9-1-1 Review: Fear-o-Phobia (Season 5 Episode 13)

First and foremost, 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 13, “Fear-o-Phobia”, lands somewhere in the middle of what makes a top-tier episode. There are definitely some highs and lows. 

It’s important to note that this show is trying to get its groove back after replacing missing members of the family that are now coming back. That sort of process takes time, but overall this show is trying its best.

So, let’s dive into the most important stories of the episode.

Buck’s Lies Continue

When Buck decides to come clean to his sister about his transgression against Taylor, audiences are left hoping he will afford Taylor the same unerring honesty. So, it’s disheartening when he holds back even as he promises to stop lying.

It’s no secret that I am not a fan of Taylor and Buck, not because I don’t like Taylor or because I want him with Eddie, but because I feel their chemistry is better as friends. The emotional scenes of “Fear-o-Phobia” are no different, the connection just isn’t there beyond a surface level.

The writers continue to mess around with who Buck is. Instead of addressing it as being because he’s messed up from the Eddie and Maddie of it all, the focus is blaming it on him being a drunk. Buck has been growing and working on his mental health for the last five seasons, so it comes off confusing that he wouldn’t be shown talking to his therapist about this or confiding in Taylor that his actions were a result of how Eddie made him feel that night. 

He mentions it a bit to his sister and it comes up again with Taylor, but honestly, it feels more of a brush off than anything. Buck keeps iterating that it’s because he was drunk and stupid, which I hope is just a precursor to him actually owning up to his abandonment issues.

Chim and Maddie Did WHAT?

The most unforgiving part is the bombshell Chim and Maddie drop on Hen and Buck respectively at the start of the episode. After the hopeful storytelling of 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 12, “Boston,” we aren’t expecting their relationship to just be over. 

While there is some hope there at the end that maybe, just maybe, Chim will find his way back to Maddie eventually. The reality of their split feels like a slap in the face of Madney fans who have stuck by these through all the trauma they’ve had to endure.

Sure, couples go through their trying times, Maddie and Chim haven’t spoken in six months, but I honestly believed they were going to work through it all together. That their discussion in Boston meant that whatever fears they both have were going to be focused on as a family — together.

It’s nice to see the writers are seeing that Maddie needs to trust herself and be trusted with Jee around a tub again, but it would make an even bigger punch if done with the two of them still a couple. Where they can celebrate this little win with an intimately loving moment after or even a look to each other from across the room. It’s what they both deserve after the hell they’ve been through since their relationship began. 

The other big issue with Chim and Maddie is they are both without jobs. I hope this doesn’t last and that Chim is back on the team soon with Maddie assisting from behind the dispatch mic. 

Eddie’s Battle with PTSD

Let’s start this off with the positive aspects of Eddie’s current mental health battle. The writers are definitely giving the PTSD he is suffering it’s due diligence.

By starting it off in previous episodes with his lack of sleeping and irritability, the stage is set for him to full-on implode by the end of this episode. Especially, after listening to a woman describe the emptiness she feels inside and how broken it makes her feel.

That call is a perfect parallel to how Eddie is feeling in his current life. It’s even further explored through the focus the writers give to Eddie’s therapy process — it shows once again that 9-1-1 cares about the mental health of first responders.

Watching Christopher react and interact with his dad during his PTSD explosion is extremely heartbreaking, so it’s good to see Christopher reach out to someone he trusts to solve the issue. On one hand, it’s great that Buck is there, but on the other, it brings to light the bigger issue of Eddie’s story.

I am of course talking about the queerbaiting undertones, that continue despite fans now made fully aware that Buck and Eddie will never be a couple. By having Buck show up at Eddie’s and be the one to bring Eddie out of his spiral with some gentle words and a soft “it’s me, I’m coming in” the writers have tainted what could be a very impactful mental health story.

It’s been an issue for some time that the writers blow off viewers’ real concerns that this “friendship” is being portrayed way too close and, in essence, is queerbaiting fans to keep them tuned into the show. While it is great that Buck is there for Eddie, as a friend should, having him there for him in the ways that he is in this episode further solidifies the queerbaiting accusations and permanently takes away from a great portrayal of the reality of PTSD in first responders.

Honestly, I would’ve preferred if the breakdown had happened, Christopher got scared and called Buck, but that the majority of what Eddie shares about his old unit is revealed in therapy. That would have been a better way of doing things and pulled the focus off of Buck and Eddie. 

Buck should have made sure Christopher was okay and encouraged the boy to alert 9-1-1. It would’ve been safer and a bit more emotionally removed. 

Minor Emergencies:

• So great to see Albert again, but lose the mustache dude…please.
• I want to like Lucy so bad, but it really feels like the writers are trying to make Buck happen in female form. Stop trying to make fetch happen.

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

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Is it Queerbaiting? It’s Time to Talk about Buck and Eddie on ‘9-1-1’