RECAP: ‘9-1-1’ Season 9 Episode 12 — “Dads and Cads”

A good episode of 9-1-1? Haven’t heard of such a thing since Athena went to space. But 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 12, titled “Dads and Cads,” rediscovers the heart of the show by keeping things simple. There are no secondary characters taking up multiple episodes, nor melodramatic scenarios that make more sense on shows like Criminal Minds. It’s just the 118, thematically relevant cases, and moving family drama that speaks to the history of the characters as they’ve been for nine seasons.

The Buckley parents arrive at Buck’s (Oliver Stark) doorstep during their RV road trip across the country. Maddie and Chimney are also there to welcome them, and things seem relatively fine, all things considered, when it comes to the Buckley family.

A knock at the door sets the stage for the 9-1-1: Nashville crossover. A delivery guy hands Buck a gift basket from Nashville, which serves as an invitation to the firefighter games in Nashville, Tennessee. Apparently, this is a thing that happens every year, and competitors can only be nominated by their captain, but Chimney tells Buck he didn’t nominate him. Because this competition is planned a year in advance, they both realize that Bobby nominated him.

A reunion between the Buckleys livens things up in 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 12.

At the firehouse, Eddie (Ryan Guzman) reveals he also got a gift basket from Nashville, meaning he and Buck will be representing LA at the firefighter games. More thoughts on the crossover later.

The past few episodes have seen a fractured 118, not just because of the rift between Hen and Chimney, but the camaraderie between the team that became the foundation of the show has seen better days. It didn’t feel intentional, but the spark hasn’t been there in a while.

It’s back in 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 12, like it never even left. Everything feels organic and authentic again, an easy flow of banter and remembered history that livens up all the 118 firehouse scenes. It’s good to have it back.

Part of that return to normalcy in 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 12 is due to Harry (Elijah M. Cooper) and Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody), which is ironic, since the two are the newest members of the 118. But that’s why their dynamic works so well to reintroduce us to normalcy.

They’re two characters we don’t focus on a whole lot, slotting into well-established, if greatly missed, rhythms of the show. Their tete-a-tete begins when Harry walks into May’s (Corinne Massiah) place, only to be surprised by a completely naked Ravi, whose date with May turned into a sleepover.

Harry’s angst over his sister sleeping with his coworker makes for some hilarious tension at the firehouse between Ravi and Harry, and a standout Grant family dinner scene. Getting a peek into the Grant family that’s not related to grief or worry is refreshing, and the focus being more on the Grant siblings changes things up a bit and allows Athena to play the more comedic bystander.

This is also one of the first times Ravi gets outside the firehouse scenes with someone other than Buck. The Buck and Ravi friendship has been great to witness, but it’s lovely to see more of Ravi on his own, especially since he’s been around since 9-1-1 Season 4. Plus, seeing May and Ravi smitten with each other will never get old.

After the initial reunion between the Buckley family in 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 12, Margaret (Dee Wallace) and Phillip (Gregory Harrison) take Buck and Maddie out to dinner. Again, things seem fine until they mention they’re selling their RV, followed by their announcement that they’re getting a divorce.

The news hits Maddie and Buck differently. Maddie vents to Chimney about the decision and concludes that Buck is probably having a hard time, too. A great cutaway to Buck shows him playing video games with Eddie and Chris in relative comfort. He seems a little too nonchalant about the news when he tells Eddie. A reminder about Eddie’s time in El Paso stops him short, though, and he bows out from the gaming festivities at the Diaz household.

Buck takes the news of his parents’ divorce in stride, and a lot of it has to do with his own familial relations.

Another Maddie and Buck scene reveals Buck’s actual thoughts. Maddie’s still confused about their parent’s decision, especially since it also involved them road tripping in an RV across the country together. Buck shares his revelation with his sister that when Bobby put in Eddie’s name for the firefighter games in Nashville, Eddie was still in El Paso, unsure of his return to LA. To Buck, that means Bobby always knew Eddie would make that return, because they’re a family.

Now, aside from toxic workplace family obligations, this revelation from Buck makes a lot of sense. Buck’s relationship with his parents has always been strained. Their distance from him in the wake of Daniel’s passing created a painful, near parent-less childhood for Buck. He found the family he’s always been looking for in the 118, which is why the news about his parents’ divorce isn’t hitting him that hard. He never got what he needed from them, so their split won’t have the impact people expect.

Buck reminds Maddie that she has her own family now, too, with Chimney and their kids, and by extension, the 118 as well. It’s a wonderful outlook for Buck, and another great Buckley sibling scene.

However, even after all that good drama, 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 12 still has a trick up its sleeve, which turns out to be one of the most surprising moments from the whole show. At the end of the episode, Phillip knocks on Buck’s door again, this time by himself. He seems nervous and unsure. Buck’s busy packing for Nashville, so his father stumbles his way through explaining the reason he’s there with his son’s back turned for most of it. But what he ends up saying gets Buck to turn around in surprise.

Phillip apologizes for not attending Bobby’s funeral and for being a terrible parent. Not only is this shocking to hear after so many seasons of 9-1-1, but it’s so nice to finally hear someone else acknowledge what Bobby meant to Buck. There’s something about a neglectful father recognizing that his son has found a better father figure in someone else, and respecting that relationship, that had them enough to apologize for not realizing the weight of Bobby’s loss for Buck at first.

That acknowledgement is a long time coming for Buck in the wake of Bobby’s death, and has been one of the more frustrating aspects in the post-Bobby world. The fact that it came in the form of Phillip Buckley feels both shocking and somehow the perfect place for that acknowledgement. A beautifully acted scene from Stark and Harrison. 

The calls in 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 12 aren’t anything super dramatic, but they do just enough to tie in thematically to the rest of the episode, in particular the call Maddie takes about an older couple struggling with their marriage.

There’s still some awkwardness surrounding Buck and his sexuality, but that’s nothing new.

Over on the 9-1-1: Nashville crossover, Buck and Eddie come face-to-face with Firehouse 113 in preparations for the firefighter games. It starts as a fun crossover, and getting to see the new kids interact with the OGs is always a treat, but with crossovers, there’s always the risk of some of the characters feeling out of character, and unfortunately, Buck and Eddie kind of feel that way.

The competition itself is lighthearted and fun. The Carl and Karl team is the real highlight, while the 118 and 113 get into petty fights that don’t really feel grounded in anything. Buck going off on Ryan and Blue for being nepo babies, while honestly kind of valid, seemed really uncharacteristic of him. Even after the two teams set aside their differences to save two car crash victims, they go right back to squabbling over random details.

One of the more side-eye worthy moments from the crossover is the very pointed way Buck’s bisexuality isn’t mentioned. Obviously, a bisexual character doesn’t constantly need a sign above their head saying “I’m bi!” all the time, but part of writing an LGBTQ+ character is actually letting that character embody being queer. And it’s in this where language and dialogue matter when it comes to normalizing different sexualities in everyday life.

When Eddie says there’s going to be bachelorette parties at the bar he and Buck go to, it’s pretty typical. But when the two arrive to find a bar mostly full of dudes, a natural response for a bisexual character would not be to be disappointed by all the men surrounding them. It’s a very weird interaction, like the writing forgot Buck is a bisexual character and might be interested in both genders.

That, along with the episode’s strange insistence that the firefighter games only have men competitors, makes the whole episode feel very frat-bro-y, especially the measuring stick context the 118 and 113 get into. While a fun idea at first, crossovers in the 9-1-1 universe have been done better elsewhere. Sigh. In a better world, the 126 (from 9-1-1: Lone Star) would have been competing too. Marjan and Paul would have annihilated every other team there.

9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 12 finds the show’s groove again by allowing other characters to shine and delivering thematically rich storylines for the main characters that recall their history on the show. The crossover had its moments, but a better justification for the 118 and 113 to meet down the line would be appreciated.

9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 12 is streaming now on Disney+ and Hulu, with new episodes every Thursday on ABC, and is available on Disney+ and Hulu the next day.

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