I rewrote season 9 of 9-1-1, here's my "Director's Cut"
Yesterday I talked about everything that, in my personal opinion, didnât work in Season 9 of 9-1-1.
I want to do something different.
Not another critique.
Not another retrospective.
Not another âthis made no senseâ breakdown.
Instead, I want to talk about what I wouldâve done if I had been the showrunner this season.
Because somewhere along the way, while watching Season 9, I realized I had basically rewritten the entire thing in my head.
So this is my âDirectorâs Cut.â
My alternate version of Season 9.
The version I personally wouldâve written.
And obviously â this is all just for fun.
You absolutely do not have to agree with me. This isnât me trying to say my version is objectively better or âcorrect.â Itâs simply the version that makes the most emotional sense to me as someone who loves storytelling, character arcs, emotional continuity, and long-form television writing.
The more I thought about itâŚ
the more this version started feeling more coherent to me than the actual season we got.
I Wouldâve Removed the Space Event Entirely
I probably wouldnât have done the giant space disaster at all.
Or at least not in the way the show handled it.
I think 9-1-1 works best when the emergencies feel emotionally grounded instead of constantly trying to outdo the previous season with bigger spectacle.
So I wouldâve gone back to something more similar to the earlier seasons:
smaller-scale emergencies,
more emotional focus,
more character-driven storytelling.
If I absolutely had to keep the space event because itâs too deeply tied to the season structure, then I wouldâve used it differently.
Harryâs arc?
Iâd actually keep almost exactly the same.
Him accidentally getting involved with the 118 during the disaster and slowly realizing he wants to become a firefighter genuinely works for me. Itâs one of the few ideas from Season 9 that I think was actually emotionally coherent.
The person I wouldâve changed completely is May.
Instead of randomly deciding near the finale that she suddenly wants to become a nurse after spending years in law school, I wouldâve planted the seeds here.
During the disaster itself.
I wouldâve had her improvising a triage station inside the 118 during the crisis, helping victims, staying calm under pressure, realizing for the first time that being physically present helping people makes her feel more alive than law ever has.
Just like the tsunami years ago pushed her toward dispatching, this event would become the thing that awakens something deeper inside her again.
Not an impulsive finale decision.
A genuine emotional calling.
âDĂa de los Muertosâ Would Stay Almost Untouched
I wouldnât change much about DĂa de los Muertos.
That episode is one of the few moments in Season 9 where the emotional pacing actually works.
But I would extend one specific part:
the man Buck finds in the attic.
In my version, Buck would continue helping him afterward.
Not as a giant storyline.
Not constantly onscreen.
But quietly in the background.
Buck would start taking him to AA meetings.
Becoming his sponsor.
Almost seeing him as a sign from Bobby.
Because during DĂa de los Muertos, Buck is desperately searching for some kind of connection to Bobby. So in his mind, finding this man wouldnât feel random â it would feel like Bobby sent him there for a reason.
Because in my version, this becomes one of the things that eventually saves Buck himself.
Henâs Illness Wouldâve Been Alien Bacteria From Space
Now HERE is where I wouldâve changed things dramatically.
Henâs illness arc would still begin similarly:
the symptoms,
the secrecy,
the tension with Chimney,
the fear,
the hopelessness.
But instead of it becoming this vague autoimmune condition the writers clearly didnât know how to resolve, I wouldâve tied it directly to the space mission.
An alien bacterial infection.
At first, doctors think itâs autoimmune.
Then they realize itâs something nobody on Earth fully understands because it literally isnât from Earth.
And THAT creates real fear.
Because suddenly the problem isnât just:
âHen is sick.â
The problem becomes:
âWe donât even know if this can be cured.â
That would completely spiral Hen emotionally.
Especially during physical therapy.
Especially during recovery.
And then â after episodes of uncertainty â they finally find a cure.
Not:
âDonât stress too much and maybe youâll survive.â
That never worked for me emotionally.
If youâre going to choose a life-threatening illness storyline, then either commit fully to the consequences or give the audience a payoff that actually feels earned.
Abigail Wouldâve Become One of the Most Uncomfortable Storylines the Show Ever Did
I wouldâve changed the Abigail arc completely.
Because the setup had incredible potential.
In my version, Abigailâs obsession wouldâve genuinely come from her â not from misunderstandings created by her father.
Eddie still initially takes her under his wing.
Still tries to help her.
Still feels protective toward her.
But slowly she starts confusing kindness with intimacy.
And the situation becomes increasingly uncomfortable.
Not horror-movie insane.
Not cartoonish.
But deeply unsettling in a realistic way.
Eddieâs in the shower.
She enters.
He turns around and completely panics.
He throws a towel around her and basically has to tell her:
âNo. You completely misunderstood what this is.â
That moment would become the emotional fracture point of the arc.
And afterward, Abigail spirals into obsession because she canât emotionally process rejection.
Honestly?
It wouldâve felt almost Orphan-inspired psychologically.
Cringe in the best possible way.
Uncomfortable.
Messy.
Emotionally chaotic.
And that discomfort is EXACTLY why it wouldâve worked.
The Bachelor Auction Episode Wouldâve Completely Changed Mayâs Arc
This is where my rewrite really starts diverging heavily from canon.
Because the bachelor auction episode is where I wouldâve begun Mayâs real emotional storyline.
After Chimney asks May to help at the station, she pulls Eddie aside privately.
And instead of random flirting or weird tension, they have an actual conversation.
She tells him sheâs starting to question law school.
That helping people during the disaster affected her more than she expected.
That she doesnât know if sheâs still on the right path anymore.
And Eddie reminds her of an old conversation they had years earlier at dispatch.
Back then, May worried she was abandoning her dreams by staying close to Athena after the attack instead of fully pursuing college.
Now?
The situation is reversed.
Eddie basically tells her:
âMaybe the instinct you had back then was actually the real one.â
And THIS is why I wouldâve built May/Eddie slowly.
Not through random hookups.
Not through shock value.
Through emotional intimacy first.
Shared conversations.
Shared uncertainty.
Shared understanding.
Thatâs where chemistry actually comes from.
And THEN â because Eddie hates the idea of the auction â he quietly asks May to anonymously buy him so he doesnât end up trapped in some awkward dating situation.
Meanwhile, David and Harry notice them talking for way too long and immediately start wondering:
âWhy are those two having such an intense conversation?â
Which plants the first tiny seed.
Buckâs Addiction Would Become the Emotional Core of the Season
This is probably the biggest rewrite of all.
Because Buckâs addiction would NOT last two episodes in my version.
In my version, Buck becomes addicted because of trauma â not physical pain.
The kidnapping destroys him psychologically.
The woman calling him Derek.
Treating him like a replacement son.
Forcing emotional dependency onto him.
And because Buck grew up emotionally neglected by his own mother, the experience completely breaks something inside him psychologically.
He starts having nightmares.
Dissociation.
Flashbacks.
Insomnia.
The pills become a way to sleep.
To stop reliving the trauma.
The addiction lasts across multiple episodes.
Maybe even into the next season.
People start noticing changes:
Not because of romance bait.
Buck helping the recovering alcoholic eventually becomes what forces him to face himself.
Because after successfully helping this man stay sober, Buck looks at himself in the mirror and realizes:
âIâm becoming the exact person Bobby never wanted me to become.â
HE turns himself in to Chimney.
And then we finally get the detox episode.
Except now it means something emotionally because the addiction had actual time to develop.
And afterward?
Buck starts therapy.
Because getting sober doesnât magically erase trauma.
Ravi and May Wouldâve Become Something Softer â and Sadder
I actually wouldnât make Ravi and May a full long-term couple.
Instead, they become one of those relationships where two genuinely good people realize they donât fit romantically, but still deeply care about each other.
After Buckâs intervention storyline, Ravi finally asks May directly if thereâs something happening between her and Eddie.
But explains Eddie has been helping her figure out her future career path.
And Ravi â relieved â finally asks her out properly.
They try.
They genuinely do.
But eventually they realize they work better as friends.
And honestly?
I think thatâs more emotionally mature than forcing them into a relationship just because the plot says so.
Theo Would Not Exist in Season 9
I would completely remove Theo from the season.
Not because I hate the concept of Buck becoming a parent someday.
But because the timing is terrible.
Buck is actively recovering from:
THIS is not the moment to throw sudden fatherhood at him.
Instead, I wouldâve focused on Buck finally healing his inner child first.
The desire for fatherhood would come after recovery.
Not during emotional destruction.
The Narcos Arc Wouldâve Replaced the Bratva Entirely
The Bratva storyline is gone in my version.
Instead, the migrant trafficking storyline remains tied directly to narcos.
More realistic.
More dangerous.
More emotionally grounded.
And the investigation becomes more complicated instead of resolving instantly.
Athena still gets targeted.
The hospital still happens.
But Eddieâs stabbing finally has an actual narrative reason.
The narcoâs son overhears Eddie understanding Spanish while discussing the assassination plan on the phone.
He realizes Eddie understood him.
Thatâs why he follows him into the church.
Thatâs why he stabs him.
Because Eddie became a threat.
Suddenly the stabbing matters emotionally and narratively.
The Elevator Scene Wouldâve Changed Everything for May
This is the moment where Mayâs arc fully locks into place.
During the blackout, May ends up trapped in the elevator with a bleeding Eddie.
And she has to keep him alive.
Not as a trained medic.
Not as a professional.
Exactly like the tsunami years ago.
Eddie, half-conscious, guides her through stopping the bleeding while the chaos unfolds elsewhere in the hospital.
Hen and Chimney protect Athena,
Ravi tries to warn everyone,
Buck and Harry work together to restore power.
And afterward, when May realizes she successfully kept Eddie alive?
THAT is the moment she fully understands what she wants to do with her life.
Not because the script randomly tells her so.
Because she experienced it emotionally.
The Finale Would Quietly Begin May and Eddie
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Not suddenly.
At Bobbyâs birthday party, Eddie notices May talking with Ravi and watches them just a second too long.
Athena notices him noticing her.
But even Eddie doesnât fully understand what heâs feeling yet.
Because for the first time, he stops seeing her as:
âAthenaâs daughter.â
âThe girl from dispatch.â
And starts seeing her as a woman.
Then Esteban enters the story.
And THIS is why Iâd keep him living with Eddie for a while.
Because unlike Buck, Esteban has no emotional bias.
He doesnât know these people deeply.
So he immediately notices the weird tension between Eddie and May.
He casually points it out.
Eddie immediately shuts it down.
And eventually, while May studies paramedic material with Eddie and Hen, little moments start happening:
May suddenly blushing for absolutely no reason.
Just the terrifying realization that maybe something shifted.
THAT is how I wouldâve ended Season 9.
Not with shock value.
Not with random plot twists.
Not with emotional shortcuts.
But with characters slowly evolving into versions of themselves that actually make emotional sense.
