9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 5 Review: Dia de los Muertos

As much as we all love 9-1-1 we can agree that sometimes they just don’t hit the mark when it comes to non-white cultural storylines. In fact, the culture of Eddie Diaz is often ignored, overlooked, or misrepresented. 

That said, 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 5, “Dia de los Muertos,” is like a love letter to not only Eddie, but also the actress who plays his abuela. Showing Eddie’s grief for Bobby as it prepares him for grieving his abuela is a beautiful throughline this show needed after the insane space emergency.

When Bobby Nash was killed at the end of last season, he left the whole 118 reeling as they searched for a way to feel normal again. None more so than Eddie, who was the only one not present at Bobby’s death.

Eddie Fights Grief with Religion

One of the big themes of this episode, the spooky moments aside, is that Eddie is feeling untethered. So, he’s turning to something he knows was always taught to him as the answer in tough times – church.

We see this when his Tia Pepa and Abuela confront him about the hidden book of prayers on top of his refrigerator. They know that something is up, because as the people that know him best know he turned his back on his faith a long time ago.

Sure enough, Eddie is only leaning into Catholicism because Bobby was a Catholic and he thinks this will bring him closer to his beloved captain. It’s so hard to see Eddie faking smiles and trying his best to be present when his eyes reflect just how lost, scared, lonely, and sad he really is.

The scene where the Diaz family are sharing a meal together really shows this. Eddie is the only one not leaning in toward the center of the table and he is drinking multiple beers just to get through the conversation. He’s not engaged, he’s checked out.

We see similar body language at the fire house and then again when he’s talking to Abuela after taking her to church. Eddie is desperate to have something he can hold onto, something to tell him he’s going to be okay without Bobby there to guide him.

And just when it feels like maybe he’s found closure and solace in the religion of his family, his culture, he is met with the horrible sides of faith. This turns him so completely off of religion that he snaps at Buck and goes against supporting his current superstition.

Buck’s Superstitions Are Back

Aside from the cultural and religious details of Eddie’s part of the episode, the other most significant plot centers on Buck. This combined with Eddie’s journey is what makes this episode top tier. 

While on the surface it might seem like Buck is spiraling and that has nothing to do with how Eddie is acting, it is actually much more connected than that. You see, Buck continues to be on his own grief journey about Bobby.

Both of these characters are desperate to find a way to still feel connected to the father figure they lost. For Eddie that’s in his religion, but for Buck it’s centered in his cooking/baking. 

It might seem as though the whole 118 is being dismissive and uncaring about Buck’s obsession with making Bobby’s snickerdoodles perfectly. However, in reality we are only just starting to scratch the surface of how each of them are grieving Bobby. 

Think about it, you lost your leader, your mentor and just when things seem to be falling back into line your coworker spends days on end obsessing about that leader’s recipe for a baked good. It’s hard enough, but then to be expected to be engaged with his own cry for help is going to be nearly impossible for them. Which we see.

So, naturally, Buck is going to fall into old patterns as he stumbles his way through this dilemma. The most significant of which is his superstitious nature. 

He starts to believe that the movements in his house and the strange occurrences are a result of Bobby’s ghost haunting him. Luckily, it’s when he falls over the deep end that Buck has someone step in with a life raft — Ravi deciding to support Buck’s current process.

Sure, all the strange happenings being a result of the previous tenant sleeping in Buck’s attic is a bit of a let down. However, Buck finding that sobriety chip and using it as a sign from Bobby to help the man instead of condemn him is a great full-circle moment.

This is Buck’s way of honoring Bobby and finding a way through the grief he still carries. Being a helper is something that Bobby strongly believed in.

Eddie’s Final Sorrow

Eddie turning to religion to feel close to Bobby and to feel like he is loved is a classic move. So, naturally when Abuela puts her hand on his heart and tells him he’s been looking in the wrong place, we finally see what it’s all been for.

Eddie has needed to rediscover his religion in order to make an adult decision for himself whether or not he feels connected to it. If his actions throughout this episode tell us one thing it is that Eddie isn’t going to become a regular church going guy any time soon.

However, he still understands the importance of faith for others. So, when Tia Pepa calls him and tells him that Abuela has died, the two of them sit in her home and pray for her.

It isn’t because Eddie believes in the power of it, it’s because he believes in the power of his Abuela’s love. Religion was extremely important to her and so the best way to honor her is through that.

Then, to end the episode with Eddie observing a cultural celebration honoring those we’ve lost and having him seem most at peace is beautiful. It shows that while Eddie doesn’t believe in the religion his family drilled into him his whole life, but he does believe in the power of his Mexican/Latin heritage.

Therefore, it is more powerful to see him finding his way of honoring Bobby through his culture than some faith he doesn’t fully trust. The ofrenda to honor Abuela, Shannon, and Bobby is a beautiful way of showing that both Eddie and Chris understand the sadness of death, but also the joy of celebrating their lives.

Buck needed to find a way to help in order to feel most connected to Bobby. Whereas, Eddie needed to lean into his culture in order to find peace in his soul.

It’s a beautiful parallel that makes this episode extremely well-rounded.

Stray Thoughts

• Once again we have so many callouts to people being dead/thinking they are dead when they’re actually alive. Listen, it is probably nothing, but it could also be foreshadowing for Bobby actually being alive.
• Speaking of Bobby alive, my heart skipped a beat when Athena walked in her home and a figure wearing Bobby’s turnout gear is standing by the fire. Made me think the guy was alive again for a second.
• Buck and Maddie in Buck’s kitchen is the perfect display of sibling bond if there ever was one. I loved it.
• Ravi showing up for Buck wasn’t on my bingo card, but I’m not upset about it.
• I completely understand why Athena is upset with Harry’s decision and I’m glad they talked it out so Harry could explain he was doing it to honor her and Bobby.

 

 

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9-1-1 airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.

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