#9-1-1 Season 4 Episode 8 Review: Breaking Point

Sometimes there comes the point where enough is enough.

And 9-1-1 Season 4 Episode 8 was all about people reaching that place where they felt like they were running out of time, so they made the only decision they thought they had.

You can call it a breaking point or the point of no return. The verbiage doesn’t matter. What does matter is how you move beyond that point and soldier ahead because a breaking point doesn’t have to break you if you don’t let it.

This was an hour heavy on the relationships and a bit lighter on the emergencies. Both Eddie and Buck were dealing with lady problems, while Maddie was struggling with the realities of giving birth in the middle of a global pandemic.

For Eddie, he continues to be a dutiful and devoted father to Christopher, who will always be his number one priority. And Christopher knows that. His outburst isn’t rooted in feeling like Eddie is leaving him or even thinking that his mother is going to be replaced.

Christopher is a kid living through the crisis, same as everyone else, and he misses his friends and the life he had before lockdown and protocols. He’s sick of missing people, and it’s honestly the most relatable thing anyone says during the hour.

Eddie and Christopher’s relationship and their scenes together are always a bright spot, but there’s some real magic when Buck and Christopher get together. And while he obviously shouldn’t run away from home, the fact that he escapes his frustrations and reaches out to Buck is pretty telling.

For all the talk about Buck being a “bad” friend and not having the kind of meaningful relationships he wants, he sure has father figure down pretty solidly.

He’s not only a safe space for Christopher but a constant in his life. And that’s so necessary, not just in the times of 2020, but always.

While their conversation was sweet, it would have been nice to see Christopher and Eddie have a chat before he was introduced to Ana as his father’s new paramour, but I guess there just wasn’t enough time.

Aside from helping Christopher, Buck was struggling in general. He was very out of sorts the whole hour, and his reunion with Taylor didn’t go the way either of them planned.

Taylor is not a fan-favorite, and she wasn’t exactly someone who fit with Buck in the first place. Bringing her back here didn’t feel necessary, and having her role be to berate Buck into doubting his ability to be a friend was a curious decision.

Buck isn’t clear with her about his reasons for inviting her to dinner, and that’s fair. But to basically act like he’s a terrible human being because he phoned a friend to sit with him at dinner seemed a bit excessive.

And perhaps I’m in the minority on this one, but the anger didn’t justify the situation. At least not at that moment.

Seeing Taylor later breakdown later allows the lines to be shaded in more, as the woman has been on the frontlines of tragedy for months, and she was looking for a feel-good night and felt blindsided by the situation Buck put her in.

If only they could have had a conversation before everything hit the fan, they both could have seen each other’s perspectives, and feelings didn’t have to be hurt.

Do we need Taylor Kelly back? No, we don’t. But at least she and Buck were able to leave things on good terms, and they were able to help administer COVID vaccines and do a good thing together as friends. That’s at least a happy ending for the duo, who should probably stop trying to move beyond the friend zone.

Maddie and Chimney are getting closer and closer to welcoming their little girl, and you’ve got to feel for them having doctor’s appointments over zoom and facing the real possibility that they may not be together when the baby is born.

It’s a reality, so many people have had to face, and Maddie is honest when she talks about trying to roll with the punches but still being a bit beaten down by all. You have a vision in your head of what your birth will look like, and it’s scary to think that it could be nothing like what you’ve prepared for.

The home birth was a way for Maddie to feel in charge, and you can’t fault her for that. There has been so little in our control for a long time now, and the opportunity to take a little back for yourself makes perfect sense in this case.

But Chimney’s fears were valid as well. He lives the worst-case scenarios every single day, and he wants Maddie in a place where they’re equipped to deal with any scenario that may pop up.

It’s nice seeing Maddie and Chimney continue to thrive as a couple. They’ve been through so much together, and they just get stronger and stronger. And it’s beautiful to see couples get to a place where it’s not obstacle after obstacle and instead them just being happy and finding their way together.

9-1-1 has done an excellent job doing that with all their core couples.

And speaking of those couples, the hour ends with heartbreak and a cliffhanger of sorts, as we have Hen and Karen dealing with the real possibility that they’re going to have to give Nia back to the system.

Hen and Karen have such a happy home filled with so much love, but when fostering, there is always the genuine possibility that you may have to give the children back for one reason or another.

It’s a pretty daunting thing for them to hear, and we’ll have to wait some time to see what happens next because we’ve got a lengthy hiatus coming our way.

Odd and Ends

• The emergencies were all decent, but the robber on the roof was not only a different kind of emergency, but the use of the elapsing hours was a fun way to get the team talking about their issues.

• Free Darrell from the airline industry! That man has been through enough.

• There’s only one question that needs to be asked to the woman who attempted to kill her husband and hide him in the wall. Why didn’t you get the alarm system disabled?

• I think we can all collectively agree that Albert deserves better!

Alright, guys, that concludes the first half of 9-1-1 Season 4, which is off to a fantastic start.

Let me know what you think about the season thus far in the comments down below, and sound off about this installment as well.

Are you liking Christopher and Ana?

What do you think will happen with baby Nia?

What are you looking forward to seeing the rest of the season?

As we wait for the show to return, remember you can watch 9-1-1 online via TV Fanatic anytime!

Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.