We need to talk about 9-1-1‘s Eddie Diaz. We’ve always known about the vulnerability lurking beneath his handsome war hero exterior, but we’ve never seen it break through like we did in the final moments of Monday’s episode.
After his therapist pointed out that Eddie handles everyone else’s pain without adequately facing his own, the former firefighter reached out to some of the people he served with… only to discover that they’re all dead, even the ones he personally saved.
This broke him, sending him into a violent spiral. Terrified, Christopher called Buck, who immediately rushed over to check on his Buddie. Sobbing on the floor of his destroyed bedroom, Eddie poured his heart out: “They’re all dead! Everybody that I saved, they’re all dead. … I pulled them out, but I didn’t save them. I’m afraid.”
When Buck asked Eddie what he’s afraid of, he tearfully replied, “That I’m never going to feel normal again.”
Other emergencies worth responding to…
* Maddie and Chimney have decided to co-parent baby Jee-Yun without formally getting back together as a couple. As Maddie explained to Buck, “We grew apart, or we grew while we were apart.” Breakups are always disappointing, but this really does feel like the right move for them right now. I believe they’ll end up back together when (not if!) the time is right. I’m hopeful for that storyline in general, especially now that Maddie has conquered her fear of bathing Jee-Yun.
* I’m less hopeful about Buck’s future with Taylor, though I’m proud of him for (finally) coming clean to her about kissing Lucy. And I’m kind of surprised that Taylor caved so quickly and agreed to stay with him. She and Lucy are bound to come face to face one of these days, and it’s going to be awkward.
* Albert and his mustache are really feeling the pressures of life as firefighters, but they’re otherwise doing well.
Your thoughts on this week’s 9-1-1, specifically Eddie’s big moment? Drop ’em in a comment below.
Daniel S. Levine
05/06/2019 10:17 pm EDT
In this week's episode of 9-1-1, the next-to-last hour of the season, fans were left rushing to the tissue box after Eddie Diaz's wife was killed the day after she told him she wanted a divorce.
Fans met Eddie (Ryan Guzman) earlier this season as a new firefighter. He was married to Shannon Diaz (Devin Kelley), who left him and their son Christopher to take care of her mother. She wanted Eddie to go with her, but he refused and instead stayed in Los Angeles.
Shannon recently came back into Eddie's life and was ready to ask her if they could be a family again in this week's episode, "Careful What You Wish For." They thought she might be pregnant, but she learned she was not. Eddie said that did not change anything, and was ready to ask her if she would move back in with him.
Instead, she shockingly asked for a divorce.
The next day, the firefighters were called to an emergency where a car struck a pedestrian. That pedestrian turned out to be Shannon, who later died at the hospital.
Next, Eddie was seen picking up Shannon's belongings and a voiceover from a letter Shannon wrote to him about leaving him.
"I can understand if you never forgive me," she wrote. "But always know that I love you, baby. Even if it's from a distance."
Eddie cried as he read the letter, just as fans did at home.
At the end of the episode, Chimney (Kenneth Choi) felt guilty for Shannon's death and feared he could have saved her life. Hen (Aisha Hinds) arrived at his apartment to assure him he did the right thing as the team's temporary captain while Bobby is still on suspension.
The 9-1-1 Season 2 finale airs Monday at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.
Photo credit: Fox
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Warning: Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers from last Monday's episode of 9-1-1. Proceed with caution!
For Ryan Guzman, it's all about family.
Born in Abilene, Texas, and raised in Sacramento, California, the former collegiate baseball star found a new home base in Hollywood with his breakthrough role as Sean Asa in 2012's Step Up Revolution. It was his first major film project, which led him to play Jennifer Lopez’s steamy love interest in Boy Next Door, Lucy Hale's martial arts instructor in Pretty Little Liars and an '80s baseball player in Everybody Wants Some!!. Looking back at his time on the set of his first movie, it's the friendships Guzman formed that he still remembers most fondly.
"I'm still very close to all my Step Up fam," Guzman, 31, tells ET. "That whole Step Up Revolution cast became a really big family that hasn't let go of ties. I definitely didn't think I'd be where I am today [professionally] back then. I just hoped that if I worked hard enough, I could get there."
Flash forward to today, the humble Mexican-American actor calls life "beautiful." Part of that happiness comes from being able to expand his onscreen family even more after joining season two of Fox's action procedural, 9-1-1. He plays Edmundo "Eddie" Diaz, Station 118's newest firefighter and father to a son, Christopher (Gavin McHugh). It's yet another role in which Guzman gets to live out one of his real-life aspirations.
"I think every little kid thinks about being a firefighter when they're young. I remember I had a firetruck, I always played Cops 'n Robbers," he recalls. "These dreams are coming true and coming to fruition through acting. I love acting for that specific reason."
While Guzman loves almost everything about his 9-1-1 character, he says his favorite part about playing Eddie is that he gets to be a dad on TV, after becoming a first-time father in real life this year. The actor and his fiancée, Chrysti Ane, welcomed their first child, son Mateo, in January.
"That kind of foreshadowing, when I was playing a dad while my fiancée was still pregnant, was my favorite," he muses. "I was always wondering how I would actually feel [when Mateo was born]. When I started doing scenes with Gavin, I started really wrapping my head around being a father. I just dove head-in."
"I love being a father. I just know now that there is no length I wouldn't go for my son," he continues, adding that Mateo has already been to set to meet everybody. "I'll definitely use that in my acting now, but it's something I never could have trained for, until I had my actual son. The feelings, the emotions, everything that's going through my head. I know that I would move heaven and earth for him. That being said, I have to portray that same thing with Eddie."
Last week's episode, "Careful What You Wish For," was a game changer for Eddie, as his wife and Christopher's mother, Shannon Diaz (Devin Kelley), tragically died after being struck by a vehicle. Guzman was just as shocked as fans were, telling ET he "flipped out" when he first read the script.
"Filming an earlier episode, there was a scene between Eddie and Shannon and one of the producers simply said, 'Hey, get close, but not too close.' That's all they left us with," he recalls. "We had no clue what that meant at the time. Later on, a couple weeks later, and I read the script, I freakin' threw the script, I was like, 'Noooo! There's no way!' Because I loved working with Devin, she's an incredible actress. So, it was a huge shock to everybody. We didn't realize that someone was going to get killed off like that."
For fans who are still feeling emotional after the episode, Guzman encourages everyone to "just try and stay as strong" as Eddie. "You'll see in this next episode he has a bit of a tough time obviously, because he just lost the love of his life," he teases, adding that fans will get to meet more of Eddie's family members. "He's trying to get back into the swing of things but life has to move forward and you have to live in their honor rather than live in their absence."
"You'll see that Eddie is getting pulled in a few different directions. As parents do, they offer their help, and sometimes their help isn't always needed or asked for," he continues. "Eddie is trying his best to keep his head above water while at the same time trying to just do what's best for Christopher."
In Monday's season two finale, fans will still have to wait a while to see how Shannon's sudden death actually affects Eddie. "It's left to be said, but as for this next episode, things become so chaotic that Eddie doesn't really have an opportunity to kind of sit back and live in his own reality," he shares. "I think he uses the job as a distraction."
And another heartbreaking moment is coming for one other beloved character, Guzman warns.
"I actually got hurt [in real life] not too long ago. I hurt my knee, I sprained my MCL and for a good month I'm walking around like I have a peg leg," he reveals. "So, I would have thought that if anything happens to anybody in 9-1-1 that could be written into the script, I would be getting the injury. That being said, [someone else] gets the injury [in the finale] and certain things happen to this character that will obviously shock the audience."
But, as 9-1-1 typically does, there will be plenty of surprises and happy moments to make up for any tears shed -- one being a fun moment between Eddie and Buck, portrayed by Oliver Stark. Ever since Guzman joined the series, fans on social media haven't been able to get enough of "Buddie" -- and the creators have noticed.
"There is one scene that is an ode to the fans," he shares. "I think the writers were smart about that. They of course don't want to dangle anything in front of the audience's face that's not there, so we're not trying to play with anybody's emotions or anything. But we're definitely having fun with it, on and off set."
Guzman believes that, overall, fans will be happy with how season two wraps up. "What the fans will really enjoy is the fact that all this turmoil happened this last episode, and to see Eddie be shown that he has all this love and support from different people, that he can now call his family, is amazing," he teases. "It's a good conclusion for Eddie."
And luckily, Eddie will continue making even more memories with his firehouse family. Guzman confirmed to ET that he will "definitely" be returning for the third season. He shared that he'd like to see Eddie "get a little crazy" this time around. "With the loss of Eddie's wife and the lack of direction sometimes. Plus, we haven't even experienced any of the PTSD or any of the stuff that happened prior to Eddie becoming a firefighter. So, I'd love to see Eddie break a little bit."
As for Guzman, he plans on spending his hiatus with his own family, "just being a daddy," before production kicks back up later this year.
"I think you talk to any parent, they'll tell you there is no mastering parenting," he jokes. "But I feel like I'm getting to know my son a lot better. I know what he likes and dislikes. These are the times, I've been told, to just really enjoy and sink in, so that's what I'm doing."
The 9-1-1 season two finale airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.
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