9-1-1 Review: Eddie Begins (Season 3 Episode 15)

The most cohesive episodes of 9-1-1 always end up being their origin story episodes. It is one of the few times that the show manages to perfectly combine the emergencies with the personal stories. 

On 9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 15, “Eddie Begins,” it is Eddie Diaz’s turn to step up to the plate when his background in high stakes combat rescue missions coincides with the intense rescue of a boy stuck in a well. Getting an insight into where Eddie comes from and what moments really shaped him gives us a deeper appreciation of this first responder.

It’s already easy to see that Eddie has grown and changed over the course of his two years at Firehouse 51, but “Eddie Begins” clues us in even further to how the Eddie we know is miles away from the Eddie who welcomed Christopher into the world when he’s born.

We already know about Eddie’s complicated relationship with Shannon — Christopher’s mom and Eddie’s ex-wife — however, now we know that he is just as messy in the relationship as she has been. Eddie isn’t that man anymore, but his experience with having to step up because she left is what catapulted him into the Eddie that moved to LA and joined the team. 

9-1-1 does a fantastic job of transitioning from Eddie’s past into Eddie’s present as he tries to save his men in Afghanistan and save the little boy in the well. Both situations are similar, in that Eddie is alone in his pursuit and working against the clock. 

Both situations paint a detailed picture of the kind of first responder Eddie is and always will be: Eddie will always put his life second when it comes down to saving someone else, but he will also do his damnedest to get home to Christopher. 

Even when Eddie isn’t a big part of Christopher’s early life, we can tell the little boy means the world to him. He may not know the proper way to care for him because of his absence, but he is more than willing to try his best to be a father unlike his own growing up. 

Eddie: I miss you all the time too, kid. I’m never gonna leave you again.

That level of raw emotion between Eddie and Christopher as the scene fades into Eddie being trapped miles below ground as the rain pours down is what really sets this origin story apart from the others. Ultimately, Eddie is who he is because Christopher made him a father and a better man. 

While it is quite predictable that Eddie is going to survive — he’s a fan favorite after all, and 9-1-1 doesn’t have a habit of killing off characters like other dramas do — there is a small moment where we think that maybe this time will be different. The flashes of Eddie’s life in LA with the team and Christopher really make us worry that he isn’t going to make it out of this alive. 

Then he surfaces in the pond and we can finally breathe again. Christopher won’t have to handle the death of both his mother and father barely a year apart.

While making Christopher handle the death of both parents so close together isn’t an ideal story to cover, it does bring up a glaring issue with the credibility of 9-1-1. For a show all about first responders, there sure doesn’t ever seem to be any real danger for any of the members of the team.

I have raised this issue before when Chim ended up with a piece of rebar through his skull, and then again when he’s injured by Maddie’s crazy ex-husband. Both situations should be more believably fatal (not that I want Chim to die).

All of these characters go through harrowing situations, and now that we are in the third season with no threat to any of their lives, it’s become harder to believe they are ever in any danger. Which is why our concern for Eddie only lasts about a minute.

That being said, it is a great choice for the writers to give us Eddie’s story at this time because out of all the characters, he is the most closed off. Eddie never talks about his past or his family much — beyond Christopher and by proxy Shannon. 

Knowing more about Eddie allows us to have a deeper appreciation and understanding of him as a member of the team. That’s not to say fans haven’t already really latched onto him. Only now do we have more justification to back it up.

Eddie is the man who will always stand up and fight to the last man. After seeing his experiences in Afghanistan, it comes as no surprise that beyond his life in the Army he chooses to continue to serve others as a firefighter. Being a servant to the community is in his blood — it makes Eddie Diaz who he is. 

The writers could have turned this episode into a Buck rescue, or a Chim rescue, or even a Bobby rescue, and the emotional impact wouldn’t be as visceral or strong. The only person who could rescue the boy in the well is Eddie because he is a father who has the most to lose if they aren’t successful.

It’s just like how the tsunami story with Christopher on 9-1-1 Season 3 Episode 2, “Sink or Swim,” doesn’t have the same impact if he had been at the pier with someone other than Buck. With that story, Buck is recovering from a major injury and contemplating his role as a hero. 

He needed the opportunity to lose Christopher and ultimately save other people’s lives while in the role of civilian to realize that being a first responder is in his blood. 

Their friendship and bond is what also really defines who Eddie is in LA, so it is fitting that the season explores emergencies that wouldn’t be what they are if these two weren’t the ones who led the charge in the end results. Out of all the team members, Eddie and Buck are both the most invested in being nothing other than a helper, healer, and rescuer for the rest of their lives. 

We love it when a show really takes a character that we already know and love and makes them that much more relatable and lovable. That is the end result of learning Eddie’s full story and journey towards joining the LA team. 

Finally, it is worth mentioning that the most heart-wrenching moment for the episode goes to Buck’s soul-crushing cry of “Eddie” as the drill falls over, collapsing the rescue dig. His bond with Eddie is so profound that he can’t imagine a world without Eddie in it and of course, he’s the first to want to start digging to get his friend out. 

With the season winding down, this episode definitely gives us pause to really reflect on that friendship and how much it has grown and evolved right along with Eddie throughout the season. These two have seen each other through so much heartbreak and hardship. Here is hoping they get to see some sunshine and joy very soon.

 

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9-1-1 airs Mondays at 8/7c on FOX.

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