please sedate me, I'm only on ep 2 of the show I loved when I was nine years old and why are they standing so close together to consult with a patient, is this common medical practice or are they already boyfriends
on another note, do you think Gregory Harrison and Oliver Stark have had father-son conversations about what it's like to have homoerotic chemistry with your costar on a network procedural
I loved the scene between buck and his dad. oliver stark and gregory harrison both acted the hell out of it and i can’t stop thinking about how validating it must have been for buck to hear his dad acknowledge his relationship with bobby like that
Greetings, earthlings! Your favorite recapper has beamed back down to break down the latest episode of the Gay Firefighter Show. Before we dive into the chaos, let’s rewind to last week’s drama.
Christopher, as it turns out, was not kidnapped—just chauffeured home by Abigail, which did absolutely nothing for Eddie’s blood pressure. He snapped, she wilted, and suddenly we were in full Fatal Attraction territory. But plot twist: Abigail wasn’t the one who slashed Eddie’s tire or vandalized his truck. That honor went to her unhinged, evangelical father, who apparently moonlights as a Dollar Store vigilante.
Meanwhile, the annual LAFD bachelor auction returned, giving us the gift of our favorite firefighters strutting their stuff for charity. Buck tried to claim he was “too old” for this nonsense, but ultimately agreed to shake what his mama gave him for a room full of thirsty divorcees and a handful of enthusiastic senior knitters.
Alright, now that we’re all caught up, let’s talk about the new episode. “Dads and Cads,” the twelfth installment of the season, premiered March 5, 2026 on ABC. Written by Christopher Monfette and Taylor Wong and directed by Nimisha Mukerji, it’s quite the ride.
If you haven’t watched yet, do yourself a kindness: pause this blog, go watch, and return when you’re emotionally prepared.
Normally this is where I whip out a pun or two based on the episode’s theme, but this week? I’ve got nothing. The well is dry. I guess I could say: don’t be a dick… be a daddy… and let’s get into the episode. Facepalm.
Our cold open introduces us to Viv (Naomi Walley) and Joey Rosato (McCabe Slye), two total strangers who decide—via text, because romance is dead—to meet up. Viv rolls up to a random street corner to scoop Joey like she’s auditioning for a reboot of Cash Cab. Apparently she has never listened to TLC’s “No Scrubs,” because she’s out here picking up men who don’t even have a car.
She does at least ask about red flags, which is adorable considering her track record. Viv confesses that the last guy she dated required a restraining order… for him and his mother. So yeah, the bar is subterranean. She tells Joey she’s looking for “a little adventure.” And we all know how that saying goes: be careful what you wish for, babe.
Because Viv—self-proclaimed red‑flag connoisseur—is ignoring the giant crimson banner Joey is waving right in her face. He asks her to pull over at a mini‑mart. While she waits in the car, Joey strolls inside, grabs some snacks, and then proceeds to rob the place with a toy gun. A toy gun. He sprints out with the owner chasing him, shotgun raised, but our discount Bonnie and Clyde peel off before anyone gets ventilated.
And that’s when we smash into our title card.
The owner reports the armed robbery to dispatch, Maddie loops in Athena, and suddenly we’re in hot pursuit. Instead of pulling over like a sensible human, Viv decides this is the adventure she ordered and keeps driving. She swerves to avoid a parade of police cruisers and ends up buried under a mountain of cinder blocks.
The 118 rolls up and gets to work. They manage to extricate Joey—who is somehow still alive despite his life choices—while Viv remains unconscious and pinned inside the car. Eddie and Hen slip a C‑collar on her and check vitals. Her pulse is thready, her blood pressure is tanking, and the whole situation is screaming possible internal bleeding.
Athena, ever the bringer of bad news, reports that Joey has a rap sheet longer than a CVS receipt, and if Viv dies, manslaughter is about to join the party. Meanwhile, Buck, Ravi, and Harry are hustling to clear cinder blocks like they’re auditioning for a very niche CrossFit competition.
Once they finally free Viv and get her onto a gurney, she regains just enough consciousness to suggest Joey use his one phone call… to call her. Our girl has learned absolutely nothing from the flaming disaster she just lived through. Love is blind, but apparently it’s also concussed.
It’s a new day in L.A., and Buck is coloring with his niece Jee‑Yun while Maddie is buzzing around his house like a blue‑arsed fly. Maddie complains about his lack of décor. And honestly, Maddie expecting her baby brother to own coffee‑table books is adorable. Buck tells her to relax—Mom and Dad aren’t going to care about his reading habits. Maddie hits him with, “Have you met Mom,” and… fair.
She’s annoyed their parents didn’t give them a heads‑up before rolling into town. Buck reminds her that retirement means time is a flat circle and schedules are merely suggestions. Maddie then drops the bomb: their parents will be staying with him. Buck objects, pointing out they have an RV. Maddie counters with, “Which can park on your lawn indefinitely.” A threat disguised as a fact.
Right on cue, the Buckley parents arrive. Buck and Maddie do their little pinky‑link ritual before he opens the door. Hugs all around. Chimney pops in. Jee‑Yun is thrilled to see her grandparents. Margaret Buckley (Dee Wallace) coos, “I swear, you grow a foot every time we see you,” before delivering her first passive‑aggressive zinger about the lack of photos of her granddaughter. Classic Margaret: love with a side of guilt.
Then little Nash toddles in—walking now, adorable, and growing up way too fast. Maddie scoops him up to be changed while Margaret surveys Buck’s place and calls it “homey.” Buck, meanwhile, sees it as a bachelor pad. (Subtle hint, son.)
Chimney, agent of chaos, mentions Buck’s available guest room. Buck shoots him a death glare. Margaret, thankfully, takes the hint. She tells Buck that she and Phillip booked a spot at an RV park, so he doesn’t have to worry about them dumping their septic tank on his lawn. Not only is that a horrifying visual, it’s also some A‑grade foreshadowing.
The doorbell rings, and Buck opens it to find a delivery guy holding a giant gift basket. From Nashville. Specifically, the Nashville Fire Department. Buck reads the note: “Congratulations on your acceptance to the 51st Annual American Firefighting Games. See you in Music City.” Margaret immediately wants answers. Buck explains, “It’s like the firefighter Olympics,” and adds that the event is elite—you only get in if your captain submits your name.
Chimney quickly clarifies that he didn’t submit anything. Buck puts two and two together and realizes Bobby must’ve nominated him last year. Cue the emotional gut punch.
Cut to Harry showing up at May’s place with donuts. He uses his key to let himself in and is immediately greeted by the sight of Ravi—completely naked in the kitchen. Ravi does the world’s fastest tray‑to‑groin maneuver. And honestly, let’s take a respectful moment for Ravi Panikkar: peak male fitness, criminally underrated thirst trap. Buck and Eddie may be the poster boys, but Ravi is absolutely in the running. And Chimney? Low‑key the most shredded of them all.
We learn May and Ravi’s charity date turned into some post‑auction extracurriculars. May appears in a cute red kimono and scolds Harry for not ringing the doorbell. Harry insists having a key is basically the same thing as knocking. (It is not.) May tells Ravi to get dressed while Harry squeezes his eyes shut like he’s never seen a naked man before. The gay panic is… a choice. Especially since he’s probably seen Ravi in various states of undress at the station. He flees.
Honestly, this feels like karmic symmetry. Back in Season Five—don’t ask me the episode title, my brain is full—May walked in on Bobby and Athena playing the sexy version of cops and robbers. The Grant siblings really need a seminar on boundaries.
And then it hits me: the episode is called Dads and Cads. We just had Buck and Maddie’s dad show up. The cold‑open criminal was definitely a cad. So… does that mean Ravi falls into the “cad” category too? I’m not sure how I feel about that. Ravi is many things, but a cad?
At the next shift, Buck is planning the menu for that night’s dinner. He floats the idea of fried catfish, collard greens, and coleslaw. Hen—resident paramedic, voice of reason, and breaker of Buck’s culinary delusions—reminds him he has never cooked any of those dishes. This triggers a shared trauma flashback for both Hen and Chimney: the infamous tripe pudding a former probie once made. It was so vile Captain Gerrard nearly committed workplace homicide. Moral of the story: Buckley, experiment on your own time.
We also learn Eddie was chosen to compete in the American Firefighting Games, meaning Bobby nominated him too. Which is… interesting. Around this time last year, Eddie was in El Paso trying to patch things up with Christopher. Bobby Nash was a wise man, God rest his soul, but submitting Eddie’s name while he was mid‑family‑crisis and technically not even with the 118? Questionable judgment, sir.
Hen, still doing the Lord’s work, asks Eddie who’s going to watch Christopher while he’s in Nashville. Eddie, like Buck last episode, wants to bow out—until Chimney guilt‑trips him by invoking Bobby’s memory. Classic Chim. Honestly, if we’re talking realism, Harry and Ravi would make more sense as the ones attending the Games. But for a crossover with the spin‑off? Of course the powers that be are sending the hunky duo. And naturally, we must torment the Buddie shippers who are already spiraling at the idea of Buck and Eddie traveling together. As if this is their first TV crossover rodeo.
Speaking of duos, Harry arrives for shift and immediately runs into Ravi—fully clothed this time. Ravi, being the adult in this dynamic, asks if they need to talk. Harry insists they’re fine in the least convincing tone imaginable. He walks off; Ravi follows. Harry asks where he’s going. Ravi says he’s going to get out of his clothes… his civilian clothes. Harry freaks out again. Ravi gently points out that Harry also needs to change. Harry announces he’ll be changing in his car.
This whole drama is peak silliness. Harry, sweetheart, are you upset because you saw Ravi’s firehose, or because he’s getting horizontal with your sister? Either way, it’s time to grow up.
We get our next emergency, and honestly? It might be one of the most risqué scenes in 9‑1‑1 history. Yes, even more risqué than that couple from two seasons ago who got “stuck” together in the pool while doing synchronized freakiness.
We meet Vanessa and Sean, a seemingly happy married couple. Vanessa (Mara Klein) is venting about her sister Chelsea flaking—again—on taking their dad to his doctor’s appointment. Meanwhile, Sean (Chad Doreck) is crouched under the sink with his tools out. Vanessa asks what he’s doing. He says he’s fixing a leak. And apparently, that’s her kink, because suddenly she’s feral over pipe talk. There’s innuendo about screws and pipes and nuts, and before long she’s admiring his wrench. One thing leads to another, and they’re going at it on the kitchen counter like it’s a sexy Home Depot commercial.
Then we get the 9‑1‑1 call.
“I think I wrecked my wife.”
The 118 arrives, and Sean waves them inside like he’s giving a house tour. They find Vanessa on the floor, not looking great. Hen and Eddie check her out—angioedema, swelling, hives, the whole allergic nightmare. Chimney asks if she has any known allergies. Sean says no. Hen notes her blood pressure is dropping and she’s not getting enough air. Anaphylactic shock. Epi time.
Chimney keeps grilling Sean: “Did she eat anything unusual? Get stung? Bit?” Buck zeroes in on Sean’s earlier comment. “You said she was exerting herself. Can you be more specific?” Sean sheepishly admits they were being intimate. Chimney asks if they were doing anything out of the ordinary.
Right then, Vanessa wakes up. Eddie tells her Sean said she didn’t have any allergies. Vanessa corrects him: she’s allergic to penicillin. Sean is stunned. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Vanessa shrugs—apparently this never came up in their marriage, which is wild.
Hen asks if she’s been sick or could’ve come into contact with penicillin. Vanessa says no—she hasn’t been to the doctor in over a year. As they load her onto the gurney, Sean suddenly confesses he got a penicillin shot. Buck is shocked medication can transfer like that. Hen explains it’s rare, but possible—especially with extended‑release penicillin used for things like strep throat. And syphilis.
Vanessa sits up like a woman possessed. “You better have strep throat.” Sean’s guilty face says otherwise. Then Vanessa remembers: her sister Chelsea is also on penicillin.
And boom—another cad revealed. Sean cheated on Vanessa with her sister. Nasty work.
Harry makes eye contact with Ravi like, “See? Cads everywhere.” Vanessa spirals, now worried she has syphilis—syphilis delivered via her husband, courtesy of her sister. Sean tries to defend himself by pointing out it was technically Chelsea who gave it to her. Sir, please. Jail.
Hen tells Vanessa they’ll get her to the hospital for non‑penicillin antibiotics. Sean says he wants to come with her. Vanessa shuts that down immediately: “Never again.”
And honestly? Good for her. Divorce him, block the sister, and sage the entire house.
Back at the house, Ravi and Harry are working with hoses—pun absolutely intended. Ravi tells Harry his hose is too loose. “You’ve got to keep it tight or it won’t fit in the bed.” That’s the last straw for Harry, and we finally get the confrontation that’s been brewing. Ravi is confused by Harry’s behavior. Honestly? Same, Ravi. Same.
Harry accuses Ravi of taking advantage of his sister, which is a massive accusation to lob at someone. Ravi shuts that down immediately, telling him he clearly has no idea what he’s talking about. He explains that May made the first move… and several of the subsequent ones. Ravi, you delightful menace. Harry gets even more worked up.
Chimney walks over and asks what’s going on. Ravi, bless him, blurts out, “I had sex with his sister.” Chimney immediately nopes out of the conversation, which is hilarious—especially considering he once hooked up with a coworker’s sister. My mom clocked that before I did.
The two separate, and as Ravi walks away, he tells Harry he should really consider who he’s actually mad at—because it’s not him. And he’s right.
That evening, the Buckleys take the kids out to dinner. Margaret and Phillip regale Buck and Maddie with stories from their cross‑country travels. Then they casually mention they’re selling the RV. Buck immediately asks if they’re sick. Margaret assures him they’re fine. The server (Joey Stromberg) arrives to take their order, and Phillip chooses that exact moment to announce that he and Margaret are getting divorced. So much for a peaceful family meal.
Later that night, Maddie vents to Chimney. She says her parents couldn’t give her or Buck a concrete reason for the split—just vague “gray divorce” energy. Chimney asks how Buck is taking it. Maddie says he barely reacted at the restaurant, just said, “If you’re happy, we’re happy.” Chimney suggests Buck is still in shock.
Spoiler: Buck is not in shock. Buck is too busy hunting for the perfect cowboy hat for Nashville. He’s over at Eddie and Christopher’s, strategizing for the Firefighting Games. Oh, and he casually drops that his parents are getting divorced. Eddie pauses the video game and gives him his full attention. Buck is completely unfazed. Eddie tells him he’s sorry, and Buck shrugs it off with the most practical take imaginable: Margaret and Phillip are divorcing each other, not him.
Christopher chimes in with, “Divorce is always hardest on the kids.” Buck insists he’s fine.
And honestly? He really seems to be.
Then we arrive at the most awkward family dinner in the history of family dinners. Athena has May and Harry over, blissfully unaware that her children are locked in their own personal Cold War. And if you thought the penicillin emergency was packed with innuendo, buckle up—because the Grant siblings are about to turn dinner into a linguistic strip‑tease.
Once seated, May asks for salad dressing. Harry asks if she thinks her salad is a little underdressed. He adds that he figured she’d like it that way. May fires back, “The amount of dressing I use in the privacy of my own home is none of your business.” Athena, trying to keep the peace, tells May there’s more dressing in the kitchen and steps away—leaving the two of them unsupervised. Mistake.
Athena returns and offers more chicken. May says yes, then shoots Harry a look and adds, “Who doesn’t love some free‑range meat?” Oh my. Harry smirks and asks if the meat was free‑range, because he’s “pretty sure that chicken had a house. A place where he needed to peacefully co‑exist with other chickens.” May counters that whatever chickens do in their free time is nobody else’s business.
Athena reappears with the dressing and gently suggests maybe they’re done with the chicken discourse. Harry, however, is not done. He tells May she has no sense of boundaries and accuses her of turning his professional network into her personal dating pool. He’s also furious that he has to see Ravi every shift knowing exactly what he’s working with under those turnouts. Methinks the probie protests a little too much.
May asks why he can’t just let it go. She reminds him the date was for charity. Harry snipes that he hopes she got her donation’s worth. May says she did, stands up, and leaves the table.
Athena returns with dessert. Harry looks at her and asks if she even wants to know what he and May were talking about. Athena, queen of selective hearing, simply says she’s having pie. Delicious pie. Completely unbothered.
And honestly? Mood.
Next, we head over to Buck’s house—or more accurately, Buck’s backyard thirst‑trap arena. Our youngest Buckley is out there in gray sweatpants, swinging a big hammer (pun aggressively intended) while Maddie lounges on the patio with a glass of lemonade that is… not just lemonade. She casually mentions she spiked his, too. Buck blinks and says he didn’t realize it was “that kind of visit.”
Buck insists he’s totally fine about their parents’ divorce. Maddie, however, is very much not fine
Maddie says that growing up, the one thing she and Buck could always count on was their parents having each other’s backs. Buck counters that they’re not fighting—they’re just… giving up. Maddie admits she wishes they were arguing. Buck points out that conflict has never been their parents’ style. Only Phillip and Margaret Buckley would decide to get divorced and then immediately hop in an RV for a cross‑country joyride.
Buck shifts gears and brings up Nashville. He mentions that when Bobby submitted his and Eddie’s names for the 51st Annual American Firefighting Games, Eddie was still in El Paso. “You think Bobby knew he was coming back?” Maddie asks. Buck does. He believes Bobby knew Eddie would find his way home—because that’s what families do. “No matter how hard it is or how far apart they are, they find a way home.”
Maddie quietly says they never had that with their parents. “No,” Buck agrees. “Not with them.” Maddie jokes, asking if Buck has another family she doesn’t know about. He says yes—he does. He points out that Maddie has the family she married into, and that brings a smile to her face. They toast their spiked lemonades, two siblings clinging to the family they built, not the one they came from.
Our final emergency of the episode involves Nora Yates (Ptosha Storey) and her husband Charlie (John Eddins). Nora calls 9‑1‑1 after finding what she thinks is a goodbye note from Charlie, who left for a solo camping trip days earlier. She tells Maddie he’s been struggling—laid off from work, their daughter off at college, feeling adrift. She’s terrified he’s going to do something irreversible. She’s tried calling him, but he hasn’t answered.
As Nora describes the note—how alone Charlie feels, how bleak things seem—we cut to Charlie walking through the woods. He stands by a stream, pulls out a razor, and for a moment it looks dire… until a park ranger finds him and we learn he’s just trying to shave. The man is depressed, not suicidal—just scruffy.
Charlie talks to Nora through Maddie and explains he turned off his phone because there was no signal. The note she found? Something he wrote thirty years ago, kept as a reminder of how far he’s come. He tells Nora that meeting her made him want to live. He loves her, he wants to spend whatever time they have left together. Nora says she loves him too. And yes—Maddie is crying. Everyone take a drink.
Meanwhile, Harry shows up at May’s apartment wearing an aggressively ugly shirt. This time he knocks—growth! May answers, and he immediately hands her the key she gave him earlier this season. She takes it and invites him in. He apologizes for acting like a child. May says she could’ve been more understanding, though honestly? She didn’t do anything wrong. Harry says they’re adults now, but she’ll always be his annoying big sister. She’s always had his back, and he should’ve had hers.
“To growing old,” May says.
“And staying young,” Harry adds.
“Forever,” he finishes.
“Together,” May says.
She gives him the key back. Tells him to keep it. In case she needs him to water her plants.
Over at Buck’s, he’s packing for Nashville when Phillip shows up. Buck invites him in, and they have the kind of conversation the Buckleys have avoided for decades. Phillip apologizes for not being there when Bobby died. He admits he saw Buck’s email but he and Margaret were in wine country. In California. They could’ve been there. They should’ve been there. He says he’s sorry.
Buck asks why he didn’t come. Phillip says it’s because they’re terrible parents. Buck tells him he’s not a terrible parent—he’s a fine parent. Phillip notices a photo of Bobby on the shelf. He tells Buck he thinks he understands what Bobby meant to him. “And I’m so sorry you lost him.” Buck’s eyes fill, and if Buck cries, I cry.
Phillip asks Buck to tell him something about Bobby. Buck is stunned. “You want me to tell you about Bobby?” Phillip says, “I’d like to know more about the man who helped raise my son.” And that’s it—Buck breaks. “I love you, Dad,” he says, hugging him.
A moment thirty-plus years in the making. And honestly? Look how far we’ve come since Season 5, when the Buckleys couldn’t emotionally connect if you handed them a map and a flashlight.
The episode wraps at Station 118, where the whole crew gathers to send Buck and Eddie off on their Nashville adventure. And for what should be a short trip, these two are packed like they’re emigrating. Chimney steps forward and delivers his inspirational send‑off: “Diaz and Buckley, champions of the 118, as you go into battle, I want you to take these words of inspiration with you. If you ain’t first…” The rest of the 118 chimes in: “You’re last!” Hen gets everyone chanting, “Give ’em hell,” and our golden boys head out.
Everyone returns to work—except Harry, who seeks out Ravi and… does not apologize. The moment is framed like an apology, but the words “I’m sorry” never leave his mouth. Instead, Harry tells Ravi he’s a good guy with “a surprisingly muscular build for somebody so lean.” Sir, please. He adds that May could’ve done worse.
Ravi asks if Harry would be okay with him dating May. Harry says yes… as long as Ravi is okay with transferring to another firehouse.
Roll credits.
Coming off last week’s episode—which I still think is the best of the season—“Dads and Cads” is another solid entry in a run of solid entries. Athena, Hen, Chimney, and Eddie are present but mostly in the background, which works because the A‑plot belongs to the Buckley siblings and their parents. Thinking back to Season 4 when we first met Margaret and Phillip, they were insufferable—masters of deflection, allergic to accountability. Over the years they’ve softened, and while Buck and Maddie will never have a picture‑perfect relationship with them, it’s genuinely nice to see how far they’ve come. Phillip’s confession about not being there for Buck after Bobby’s death—and acknowledging that Bobby helped raise him—was the catharsis Buck didn’t even know he needed. A beautiful moment.
The B‑plot with May, Ravi, and Harry was a great comedic counterbalance to the Buckley divorce drama. Ravi continues to be one of my favorite characters, and it’s wild that Anirudh Pisharody isn’t main cast when he’s basically in every episode. Last week I said I was fully on board the Mayvi train, but I wasn’t expecting it to leave the station this fast. What I loved most is how sex‑positive the storyline was. No shaming, no pearl‑clutching—just two consenting adults having fun. Harry’s issue wasn’t the sex; it was the fear that it would complicate his relationship with his sister. Honestly? Fair. And funny.
As for the emergencies, the penicillin one was my favorite. Nine seasons in and the writers can still make me blush. The idea of someone going into anaphylaxis mid‑kitchen‑counter rendezvous? Bold. The first emergency was bonkers, the third was a sweet tear‑jerker, and while we didn’t get a big firefighting set piece, the episode didn’t need one.
All in all, I give “Dads and Cads” a 7.5. The Buckley family drama and the May‑Ravi‑Harry triangle brought the theme home beautifully. And keep your eyes peeled for my special 9‑1‑1: Nashville reaction, where I’ll be covering Buck and Eddie’s trip to the 51st Annual American Firefighting Games. I may not be the biggest Nashville fan, but that crossover episode? Pretty great.
As always, join me next week for another episode of 9‑1‑1. Until then…
