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I'm Bothered By 1 Thing In Eddie's Otherwise Flawless Speech To Christopher In 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 13
At the end of 9-1-1 season 7, Christopher made a decision that shook Eddie. After the betrayal of Eddie dating the woman that looked like his mom, Christopher decided he wanted to live with his grandparents in Texas. While Eddie initially put up a fight, he decided it was best for Christopher to go to El Paso, but Eddie remained in Los Angeles. During the first half of 9-1-1 season 8, we’ve watched Eddie struggle with the distance from his son.
Eddie made the decision to move to El Paso to be with Christopher after realizing that the pain of being away from him was worse than any of the 9-1-1 near-death experiences, and over the last couple of episodes, he has worked hard on mending the broken bond between them. Realizing that he needed to drive to watch Christopher to play chess and step up as a father meant that Eddie was able to deliver a beautiful and flawless speech to his son. However, the end line bothers me, as Eddie doesn’t give himself enough credit.
Eddie Delivers A Powerful Speech To Christopher About Their Reunion In 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 13
Eddie And Christopher’s Relationship Is On The Mend
When Eddie went to see his son play chess in 9-1-1 season 8, episode 13, he wasn’t expecting to find out that Christopher didn’t like the game after all. After throwing up during the match, Christopher admitted to his dad that he didn’t like chess, but played because his grandpa liked it so much. It doesn’t matter how great a child is at something if they don’t enjoy doing it, and this is something Eddie understands well.
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This was a chance for Eddie to step up as a father and deliver a powerful speech. He made it clear that while Christopher’s grandparents enjoy something, they just want Christopher to be happy. That’s all Eddie has ever wanted as well, and it leads to one of the best speeches Eddie has ever given his son in 9-1-1.
“They’re not gonna be mad at you. They love you. They just want you to be happy, right?…And I want that too. I was gonna ask this weekend if you wanted to move back in with me, but I think I’ve changed my mind. I’m not gonna ask. I’m gonna tell you; you’re moving back in with me whether you like it or not, because you’re my kid.”
As Christopher asks if Eddie will be his dad again, Eddie pulls him in for a hug. There’s the realization of how Christopher has viewed the situation over the last few months, and the entire scene brings hope for more of these moments in 9-1-1 season 9, with “I’ve always been your dad, and I’m gonna start acting like it,” serving as one of the episode’s most emotionally impactful lines.
Eddie’s Last Line Doesn’t Make Sense Because He Has Always Acted As A Father
Being A Dad Is Eddie’s Best Job
While I understand that Christopher has viewed the distance as Eddie not wanting to be a dad, the line doesn’t make complete sense. Eddie doesn’t give himself enough credit, as he has always acted like a father. He takes this role seriously, and he has always done things to better Christopher’s life.
Eddie’s parents weren’t the best growing up, and we learn in 9-1-1 season 8, episode 13 that his parents did something similar to him as they did with Christopher recently. Because Eddie was so good at ballroom dancing, they continued to push him to win trophies. It took the joy out of ballroom dancing, so Eddie can see where Christopher is coming from when it comes to chess. Eddie taking control of the situation is putting Christopher’s happiness first, and gets Christopher away from the biggest 9-1-1 obstacles in Eddie’s life.
When there were struggles with balancing being a firefighter and being a father, Eddie worked on and turned to others for help to find that balance, hiring help to manage that.
So, the “I’m gonna start acting like it” line doesn’t add up from Eddie’s point of view. I suppose this is just him acknowledging that it hasn’t felt like he wants to be a dad to Christopher up to this point in 9-1-1. If that’s the case, I can let him off, but he needs to remember that he’s always acted like a father, and it’s been his best role throughout the series.
8/10
- Release Date
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January 3, 2018
- Showrunner
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Tim Minear
- Directors
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Bradley Buecker, David Grossman, Brenna Malloy, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Jann Turner, Jennifer Lynch, Marita Grabiak, Sarah Boyd, John J. Gray, Barbara Brown, Robert M. Williams Jr., Kristen Reidel, Marcus Stokes, Tasha Smith, Millicent Shelton, Juan Carlos Coto, John Gray, Greg Sirota, Alonso Alvarez, James Wong, Kevin Hooks, Varda Bar-Kar, Shauna Duggins, Sharat Raju
- Writers
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Tim Minear, Andrew Meyers, Brad Falchuk, David Fury, Ryan Murphy, Christopher Monfette, Nadia Abass-Madden, Nicole Barraza Keim, Erica L. Anderson, Matthew Hodgson, Stacey R. Rose, Taylor Wong, Tonya Kong, Adam Penn
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Angela Bassett
Athena Grant
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Peter Krause
Robert ‘Bobby’ Nash
