‘9-1-1’ Recap: Season 6, Episode 18 “Pay It Forward”

Megan
13 Min Read
Jack Zeman/FOX

It’s the season 6 finale of 9-1-1, and it is a lot to take in. From overpass collapses to the 118 in danger to bringing in new life, keep reading to find out what happened in “Pay It Forward.”

Normal Day Gone Wrong

Jack Zeman/FOX

The episode immediately opens up with Lucy in a medic helicopter calling a Mayday to dispatch, telling Maddie that the 118 were on a bridge when it collapsed.

“They all went down.”

Three hours prior, it’s a normal day. Buck is still housing Kameron and trying to talk Connor into patching things up and telling her how he feels; Hen and Karen are focused on their family, Denny, and their foster kids who keep the place a pigsty and keep running around, as Chimney and Maddie are both trying to get used to the fact that they are engaged.

At a meeting at the firehouse, Bobby starts by congratulating Chimney on the engagement, then goes into weather preparedness and the update, but he’s finding it hard to keep everyone on track; even Hen shows up late as he’s talking about keeping everyone present. He ends the meeting and doesn’t even get to the weather update he planned, which was just a moderate marine layer.

A mother and daughter are on a road trip, but the daughter, Jo, keeps crying, and the mother comforts her. She gets up to make an espresso, and they come across an accident on an overpass. While they stopped in time, another car hits them, and the van flips. The 118’s alarm goes off, and at the same time, a truck driver struggles to stay awake as the overpass continues to build up more cars.

Fight for Their Lives

Jack Zeman/FOX

The 118 arrive on the scene, immediately getting to work and separating to help victims. They work to get the mother and daughter out. Chimney and Hen manage to pull Jo out while Mallory is unconcsious. Chimney calls for an air ambulance, and Jo is worried about her mother. Meanwhile, Chimney and Eddie help Mallory, who is now awake, but has a likely spinal injury that is likely temporary. Mallory admits Jo isn’t her daughter but her best friend’s daughter. They were on a trip to honor her memory.

They get Mallory out, and she promises Jo she isn’t going anywhere. Mallory is taken into the helicopter, and the crew gets back to work. Eddie returns to the van to check on the propane stove, and the truck driver crashes into a pillar under the bridge. The entire 118 going down with it, as Buck just barely misses being crushed by the ambulance, and Bobby goes down the bridge.

Like the beginning, Lucy tells Maddie about the collapse, saying that the entire 118 is down. Maddie tries to get her composure and requests additional units, including Athena. Buck is on top of the ambulance, which is being held up by the van. Hen is unconscious, Ravi is on the ground, Eddie is in the van with some broken ribs, and it could be pancaked by the ambulance any second; Chimney is impaled in his abdomen, and the only one not responding is Bobby.

Buck carefully tries to get to Hen and Chimney, who is “alive but not great.” Hen comes to and immediately tries to clean up Buck’s face. Buck updates her on the situation, including that Bobby is MIA. Ravi throws over some rope so they can secure the ambulance, and Hen checks on Chimney, who is making jokes. Jo is on the gurney, okay but scared, and he asks her to unbuckle herself and help him. Though any slight move rocks the ambulance. Chimney takes out a bar that was impaling him, and he starts bleeding. He has Jo get some trauma dressing so he can bandage the wound and some morphine. Hen wants to go back to help, but Chimney has her stay up front.

Jack Zeman/FOX

Bobby, meanwhile, is alive but crushed by debris. He tries to call out on the radio, but there’s nothing, as the radio’s cord is broken.

Maddie continues with her trying to get more units even though Josh tells her that she’s too close to it since it’s the 118, but she persists, and Josh asks how he can help. Athena arrives at the scene, and Hen, now acting captain, updates Athena. Buck and Ravi secure the ambulance, and Buck gives the gear to Hen. Buck then propels down to the van, and Eddie can barely move. Once Hen is out of the ambulance, she struggles to not collapse but keeps focused and works on getting Jo and Chimney out.

Buck gets the van’s doors open and pulls Eddie out as Athena frantically searches for any sign of her husband. She finds the truck driver dead. Bobby is still trying to find some way to let his team know where he is, and someone finds him. Some may recognize him as the athlete, Jeff, from the earthquake who got seriously injured. Athena gets to Bobby, thanks to Jeff, and while it seems like almost everyone made it out alright, Hen starts puking, concussed. The ambulance starts creaking, and the van falls, and soon, the ambulance’s back doors open. The gurney and other supplies fall out, and Chimney is barely hanging on.

Buck races to Chim and grabs the rope, getting him down to safety, as Maddie listens at the Call Center, relieved when Buck tells Dispatch. As Chimney gets taken away in a gurney, Athena’s able to go on her radio to let people know where they are. Buck and Hen get to the container, but it’s blocked. They get help from some workers to lift up the container, and they finally get to them. Jeff is okay and helps Buck and Ravi lift a rock to get to Bobby, who is still pinned but conscious. The crew successfully pull him out, and once on the gurney, he assures his team and Athena that he’s fine. Athena calls over Jeff to introduce him to Bobby and to thank him, but Jeff immediately recognizes Bobby from the earthquake, and by the looks of Bobby’s face, he remembers him too.

The Aftermath

Jack Zeman/FOX

Finally at the hospital, the team is admitted, Maddie rushes to Chimney, and the 118 are soon released, except for Bobby and Chimney. Maddie and Athena bond over their loved ones, and they are the worst patients. The news covers the collapse, and they talk again about how crazy it is that no one died, and for the most part, everyone is okay.

New Life

Back at the loft, Kameron starts having contractions, telling Buck she felt something like it earlier, but it wasn’t as bad. Her water breaks, and she’s freaking out, saying that it’s too early. Buck tries to calm her down and calls the paramedics, but the baby is coming now. He grabs towels and other supplies, and Natalia shows up. He asks her for help so he can check on her and she can stay on the phone with the paramedics. On the couch, Buck delivers the baby as Natalia holds her hand. Kameron keeps saying she wishes Connor was there, but he assures her they will call him after. The baby arrives, it’s a boy, and he is perfect. For a second, Buck seems like he wishes that was his baby.

Connor meets Buck and Kameron at the hospital in the maternity ward. He tells Buck that he will repay him, but Buck just wants him to love the baby. Buck tells Natalia that the baby should be able to go home in a few weeks, if not sooner. This is a little weird for Natalia since she’s usually there for the end of life, not the beginning. She asks Buck how he’s doing since she saw his reaction. He says that was always the deal, and when Natalia asks him why he did it, it’s a simple answer.

“Because I could.”

Buck realizes that Natalia came over even though she said she wasn’t speaking to him, and she admits she was a little hard on him. She likes him, and she wants to try again. Buck says she likes her, and the two kiss.

Breathe

Chimney returns to the firehouse and sees someone else’s name over his name on his locker, so he rips off the paper. He finds Ravi, who tells him that everyone’s upstairs. Chimney gets to the roof, where the crew is just sitting on lawn chairs for meditation. Bobby keeps everyone calm and at peace because they definitely need it after what they’ve done. He wants everyone to let go of past traumas and focus.

Chimney and Maddie later figure out wedding details. Christopher talks Eddie into calling Marisol, who was also looking at his number for two hours, and she asks him on a date. He celebrates before being all cool again. Hen gets home to find Karen on the phone, and Karen tells her that a grandmother in her ’70s was going to take care of a baby girl, but she can’t, so she’s going to Hen and Karen. After a few months, if the grandmother doesn’t want her, they have the chance to adopt. Buck has the couch cleaned, and he and Natalia sit out on the patio, talking and kissing. He asks her to pick out a new couch with him.

“Now, whenever you’re ready. Take one last breath.”

On the roof, the sirens go off, and they get back to work. The season ends with Bobby and Athena finally going on their long-awaited honeymoon cruise.

Season 6 of 9-1-1 has officially ended! The 118 will be back, though, but next season it will look a little different as the team moves to ABC for season 7. Stay tuned for more updates, and check out the rest of our 9-1-1 coverage here.

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By Megan
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Megan has been passionate about writing since she was little and has been passionate about all things pop culture and nerdy since almost as long. Joining Nerds and Beyond in 2019, she also graduated from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Journalism. Megan is constantly binge-watching shows and finding new things to obsess over. 9-1-1 and Marvel currently reign as the top obsessions. You can find her on Twitter @marvels911s if you ever want to discuss some certain firefighters.
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