A lot happened in Season 7 of “9-1-1”: Buck (Oliver Stark) got a boyfriend after realizing he was also attracted to men and Chim (Kenneth Choi) and Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) finally got married after the groom went MIA on their wedding day, while other characters faced death, loss and more dramatic life-changing events.
Here are some of the key developments to remember ahead of the Season 8 premiere:
Buck came out as bisexual
Buck began dating fellow firefighter Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr) after realizing that his feelings for the dashing chopper pilot went beyond mere friendship. Of course, he managed to “Buck up” their first date, but Tommy forgave his rookie mistakes and agreed to be Buck’s plus-one to Maddie’s wedding. Buck’s parents hadn’t gotten the heads up, though, and jaws dropped when they realized that their son now had a boyfriend.
Maddie and Chim got married in the hospital
After a comical and catastrophic series of events, including Chim losing the engagement ring before he could propose to Maddie, the two were set for a formal wedding with all their friends and family. Until the groom failed to show up for the big day. The entire 118 combed the city looking for Chim, who had contracted encephalitis and lost his memory. The ceremony finally took place at his bedside in the hospital, with Maddie in her wedding dress and Bobby (Peter Krause) officiating. Kenneth Choi shared his theory with TheWrap about why the beloved character keeps getting put in harm’s way.
Karen and Hen lost custody of Mara
The couple, who already had son Denny (Declan Pratt), wanted to adopt Mara (Askyler Bell), a foster child who they had begun to love like a daughter. However, a politician who had a personal grudge against Hen blocked the adoption and saw to it that the girl was removed from their care. They were devastated, until Maddie and Chim stepped in to become Mara’s new foster parents in a very sweet surprise.
Christopher walked out on Eddie
Eddie, who was still grieving late wife Shannon (Devin Kelley), was irresistibly drawn to Kim (also played by Kelley), a dead ringer for Shannon. They began seeing each other, despite the fact that Eddie’s girlfriend Marisol (Edy Ganem) was already living with him and his son Chris (Gavin McHugh). After learning about her resemblance to Shannon, Kim showed up in a wig that made her look even more like Eddie’s late wife to, we assume, help him work through his grief. Unfortunately, Chris and Marisol walked in on this confusing scenario, which so infuriated Chris that he called his grandparents and asked to go live with them in Texas. He refused to even look at his father when he left in the season finale.
Bobby nearly died
Bobby had a rough few episodes in Season 7: He was forced to revisit his guilt over the Minnesota fire that claimed his own family when a badly burned man named Amir (guest star Malcolm-Jamal Warner) — who had lost his wife in the same tragic event — turned up at one of his AA meetings in L.A. Determined to make amends, Bobby followed Amir to Mexico, where the two were targeted by Mexican cartel members. Even though Bobby ended up saving his life, Amir said he still couldn’t forgive the firefighter, but they had reached an understanding.
However, the cartel tracked them back to L.A. and set Bobby and Athena’s house on fire. The house was destroyed, but both survived… though Bobby had a heart attack that nearly killed him. By the end of the episode, he had recovered, but there was another unpleasant twist still ahead…
Captain Gerrard came back to the 118
The season ended with Captain Gerrard (Brian Thompson), Bobby’s detested predecessor, back at the helm, much to the dismay of the 118 firefighters. And it stunned Bobby, who thought he could simply retract his earlier, and very impulsive, resignation, which had already been processed.
Season 8 of “9-1-1” premieres Thursday night on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu. Previous seasons of the series are also streaming on Hulu.
