‘9-1-1’ Missed the Mark by Not Bringing Eddie Back for Bobby’s Final Episode

Listen, I actually think Eddie going to Texas was a good thing for a number of reasons. For one, Eddie has shown again and again that his son Chris (Gavin McHugh) is the absolute most important thing in his life, but after traumatizing him with a look-alike of his dead mother, Eddie needed a chance to prove that once more. Most of Eddie’s arc since his introduction in Season 2 has been focused on his relationship with his son, starting off as a single father moving to LA after his time in the military, to figuring out whether reconciliation with Chris’ mom was the right thing, to eventually mourning her loss together.

While Eddie had major work to do to win his son’s trust back, Eddie really stepped up for Chris and has shown him that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to be a present father for him: even if it means being an Uber driver in El Paso and dealing with his overbearing family to spend time with Chris. In the episode “Invisible,” Eddie finally stood up for his son after Chris confessed that he wanted Eddie to “be (his) dad again.” Now that his relationship with Chris has been resolved, there’s no reason for Eddie to remain in Texas, much less so now that Eddie has been left out of major plot arcs.

Eddie Missing Bobby’s Death Was a Poor Choice

After Eddie’s Texas plotline was for the most part resolved in “Invisible,” Eddie missed the entirety of the recent 9-1-1: Contagion arc, entirely absent from both “Sick Day” and “Lab Rats.” This, to me, was very odd – these two episodes have been absolutely major to the series, and no one giving a thought to where Eddie is or how he would react to the scenario just feels lazy. In fact, having another medic in the room may have changed things. In a shocking twist, Bobby revealed at the conclusion of “Lab Rats” that his oxygen had been contaminated the entire episode, and quickly succumbed to the illness. 9-1-1’s first major character death will permanently change the show, and almost the entire 118 was there to react to and mourn his sudden loss, minus Eddie.

While Bobby may not have been as instrumental to Eddie’s life as he was Buck’s, Bobby and Eddie had their own unique bond as leader and mentor. Both had dealt with pasts that led them down dark paths, from Bobby’s early season arc of trying to make amends after causing an apartment fire to having lost a significant other, and Eddie’s time in a fight club. In fact, the characters have a lot of parallels: both come from a heavily faith-based background, and have left the 118 to deal with personal struggles before. The two share a deeply important relationship (as Bobby did with the whole team, making his death even more tragic) and leaving Eddie’s reaction to the most profound loss on the show relegated to off-screen detracts from the importance of Bobby’s death. Bobby dying has been the single biggest event to ever happen on 9-1-1, and leaving a core character out of it was an unfathomable decision.

Leaving Eddie Out of Major Arcs Does No One Justice

Bobby was possibly the most fundamental character to 9-1-1, and this loss will be felt through the end of the series. Leaving a member of his beloved team out of the most major event to have ever happened in the series does neither Bobby nor Eddie justice as characters. While Eddie’s Texas arc has concluded, and it now feels out of character to bring him back for no good reason, it doesn’t make sense to leave Eddie out of any more major events in LA. It’s time for the writers to do the right thing and just bring Eddie back – even if it may be too late.