[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 7 “Ghost of a Second Chance.”]
Eddie Diaz, we have to talk about your decision-making skills! The latest 9-1-1 episode sees Ryan Guzman‘s character not making the best choices.
Just as things seem to be going well with Marisol (Edy Ganem), Eddie can’t help but be drawn back to his past and his late wife Shannon (Devin Kelley)—after seeing a woman working in a store who looks just like her. He approaches her and introduces himself as single to Kim, then ends the episode meeting her for dinner… after dropping his son Christopher (Gavin McHugh) at Buck’s (Oliver Stark) for what they think is a night out with his girlfriend.
Below, Guzman discusses what’s going on in Eddie’s head and the drama that’s ahead for his relationships.
The question that has to be asked is why? What’s going through Eddie’s head from the moment he sees Kim to remembering Shannon to that dinner at the end?
Ryan Guzman: From the moment he sees Kim, I think he is just slapped in the face with this existential question of, Can this be happening? Is this real life? This duplicate of Shannon is right in front of me, and she sounds like her. There’s no way this is true. So I think it’s a pinch-me moment for him, and he now starts to create this delusion for himself that I don’t think he wants to relinquish, because if you get a second chance of glory, in his eyes, do you waste it? Even though you’re in a very, very committed and secure relationship, do you waste this opportunity? So do the ends justify the means? I don’t know. I have no clue, but it does make for great TV.
Disney / Mike Taing
Talk about that decision though, for him to have that dinner and not only have that dinner, but to lie to Buck and Christopher about it, too.
Yeah, he’s weaving a very dangerous web. I think this is the first time we’re actually seeing him lie to the people that he cares about, and especially Christopher most of all. I think the way he justifies—and the way I had to justify it as far as Ryan playing Eddie—is he’s doing a service to Christopher by safeguarding his emotions and his feelings and his mental stability. “I can’t tell you that I’m going on a date with a person that looks exactly like your dead mother.” I don’t know if that conversation goes well. So he is leaning into this separate identity lifestyle that is uncharted territory. So he doesn’t know how to act, so he’s doing things he’s never done before.
But why can’t he talk to his best friend about it?
I think for him—and again, justifying the character—he has to keep this to himself. This is his thing. He doesn’t want to share it with anybody else. He shared so much in Season 5. He shared so much in Season 6. There’s so much of him breaking himself down and going to lengths and emotions that he’s never explored before. But now this is a moment where it’s trauma that hasn’t really been given a solution to, is the Shannon character that he’s never been able to get past and he’s trying to fill this void in so many other women, and now he’s got this opportunity to possibly relive the past. I don’t want to dilute the incredible fact that I’m given this once-in-a-billion life chance by just sharing it to anybody. I want to live in it.
Yes, he is a single dad, but saying it in response to Kim asking if he has a girlfriend is a very deliberate decision that he makes at that moment. And this comes after he and Marisol had some issues earlier this season with them moving too fast. So do you think that response is indicative of what it means for Eddie’s relationship with Marisol specifically or just where he is in general when it comes to a relationship because of everything with Shannon?
I think that’s word vomit for Eddie. I think that’s a way of like, oh, I don’t want to lose this person right away, so let me just say what I got to say. It’s not so thoughtful or mindful of who he’s extricating. I don’t think he even has that depth in that kind of conversation. I believe that it’s more so, “I see this person in front of me that looks like my dead wife. I get a second chance. I don’t want to lose a second chance if I say something stupid. Let me just say whatever I need to keep her on the line. I’ve got to see her again.” That’s the only thing going through his head. And I think later on he has that opportunity to marinate in what he’s said and felt, and that’s when the true drama starts to happen.
Talk about working with Devin again, especially given what you have going on in the present day, but then also you have that flashback—that Christmas episode was so important for the family in Season 2.
Yes, yes. I absolutely love working with Devin. She’s been one of my favorites to work with in my career, actually, incredible actress, incredible human being. And I’ve always kind of joked from Season 3, Season 4, why did you kill her off? She was so good. But now having her back and playing opposite of her again, we just kind of fell right back into it, and we’ve been having a lot of fun this season.
Now that Eddie has met Kim for dinner, what is next with her?
Oh, I think a continuation of the delusion. How far can he really take this before reality sets in? Because at some point in time, it is going to have to.
Should we expect him to be leaving Marisol to babysit Christopher while he’s going out with Kim?
[Laughs] Ooh, that would be rough, wouldn’t it? I don’t know. I don’t know what happens for Eddie and how he reacts to this balancing act of this new love and this old love, but it’s not going to end up well for him.
What does this mean for how he feels about Marisol?
Well, it brings to mind a question of how far can you really get when you’re holding onto something else. You can only take certain steps forward. And I believe that as much growth as he’s had by holding onto the past as strongly as he has, that growth will stagnate at some point in time. He’ll hit the ceiling for that. And I don’t believe that he has lied to Marisol as far as how much he cares about her and how much he loves her. I think there are so many parts of Marisol that he’s infatuated with and he could see himself in a long-term way with her. But for Eddie and all of his repression of his own emotions, he can’t let go of this past and until he learns how to let go of the past, there’s no future for anybody.
Disney / Mike Taing
Is this going to lead him going back into therapy?
I don’t know. Those are some good scenes. I love working with the therapist. We will see.
Something this season has done a great job of is highlighting Eddie and Buck’s friendship until this lie. What’s coming up? Is Eddie going to lean on Buck? If he’s going to open up to anyone, it would be him, unless he’s going to go to Bobby (Peter Krause) again.
Yeah, Bobby and Buck are the two kind of pillars for Eddie that he leans on. I think Buck is more of a person where he just kind of says, again, word vomit. He says whatever he’s feeling. Bobby is more of a person where he’s like, “I need sage advice. I’m at my lowest point. Therapy hasn’t been working, my best friend hasn’t been working. Bobby, give it to me straight, man.” So yeah, there’s opportunity for both of them to kind of help out Eddie. But is he looking for help at this moment? I don’t think so. I think he’s looking to live in the solution. He wants to live in dreamland.
Separate from this storyline, what else is coming up, Eddie?
This storyline splinters in so many different ways. There’s so many possible variations of this story that happen. So I think this will be a key component for Eddie. And then also trying his absolute best to still be the firefighter that everybody knows Eddie to be. And yeah, I think this is going to hold most of Eddie’s energy.
Are we going to see this weigh on him? We saw the build in Season 5 leading to his breakdown…
I think so. I mean, Eddie has such a strong conscience that I believe with a lie like this and something so heavy as this, that it’s going to weigh him down in so many ways that it’s going to become noticeable.
9-1-1, Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC