9-1-1 Sends Buck Down A Dark Path, Revealing A Dangerous Secret He's Keeping From Eddie

Buck may have survived last week's Buddie Roadtrip From Hell™, but as revealed in the March 19 episode of "9-1-1," he's gone from one nightmare to another.

Eddie, naturally, was the first to notice that something was up, especially when he caught Buck lying about not going to therapy. Eddie pushed for Buck to speak with a professional about what happened, but Buck pushed right back, arguing that he can't move on from the experience if he keeps dwelling on it. Eddie's concerns grew when he and Christopher showed up (albeit unannounced) to Buck's house, only to be left standing at the door with no answer when Eddie could clearly see Buck's truck parked outside.

Because no one serves passive aggression like Buddie, their tension spilled over into working hours, with Buck and Eddie giving conflicting (and thinly veiled) advice to an engaged couple insisting on doing their own dangerous home renovations. Eddie suggested that asking for help doesn't make you less smart (hint, hint!), while Buck countered by saying that sometimes you need to do something yourself to do it correctly. It was like sitting through a couple's therapy session, which these two desperately need at this point.

The next time we saw Buck, he pulled a complete 180, graciously inviting Eddie and Christopher over for an elaborate spread. Eddie apologized for second-guessing Buck and for judging his coping methods. Buck admitted that things got "weird" out there (holy understatement!), but he's starting to feel like himself again. Then Eddie dropped this ominous line: "I was worried that the man I knew didn't make it out of New Mexico." (He just had to say it, didn't he?)

As it turns out, Eddie has every reason to be concerned about Buck, who was all smiles as Eddie and Christopher left his house... but not for long. The episode ended with Buck pulling a backpack full of pills from his closet, popping a few from an undisclosed bottle, then sitting in silent darkness. When TVLine spoke with "9-1-1" showrunner Tim Minear about Buck and Eddie's near-fatal detour in New Mexico, he hinted at "a real fallout" for Buck. We'd say this qualifies.

"9-1-1" has put poor Sue Blevins through the wringer over the years (remember when she got hit by a car?), and she found herself back in the hospital this week after suffering a stroke in the middle of the call center. Her prognosis is good, but she has a long road to recovery ahead of her, prompting Sue to ask Maddie and Josh for a favor: she needs someone to step in for her at work. More specifically, she wants it to be Maddie, a decision that left Josh hurt enough to quit on the spot.

But guilt ended up being the least of Maddie's worries in her new role. After an overwhelming first day that left Maddie rethinking her life choices, she returned to the hospital for some sage advice from Sue, who clarified why she chose Maddie as her successor over Josh. In a nutshell, Sue thinks Josh cares too much and would try to take on every responsibility by himself. Maddie, on the other hand, knows how to rely on other people and ask for help when she needs it.

With clarity and confidence (and lots of coffee), Maddie returned to the call center for a much less hectic second day, where she was delighted to see that Josh walked back on his threat to quit. "You didn't think I was going to let you do this all by yourself, did you?" Josh asked, to which Maddie replied, "Of course not. You care too much." (Shady!)

Have you ever wanted to reach through your TV screen and physically shake a character? That's how we felt this week about May, who filled the hour with terrible decisions and flighty responses. And did she really learn from the experience? We're not so sure.

May had a big interview for an internship with Gabby, a renowned lawyer who also happens to be an old classmate of Athena's. Gabby (aka the "9-1-1" version of Olivia Pope) is a very busy woman, so she took May on assignment with her to finish their interview. A client of Gabby's stood accused of vehicular manslaughter, and the police and doctors were at each other's throats about what to do with the blood sample taken from the driver. The police claimed it was evidence, while the nurses insisted that it was taken for their patient's benefit, not for the police. It was already a tense situation, one May did not help by smashing the blood sample on the ground... a move that landed her and a nurse named Ian behind bars.

Rather than lecturing May after bailing her out of jail, Athena was surprisingly calm, telling May that she's actually proud of her for doing what she thought was right. (With all respect to the Buck storyline, did these characters wake up and take crazy pills this morning?) Fortunately, Gabby served as the show's much-needed voice of reason, informing May during their second interview that she might want to consider a new career path if she can't operate within the law's most "basic rules and statutes."

May later admitted that she only pursued law because she wanted to finish what Athena started all those years ago, and Athena gave May her blessing to abandon that plan. (How is this the first time May and Athena are having this conversation? She's been studying law for years.) Athena, Hen, and Gabby assured May that she still has time to figure out what she wants to do with her life, but it doesn't sound like law is it.

May then grabbed coffee with Ian, confirming that becoming a lawyer probably isn't in her future. All she knows is that she wants to make a difference in people's lives, prompting her to ask Ian when he knew he wanted to become a nurse.

This leaves us with 1,000 questions, but here are just a few: Is May really going to become a nurse? Is she really giving up law so easily? Why didn't they just keep her as a dispatcher? And as for Ian, was this a coffee date? What does that mean for May and Ravi's budding romance?

OK, your turn to talk: Are you worried about Buck's dark path ahead? Can you believe May is changing career paths again? And when will this show leave poor Sue Blevins alone? Drop a comment with your thoughts on the episode below.