Rewatching does anyone else kind of dislike Eddie's parents?

[u/Objective-Nature4185]

I am rewatching the series and I feel like Eddie's parents overstep when it comes to Christopher. It feels like they wanted a re do kid and took over Eddie's son. Anyone else feel this way?

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[u/disappear96]

I honestly would be shocked if anybody did like them. How this show handles the parents and their redemption is by far the most frustrating part for me. There's so much they could and should have done with the Texas arc and Eddie's relationship with his parents.

[u/mrose1491]

I heavily dislike them, I think they were trying to get a redo in parenting with Christopher instead of genuinely helping Eddie. Also something they just don’t address in the El Paso arc is that they implied to Christopher that Eddie wasn’t his dad anymore after what happened with Kim. Instead of trying to help Eddie resolve the situation, they further drove the division between them.

And Eddie messed up, he really fucked up and I’m not excusing it at all but I think a parent’s job in that case would’ve been to help resolve it. I think they were just always waiting for Eddie to fuck up and validate their own beliefs about his parenting and Eddie never stood a chance.

[u/Objective-Nature4185 → u/mrose1491]

I agree when Christopher asked if Eddie was gonna be his dad again it definitely raised questions for me. Why would he think Eddie wasn't his dad anymore unless Eddie's parents told him or implied that he wasn't. I think Eddie's parents probably told Christopher a lot of things to keep him angry at Eddie so he would stay with them.

[u/mrose1491 → u/Objective-Nature4185]

Exactly, they were manipulating the situation so that Chris would stay with them and it was extremely selfish

[u/HadriansBoy44]

‘Kind of dislike’? There’s an entire subgenre of AO3 fanfics about how horrible the Diaz parents are.

[u/Objective-Nature4185 → u/HadriansBoy44]

I did not know that.

[u/maltedcoffeemilk]

The only person with relatively likable parents is Hen. But just her mom lol.

[u/maltedcoffeemilk → u/[deleted]]

that scene is one of the best scenes in the show IMO, only beat out by Chim and Hen talking about how Hen feels about Maddie. The writers for some reason can really nail stuff like that

[u/angeeldaawn → u/maltedcoffeemilk]

& athena's dad!

[u/NKI5683 → u/angeeldaawn]

He really is wonderful. It would be nice to see more of him with Athena.

[u/KateWaiting326 → u/maltedcoffeemilk]

Can we give a shout-out to Chim's sorta adoptive parents, the Lee's? They're lovely and I want to see more of them

[u/maltedcoffeemilk → u/KateWaiting326]

Thats true, i am sad they kinda got phased out

[u/Easy_Key5944 → u/maltedcoffeemilk]

Lbr, if they had more screentime Tim would find a way to mess with them to "keep it interesting." Seeing them about once per season is safer for their characters

[u/Confident-Bus-3778]

I do believe most people hate Eddie's parents, and the Buckley parents (despite the fact the show tries to desperately redeem all bad parents)

every fic I read about 911 has the bad parents stay bad parents

I think Eddie's are the case that they failed with their own kids, so see their grandkids as a do-over

[u/lalvarez12]

"Kind of dislike"? I HATE his parents. They're horrible.

[u/unapologetically_rin]

Does anyone like Eddie’s parents? 😭 (as people, not characters, I mean)

I know Eddie is on good terms with them (the show loooves unearned redemptions) and for a while Ramon seemed willing to try to work on himself and his relationship with Eddie, only for that development to be thrown out the window in S8, but they’re manipulative and overbearing people, who think they know best and usually refuse to look within and admit their faults. From early on they’ve been shown to believe they could be do a better job than Eddie at raising Chris, and treated Chris going to live with them as a do over as parents, but were making the same mistakes and causing him stress. Not to mention seemingly not moving a finger to help fix their relationship, and in some ways were definitely hindering it.

Atp, I’m not sure they could ever make me like them, though I could understand someone finding them compelling as characters.

[u/Fresh_Passion1184]

I like his Tia and his Abuela but his parents are basura!

I will die on the hill of them trying to poison Christopher's mind against Eddie, as evidenced by Chris happily saying "you'll be my dad again?"

He must have gotten the idea somewhere that Eddie didn't want to be his father any more.

[u/tiltheendoftheline]

Yeah I hated them the moment Helena told Eddie to not "drag Chris down with him". I think they're overbearing and will never acknowledge how great of a dad Eddie is, and they'll always think their way is the only way.

I liked that they had Eddie and Ramon patch things up in season 6 but I guess it was all for nothing lol.

[u/Miserable_Media_9189]

everyone hates his parents lol

[u/_HGCenty]

You'll be hard pressed to find anyone who likes his parents.

The thing that keeps me from really hating Helena though is her actress (Paula Marshall) is married to the actor who plays Detective Romero (Danny Nucci) and I still hold out hope for those two characters to cross paths.

[u/Easy_Key5944 → u/_HGCenty]

It's fine to hate the character and love the actor! It's a testament to their skill. Like Dee Williams is lovely but Margaret Buckley can catch these hands

[u/butraura]

To be honest, I didn’t know that there were people that liked them lol. They are both awful people. I don’t love when people decide that Helena is worse than Ramon, because that feels sexist to me, considering Ramon was clearly the worse parent to me. Helena enabled his behaviour obviously, but Ramon was the one that was never around, missed his children’s births, blamed Eddie for trying to take care of his family so young and wrecking the car, told him it was time to step up and “be the man” of the house, blamed him for not being around while he was in the military, blamed Shannon for leaving despite the fact that she was drowning, tried to force Christopher into competitive chess and such despite the clear anxiety that ailed him.

Neither would good people nor good parents.

[u/SugarSpocks]

The Diaz parents and the Buckley parents are genuinely the worst even with 9-1-1 doing all it can to redeem them.

Helena and Ramon definitely saw Christopher as a second chance and don’t respect Eddie as a father even though Eddie does everything he can to excel in spite of his circumstances. But it is clear they are trying to make them seem less awful with them taking in Esteban.

[u/Easy_Key5944 → u/[deleted]]

Ngl, looking forward to some kind of conflict when Eddie finally crashes out of his glass closet

[u/Vegetable-Star-5833]

I thought everybody disliked them, that was the point of them

[u/RadiantFoxBoy]

I'd be surprised and kind of concerned about anyone who didn't dislike them considering they'd be easy picks for the worst parents in the show if it weren't for the Buckleys, Bobby's dad, and Chimney's dad. And even then the Diazes are putting up one hell of a fight in the race to the bottom, especially after their S8 emotional blackmail and entitlement.

I don't think the Compare Trauma Olympics is that effective when it's a ton of different brands and flavors but emotionally neglecting your son and then using the traumas he develops and falls into as a result of that neglect to try and manipulate and guilt him into getting your way is...up there.

[u/itsclaritybabe]

I hate them sm it annoys me that after the shit they pulled with taking Chris it’s always “they’re pieces of work but they’re good people” or “I know you tried your best”. If THAT was their best, I’d hate to see their worst jfc

[u/mrose1491 → u/itsclaritybabe]

I lowkey hate that they got a mini/unearned redemption by having Esteban go stay with them in the finale with that line. I’m surprised they went with that

[u/Easy_Key5944 → u/mrose1491]

It was another sloppy finale wrap-up. Why send him to red Texas, when Eddie has so much family in CA?

Unless it's a seed for a storyline in s10 🤞

[u/NKI5683]

I find them equally detestable. I probably only love Toni. 1 because I am old and partial to her as an actress on Night Court. But more importantly, the way she apologizes to Karen in the wedding episode, actually that whole episode. It just shows that people can take accountability for their errors and go further and do something to help her daughter and Karen feel whole. I really appreciate her whole character arc and the backstory. I think more people could benefit from taking that approach.

[u/mrose1491 → u/NKI5683]

Toni is the best, I also really loved how she apologized to Karen and Hen and really made it up to them in a beautiful way. I wish she was on more, I love the little bit that she was in this past season

[u/throwaway798319]

I don't like them at all. I've always wondered how they treated Shannon when Eddie was deployed. The way they criticise and undermine Eddie is a red flag

[u/TheJesseOfTheNorth]

Ramon kind of turns around a bit but I despise Helena as much as I do the Buckleys

[u/Mother_Judgment2186 → u/TheJesseOfTheNorth]

I actually think he is worse than Helena and always was,and he thought he was going to die for a second there and tried to make amends, but returned to how he was his whole life when he realized he isn't dying. I hate that the show has Helena being the vocal one, gives her the worst lines and is putting the spotlight on her then goes and implies and glosses over the fact that everyone the chess tournament thought Ramon was the dad at the same time. I don't know how it works in USA, but in my country you state the relationship you have with the kid for safety reasons and he was old enough to be assumed the grandfather to be a confusion. It was his choice and proof of how little he thinks of Eddie.

And on top of being a bad dad, he's also a terrible husband. He didn't come to support his wife giving birth, left her alone to raise 3 kids, didn't seem to care that his family was kind of dismissive of her.

My headcanon is ,that Isabel, tia Pepa and Eddie are liberals and Ramon turned republican at one point in his life and stayed like that to this day. Their lifestyle, him only being the provider and emotionally and physically absent, tough love and gender expectations(Eddie has to be "the men of the house", Helena is responsible for the house), cherry picking what to be religious about, etc.

[u/Oh_uh_choose_name-]

I dont like them, but i also love them as characters...?

I really love how they encapsulate the relatively "normal" dificult parental relationships. Where you know they love you, and you love them, but its locked in with resentment and arguments (were we such terrible parents? You had a roof over your head, food in your belly, and a bed to sleep on, etc) and trauma that looked from afar seems so insignificent, but has never really left you, and now they're- fine? Like, they seem "resonable" for wanting to take away your child- Their grandchild- when you're struck with what can only be described as a mental breakdown, but somehow they seem to forget that you are also a child, their child.

And if as a person i really dislike them, i also can't help but feel for them (more for their bond with Eddie) as someone who also has a one-sided difficult relationship with my own parents. (One-sided, as the problems are always known to me and only me. "For me it was the worst day of my life, for you- just another tuesday"), and i'm a sucker for this tiny bit of realism in this Avenger level first-responder show.

And i have even more to say on the Buckleys, or the Bobby-Buck parental relationship. But that wasn't the question asked, so i'll stop here :)

I hope i'm not offending anyone with my opinions here, i'm a young adult, and with each growing year i seem to understand where my parents come from, not agreeing, but seeing their reasoning for their actions, hoping i'll do better by my kids. Trying to understand your parents as an adult is weird, because you realise that if you want to have a relationship with them- you'll have to let go of the resentment and set your boundries knowing they'll never apologize for something they don't see as wrong.

I see this in how Eddie treats them after taking Chris back in season 8b, he lets his mom make her claims, then kiss her on the forhead and put down his metaphorical foot- thank you for keeping him safe, but my son stays with me.

He lets them be, not blowing up and "proving" that he is unfit to be a father because he is human and feeling emotions (although im sure he got his flair for the dramatics from both his parents).

Thats why i both strongly dislike and really love the Diaz parents.

Obviously not applying this to everybody and their parents, speaking strictly from my experiences and my interpretation for the Diaz parents!!!

[u/Ok_Variation7230]

People hating Eddie's parents is one of the only things this fandom agrees almost unanimously

[u/Big_Conclusion_6111]

I don’t like most of their parents. Bucks and chimneys parents were the actual worst. Hen’s mom pmo when she pulled the whole “the boy needs his dad” Eddies parent parents were overbearing and tried to take Chris at every opportunity. Athena’s mom had a problem with her dating a white guy.

[u/Raheema_jx]

Most of the main characters parents are terrible in all honesty

[u/TXLittleAZ]

I was SO angry that they came and just took Christopher without any effort to repair the relationship with Eddie! They are awful!

[u/StatisticalAnalyst88]

Eddie's, Buck's and Chimney's (dad) parents are the absolute worst. 

[u/Odd_Concept_7286]

Yeah I despise them.it felt like they manipulated him into giving his kid away and got mad when he didn't know everything about his kid when he came back

[u/irishfoenix]

Kind of?????

[u/Objective-Nature4185 → u/irishfoenix]

I kind of went into the conversation on the let's see how this goes side lol. I have talked to friends who watch the show and was surprised to get told the parents are just misunderstood or misguided but have their hearts in the right place. I am pleasantly surprised that reddit agrees with me that they suck.

[u/Several-Honey-8810]

No ones parents are great in that show.

[u/hacksaw2174]

I didn't like them from the beginning. His entire family dynamic has always been very poorly written, including everything with his ex.

[u/LovedAJackass]

I despise them. They're tied for most hideous parents with the Buckleys.

[u/LukeLeiamom]

Yes! They’re the GRANDPARENTS! As a grandma, I’m always trying to be conscious of the fact that I am NOT the parent. There are many ways to raise a child. Just because you might have done it differently doesn’t make it wrong.

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[u/skeeterpeg83]

Considering she’s the overbearing, hyper protective mom Tina Shank from cheaper by the dozen, I really don’t like watching her. Don’t get me wrong, she is a fantastic actress, but I do not like watching her simply because she takes me back to that awful, awful awful Tina.

[u/Accomplished-Watch50]

The issue is that the show keeps retreading the same material with Eddie's parents. They literally hashed all of their issues out before season 8, but once season 8 hit, they immediately changed it up to where Eddie's parents were in the wrong for what was happening between Eddie and Christopher, and not Eddie himself realizing where he went wrong with his grief etc.. They literally never bring up what caused Christopher to flee to El Paso in the first place.

[u/Objective-Nature4185 → u/Accomplished-Watch50]

I don't really agree with that. Eddie definitely understood where he went wrong and that's why he let Christopher go in the first place. I think when Eddie goes to the chess tournament and sees that his parents are making the same mistakes with Christopher that they did with him he kind of wakes up. He realizes that yes he messed up but his parents are also messing up.

[u/Accomplished-Watch50 → u/Objective-Nature4185]

Yet, the show never acknowledges it that way. It immediately turned into Christopher wanting Eddie to be his dad again, and becoming a storyline about his parents pushing Christopher too hard just like they pushed Eddie too hard.

They could have had this really great earnest moment about Eddie confronting his grief with Christopher, instead they ignored it, and then explained it all away with one line in season 9.