meal, and while they’re waiting to eat, the local news comes on the television. The broadcaster introduces Taylor Kelly, author of the new book Close to the Flame: My Adventures with the LAFD. While Natalia thinks it’s cool to be watching an author talk about Buck’s fire station, Buck’s face falls into an expression that says, “Not another one…”
Natalia again is able to connect the dots when Taylor mentions being “exceptionally close to” one particular firefighter, and Buck walks Natalia over to the dinner table and begins telling her about his entire past, so there won’t be any more surprises. Later, Natalia seems satisfied with Buck’s honesty and tells him that he seems to be “all in” with regard to … well, everything. But right before they’re about to kiss, Buck gets a knock at the door. And it’s secret #3 who’s knocking — Kameron, the woman who’s carrying Buck’s child.
Buck explains this relationship to Natalia and tells her that he is just the donor and Kameron’s husband, Connor, is the father of the baby. But this arrangement seems to be too much for Natalia to handle. She wishes Buck well and leaves his apartment.
Maddie Gets In a Bind
At home, Maddie is doing chores, and she sees the engagement ring in Jee-Yun’s dollhouse. This is understandably confusing for her, but she realizes that it must be from Chimney, and it must be for her. Maddie places the ring on the kitchen counter and walks around it while mumbling “Ooh…” and “Hmmm” over and over for what seems like a hilarious eternity. She eventually decides to try it on. Not only does it fit, but it’s now stuck on her finger!
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She rushes over to Buck’s apartment for help with the ring — removing it as well as explaining its existence — and Buck tells her the angst that Chimney has been going through over the last several days … how he (thought he) lost the ring, the landfill debacle, and Hen’s comments about the possible engagement. Maddie becomes angry; she thinks Hen doesn’t want Chimney to marry her because she might hurt him again. Buck tries to explain that that isn’t the case, but Maddie leaves in a huff.
Hen hears a knock at her door, and it’s Maddie. She shows Hen the ring and then confronts her about what she said to Chimney regarding their possible engagement. Hen clears things up and says she said what she did to Chimney to get him to relax and take a breath. She was trying to protect him, not from Maddie, but from himself. He had gotten himself into such a ball of anxiety that she was concerned for him.
Maddie realizes that, while the program in Boston helped her with many things, it didn’t teach her how to reconnect with the people in her life. Hen tells her not to be embarrassed about her past. She then asks her why she hasn’t told Chimney about finding the ring. Maddie admits that she’s scared of the power one gives away when they agree to marry someone. She doesn’t want to go down the same road she went down previously with Doug. Hen reminds her that Chimney isn’t Doug and won’t ever be and that she can trust him with anything.
Chimney is Still Looking for a Sign
Last week, Chimney lost the engagement ring he was going to give to Maddie … or so he thought he did. (It turns out that Jee-Yun got hold of the ring and eventually placed it in her dollhouse.) Thinking that he had lost the ring has put him on a downward spiral, and he has been trying to figure out if it was a sign from the universe that he and Maddie shouldn’t get married.
This belief seeps into nearly every aspect of Chimney’s life. The 118 get a call to help a man, Griffin, downtown who had been dragged down the street by a reckless driver. The man jumped off a high-rise and parachuted down to the town square, where his girlfriend Blair was waiting for him. When he landed (perfectly, I might add), he told her in a very romantic and punny way that he wants to take the lover’s leap with her and presents a ring. But right before she accepts his proposal, a truck driver runs over his parachute straps that are now lying across the street, and he is dragged down the road very violently.
While the 118 find him and treat his injuries, Chimney sees that he is holding an engagement ring in one hand. He commends the man on doing something that he himself couldn’t do, and he watches Blair run up to Griffin and reunite with him, telling him that she will marry him. Griffin is ecstatic and is taken off in an ambulance. When Hen offers Blair to let her ride with him, she asks if she really has to. Chimney and Hen are understandably confused, and Blair explains that she prefers her and Griffin’s relationship as it is now, before he proposed. But she said yes so she wouldn’t hurt his feelings. Chimney asks her what she’s going to do, and she says she’ll probably wait a few months and then just break it off with him. The look on Chimney’s face tells us that he is considering whether Maddie would do the same to him.
At home, Chimney is on the phone with insurance agent Gina to file a claim for the ring that is (supposed to be) missing. When Gina tries to end the call, Chimney asks for her opinion in a moment of desperation. He asks her if losing the ring is a sign that he shouldn’t propose to Maddie. Gina tells him that she’s not the best one to offer advice because she is twice divorced. When he asks her if she regrets getting married, Gina tells him that she regrets the result but doesn’t regret the attempt.
This piece of advice helps Chimney to decide to propose to Maddie anyway, with or without a ring. He meets Maddie at home and begins to tell her everything, but he notices the huge rock on Maddie’s finger (that Maddie is flashing in front of him). Chimney is confused and ecstatic that the ring has been found, and Maddie tells him that she talked to Buck and Hen about the trauma he’s put himself through looking for the ring. Chimney becomes concerned that Maddie thinks he has chickened out of proposing to her, but Maddie interrupts him.
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She calls in Jee-Yun to help her with this next part. Jee brings in a ring for Chimney (that looks to be fashioned out of aluminum foil), and Maddie proposes to Chimney with a “Will you marry us?” As tears fall from Chimney’s eyes, he says yes! And after kissing and hugging his family, Chimney rushes off to call back Gina before he inadvertently commits insurance fraud.
The season finale of 9-1-1 airs this Monday, May 15 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on FOX. Check out our other 9-1-1 coverage here.
