9-1-1 Season 6 Episode 18 Review: Pay It Forward
The tables are turned on the 118 when they become the emergency on 9-1-1 Season 6 Episode 18, “Pay It Forward.”
The emergency is the shining point of this episode. 9-1-1 is known for its big emergencies, and this one lives up to that reputation.
The way the 118 is dispersed, leading to Buck rushing around to save them all, is set up beautifully. It both showcases Buck’s growth and creates suspense. In addition, the way each character gets hurt relates to their previous traumas.
At the beginning of the season, Buck was upset that he wasn’t considered for Interim Captain while Bobby was supposed to be gone. Yet, during the emergency, he quickly hands over that title to Hen.
Buck has lived (and died) through a lot to push him to have a different perspective, and that growth is evident during these moments.
The 118 is a family, there’s no question about that, but there are certain connections that are more obvious than others. Bobby is their Captain, their leader, and a mentor to most. He’s also a father figure and a partner. So to have him be the one separated from the group, and no one knows if he’s okay, is one of the best-executed elements of the episode.
His value and how they all care for Bobby shows in how everyone immediately asks Buck about him.
The situation also forces Buck to make a choice. It’s clear that he has to help Hen, Eddie, and Chimney first because they’re the ones in immediate danger, but it means that he has to accept that he can’t go after his pseudo-father figure.
This is where the episode takes a misstep, though.
Bobby is perfectly fine. Almost too fine. He is crushed by rubble, but he’s fine once he’s pulled out. The same goes for the rest of the team, and it lowers the stakes of the emergency when there’s no fallout. If Buck chose not to go after Bobby, only for the Captain to have a scary complication, that would work better.
Another moment of growth for Buck is when Kameron has the baby. Again, he handles the situation skillfully, even with personal biases.
He also shows that he’s truly okay with the choice he’s made when he agrees to help create this baby but not raise him. Finally, Oliver Stark takes it all to the next level with his facial expressions as Buck looks at the baby.
The symbolism of the baby being born on the couch Buck’s mom bought him is significant. Buck wasn’t conceived out of love. He was conceived to help heal his brother, which ties into Buck’s choice to donate his sperm. A significant part of who he is is helping people; this storyline is rooted in that.
This is an opportunity to help again and to do it. He has to give a part of himself which is technically what he was born to do. He tells Natalia that he did this “because he could,” and it ties it all together nicely.
The Natalia of it all is another conversation. After learning about Buck’s life, she walks out on the last episode, but she returns.
It’s reminiscent of the Season 4 finale when Taylor Kelly kisses Buck only to walk out before returning later. At that moment, Buck told her that he spent a long time feeling like he wasn’t enough, and now this is the reverse where he is too much for Natalia.
It’s a happy ending for the pair but leaves the question of whether it will remain satisfied.
This conclusion also opens the door to wondering if she’ll truly understand him and his life from now on if she doesn’t get him in these moments. It’s telling that Buck felt she was the one that saw him too when she continues not to understand him or his motivations. They seem to be on two different levels.
In typical 9-1-1 fashion, the end of the episode gave each member of the 118 a happy ending. But, unlike most shows, they don’t go for cliffhangers and angsty endings.
Eddie ends the episode with Marisol asking him out, which is a potentially exciting setup for Season 7.
The question is: where is this going to go? Eddie has had little dating experience and is putting himself out there, plus he is very dorky in his joy of scoring this date. There’s room here for him to date for himself and try new things. It could even be good for him to do it.
It ties back to his statement on 9-1-1 Season 6 Episode 15, “Death and Taxes,” though. Dating people they meet on calls never works out. So it’s a pointed line when Buck and Eddie end the season in relationships with people they’ve met on calls.
These relationships have a target on their back from the beginning.
After years of waiting and sticking to fostering, Hen and Karen are getting the chance to adopt elsewhere in the show!
It feels sudden, but the pair have been consistently fostering since Season 4, and I think it comments on the nature of the situation.
Fostering to adopt can be a highly complex situation that you never know where it’ll go, and the show has done well with the complexities of it.
Maddie and Chimney are planning a sweet at-home wedding too. The intimate style fits well for the couple. Meanwhile, Bobby and Athena finally get to go on their cruise! It’s a pleasant ending for couples who deserve it after the season’s pain.
The choice to let them all end every season on those high notes is sweet because of that.
—
What did you think of this season finale of 9-1-1? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
9-1-1 will return, moving to ABC for its seventh season in the fall.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
