9-1-1 Season 5 Catch-Up: Everything You Need to Remember Ahead of 9-1-1 Season 6

With the premiere of 9-1-1 Season 6 just one week away, we thought it would be a great idea to recap everything that happened in 9-1-1 Season 5. After all, it was an intense season with quite a bit to unpack.

To ensure we remember where each character stands come time for the premiere, we’re breaking the season down by the stories that affected each of them the most. 

Everything You Need to Remember About 9-1-1 Season 5:

Bobby and Athena

Bobby and Athena saw a great deal of struggle throughout Season 5. Between work and personal struggles they found themselves leaning on one another more than ever.

First, Athena had to deal with the aftermath of Season 4’s serial rapist case. At the start of Season 5, Athena faced the trial of this man only for him to be released and cause havoc for her own family. 

Athena had to rely on Bobby’s cool head to keep her focused as she searched for Harry and the man who kidnapped him. Then when the dust settled on all of that, Bobby and Athena had to team up with Michael to make sure Harry felt supported in his trauma.

It’s not often we get to see Bobby and Athena as a united front when it comes to parenting, but Season 5 gave us multiple moments where that unity got to shine through.

Whether it was May trying to decide how to handle a difficult coworker she felt was undermining her. Or helping to guide her toward a decision about her future. These two stood strong together and took up these tasks with experienced ease.

Not only that, but we also got to see Bobby and May grow in their relationship with one another. When Bobby saves her from a fire at the dispatch center on 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 16, “May Day” we got to hear May call him dad for the first time. 

When Bobby struggled to find the right fit for Eddie’s replacement, Athena was there to remind him that he had the ability within him to mold and guide whoever he chose. And she was also there to urge him toward making a decision when it became apparent that Eddie wasn’t going to be ready to come back for some time.

By the end of the season, these two had managed to weather every storm with grace and poise. Now, it’s just a matter of deciding what they will do for that honeymoon they’ve been putting off for a few years. 

Buck and Taylor

While Buck himself had many stories outside of his relationship with Taylor there was a level of unity with them that bled into each situation Buck dealt with. This relationship saw many ups and downs throughout Season 5, which is why we decided to cover them together.

At the start of the season, Buck and Taylor were going strong, albeit a bit disjointed due to their respective careers. When Buck was dealing with the blackout crisis, so was Taylor and so the first three episodes of the season saw them constantly apart.

However, as things got back to normal around LA after that emergency we got to see a bit more of how Taylor and Buck operated with one another. Taylor was living in her own apartment and yet spent quite a bit of time with Buck still.

She was sort of there for him when his sister left town suddenly and Chim revealed to him that she’d been suffering from post-partum. During a time when Buck should’ve been working on his new relationship, he was instead focusing on the search for his sister and helping Chim to parent Jee-Yun alone. 

Then, Buck’s best friend, Eddie, starts to have panic attacks which affect his work, and Buck begins worrying about that. Honestly, the first half of Season 5 was quite a bit of Buck worrying about everyone else instead of focusing on himself and his relationship. 

So, it comes as no surprise when it’s revealed that Taylor isn’t being entirely respectful of Buck’s wishes about information she gains from him or even truthful about her past. It’s no wonder that the first opportunity Buck has to go out and drink with co-workers he ends up kissing someone else.

This starts a downward spiral for Buck’s character development that carries him through the rest of the season. He is trying to keep a relationship with Taylor while also refusing to inform her about the kiss.

They move in together which only heightens Buck’s impulsivity issues because he wasn’t really ready for that level of commitment with Taylor. 

Everything comes to a head at the end of the season when Buck finally confesses to Taylor. She agrees to forgive him, but ultimately Buck decides to break it off with her during 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 18, “Starting Over.”

Chim and Maddie

Unfortunately, due to Jennifer Love Hewitt’s own personal pregnancy, there wasn’t much of Maddie during Season 5. And with Maddie gone, Chim was gone from our screens quite a bit as well. 

We did get to see them struggle with the transition from simply dating into being new parents. It was a beautiful bit of storytelling overall for the couple because it dived into subject matter many fans didn’t expect to ever see on 9-1-1. 

One of the most impactful episodes of Season 5 centered on Maddie’s descent into her post-partum and making moves toward healing herself. On 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 12, “Boston,” viewers got to see how Maddie ended up in Boston — which showed her previous suicide attempt at the ocean before she left LA.

Her presence in Boston was how Chim and she finally reunited, but it was an emotional episode as well. Viewers got to see the struggles Maddie went through to get to the moment where she saw Chim for the first time in almost six months. 

These two may have spent most of Season 5 apart, but there were moments where they were able to come together for the sake of Jee-Yun and be respectful and loving toward one another.

When they get back to LA it came as a shock to both Hen and Buck that they’ve decided to call it quits. Of course, it was great to see them reunited with their biggest form of support, but there was that air of bittersweet as they both sealed the fate of their relationship.

By the end of Season 5, we were all hopeful that Chim and Maddie would reunite once more based solely on the fact that they continue to be there for one another through their struggles with the aftermath of Maddie’s postpartum depression.

Hen and Karen

Everyone’s favorite lesbians were as united as ever during Season 5. That’s not to say they didn’t have their fair share of struggles just like any married couple is bound to — but they faced it with love and connectivity. 

A big struggle they had this season was the return of Hen’s mom into their lives more permanently. They’ve struggled before with her presence bringing tension because of the fact that she hadn’t come to their wedding all those years ago. 

Now, she was needing to live with them so her presence was around them all the time. However, this season also saw Toni falling in love again. 

That was something Hen and Karen had to face together because she asked them for help with her wedding. In the end, it wasn’t Toni who got married, but Hen and Karen instead — which was beautiful to witness since they’ve been through a lot in recent years.

Singularly, Hen had her own professional struggles during Season 5. In all her time at the 118, Chim has been her partner — so when he leaves to go in search of Maddie she has to struggle through a new partner in Eddie and then again with another partner when Eddie leaves. 

There haven’t been many experiences before with us seeing Hen struggle to keep her cool or stay on top of things. However, Season 5, was tough on her and by the end, Hen came out stronger than ever before.

The coolest episode for Hen, was one after Chim returned from Boston. We got to see her and Chim work together to bring forward proof that her EMT partner was actually an Angel of Death.

Both of them are put in harm’s way in order to solve the case, but 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 17, “Hero Complex” showed us that they’re our ride-or-die besties for a reason.

Eddie and Christopher

Finally, our sweet Diaz family had a whirlwind of a season during Season 5. To start off, the season began in the aftermath of Eddie being shot and almost dying. 

It’s clear from the start that both Eddie and Christopher aren’t handling the whole situation well, but Eddie is especially struggling. Christopher even makes the comment a couple of times that he knows Eddie isn’t sleeping.

However, Eddie’s PTSD struggles don’t really come to light until he starts to panic during emergencies while on the job. This prompts him to step away from being an active member of the 118. 

His transition to life as a firefighter liaison for the dispatch center doesn’t go well at all. It takes him only a couple of days in that new position before he is begging and demanding Bobby give him his job back.

It’s a turning point for Eddie because Bobby doesn’t give him his job back and actually pushes the young man to actually seek professional help for his very obvious struggles.

When Eddie has a full-on PTSD attack in front of Christopher on 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 13, “Fear-o-phobia” viewers finally get to see just how broken Eddie is inside.

He continued to journey toward wellness throughout all of Season 5, not returning to active duty at the 118 until the final episode. Though he does have moments where he assists on emergencies during the back half of Season 5. 

Other Moments of Note

• Michael departed from the series after 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 8, “Defend in Place.”
• Arielle Kebbel joined the cast as a new team member, Lucy Donato
• Albert Han decided to leave his position as a firefighter when he realized his heart just wasn’t in it.

What were your favorite moments from 9-1-1 Season 5?

9-1-1 premieres Monday, September 19th at 8/7c on FOX.

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