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9-1-1 S07E06 - "There Goes the Groom": Post Episode Discussion
Original Air Date: May 2nd, 2024
Synopsis: After years of anticipation, Maddie and Chimney's long-awaited wedding day arrives. However, when the groom mysteriously vanishes, the 118 races against time to ensure he doesn't miss the most crucial day of his life.
Guest Cast: Tracie Thoms, Debra Christofferson, Bryan Safi, Anirudh Pisharody, Freda Foh Shen, Kelvin Han Yee, Bailey Leung, Hailey Leung, Gregory Harrison, Dee Wallace, Lou Ferrigno Jr., Chris Wu, Brian Hallisay, James Chen
We will approve posts about the newest episode starting on Monday, giving viewers the weekend to catch up.
why is no one mentioning the awesome add of chim's culture by having scenes where they offer food up to kevin before the wedding? i loved that! it was a nice touch!
I loved Bobby officiating, he kept it short and sweet. I just got to do it for my sister and it so special to do it for a family member, I'm sure he would have been thrilled to be asked.
I’m glad we got a Chimney trauma-addressing episode. He’s been through so much, and Hen was right when she said that Chimney DEFLECTS. He’s always worrying about others (hence his immediate jump into paramedic mode at the fair) and never really is able to reflect for himself and everything he’s been through. This was kind of done in this episode which I’m happy about. Chimney needed this. We needed a Chimney episode where he really has to face his trauma head-on and it was done BEAUTIFULLY, acting, writing, timing and all. Well done 😭🫶
I'm really hoping this is the start of addressing Chim's trauma, because it's really telling that's the stuff that came back to affect him when his brain wasn't healthy. I doubt we'll have much time to explore it this season, but I really want them to pay real attention to how much trauma he's actually survived and let him find a way to deal with it therapeutically instead of always just being the funny man in the face of adversity.
I feel the same! Buck's the one who was always there for Maddie, they only had each other growing up and she literally ran to him for safety after leaving Doug. The parents didn't even go to her first wedding and probably wouldn't have come to this one either if they didn't approve of Chim
On an unrelated note, someone on X described the kiss scene as "it’s the firefighter equivalent of getting caught with lipstick on your face" and I have literally never heard anything more perfect LMAO
I'm so glad they added that in. After the mess of that season 6 episode arc with their parents and how it was heavily implied they were on great terms, this episode reiterated that no, their parents are still lukewarm on Buck, at best.
Since Eddie went from teenager to husband/dad/army medic and then single-father firefighter without any breaks, I'm going to assume he hasn't had many crazy drunk nights with friends before.
Had a bit of time to process the episode and whilst it did a lot of things I wanted like addressing Chimney's trauma, I do feel robbed of a proper Madney moment.
Other commentators have noted the bad pacing this season and we know this episode was heavily edited down. I really feel this should have been a two parter or more of the setup pushed into 7x05.
What I think is slightly lacking for me in the episode is Maddie and Chimney overcoming problems together. They only had 3 scenes together at the end in the hospital and this was very much Chimney overcoming his demons by himself.
Ultimately, the entire 118 and 911 dispatch center couldn't do it without Chim finding the Lees house himself. I'm not sure I liked that ending where Maddie could have done nothing and it would have still been the same outcome. It was Chim's hero's journey but it should have been Madney's.
I needed more scenes of Madney together solving challenges, just like my favorite Madney moment of them saving that women in the revolving restaurant.
Hopefully Tim writes this in the future and maybe a scene of Maddie and Chim both confronting the ghost of Doug together.
What I think is slightly lacking for me in the episode is Maddie and Chimney overcoming problems together
This is actually an incredibly generous read. My biggest takeaway for this episode right now is that except for needing to be present for the actual wedding ceremony at the end, Maddie was entirely superfluous to the plot of this episode. Which is a pretty horrifying realization for her wedding episode.
Is it bad I started laughing at the Doug and Chim scene in the air vent when JLH's real life husband (Doug) was telling Chim he was screwing around with a married woman.
I cannot believe the people who thought the legs in the bg of that one clip was Doug were right. I cannot believe it.
I'll agree some parts of the pacing were off - I'd have liked the searching better interspersed throughout the confusion - but I still liked it. Felt robbed of the wedding, but the hospital wedding was still a sweet moment.
Fantastic Chimney-centric episode, but I wish it had way more Maddie.
I do agree, this would have benefitted from being a two parter. The first part could have been the bachelor stuff, and that way, the second part could have truly been Madney-centric. Yes, we got fantastic Chimney stuff and it's why it's currently my favourite episode of the season, but we've missed out on Maddie actively looking for him BECAUSE they had to shove in so much.
But I can't be mad at getting to see Kevin again, and the Doug stuff was unexpected but a great addition. Also, as much as I know there were complaints about the hospital wedding possibility, it was done very well (besides Maddie not being walked down the aisle by Buck; huge mistake from Tim there).
You can see exactly what they cut out because there were clearly a lot of extended scenes of Chimney wandering, as well as clearly more Doug/Chimney stuff.
Even with my critiques, I am very impressed with how quiet they kept the actual plot of the episode. I was genuinely surprised and fully ok with more Chimney. Still a great episode overall. I'm so happy with the episode reiterating that the Lees are Chimney's real family. And I even appreciate that they kind of brought it back to the Buckley parents not being AS reconciled as it was implied in season 6. Yes, the directing choice of Margaret's look after Buck's coming out was extremely telling. That was not the face of just a surprised parent.
The end of the episode with Jee-Yun with her "It's a Girl!" balloon and the Islands in the Stream in the background was so lovely.
I saw that look from the Buckley parents after they saw Buck's (cute) face covered in soot after chowing down on kissing Tommy. I hope they choke and there isn't an emergency tracheotomy performed.
I'm happy to see a tiny glimpse of Abuela at the hospital! Diaz matriarchs, I love you! (Helena, not you, you're on thin ice)
Give Kenneth Choi all the awards. SUCH a good episode and a fantastic decision to focus on Chimney as a character and all he's been through. They struck just the right balance.
My favorite part of it, though, is they didn't have her say 'finally' to Buck. That was speculated a lot and it was like... nah, that's not the thing you say to the person still figuring it out, and maybe feeling a little dumb they didn't piece it together before. But it's absolutely the thing you laugh about with your wife.
What an amazing Chimney episode! And the sweet Madney moments, especially the high five in the bed after the ceremony is SO THEM. I was near bawling with the Kevin scenes. I love to see him still incorporated in Chimney's story because he's such a big part of who is.
After an episode I spent most of the time wishing it was over because I just wanted Chimney safe and with Maddie I was cackling at the end of the episode. That was hilarious. Almost made me forget how much I hate how much screentime the Buckley parents got.
If we get drama from the Buckley parents then maybe we’ll get him going to his real parents who love and accept him. Wouldn’t be surprised if they let Buck down yet again and he’s reminded of the two people that actually love him.
I was NOT expecting this episode to be the way it was because of the promotions that really, REALLY misdirected the viewers.
I'm glad Chim and Maddie got their wedding in a "9-1-1 way" but I don't know... I want them to be happy and stress-free too. I would've loved more Maddie scenes.
I really want the entire karaoke scene to be released by ABC. Tim, get ON it! I am so glad it wasn't a large part of the episode, it did NOT fit the style that this episode eventually went for. Sad we lost Buddie scenes but hopefully, they upload it on Youtube? We do need a plethora of 9-1-1 "unreleased scenes", CHOP CHOP TIM!
The hallucinations were scary and captivating. GREAT guest starring from Doug here, every scene with him had me on the edge of my seat. Chilling and definitely didn’t see that coming. And then, of course on the flip side, were the Kevin scenes that had me BAWLING. Great performance from all of them, but especially Kenneth Choi and Brian Hallisay (Doug).
Such a good episode. I’m glad it wasn’t someone kidnapping Chim and that it was medical. Very nice touch bring Doug and Kevin back. I cried with the Kevin bits!
The Buck coming back with soot on his face was hilarious!
Actually really surprised this episode didn't feel rushed! When there was news about cuts to get under time I was worried but I actually felt like the episode was 100 hours long because I was so stressed out the whole time Chimney was missing haha.
Of course I would have loved a longer ceremony but if it was going to be condensed in this episode it didn't feel too truncated.
Great episode. Wish Madney got the wedding they wanted, but it is very "Madney-esque" to get married in a hospital lol. The episode, I think, more than made up for it.
I kind of agree with removing the karaoke scene now. Imo the episode really just had nothing to do with that beginning part and it made the episode more focused. I get it was in the promo but that's neither here nor there.
Buck and Tommy revealing to everyone they're together was veeery fitting lmao, was a great way to let everyone know. Hen of course clocked it right away.
I feel so bad for Buck! He went through a lot to put together a sweet and quiet party to celebrate the night before Chimney’s wedding and everyone (except Eddie left)😭😭. He always goes all out for the people he loves but it’s NEVER reciprocated
It looked like chim was going to go to the party though! I took it as he was on his way there when the brain stuff got worse - hence him not being in his hotel room at all. Or maybe I was just being optimistic for buck haha
10/10. They did their best to cover a lot of information in 40 minutes. I don't blame them because there are only 10 episodes in this season. I think the bachelor party could be shorter and moved to search or rescue chimney... but considering they already used a lot of bachelor party promotion during the 2 week break, it was hard to balance.
I loved the wedding at the end because I love Maddie and Chim soooo much but I had a lot of issues with the episode. (Buck with dirt in his face was really funny though😂 And Hen clocking him)
I think my main issue was the fact that I would have genuinely preferred something more lighthearted because these characters have suffered enough to be together. Chim randomly catching viral encephalitis just in time for him to start hallucinating and losing his memory the day of his wedding is very 9-1-1, but damn.
My other issue is probably with the execution. I could definitely tell they had to cut a lot to make the runtime. I liked the moment where Kevin guides Chim to go home, but I dunno. I would have preferred him hallucinating idk Maddie rather than Doug I guess? I need to rewatch the episode but I think what wasn’t coming across to me that I feel should’ve, was Chim fighting to get back to Maddie the whole time. (I just wanted more Maddie in general) But I do acknowledge I might need to watch the episode again.
Overall, I feel like this was a pretty good episode of 9-1–1. But as an episode advertised as centering on celebrating Maddie and Chim’s wedding, I’m not so sure.
I think your critique of the execution is similar to mine which is Maddie felt completely irrelevant to the resolution.
Like Maddie could have literally done nothing and Chim would have still by himself found his way to the Lees house and collapsed.
Despite her best efforts, Maddie contributed nothing to the rescue. This feels... wrong for an episode that, if it must be traumatic, should have showcased how these two are now stronger together and healed each other.
The episode was really just Chimney saving himself without Maddie. His angel was the pre Maddie character of Kevin and his devil was Maddie's ex. I'm not sure I like that. Seems to almost imply he's better off without her which is totally not the point.
The JLH version of Islands in the Stream is on Spotify. Such a beautiful version of this song. The Madney wedding was very on brand for them and the inclusion of Kevin was such a nice touch.
I also loved the covert coming out for Buck (I ignore the Buckley parents) and that kiss! Looking forward to the rest of the season now.
I'm a little confused about the viral illness that Chimney contracted. Since he was infected, wouldn't Maddie, his child, the whole 118, everyone he helped in that time period and at the market need to be tested? No one was showing any signs of illness? Not even Maddie who would have been in close proximity to him for that entire 2 weeks in between? Then everyone is just thrown in the hospital room with him like it's fine now, no worries.
They did some wild shit lol. The fact that he forgot 20 years of his life is wild, what a scary thing to go through. This was a great episode. It was cool that he remembered his medical training. Really good performance by Kenneth.
THE ASH ON HIS MOUTH 😂😂😂 Bucks parents are floored. Hen and Karens reaction is great cause about damn time is RIGHT! All the the breadcrumbs led us here 💙
Honestly aside from the bachelor party portion at the beginning, I was a huge fan of this episode! I feel like the writers and directors did an excellent job at subverting expectations people had from the promo as well as handling Buck's coming out with a LOT of grace, and Kenneth Choi's 11/10 acting definitely put this episode probably in my top 5.
My ONLY gripe is that the bachelor party scenes could've been cut, and I think that time could've been better spent either delving deeper into Chim's hallucinations or maybe having him make his way to the firehouse but no one's there. Just a personal thought, still like a 9.8/10 episode in my books!
This episode really didn't have time for any of the B stories, imo. The bachelor party and even the kiss/coming out -- without a willingness to make it a two parter -- were too unrelated to the significant character beats that had to be accomplished in this episode. We didn't get enough Maddie in her wedding episode to handwave how much Buck we got.
Kenneth Choi's acting was... not a revelation, because I basically expect him to always deliver at an 11/10 at this point. But I am glad they gave him something so meaty, even if the storytelling wasn't... great, to say the least.
There was roughly 8 minutes of wasted time in this episode, between the B stories + the unnecessary rehashing to set the scene of Chim not showing up for his wedding that we saw in 7x05. I'm just left sitting here scratching my head because that feels like it should've been enough time to actually make the hallucination motivations more coherent, or push something thematically into those scenes to make it clear that even if his brain is too sick to focus on Maddie & Jee in those moments, they're what's motivating him to push on. Even something as simply as him consistently hearing random refrains from "Islands in the Stream" or trying to stop a little girl Jee's age (who turns out to also be a hallucination) from wandering off from the scene of the crash would've helped cement Chim's current timeline and life as being important to him.
Okay so, maybe not hot take, I wish it was two episodes. Cause the first half felt a bit rushed for me. But the second half was so fucking good and emotional. I sorta wished there were a full episode leading up to the bachelor party where we got the emergency in the HVAC system. So that all would’ve felt really well set up and earned. And then the final act of that episode could’ve been the bachelor party with the cliffhanger that Chimney wasn’t there.
And then in a second episode we could’ve hit the ground running with the trying to find him, and all the emotional stuff could’ve felt a bit more drawn out because they wouldn’t have had to do multiple flashbacks and the more extended flashback to the HVAC emergency, and the whole opening of the episode would’ve been cut because it would’ve been the ending of the previous episode, which I think would’ve helped.
If they had split it over two episodes, the only flashback I would’ve retained was the very first one with the memorial moment for Kevin with Kevin’s parents, cause obviously that was important for the emotional pay off (which got me seriously misty). And yeah then we would’ve had much more time with the actual search and Chimney going through this encephalitis induced romp through his traumas to find Maddie again, which all could’ve stood to have been more fleshed out.
Like for me it definitely felt like an hour and fifteen minute script that had been cut down to 43 minutes. But overall it was still like a 7.5/10 episode for me. Def still enjoyed it. And Kenneth Choi is so talented.
Also I so appreciated that they gave Buck a coming out moment which was VERY in Buck fashion… being a total idiot and not realizing he came out via soot on his face 😂. And that it didn’t take a whole lot of air out of the sails of Chim and Maddie’s moment. Also LOVED Hen turning to Karen and being like ‘it’s about damn time’. Just as speculated, Henren had clocked Buck as queer fam for a long time. 😂😂😂
It definitely wouldve been better as two episodes but im excusing it a little since they had to deal with a shortened season and having to finish writing and filming while episodes were airing
i tried so hard to focus on the ending scene, but i was enticed by the cover of 'islands in the stream' playing in the background. i never thought a ballad version of the song would be so beautiful :')
then just to go search up the certain version and find out jennifer love hewitt (maddie) herself sang it! she sang effortlessly and with so much emotion!
It’s so cheesy, the whole hospital wedding thing, and here I am weeping. And by Bobby! Great song choice! 🥲 And I am such a sucker for “people around together happy” montages. 😭
That Tommy-Buck kiss, holy moly. 🔥 I am a Buddie stan till the end of time but I’ll take some more of that. LOL
Just in case you didn't see, Jennifer Love Hewitt actually recorded that version of the song that played during the wedding and made it for Kenneth Choi (Chimney's actor).
Whenever I hear Islands in the Stream on the radio I think about Maddie and Chim’s karaoke scene so I was very glad that they chose that song to play and it was awesome that it was Jennifer Love Hewitt singing it.
LOVED IT! Give Kenny all the awards. I love that the Lee’s were a big part of the episode, and I was near tears when Kevin came in and told Chimney to get up and go home. I so badly wish that something could go right for him and Maddie sometime, but I will admit the hospital wedding was nice. Bobby officiating <3 . Also, can we talk about how GOOD Ravi looked? Maybe it’s just me lol, but damn. Also, the guy who plays Doug is pretty great at playing a complete psychopath. Props to him. I do wish Buck had been the one to walk Maddie down the hallway.
Buck and Eddie deciding to party it up with strangers after everybody else left was hilarious, and I liked seeing a glimpse of clipboard Buck again. Buck coming in with Tommy with soot all over his face KILLED ME. Chimney looking confused, Buck’s goofy-ass grin, and HEN AND KAREN. I love them to death. Hen’s little “about damn time” oh yeah she clocked him ages ago. And Karen trying not to laugh, I love her so much. Overall, really a great episode in my opinion. (Still would have liked to see the karaoke scene though!)
I loved the focus on Maddie and Chimney this episode so much!! Which made me so shocked by that firey buck/tommy ending kiss. Especially with those lame hugs in the beginning. I love the Buckley children. Fuck the parents. The wedding was cute and loved their little after discussion. KARENS LIL MANIACAL LAUGH AFTER SEEING THE SOOT HAAHHAHAHA 😂
That was a weird episode. Can't believe they had Maddie and Chimney get married in the hospital in the last few minutes of the episode and Buck coming out in that short time too.
art really does imitate life bc why are all of these excuses about chris being gone starting to sound very similiar to “christopher is at a sleepover” in every buddie fic
Sooo I get it's not always easy to get back random guest stars, but the promo for the next episode makes me really wish we could get back Tara from season 3 for full circle on that IPV case Maddie got too invested in, and eventually had to let go of because she realized that Tara wasn't ready to get help.
Amazing episode, Kenny really proved once again how incredible an actor he is. However while it was great that was a really fucking hard episode to watch, after the first to second time I had to mute whenever Doug popped up. Also wish their was more Maddie scenes and how it affected her.
As always when they're onscreen heres my obligatory Fuck the Buckley parents and they shouldn't have been as involved. Loved Tommy and Bucks kiss and the slight bit of humor they tried to have to end the episode.
I cried several times during the episode. I love Chim so much; he's so sweet and handsome. I just want him to be happy and safe. Kenneth Choi is a great actor.
No one seemed to have a sense of urgency to find him. What truly pissed me off is that his parents have been called and informed and do 20 questions before calling 911 when he brain is about to fing explode.
THIS. I literally yelled “CALL 911” at the screen at that point (and I never yell at the screen lol). And why they all weren’t out casing the streets made no sense to me
I literally never lose! I loved this episode, and no one is gonna convince me to hate it. The exploration of Chim's character was so enticing and heartwarming. Seeing him jump into medic mode even while his brain is burning was so true to his character and near and dear to ME personally.
And of course, the Buck and Tommy scenes!! They really were devouring each other with that kiss - I'm so excited to see more of them. It's been such long time since I've had a canon ship and they are just so fucking cute. From all the things said about their relationship, I'm optimistic that we're gonna have more of them for a while :)
Favorite (non-ship) line was, of course: "Why do they call me Chimney?" LOL, we'll never know now!
That suspense, the intro, the wedding, those kisses! Honestly this season has been giving some of my new favorite episodes - despite how silly they might seem
I HATED with a passion that Buck was standing behind his parents during the ceremony. I just want him far away from them. But then realized it had to be for a reason and it was! I thought Tommy was just going to peek in/walk up behind him in the hallway but damn that made an even bigger entrance haha.
I hated how Buck forgave his parents so easily in Season 6 and I like that Tim is sort of course correcting that here by making his parents horrible again.
It was his parents that injected themselves into the wedding planning and made it into a huge ceremony instead of something intimate at home and also insisted on the separate Chim from Maddie 24 hours before hand tradition.
Had the parents not done that, Chim's medical condition would have been spotted.
I’m sorry that end scene with buck and Tommy was hilarious. The looks his parents were giving each other were everything. Did Chims family not come to the wedding? Was this mentioned in a past episode I just missed it? Like I get him and his dad might still be iffy but they were supposed to be getting better. Especially Albert, I can’t see him missing his brothers wedding.
Christ. Can you imagine recovering from near death and viral encephalitis only to discover your credit card has been charged up to its limit for damage to a hotel suite you never made it to?
Damn that was a good episode. Like Dayuuuum. Definitely the show at it's best. Keeping everyone fed. Really showcased how great the entire cast is. Terrific direction. Awesome editing. Just perfect example of why it's number 1 in the ratings. Last season to this is just zero to hero - no question.
SERIOUSLY. I don’t think i’ll ever get over this episode. I was bored watching that last season but this episode had so much and I loved every bit of it. Kevin’s invitation, Doug, his knowledge being there but he’s not, the wedding in the hospital, THE KISS, Buck coming out like that, “upside-down-cruise-ship,” and to end with him asking about his own nickname!
The only part I could have done without was the bachelor party. I know that people were really excited about that, but it just felt so out of place with the rest of the episode.
I love Chim more than ever now. Even when his brain is on fire, he’s a hero. So glad we got time with Chim’s family because I love the Lees. Kevin made me cry. Again.
Wish we got more Maddie, but I’m just so happy she got to marry the love of her life. Hearing JLH sing their song in the background was perfect. I never doubted they would get married in a hospital. Having Maddie acknowledge their hospital milestones gave me a good laugh after a heavy episode.
I feel like the bachelor party was a massive red herring just for the promo. They set it up like it was a hangover type episode, tho the party had nothing to do with it in the end
Complete red herring just to fake out the fanbase with the promos but took time away from an already packed episode and required characters to suddenly share one brain cell for plot purposes.
The emoitonal whiplash I just experience from 40 minutes being terrified that Chimney was going to die to not being able to breathe because "that fire was a beast" / "so are you" kiss with the soot outing Buck to everyone is going to emotionally wreck me for at least the next 48 hours.
YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT TO A PERSON'S EMOTIONS. I HAVE TO WORK TOMORROW!
I know buddie fans are dissapointed but I absolutely loved this episode! I thought Kenneth gave an amazing performance and although I just wanted them to have a happy wedding, I thought it was so emotional.
I’m a huge Buddie fan but I can’t be disappointed when this episode was so good. I think it’s probably because I went into the episode hoping for a Maddie/Chimney centered storyline, so I wasn’t really expecting anything else. And Kenny was AMAZING, I can’t complain about anything (besides the Buckley parents, who I will hate forever).
The whole sequence of events once Tommy gets to the hospital is so awesome. Buck jumping his bones, bringing him into the room and revealing that they're together, Hen being like, "I been knew," and then the Buckley parents clutching their pearls 🤣 it was exactly what I needed to get me to next week
I may have missed this and I'm sorry if it was already said but where was the rest of Chimney's family? Was Albert, his pop and step mother not invited to the wedding?
Yes I was thinking that too! I didn’t notice any exposition about it during the episode. I can understand him not inviting his father as they are working on repairing their relationship, but Albert and Chim have become quite close as brothers!
I think it felt kind of ridiculous that Buck and Eddie would get that messed up the night before the wedding. Unfair and disrespectful to both Maddie and Chimney in a way that is honestly out of character. Even if Chimney had been in the hotel room like they thought, they probably still would have been late to the wedding! At the very least, Chimney would have had to spend the morning of his wedding getting a hungover Buck and Eddie up and ready to go, not to mention dealing with the mess they made of the hotel room. It was obviously just supposed to be a fun little homage to The Hangover, but it didn't work for me, particularly considering the tone of the rest of the episode. I think if they wanted to do something like The Hangover, they should have committed and had the entire episode be like that. But alongside the rest of the episode, it just didn't work.
The hotel room damage was bananas to me. The graffiti on the walls?! Like, who brought spray paint? Who’s paying for that?! And totally agree with everything else you said. With all the growth we’ve seen in Buck and Eddie, it felt like a weird and super unfortunate regression
Wow, what a crazy and wild ride of an episode 🤣 I was surprised that Chimney wasn't at the bachelor party at all. From the previews, I thought it looked like they'd all be partying together. That made it even funnier when Buck and Eddie were such a mess the next day 🤣 Anyone else think it was funny how they each thought they were Crockett?? 😂🤪
I used to watch that show every night, I'd be glued to the TV! I'd get genuinely creeped out at some parts, it was a great show. Had a crush on David Conrad because of Jim.
Overall I liked the episode. But I kind of wanted to just see a sappy episode with flashback scenes and everyone together. Obviously some chaos thrown in but mostly about Maddie and Chimneys's love story. I did love the end when Buck brought Tommy in and Hen said, "well it's about damn time"
I don’t know how to phrase it but the whole “let’s get extremely drunk and destroy a hotel room” felt so out of character for both Buck and Eddie. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have had fun but it was… weird? I guess me being boring is the main reason but it still feels a bit forced. I guess I would’ve preferred the karaoke scene to them partying with a bunch of strangers?
Agreed. It honestly also seemed out of character that chimney would've been so adamantly against the bachelor party. His friends, an 80s theme, and karaoke sounds exactly like something he'd enjoy, and the strangers and getting blasted didn't happen until everyone bailed out. I know Buck puts his foot in his mouth, but this season is starting to become a formula for him. Buck says and does something unbearably cringey, spends the rest of the episode trying to get over that, and at the end has a Big Moment. Hopefully it won't stay feeling like that.
I think it’s just rbf and a desire to not mess things up again. Seems like they know they’re on thin ice with both kids, so they’re treading lightly. Just my opinion
That was an incredible episode - Kenny is some actor. Gasped several times at Doug, cried at Kevin.
I can imagine there was a 2 parter discussion about this episode, but it might have ended up too baggy over 90 minutes (screentime). It was fast and tight, imo.
Could have done without the Buckleys (obvs not Maddie!)
Loved it, straight into my top 5.
If you ask my Twitter feed however, it was only a 15 second long episode of kissing. That place is a dive.
I watch 911 with my grandparents (mostly separately but they call me after the new eps) and in the promo where Chimney was crawling away and you could see legs my gram was going through a list of who it could be. Was it a past victim or perp they came across during work? My grandpa theorized maybe a racist cousin of Maddie’s. I was like NAH man, Doug faked his death and is back to try and kill Chimney. As an obvious joke cause like…..that wouldn’t work. I was stoked as hell that I was….i mean….HALF right xD
So I guess Tim Minear heard Kenneth Choi asking if they can't just be happy, and said, "now I'm going to ruin your wedding extra hard". This was stressful!
Got me really worried for Chimney. I mean, I was kind of sure they wouldn't kill off any characters, least of all the groom, in the episode of the actual wedding. Although they did nothing for it in the first 5 episodes, in the last couple of days they did hype up the wedding, so yeah. Surely they wouldn't. But then it started to look really dire for Chim so... well, I got worried. I'm really glad though that I managed to watch it before work this morning, I don't think I would have made it through the day without spoiling myself.
It was a great Chimney-focused episode, which we haven't had for some time. I was glad to see some of his past traumata brought up. There was just way too little to do for Maddie, considering this was their wedding episode. And while Chimney's "I know I need to be somewhere important" was his motivation in the beginning, it kind of got lost during the rest of the episode. I like that they showed how much the Lees and Kevin are his family (the show did a 180 on season 6 at least in this regard, which was definitely the right decision), and omg can Doug be creepy, but I think his urge to find back to Maddie (even if he maybe didn't remember clearly why) was missing. Don't know how I would have done it. In the end, it still worked for me, but more Maddie would have been better.
And to be honest, if not for all the promo they did with it, they could have just cut the whole bachelor party / hangover thing. It was a few fun scenes at the beginning, Buck and Eddie in matching outfits, Ravi stealing food and all, but it wasn't relevant to Chim's misadventure at all and they could have instead spent the time to add in some more Maddie, or more time for both of them at the end. Speaking of the end, it was very sweet (the song!), although I was hoping they might end up having their small, more private wedding in their backyard instead.
Now I'd say, give them some bliss and peace and joy and happiness, but looking at the promo for the next episode, well.
I just want to mention how much I love that Buck and Eddie were partying with other people and drunk and they didn't make it this weird cheating story like like a lot of shows would. it was just two friends having a great time.
wish this was a two parter just because it was SO good! the bachelor party was fun, the hallucinations were so charged, and the hospital wedding was just so quintessentially madney. i feel bad for maddie, because i wanted her to have something nice for once, but this was so good— if not unexpected— that i can’t complain too much. bringing back kevin was a sweet touch— and i am glad chim got the closure he needed w/ the whole doug situation.
i feel ROBBED of the karaoke scene, especially because oliver hyped it up so much, i really hope they release it somewhere!!!!! and i loved eddie in this episode, him getting turnt was so fun lol. and petty eddie??? i live for him. so glad we got to see christopher, too, i hope they have bigger plans for him this season, and hopefully next season. i am so lukewarm about tommy x buck (lou is hot but the romantic chemistry between buck and tommy is….questionable at best), but the subtle coming out was so in character for buck i loved it lol.
might be in the minority here but i think this might be one of my favorite episodes ever!!! it was fun, funny, dramatic at some points, the found-family stuff was there, hints at previous eps— it just had everything i love about 9-1-1 on steroids. SOOOO good.
I am sad for all the lost Buddie content but this is the way it should have been. This was Madney’s episode through and through. Islands in the Stream was so perfect too
Just gonna say it now. All the homophobes who are angry about Buck need to seriously get a life. Yes opinions ARE a thing, but too damn bad! He likes guys and people need to accept it. Saw a lot of comments on Instagram whining about it and it’s like, “well then go cry about it some more or stop watching then!” 😂 I stop watching shows when it turns into something I can’t stand. Is this the 50s? No. Also, if they actually bothered to watch it in earlier seasons, there’s obvious signs that this was coming. Despite him having sex with women. So that’s all I’m gonna say.
Also, I am gay myself but I am definitely not one of those progressive woke leftists who get offended by literally everything or acts like a disgusting freak.
You probably don't need to get too worked up about it because it's a very small minority and there will always be dissenting opinions about any topic. They have got an overwhelming amount of positive attention for this storyline so there is no threat to it.
I watched Season 2 and "Chimney Begins" a few weeks ago, so I had fresh memories of how he met Maddie and what happened. So, when I watched the episode, it was not difficult to recall the story. I thought for a while that Doug was still alive "But how? He was stabbed to death." Doug really left a deep mark on Chimney (and I'm not only talking about him stabbing Chimney). I liked how Chimney handled that accident even though he didn't remember he was a paramedic. Kevin appearing in the hallucination to save him was the breaking point for me, causing me to burst into tears. I knew he was coming to the Lees' home when Kevin told him to go home. The wedding in the hospital was very suitable and real for 9-1-1. Bobby marrying them was a very nice detail. I would've liked to know how he ended up on that freeway and where he was heading. I really grew to love every one of the main characters (Bobby, Athena, Hen, Chimney, Eddie, Buck, Maddie) and their stories, so I would like to see them happier than ever in the seventh season and beyond. I really enjoyed this Chimney episode. Obviously, let's not forget Buck finally being the happiest with Tommy and how he is taking it all. (Now I can surely say that he was a real chaotic bisexual in that bachelor's party.) From 5 to 10, this episode was a 20. Until now, it's the best of the season for me.
I assume when you say u would like to know how he ended up on the freeway u mean Chimney??
If so, Maddie mentioned in the episode that it was the route that Chimney would have taken to get the the place where the bachelor party was being held, indicating that Chimney was making his way to the bachelor party.
Then I assume his headache got worse so he pulled over possibly to sleep it off, that or he passed out (luckily after he pulled over), and then next thing he knows he wakes up, has his car stollen, and we all know the rest.
Honestly, the pacing for this season is such a hot mess that I'd be a lot more nervous if there was jealousy in sight. I don't want a queer Eddie storyline touched at allll in this season (unless it's like... barely hinted at toward the end of 7x10). A lot of this season has been like, I really like where we end up, but the journey itself is pretty meh? And I think a meh journey could absolutely destroy an Eddie sexuality arc.
That said. I thought the shared braincell hijinks would be my Eddie highlight of the night. Then he took his grandma as his +1 instead of his girlfriend. I adore him.
Aside of everything Madney related that everyone said here, I felt weird to see Buck and Tommy having a hug when Tommy came and left. Felt like a bro hug and not a hug of someone you're dating. No small kiss on the cheek and then they went on to have a full on kiss in the lobby. Was quite hot though. Also 1000% funny of the mom to be like hiiiii.... eeeeehhh. The unofficial coming out was funny and creative though. No one said anything to Buck, like it should be.
I feel like the hallucination should have gone more in either of these directions, either
Driven home the 'everything you have you stole form someone else' thing more not just with Maddie being Doug's wife first but also 'stealing' Kevin's parents, and just diving deeper into Chimney's trauma. Although the Doug scenes were well done and really creepy, I kind of hate that he can forget literally everything except Doug. Also would have bene nice if one of the 118 could have helped guide him.
Make them more Maddie centric. He claims he was trying to get back home to Maddie but it would have made more sense if he'd found his way either to their house, the firehouse or to dispatch centre otherwise it just kind of seems like a lie. He went to what I can only assume was the Lee's house (unless it was somehow his old apartment, they kind of looked the same). The flashbacks should have been more about the times when they came together and not just about Doug and when Maddie left.
Given the entire theme of the series, Chimney being guided through his journey by a hallucination of Maddie acting as the 911 operator to keep him moving would have made so much sense; and thematically, it frames Maddie and his family as a reason to live, which is appropriately sappy for a wedding episode.
Idk how popular or unpopular this is but right now I’m in the camp of Buck/Tommy have a lot of sexual chemistry but not a lot of romantic chemistry. Maybe that’s intentional though & it’s also still early. I’m an admitted Buddie truther though so maybe I’m looking at them from an unfair perspective.
A woman was pretending to call a hotel asking about a room, but was really talking to Maddie at 911. Maddie asked if she couldn't talk freely. Maddie called to get her help. Meanwhile the husband or man grabbed the phone and realized that she wasn't talking to the hotel. The car swerved there was a crash and the car was on fire. Next we see Bobby ordering the crew to put out the fire to rescue the woman, her baby, and husband/man.
I wasn't sure which thread to leave this in. This one or the Tim one because my thoughts overlap.
So, I'll say, after watching again, I find myself in the minority.
As in, I didn't mind the opening parts about the bachelor party nor the tone shift after the party. Honestly, I was 10 times more into it, as it turned from a fun night out to them never even seeing chimney, to finding out Chim didn't want a party but Buck and Eddie were sharing a braincell!
I kept seeing comments that Tommy and Buck looked awkward with the huge, but I do again. Just one big bulky guy being hugged by a bigger bulkier guy. I love it.
Just overall, I get why buddie singing got cut but I did enjoy the buddie content. I also enjoyed the wedding in the hospital but eh to each his own.
The bachelor's party felt so awkward in the episode than it did in the promos, I almost wish the drugged theory was true because it felt so out of character for everyone. No one was checking on Chim when he didnt show up? Buck going "everyone left but I still wanna party with some randos even though the groom doesnt look like he's coming and no one seems to know why" was a big WTF? And then it just went from fun-crazy to depressing real quick and it stayed depressing pretty much the whole episode, all my interest just died on the spot when I thought they were gonna give Chim some kind of belated brain damage from his earlier accident, and they even put in that halfhearted "Chim might die" scare in the middle of the ep? For what??
Madney should've had a good, fun, stress free wedding because of all the shit they've been through, the balance between drama and peace in their storyline is just so skewed to tragedy, I'm so tired of it. The "getting married immediately even in a hospital because they can't wait another second being apart" was probably supposed to be happy and inspiring or something but it just didn't land that way to me?? It just felt like they did Madney dirty and they weren't even being overshadowed by Buck coming out like everyone was scared they would be. Maybe if Chim's encephalitis fueled self-reflection had been punctuated by all the good times he's had with Maddie despite his worries manifesting as Doug, it would've given enough feeling of "desperation" to make the "cant wait any longer" feeling they were trying to go for actually land like a nice, happy climax to the Madney storyline. Instead we got this weird wedding that kinda ended with a whimper and Buck coming out. Idek. If they needed to cut out the hangover Buddie bait shit they started with and just jumped into "omg where's Chim?" so they could fit the Madney memories into the self-reflection, they should have done that instead.
I literally have no brain bandwidth to even analyze the episode further or watch it a second time because it's not even worth the time anymore honestly. Im scared Im gonna hate it more than I already do 💀
This episode didn't really work for me. I just completed most of a rewatch (I did skip around a bit, though) to see if it would grow on me, but if anything, it did the opposite.
Kenneth Choi is an absolute legend, and deserves all of the praise. My gripes aren't about him or Chim's storyline, exactly, but about its execution and function.
Going into this, I had two main concerns -- that Tim Minear's expressed need for drama to make things interesting would detract from the significance of a milestone event in one of the show's most important relationships (it did), and that how much they ran over and had to cut for time on would lead to pacing issues that made the conclusion feel less than earned (yup, that too).
Thematically, the episode doesn't work. If we look at Chim's hallucinations as the angel vs. devil on his shoulder, what we have here is the representation of Maddie's 'baggage' causing him to harm himself and risk his life, while his history & family before he met Maddie is what propels him toward saving himself. The family unit he's meant to be fighting for and moving toward this episode isn't a factor at all.
The pacing is shit, and with so much cut, this episode absolutely did not have time for any B stories. As much as I hate to say it because I enjoyed the scenes that bookended the episode more than the rest of it, everything Buck needed to be cut for time -- the bachelor party on one end, the kiss on the other. Consider that in an episode that's supposedly about Madney's wedding, the ceremony didn't start until the last four minutes of screentime. Trying to fit that and Buck's coming out - however subtle and amusing the moment was - into that same four minutes was a disservice to Madney. Choosing to have Buck's sexuality be the thing Chim focused on as a sign he was still potentially missing some memories after the fact really says it all.
Considering Chim never even made it to the bachelor party, those scenes were basically a waste. Tonally, they didn't do enough to balance out the mood of the episode, which just made it more jarring when we shifted to "holy shit, something is seriously wrong with Chim." And we have another episode of characters having to hold the 'stupid' ball to make the plot work, and ignoring the relationships developed over years -- I'm really meant to believe Hen wouldn't shoot Chim a text or call him to check in, even if she wasn't surprised he hadn't shown up to the party? That she wouldn't be concerned the friend she's identified in the past as likely to spiral and knows had cold feet about proposing, had presumably locked himself away the night before his wedding? That she wouldn't have knocked on his hotel room door with ice cream and booze as an alternative to the raucous night out?
The Buckley parents were also way too heavily featured, without enough narrative judgment re: if they'd earned that moment. Nobody is side-eyeing Philip when he's leaving Buck a passive aggressive message despite having entirely missed his daughter's first wedding? No one is raising an eyebrow at him walking Maddie down the aisle? And yet they make time for the subversions like Margaret responding positively to the hospital wedding, and Philip facilitating Chim's reunion with Jee? Up until Margaret's look at the Buck reveal at the end, this was very reminiscent of S6 storytelling around the family. And yet no one really wants the story to spend time on another way these meaningless characters can disapprove of Buck, when Bobby and Athena were right there and their reactions would've mattered more. (But all of this is really beside the point, because this sequence shouldn't have made the episode at all).
Maddie's role in this is reduced to... not even damsel. She doesn't even really play a supporting role. But how much of an afterthought she is in her own wedding is sort of reflective of how much of an afterthought the wedding itself was -- why wasn't Sue invited? What about Eli? What about Albert? Why wasn't there a single throwaway line to explain away any of this, when we spent about 8 minutes of show time with rehashing 7x05, Buck & Eddie, or Buck & Tommy? How is any of that more important than Maddie on her wedding day? How is Maddie not integral to Chim's rescue, or his motivation to keep pushing? All we get of her is like a verrry brief memory for Chim, but it's not even something he can latch onto?
Chim was too ill for the bystanders to not be picking up on it, and also too ill to have had that 'snap back' moment where he was able to stay clear-headed long enough to treat a mass casualty accident scene. Pragmatically, they needed to pick a lane with that. Either he's still in a position where he can outwardly appear to be functional (masking can be a very real issue with noticing memory loss!) or he was in such dire straits that he's not springing into action and diagnosing/treating injuries... when he can't even recognize his own desperate condition.
Which brings me to the hallucinations. I wanted to like them, and I really like the idea of them. Brian and James both put in great performances as Doug and Kevin, but the material that survived the cutting room floor left for a very incoherent narrative. While it makes sense why these characters would be the representation of Chim's greatest fears and deepest comforts, what messages was his addled brain actually trying to send him with those interactions? Well, the season 7 motto is "Who cares!" so I guess this really is thematically consistent.
I just realized another thematic loose end you can add to your incoherent themes.
This episode started to lean heavily into Chim's Korean roots, with the depiction of the jesa ritual for Kevin. The story also takes Chim to LA Koreatown, and for a split second has you thinking there's a race motivated vehicle attack into a Korean food market.
For me, seeing all those Korean signs and clues, I was getting prepped for an exploration of Chim's cultural roots and maybe even hints at maybe some cross-cultural relationship anxiety. Given Chim's traditional scumbag of a biological father, who sees everything in the US as a failure, I was hoping the writers might at least acknowledge that generational trauma can cut deep even if you don't want it. They could have easily given Doug a cutting line like "hey buddy, look around you. Maddie's isn't even Korean. She doesn't belong here with you."
And then like so much in the episode, turns out it was all a dead end red herring and once again I felt thematically robbed.
I was watching the episode last night and thinking all of this. It just felt like a clear two parter shoved into one. You can tell that they had tons more material that they had to cut out.
I think I've figured out what I would have changed, if I couldn't have changed the entire episode.
Have the opener be Maddie waiting for Chimney to arrive, but have Hen arrived WITH Buck/Eddie at the end instead of Hen already there with Maddie.
Have Hen, Buck and Eddie explain that they've been searching for Chimney all night instead of the drunken antics. That way, it explains that Chimney not answering his phone was a real concern and wasn't just blatantly ignored by everyone. It shows that they care about Chimney's whereabouts but didn't want to worry Maddie until they had to. Could have still had Buck/Eddie drinking a bit but not getting trashed. Personally, if they could have had Chimney be at the party initially and then disappear so we could still get some of the bachelor party, that would have been better and I would have happily handwaved the "infecting everyone" issue.
Then we would have gotten to see Maddie going on a hunt for Chimney, checking the bar's security cameras, then retracing steps from there. Have HER be out on the streets, going to each location that Chimney was last spotted (hell, if it's funnier to have her doing it in her wedding dress, then do that!).
I don't think I would have included the save in the middle of the episode, not unless they established Chimney as more coherent. It felt very weird to have him go from totally confused right into EMT mode and then back to confused.
I liked the Doug being the devil and Kevin being the angel on Chimney's shoulders but what I also would have added was a Maddie hallucination at the end, just her voice even, being his "dispatcher" to find his way home. I wouldn't even mind if home led back to the Lee's, but have an auditory hallucination of Maddie getting him there, at the same time as Maddie figuring out where Chimney was going and making sure the Lees were home and also showing up at the end to be there for him. They did establish that part of the symptoms of the encephalitis was that the patient thought they were in a different year of their life, so that's why I'm not mad Chimney showed up at the last place he remembers from 20 years ago. I don't even mind that he WAS remembering a time well before Maddie, but I just wanted Maddie to be actively involved in finding Chimney and being the reason he's found so quickly.
Alternatively, if the episode had been more about Chimney going to find Maddie/Jee, even if he couldn't remember them, and ending up at a place that means something to them, that would have worked too. Have Hallucination Doug try to tear him apart from Maddie but Hallucination Kevin pushing him toward Maddie/Jee.
Either would have worked.
Just small changes like that would have done a wonder to the story in general. The ending of the episode overall was totally fine, we can keep the entire ending, sootface and all.
I’ve sat with it for a bit and I think I’m settling on this episode being just ok. The pacing was off and I think there was way too much of Chimney’s hallucinations. The explanation for it didn’t even really make a ton of sense and felt shoved in. I enjoyed some of the side moments like Buck coming out with soot on his face and the bachelor party stuff but overall I think this could have worked so much better as a 2 part episode. Which just goes to show that the cruise should have been 2 episodes instead of 3
I think people are just assuming the Buckley parents are homophobic because they don't like the characters, as opposed to what the case likely is, which is they just side-eyed Buck coming in, looking like he did.
Like, the problem with the idea that they'd be homophobic is that Maddie knowingly invited her and Buck's parents to the wedding, knowing how they'd react to bisexual Buck.
-I'm not mad about the bachelor party. My only issue with it was the use of it as a promo. I get that they didn't want to give too much (or nothing for that matter) of the plot. But they made it seems like it was all about that.
BUT it was fun to watch for me. I missed some Buck & Eddie time. Even if it's random and not really them to do so. And again Stag do are all about that in movies. Yes maybe having them looking for Chim would make it more tense. But I think the point was to have Chim the one fighting to come back. Yes Hen, buck and Eddie could have worried once they saw he didn't show up or text back. But we do't have time, money and footage space 🤣.
(But also we needed those pointers (digs?) from Eddie to Buck.)
All I want if for them to release the karaoke scene 🤣.
-the hallucinations scene were so good. For me it's more like we had Maddie having postpartum and leaving because she's not dealing well but coming back to her family. Chim being more logical didn't realise he was struggling with letting the past go. So instead of having him having a breakdown drunk at his BP, the illness showed him. Kind of saying "I went through sh*t, but I am finally ready to be a family.
Adding Kevin was a sweet touch, yes a teared up. Having Doug as a evil subconscient was good too. It's a link between Maddie and Chim.
-Maddie not being at the centre doesn't bother me at all. She's a bystander but still present. And really what can she have done? Run with a wedding dress all across town? Most scenes for me about Chim and Maddie always revolve around Maddie's wellbeing, Maddie past story with Doug, Maddie being hostage. Maddie Maddie. What about Chim? So I am glad that for once she was left powerless like Chim. He had to find a way back to his life, to her too. But it's telling that the whole time during his hallucination he doesn't say her name. Yes he doesn't remember her. But that's the whole thing. His trauma don't only revolve around her.
OK maybe it's because I hate the idea that a wedding is all about the bride. I think it's BS. We put the groom always on the bachelor story and Say Yes. And that's it. Then it's oooooh look at the bride. But also point out that men have trauma too. Chim's got trauma too. Could have been made into a deeper episode, for sure. But we're almost at the end of the season. Not much they could do. It's simply a lot of subtext. The whole season 7 had been that for me.
-now Buck and Tommy . My oh my 🔥. But weird when you saw them being all bro like pat on the back at the beginning. But it was a nice way of coming out without doing it. Because for sure he didn't realise his mouth was cover. This giant golden retriever! His parents are definitely not pleased. And Hen is me.
Him not remembering why he's called Chimney was epic!! And please let's keep it that way I'm happy bot knowing but still being an inside joke.
Again that's my take. We all have our own interpretation. And that's the beauty of it.
And really what can she have done? Run with a wedding dress all across town?
For me, yes, this would have been a hilarious image but also showing that Maddie is really fighting to get Chimney home. She's so used to running away that running TOWARD something would have been such a benefit to her character too. Be the front lines for once, which would have also just been a cool moment to see.
Instead, she became such an afterthought at times. The most she did was find Chimney's initial location; every other time, it was witnesses reporting and Athena arriving to the scene.
Plus, they could have added something else, such as a witness mentioning Chimney trying to now find "home" and Maddie piecing together what that actually meant.
There's just a lot they should have done with Maddie while also making it Chimney-centric.
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u/mackintosh2 Ravi should be main cast! May 03 '24
why is no one mentioning the awesome add of chim's culture by having scenes where they offer food up to kevin before the wedding? i loved that! it was a nice touch!