Eddie Diaz Deserves More on 9-1-1 — and Hopefully, He’ll Get It

Procedural dramas usually have a decent cast size.

They are a tried-and-true television genre, and one of the most popular and longest-running primetime broadcast television shows currently airing is 9-1-1.

But unlike many other procedurals, the series has consistently been more character-driven than its counterparts. The characters in the series truly are the hook for the viewers and the series’ heartbeat.

9-1-1 Season 8 has been marred in uncertainty after Bobby Nash’s death during 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 15.

Still, even before that untimely and controversial decision, many fans (myself included!) have pointed out the lack of cohesive storylines for some of the main characters.

With a big cast, it’s normal for storylines to lull. Some character arcs take center stage for a few weeks and then give way to another character’s journey.

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That’s par for the course, but this season of the veteran series has truly struggled with one character’s storyline in particular. As we approach the season’s final hours, I’d be remiss not to mention this.

Eddie Diaz has been a central figure on the series since his introduction during 9-1-1 Season 2. The firefighter quickly became a fan favorite, with audiences falling in love with the Diaz clan and his relationships within the 118.

This season saw Eddie in a very vulnerable and unfamiliar place, with Christopher having moved to Texas to live with his grandparents after the Kim debacle of 9-1-1 Season 7.

It left Eddie unsteady, as he felt that absence between himself and his heart grow further over time. This culminated in a decision to move to Texas and repair his relationship with the most important person in his life.

I was thrilled about this storyline! Eddie needed to reunite with Christopher outside of video chats and start having difficult conversations about what led Christopher to leave Los Angeles. I also wanted to see them strengthen their bond again.

But we haven’t gotten that. Not exactly.

Eddie’s difficult decision to leave Los Angeles during 9-1-1 Season 8 Episode 8 played out over the next few episodes in a storyline focused on his and Buck’s dynamic and what Eddie’s leaving would do to it.

It was a compelling arc, but it didn’t give us too much insight into Eddie’s psyche as he prepared to leave Los Angeles and begin again in a place he’d already sought to leave once.

We saw Eddie’s nerves, especially related to subleasing his place, but that was the extent of digging into his feelings prior to the move.

Then Eddie traveled to Texas, and not only did we miss his reunion with Christopher, but it further reminded us how little we saw of Eddie and his son throughout the season, working on their relationship.

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We got two video chats with the father-son duo earlier in this season, with two very different vibes. Then, when we saw the two in Texas, things seemed to have thawed considerably, to the point where it felt like we missed some major movement.

And look, this is television, and those things happen. We can’t see every single conversation and every piece of a storyline play out.

We’ll get information dumps to save time, or we’ll have to exist in the knowledge that certain things have most likely happened off-screen.

But we don’t have to like it, and we certainly shouldn’t have to use our imagination to try to piece together how things started one way and traveled somewhere else without a speck of information.

9-1-1 goes through patches where they forget about some characters, which can be baffling considering the cast is large but not so overcrowded to the point where characters should slide into the background for episodes on end.

Most of the characters in past seasons experienced this. In the past few episodes, which should have been full-circle moments for Eddie’s storyline, we saw some progress, but not nearly as much as you’d think, considering the scope of the storyline.

Eddie left Los Angeles and the life he built for Texas, and yes, we did spend time there. However, we didn’t get any conversations about why Eddie and Christopher were currently in Texas in the first place unless we imagined them like we imagined the early days of Eddie’s arrival in Texas.

With Eddie in Texas, I wasn’t expecting him to be part of the 9-1-1: Contagion arc, as it would have been a bit awkward to cut to Texas while in the middle of this intense emergency situation.

But Bobby’s death, a pivotal moment in the history of 9-1-1, would have called for a break to maybe have Eddie watch the news coverage on television or perhaps receive a phone call from Buck and see his reaction to hearing the news.

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Bobby’s death isn’t inherently about Eddie at all. Still, they had a special bond, and seeing his reaction, as we saw from the other team members, would have been a nice way to incorporate Eddie into the situation, even though he’s not currently with the team.

Instead, we’re meant to imagine once again how Eddie was informed about Bobby’s death, and I’m a little tired of imagining pieces of Eddie’s storyline that should be given the space to take place on-screen.

Every character on 9-1-1 plays an integral part in bringing the stories to life, and they are all paramount to the found family trope that makes this show what it is.

This season has struggled to give Eddie’s story the attention it deserves, moving his character forward and satisfyingly telling it.

The story of Eddie and Christopher’s reconciliation has been going on for some time, but it still feels like we missed some important beats.

Eddie’s struggles with denying himself joy and seeing himself beyond the lens of purely a provider have been a gestating story for years. The series somewhat teased this, but we haven’t seen much follow-through.

This isn’t 9-1-1: Eddie Diaz, and I’m not asking for that. This show has a wonderfully diverse, robust cast of characters, but they haven’t done justice to long-simmering story arcs for one of their main characters.

All these characters deserve a piece of the 9-1-1 pie, and all I’m asking is that we see Eddie’s piece on screen a little bit more.

The season isn’t over yet; episodes still remain — enough to conclude his arc, and I like to remain hopeful. There’s still time to unpack Eddie’s grief and continue to unravel his story before the curtains close on yet another season.

Over to you, 9-1-1 Fanatics.

How have you felt about Eddie’s story this season?

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You can watch 9-1-1 on ABC at 8/7c on Thursdays.

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