Spoilers ahead!
After a whole run of episodes dedicated to discussing the intricacies of death and grief, this season’s fifth episode brings more of these themes using two events: Halloween and Día de (los) Muertos. Combining disturbing sequences with silly and/or unserious emergencies, Día de los Muertos manages to bring it all to viewers: sadness, laughter, one surprising costume (Ravi’s), fun, and an unfathomable void.
“I know death. I’ve seen it. Felt it. Fought it. I’ve saved some people I never really knew, and lost others whose names I’ll never forget. One way or another, they all haunt you.”
The episode starts with an Eddie Díaz voice-over as he finds himself in the middle of a colorful, beautiful procession for the Día de Muertos, as he thinks about his relationship with death. We will circle back to this later, as the episode goes back a week to the emergencies solved by the 118:
- A car accident and a running over caused by problems in a driver’s Halloween costume;
- A giant, inflatable pumpkin balloon gets loose and rolls down the streets of L.A.;
- A supposedly possessed young woman who’s actually infected with tetanus after being kept stuck in a closet against her will for “losing her faith” and trying to leave her religious community;
- The man who was run over in the car accident from the opening is found disrupting a burial in the cemetery and is diagnosed with walking corpse syndrome.
“Día de los Muertos” – 9-1-1. Ryan Guzman as Eddie. Photo: Christopher Willard/ABC © 2025 Disney. All rights reserved.
Meanwhile, the characters deal with Bobby’s death, each in their own way: Eddie is reconnecting with Catholicism because of him, Harry uses Bobby’s turnouts as a Halloween costume to Athena’s shock, and Buck believes Bobby’s ghost is haunting his new home.
“Tonight, they say the veil is thin. That the dead walk among us, if only for a little while. Is that just something we tell ourselves to ease the ache? Or is it real?”
Eddie is going to mass, praying, but still feels that that’s not for him. Religion is something that brings Eddie closer to his aunt Pepa and his grandma (or abuela, as she’s called) Isabel. It’s also a central theme of the “possessed” girl emergency, which shows how religion can be used as a tool of manipulation, violence, and fear. As the episode ends with his abuela dying and Eddie’s with Pepa in the middle of the procession, the firefighter finds a middle ground to his dilemma. He can reconnect with his culture, have traditions with Christopher, and honor Bobby, Isabel, and Shannon without losing his identity in the process. He can find comfort in beliefs other than the traditional ones; as Isabel says in her last scene alive, what is love if not a sign of God’s presence?
The emergencies in this one were so well-thought-out; they resemble situations we’d see in the old days of 9-1-1, in those golden first seasons, the scene of the “possessed” girl in the church as a standout. However, the 118 still feels odd, the internal dynamics of the group weirder than ever. Everyone looks either bored, angry, or passive-aggressive — it’s clear that they are all grieving Bobby’s absence. Even Buck’s excitement for having discovered what was keeping him from recreating Bobby’s famous snickerdoodles — he’s processing his loss and trying to connect with his friends so they can heal together, and maybe things go back to normal. But he can’t do that, and the 118 feels the most disconnected it’s ever been.
“Do they stay with us, somehow? Hear us when we speak their names?”
“Día de los Muertos” – 9-1-1. Photo: Christopher Willard/ABC © 2025 Disney. All rights reserved.
Buck and Eddie’s relationship illustrates that; even if they have been at odds frequently in recent times (first because Eddie was moving to Texas, then because of their shared grief over Bobby), this episode was the first one in which we don’t see them making up after a fight. The conflict started in the premiere — Buck, jealous of Hen and Eddie’s friendship — hasn’t been brought up again either, and with the midseason finale happening next week, I’m not sure there’s enough time to tie all loose ends this year, with many things left for the rest of the season (if they are not forgotten). But this is 9-1-1, so who knows?
Finally, Athena and Harry are at odds because Harry decided to wear Bobby’s turnouts as a Halloween costume. Weird thing for him to do, huh? Grief is different for everyone, indeed. Athena gets rightfully mad, fearing Harry is too much of a child to join the LAFD. In the end, they both have a heartfelt conversation; much before Bobby entered their lives, Harry was already being inspired by his mom. He wants her to notice him, to be proud of him — and while I’m not convinced this is the path Harry should be following, this seems enough to soothe the situation for now.
“Are they really gone if we still hold them in our hearts? If we remember?”
Día de los Muertos gets it right when it further develops Eddie’s connection with his family and culture, making him rethink his relationship with religion, death, and grief in a beautiful, touching way, with the heartbreaking, peaceful passing of Isabel as a memorable ending. It also excels when it comes to the emergencies, bringing all the fun and thrills this show was known for. However, the unfathomable void left by Bobby’s death remains.
Is he really gone, tho?
His death is still not convincing; the lack of a body, the Wrath of Khan references, the Work Song lyrics while he said goodbye to Athena — no grave can hold my body down, I’ll crawl home to her… This show is always doing the craziest stuff in the most surprising ways, so all those breadcrumbs will really amount to nothing? Why leave the clues that could lead to an explosive return and one of the most memorable arcs of network TV, and ignore them in exchange for… This weird new normal?
This is relevant for the present review, by the way, as the episode is about Bobby (just like everything has been since he left the show). For now, 9-1-1 feels like Buck’s first attempts to recreate Bobby’s famous snickerdoodles. Is it good? Yes. Is it right? Well… Something is missing. And while the missing pieces are the point, this season will have to turn the tables soon and bring something refreshing to keep things interesting enough. If it doesn’t, this show will become really exhausting real soon.
Feel free to leave a comment with your impressions and theories. Thanks for reading!