Three side by side photos of 9-1-1's Buck, Eddie, and Maddie
Credit: FOX

Tarantulas, sharks, and personal trauma haunt the 118.

Fear is the theme of the latest episode of 9-1-1, but the emergency calls involving people facing what scares them most (or doesn’t, in one instance) has nothing on those grappling with personal demons. Read on for the recap of Fear-o-Phobia.

At home, Buck opens his door to a returning Maddie, while Hen reunites with Chimney at his place. Chim gets his partner a beer as he admits he and Maddie broke up. While they’ve previously been separated by outside forces, this time, he says, “It feels like the call is coming from inside the house.” Meanwhile, Maddie tells Buck she and Chim grew while they were apart. “We made a mutual decision that this is what’s best for Jee.” When Chimney tells Hen he’s excited to get back to the team, she winces and explains all the changes to the 118 since he left, as Buck does the same with Maddie. Chimney grins as he says, “You guys totally fell apart without me.”

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The 118 gets a call to a marina after a panicked shark cage diver breaks free and darts to the surface of the water. They diagnose him with decompression sickness and a potentially punctured lung. Bobby calls to have hyperbaric oxygen treatment prepped, but Lucy says the man will die before he gets there. Buck is awkward with Lucy as they rush the man to a walk-in freezer at a fish market to create a makeshift chamber. After the man comes to, he reveals he freaked out because he has a fear of sharks and this was his immersion therapy.

In talk therapy, Eddie is asked what he’s afraid of. When he can’t answer, the therapist notes Eddie’s a man who spends all his time managing other people’s pain. He suggests Eddie think about his first trauma and talk to someone who can understand what he’s been through.

At Buck’s place, Taylor unpacks her many boxes and brings in her couch, which means they’re getting rid of Buck’s. Taylor thinks maybe the new firefighter might need one. Buck sputters until Maddie stops by with Jee-Yun. Taylor leaves to turn in the keys to her old apartment. As Maddie feeds her daughter, she mentions she has no job or place to live. She then gets Buck to admit he might have asked Taylor to move in because he is scared of being left again.

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Chimney visits the fire station as they sit down to a fish lunch, courtesy of the market who sent them home with tons of seafood. As they eat, Chimney expresses worry over Maddie being alone with the baby for the first time in six months. From afar, new paramedic Jonah eyes Chim and quips to Lucy that it’s probably time to pack his bags.

The 118’s next call is to a mansion where an overnight pet sitter is encased in webs, courtesy of his charge: a tarantula that got loose from its cage. When Hen cuts the webbing, tarantulas scamper out, prompting Bobby to make a hasty retreat. “Did Cap just run away?” Lucy asks. Hen calls it more like a fast walk.

That night, Albert helps Chimney stock the freezer with fish from the firehouse. When Maddie exits Jee’s room, Chimney asks if their daughter had a bath. Maddie’s eyes dart as she says the tot didn’t get dirty. So… no. She quickly leaves to look at an apartment, as Chimney expresses frustration.

Over takeout at home, a guilt-ridden Buck admits to Taylor he kissed someone while drunk at the bar. When she realizes it was the day before he asked her to move in, she heads for the door. She doesn’t know where she’s going but she’ll be back because she has nowhere else to go. “You made sure of that,” she spits.

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9-1-1's Buck and Ravi sneak up on a high platform

The 118’s third call is to a recycling plant where a woman climbs to a high exterior ledge. This is after she douses a would-be robber with gasoline at a gas pump. The woman calls 9-1-1 herself and admits to Josh that she doesn’t feel anything anymore. After Hen learns the woman recently experienced mood shifts, a hoarse voice, and bumps around her eyes, she comes to a realization. She jumps on the 9-1-1 call and the woman says she was praying her stomach would drop, but there’s nothing.

As he tweets out information on the emergency, Eddie pensively listens in as the woman further explains she feels empty. If she operates out of fear and it goes away, how is she supposed to operate? Hen says it sounds like she has a disease that can harden the vocal cords and the part of her brain that controls fear response. She assures her it can be treated, but the woman isn’t comforted. She lets go of the railing and falls forward, but Buck and Ravi climb up to catch her in time.

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In front of a fire truck, Hen stands over a woman on a stretcher on 9-1-1

Left alone with Jee at Chimney’s, Maddie nervously stands over the empty bathtub. She recalls falling asleep while Jee was in the water. When Chimney later comes home, he cautiously approaches the bathroom door. He relaxes and smiles when he finds Maddie playing with Jee.

Buck returns home to Taylor, who doesn’t care that he kissed some random girl at a bar. She’s upset he didn’t tell her until after he asked her to move in. He’s sorry if it feels like he trapped her. However, he’s glad she’s there. He wants this to work. She does too and says, “No more lies?” He promises and they kiss.

Later, Buck gets a call from Christopher. He’s worried about his father who is locked in his bedroom smashing things. Buck arrives and busts through the door to find Eddie crouched on the floor crying. “They’re all dead,” he says.

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After Buck settles Christopher in his bedroom, Eddie explains he was supposed to reach out to the people he served with as part of his therapy. However, they’re all dead. Though he saved a couple of members of his unit from a chopper crash, they all died once they got home. One in a car crash, another from an overdose, and another after shooting herself. “I pulled them out, but I didn’t save them.” He admits he’s afraid that he’ll never feel normal again.

How long before Taylor learns Buck’s whole truth? Will facing Eddie’s trauma lead him back to the 118? Sound off on the latest episode of 9-1-1 in the comments.

Check out the updated photo gallery below of the biggest lies told on soaps.