9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 9's Twist Ending & Buck's Sacrifice For Eddie Unpacked By Showrunner

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for 9-1-1 season 8, episode 9.9-1-1's mid-season hiatus has finally come to an end with the series making its return to ABC on Thursday, March 6. Season 8, episode 9, titled “Sob Stories”, picks up after Eddie reveals he's moving back to Texas to be close to Christopher. While Buck tries to be supportive, he struggles to accept his best friend's departure, even sabotaging his open house. There remains a fair amount of tension between the two, but they make amends when Buck gives up his loft and becomes Eddie's subletter.The most shocking twist of the hour occurs when Maddie is attacked by Abigail Spencer's (Timeless, Suits) new detective character. The perilous situation leaves plenty of cause for concern, but Tim Minear says that Maddie will do whatever is necessary to survive. Her fate will be determined in season 8, episode 10, which the showrunner teases may not go exactly as expected.

ScreenRant interviews Minear about Maddie's morally questionable decision, Buck and Eddie's conflict, and what fans can expect as 9-1-1 season 8 continues.

9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 9's Storyline Was Inspired By The Weepy-Voiced Killer

"You can hear it on the internet, it's quite creepy."

ScreenRant: Let’s start with Maddie. She encouraged someone to take their own life in order to protect an innocent. Did Jee-Yun being threatened also push her to take that step?

Tim Minear: Oh, that's an interesting question. I hadn't really considered that, but I think it must have. For me, when we were breaking the story, I was like, "What is something that I haven't seen her do?" I've seen her work miracles in the call center over the phone many times and just what would be an interesting thing to see her do, and the idea of her talking somebody into doing the darkest thing possible in order to save somebody just felt really interesting to me. But yeah, the fact that he mentions Jee-Yun, yeah, I think that's a really astute observation. I would say yes.

I was so excited that you brought in Abigail Spencer. Did you have her in mind ahead of time for this serial killer disguised as a detective role?

Tim Minear: She's amazing. No, I mean, we were kind of putting together the idea of this two-parter. We were always intrigued by that true crime story of the Weepy-Voiced Killer who would call 9-1-1, which was based on a real thing. You can hear it on the internet, it's quite creepy. And he was also saying, "I'm not going to get into heaven." It was so creepy. So that had always intrigued us.

And then when we were trying to come up with, "Who's the most interesting person to meet on the other end of this phone?" that's when we sort of developed the idea of the Brayburn character. And then, Shawn Dawson, my casting director, is like, "Abigail might be available for this." So I didn't even have pages for her to read yet. I talked to her over the phone and just kind of pitched out the storyline, and she was so game. You have no idea how amazing she is until you see part two.

Speaking of part 2, what can you share about Maddie's kidnapping? Does she feel like she should've seen this [betrayal] coming?

Tim Minear: I don't think Maddie has time to beat herself up at that point. I think she was beating herself up at the end of the last episode because of the morally questionable thing that she had to do. But Maddie is a woman who has survived a lot, and she's been held captive before. So at that point she has to do what she has to do to survive, and hopefully she will.

Chimney and Buck would walk through fire for Maddie, so how will this affect them, as well?

Tim Minear: It's going to affect everybody, actually. Not just Chimney and Buck, but I would say primarily Chimney. And we've sort of set up things this season so that it may not go exactly as you expect.

 

Eddie Is "Moved" By Buck's Sacrifice In 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 9

"He realizes Buck's going to sacrifice something and lose something in the process in order to give something to Eddie."

On another note, Buck overhears Eddie saying he has no ties in L.A. and everything that matters is in Texas. Can you give some insight into what Eddie means there?

Tim Minear: Eddie's talking to people he doesn't know, who've asked a question about the house. "What's wrong with this place? Why do you want to leave?" And he's like, "Because I have to." I think Eddie means what he says in as much as—what he's saying is his responsibilities lie in Texas. When you say you have no ties here, that means he's not responsible for the people in L.A. He's responsible for that little boy.

Buck has a different reaction to Eddie leaving than the rest of the 118 does. What's the intention behind that juxtaposition?

Tim Minear: That's Buck. He's a puppy dog in a lot of ways, and he starts off the episode wanting to not be selfish about this. "I'm going to help you sublet your house. We're going to do it together." He's trying to do the right thing, but he's got these abandonment issues, and he's about to lose a really important part of his life when this guy moves back to be with his kid.

When he overhears this thing, I think he almost takes it as an excuse to have a little bit of a tantrum. And I think the thing you'll notice is, in the middle of the episode, when the other 118ers hear the news that Eddie feels like he has to leave to go take care of his kid, they don't hesitate. They tell him that's the right thing to do, and they give him a hug. All of those people have kids. Buck does not.

Is there anything you can tease about the exploration of what Buck’s feelings are [mentioned in Oliver Stark’s Today interview]?

Tim Minear: Buck has a lot of trouble letting go of his best friend [and him] moving back to Texas. I'm just going to let the episodes speak for themselves. I just don't want to suggest that we're going down some road that we're not actually going down.

What did it mean for Eddie to have that moment with the 118 and for Buck to sublet his house? He seemed almost taken aback when he said, "You'd really do that for me?"

Tim Minear: I think Eddie is annoyed with Buck in that moment, and Eddie says the thing that I think encapsulates what's really going on. Which is, "If in order for it to be bearable that I'm leaving, you need to be mad at me, then be mad at me." Because that's what people do, right? It's like, "I'm going to decide to be mad at you so that I don't hurt as much once you're gone."

Eddie recognizes that, but he's annoyed in that moment, and then when he realizes that Buck kind of stopped throwing a tantrum and is doing this incredibly magnanimous thing by solving the problem that Eddie has at the moment, which is, "I can't really leave until this house is sublet," the fact that Buck's going to take over that lease, yeah, I think that moves him. He realizes Buck's going to sacrifice something and lose something in the process in order to give something to Eddie. And so he's moved.

 

Eddie's Storyline Will Continue In Texas In 9-1-1 Season 8

"Christopher knows Eddie's coming."

Is Christopher aware that Eddie is coming to Texas?

Tim Minear: If Eddie's going to take the time to put a down payment down in a house near his parents' house, yeah. Christopher knows Eddie's coming. Christopher's still living with Eddie's parents.

Will we see the Christopher and Eddie storyline in Texas onscreen?

Tim Minear: Yes, you will.

Last time we spoke, you said that everyone's lives would be changed by the end of Episode 10. Is that in regard to a certain storyline?

Tim Minear: No, really all I meant was that they're all going to go through something big. Changes are in the air for all the characters on some level and there will be changes happening throughout the rest of the season.

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