Warning! Soilers ahead for 9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 12, “Dads and Cads” and 9-1-1: Nashville Season 1, Episode 12, “Spirit of the Games.” Both are streaming now with a Hulu subscription.
The much-anticipated crossover between 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Nashville aired on Thursday night on the 2026 TV schedule, and it was pretty intense. The event saw Buck and Eddie heading to Nashville to compete in the 51st Annual Firefighting Games, and it couldn’t have come at a better time, as Buck got some pretty big news from his parents. But the way he reacted has me concerned.
While the big crossover didn’t happen until Nashville’s hour, 9-1-1 set up the duo going to Music City after finding out they were accepted into the Firefighting Games thanks to Bobby putting in an application for them the previous year. At the same time, Buck and Maddie’s parents paid them a visit and dropped the bomb that they are getting a divorce. The news came as a surprise to them, and Buck tried his hardest to forget about it by focusing on the Games.
Oliver Stark told TheWrap that Buck just wanted to give the Games his all and not worry about anything else, especially since winning would have special meaning:
He switched into game mode [in Nashville], whether he’s doing that for healthy reasons or not, I don’t know. But he’s certainly channeling anything he may be feeling at the time and masking it with his competitiveness and just trying to fully commit and throw himself into doing Bobby proud and the whole 118.
In the crossover episode, “Spirit of the Games,” Buck’s competitive side really came out, whether it was because he didn’t want to think about his parents getting a divorce or because he wanted to beat his fellow firefighters is unknown. But it got to a point where he and Eddie were truly duking it out with Ryan and Blue from 9-1-1: Nashville. It was definitely a different side of Buck, but he is known to keep his feelings bottled up.
That being said, it was interesting to see him act the way he did while in Nashville. He wasn’t initially willing to go out with Eddie because he wanted to just stay in and mentally prepare for the Firefighting Games, but after a guy gets hurt, he and Eddie do all they can do save him. When it came to the Games, any niceties went out the window and he was as competitive as ever. However, when he, Eddie, Ryan, and Blue had to help someone in need, they came together and put their differences aside, and that teamwork proved useful for the final round of the Games as well when LA and Nashville tied for the top spot.
As for what could possibly happen next after the crossover, anything is possible, and unfortunately, it’s not good. The promo for next week’s episode shows Buck and Eddie getting into a car accident and Buck getting kidnapped, because not enough bad things have happened to him over the course of nine seasons. Between news of his parents, continuing to grieve Bobby, and now getting kidnapped, he is going to be greatly affected psychologically and physically.
9-1-1 has been unpredictable since the beginning, and whenever something bad involves Buck, it could go in so many different directions, whether good or even worse. I’m concerned about how he will move forward after everything, but it definitely makes for good television. New episodes of 9-1-1 Season 9 air on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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