9-1-1 recap: Trapped

This week 9-1-1 redefines what it means to be trapped.

This week 9-1-1 continues to step up their drama with an episode focused on being trapped — emotionally and physically. The cases along with the characters go through their versions of feeling stuck, and it sets the stage heading into the season one finale next week.

The episode begins with a homeless man finding refuge in a dumpster as it begins to rain. The next morning he is awakened to learn that the dumpster is emptied into a garbage truck and heading straight for the compactor. He calls 9-1-1 (yes, has a cell phone thanks to a local program) and the team heads off to locate him before he is crushed.

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Athena and Hen continue to be the heart of the show as they both are dealing with their versions of being trapped in their lives. Athena and her husband have decided to get divorced, and Athena is finally breaking free of the prison she has put herself in.

It appears things are going rather well with the guy from the bar. Hen, on the other hand, cheated on her wife and is now being sued for custody of her child by her ex. The theme of trapped continues as the next case involves a mother and son bickering as they head to a therapy session.

Before they can make it, their elevator comes crashing down and they find themselves stuck as the elevator starts to flood with water. The team arrives but faces complications as the elevator falls deeper into the water and Buck barely makes it out after saving the son and her mother.

Athena goes on another date with the man from the bar, but things get interesting when during a session of kinky role-play they both managed to get handcuffed to the bed. Unable to get the keys, Athena frantically calls the 9-1-1 center to ask Abby to tell Hen to come and help her out.

Hen shows up to the house only to realize the real reason Athena needed her help. The moment is quite hilarious to watch as Athena doesn’t ask to be handcuffed but for Hen to place the keys on the table so she can continue her night of passion.

This brings us to the final call of the night, and perhaps the most claustrophobic one. The team is called in to respond to a call made by an elderly man that said his brother was stuck in the house. We learn that this is a rather complicated house to get into because the two brothers that live in it are hoarders and the entire house is rigged with booby traps to keep people out.

With the help of one of the brothers (who is blind and unable to assist the team), Chimney crawls through a tunnel to turn off all the booby traps. The team is able to find the man who lays collapsed under a pile of rubble and is whisked away to be treated, while the blind brother steps out into the sunlight for the first time in years.

Abby and Buck try to go on their third date (a romantic hot air balloon ride!) but are interrupted before it starts when Abby’s mother has another episode. This makes Buck question their relationship and he goes to Bobby for advice. Bobby tells him that any woman of substance and experience will have baggage and Buck should try to be involved in her life rather than be annoyed by it.

When Abby and Buck meet again, Abby tells him she has been dealing with this alone because she doesn’t want to drag anyone through a situation that isn’t their concern. Buck, a true knight in shining armor, tells Abby that he is all in and if their dates being interrupted is the worst of it, he considers himself lucky. Unfortunately, Abby’s mother passes away by the end of the episode, begging the question, now what?

Athena goes on another date with her man but realizes he is taking this more seriously than she is. When he asks her to go away, she shuts it down by telling him she is only in it for the sex. Honesty is the best policy, right? Meanwhile, Hen goes to her ex to end things once and for all and tell her the custody battle will not convince her to leave the life Hen has built behind.

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The episode ends on a somber note by showing the individuals from all three cases going back to the lives they were living: the homeless man leaves the shelter to sleep on the streets, the hoarders are boarding up their house again, and the mother takes her son to go apartment hunting. Creatures of habit, indeed.

What will next week’s season one finale bring? We can’t wait to find out! The 9-1-1 season one finale will air Wednesday, March 21st at 9/8c on FOX.

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