And then he ran into her knife. He ran into her knife ten times.

Close enough, welcome back Maddie Begins! This week Han, Cil, and Rachel do our best Cell Block Tango into Season 2 Episode 13 of 9-1-1, “Fight or Flight.” Maddie is back in her own personal horror movie: abducted by the abusive spouse she fled, all alone with no one and nothing to support or help her, and losing the hope she rekindled after her marriage snuffed it out.

Meanwhile, Buck and Athena dispatch themselves on the case, which is lucky because the detective in charge seems set on doing less than the bare minimum, assuming this will quickly turn into a murder investigation. We discuss how Buck and Athena wiggle through the loopholes of The System to advocate and facilitate for Maddie’s safe return.

Ultimately, Maddie does not know if help is coming, or if it will make it to her in time, so she devises multiple plans to save herself using the observational skills she’s honed in her time at Dispatch. We delve into her emotional and mental state and ascertain how she cycles through the stages of grief, going from from dissociative and resigned to actively fighting back.

If there’s one thing the Buckleys are good at it’s improvising! The Buddies admire Maddie’s quick-thinking under extreme duress and how she flips Doug’s pathetic attempts at manipulation back on him to buy her more time.

We talk about the potential for a dual Buckley near-death experience (NDE) in the upcoming latter half of Season 8 and how that could lead to a bittersweet Madney and Buddie parallel. Chimney recovers in the hospital and the 118 extended family rallies around him in the waiting room. The team reminisce and bond as Hen drops some new Chimney lore, but we are squinting suspiciously at the exchange between Michael and Eddie when they meet, setting off our impeccable gaydar.

If you’d have been there, if you’d have seen it, we betcha you would have done the same.

📔 Articles Mentioned:

📰 ‘9-1-1’: Jennifer Love Hewitt on That Bloody Snow Battle – and Its ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ Joke, The Wrap

📰 ‘9-1-1’: Jennifer Love Hewitt on That Emotional Episode, What’s Next for Maddie & Chimney, TV Insider

📖 The Bravery Game by songbvrd, Archive of Our Own

📖 B L E E D F O R M E by Olympea, Archive of Our Own

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Welcome to the Chimney Farewell Tour, where all of his worst memories flash inside his mind!

This week Han, Cil, and Rachel open up the floo and slide right into Season 2 Episode 12 of 9-1-1, “Chimney Begins.” Take a trip with us into Chimney’s brain to relive some of his most defining moments in becoming a firefighter paramedic — from finding his calling at karaoke night to overcoming adversity at Gerrard’s 118 and discovering a passion for being a helper and a healer.

We learn about Chimney’s upbringing, most notably his non-traditional family in the Lees and the brotherly love between him and Kevin. Discover the parallels between Kevin and Buck, their instinct to throw themselves into danger without a second thought and the similarities in how Chimney gives them both the little brother treatment.

Chimney’s father is our latest member inducted into the “Bio-Parents Have No Rights” Club. We discuss Mr. Han’s complete neglect and disinterest in his firstborn son, giving Chimney a lifelong inferiority complex, and its far-reaching effects on how he tries to present himself to friends and family.

We explore our neurodivergent Chimney headcanon which explains his inability to hold down a job, superior pattern recognition, and calm under pressure. Chimney believes he’s finally where he’s meant to be, but finds himself relegated to “man behind” on every shift, keeping him from earning his stripes as a probationary firefighter which exacerbates Chimney’s feeling of not belonging until Eli takes him under his wing.

The emotional crux of this episode centers around the aftermath of Chimney essentially losing his brother, shaping the man we’ve come to know, and how he handles traumatic experiences (like the one he’s currently bleeding out from).

Tune in to see Chimney turn his life into folklore as he fights to survive the Horrors™️for the life he’s built and the future that’s just within reach.

📔 Articles Mentioned:

📰 9-1-1‘s Kenneth Choi Breaks Down Those Emotional Chimney Reveals, Gets Real About His Uncertain Fate, TV Line

📰 ‘9-1-1’: Kenneth Choi on Chimney’s Origin Story – and Why Horrible Things Keep Happening to Him, The Wrap

📰 ‘9-1-1’ and ‘The Resident’ Renewed for Third Seasons at Fox, Variety

📰 ‘9-1-1’ & ‘The Resident’ Renewed For Season 3 By Fox, Deadline

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What if Eddie rolls the stone away? They’re gonna crucify him anyway.

We stand before our fellow members of The Tortured Buddies Department once again with a summary of our findings:

• Shannon is definitely the loss, not the love of Eddie’s life.
• The sign on Buck’s heart is still reserved for Eddie.
• Abby and #thatman are the smallest people who ever lived.

Waltz into the rekindled flames of our second installment of The Tortured Poets Department where we ring in the New Year with some good old fashioned seasonal depression. Han, Cil, and Rachel break down the lyrics of tracks 9 through 16 and discuss how each song relates to our favorite 9-1-1 characters.

This collection of songs focuses on:

• Buck and Eddie wrestling with their Abandonment Issues™, self worth and self loathing, and unfortunate romantic endeavors while trying to maintain their relationship with each other.
• The challenges of breaking free from familial expectations, neglect, emotional abuse, and generational trauma.
• The performative aspects of Buck and Eddie’s lives, the ways they mask their true selves, and repress their feelings and identities, creating a chasm of yearning they can’t seem to fill.

We enter into evidence Eddie clinging to his own fake impressionist paintings of heterosexuality and the picture perfect family. We’re second-hand embarrassed, Eddie please just let Shannon stay buried. (This is unnecessary.)

Sincerely,

The Chairmans of The Tortured Buddies Department

🎬 Edits We Love

🎞️ Guilty as Sin? edit by confusedbuckley, Twitter, TikTok

🎞️ Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? edit by milliiecent, TikTok

🎞️ loml edit by ashes.of.rozes, TikTok

🎞️ I Can Do It With a Broken Heart edit by t3s_edits, TikTok

🎞️ The Alchemy edit by bexism, TikTok

🎞️ The Alchemy edit by weewooshow, TikTok

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