It was a busy hour for Eddie Diaz during 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 5.
The firefighter found himself in a bit of a crisis when his relationship with his newly live-in girlfriend Marisol hit a snag, and he had to do some serious thinking about his past and how it's affecting him now and, ultimately, how it could affect the future.
I caught up with Ryan Guzman on a recent Zoom to break down the hour, including Eddie's relationship revelations, the dynamic between Eddie and Buck, and the importance of Eddie's relationship with Bobby.
When I chatted with Ryan before 9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 1, he talked about seeing a lighter and more hopeful Eddie, which has definitely been the case thus far through this truncated season.
9-1-1 Season 7 Episode 4, in particular, saw a very happy and loose Eddie as he developed a friendship with former 118 firefighter Tommy Kinard.
But what does Ryan equate that lightness in Eddie too?
"A lot of my own growth in my own life," he truthfully expressed to me. "There's been a lot of changes in, oh man, the past six years. Obviously, having kids and so many new experiences.
"But it's been an evolution of who I am. And it's been an awesome opportunity to go backward the same way Eddie has and do, eerily, almost the same thing as Eddie.
"Talk to therapists. It's a lot of self-discovery.
"Finally coming back into the season, we have a sense of gratitude for everything we have as actors via the strike and the epidemic, all these big events happening. I think just coming into the season, it was that new air feeling. And then joining with ABC was this excitement. There are a lot of factors in there."
One of the biggest plot points of the most recent hour revolved around Eddie's struggles with Marisol following the reveal that she was almost a nun.
It threw Eddie for a loop, though many other things were festering under the surface that aided in his indecision about the future of that relationship.
But before there were issues, Eddie asked Marisol to move in, which the audience didn't get to see.
"I think Eddie is a person who likes to go from zero to a hundred," he explained when asked about the decision to jump into co-habitation. "He gets excited.
"And I think he gets carried away with his ideology of what the relationship should be or could be. He just goes with it."
Ultimately, Eddie made the decision to step back and get to know Marisol better, with the two even sharing a laugh about Marisol moving back out.
And it felt like tremendous growth for Eddie, who, as Guzman previously stated, goes from zero to a hundred.
"It's starting to show that Eddie is finally overcoming the obstacles that were holding him back with Shannon, and I mean, all of his past relationships, to be honest," Guzman told me about Eddie's growth.
"There's a lot of evolution there. But just because you're evolving doesn't mean that you're not going to have zero issues because I feel like now, we're going to start seeing him get into unknown territory.
"And we all know that when we're in unknown territory, you start to come up with new obstacles that you've never seen. And trying to navigate those becomes the next form of life."
When questioned whether those obstacles would involve his relationships or simply involve Eddie in general, he responded, "Relationships."
One of Eddie's most impactful relationships has always been the one he shares with Buck, and the two have a deep and meaningful moment in the hour when Buck admits to Eddie that when he ran into him and Tommy having dinner, they were on a date and not just hanging out in a friendly capacity.
"I've had something similar happen to me in my real life, and I was kind of pulling from that," Guzman said about the moment the two shared after Buck's reveal.
"A friend of mine had been struggling with his identity and trying to figure out where he wanted to go in life, and I could see how much weight it was holding on him.
"And that's what I feel Eddie is kind of seeing in that scene with Buck. He sees there's this weight, the world resting on his shoulders, and he doesn't know how to navigate whatever he has to say.
"So it doesn't matter what he said at that moment. Eddie was going to be there for Buck. And it just happens to be something Eddie had never even thought of.
"So the initial reaction towards Buck is that of where did this just come from? I didn't even see this. And then the next reaction is, oh, my friend just did something extremely brave.
"I need to give him all the comfort and safety to know that he can do this for however long he wants to do this. Share with me, come to me. Which I think shows how amazing their friendship is.
"The whole process, I think, for Eddie is just welcoming Buck into his new obstacles."
And 9-1-1 Season 7 has tried to hone in and shine a light on the Buck and Eddie dynamic. And it's a dynamic that has truly evolved since its introduction.
"Originally, Buck and Eddie were at odds with each other, more so Buck for Eddie," Guzman explained. "And as we've come to know throughout the last seven seasons, Buck is a very, I wouldn't say selfish person, but he makes a lot of issues about himself when they aren't.
"And the way Eddie navigates that is just kind of a no, that's just who he is. And nothing ruffles my feathers. Even if you break my ankle or maim me, it's fine.
"That's who he is, and I love him either way. And there's no competition for Eddie.
"Watching Buck trying to compare himself to so many people rather than just seeing how special he is. And that's a lot of the messages that Eddie's been giving Buck.
"He's like, 'No, man. You are an incredible individual. You're worth all the love in the world. And you need to stop doing certain things. And I'm not going to tell you how to do what you got to do for your life, but allow yourself to be great.'
"And I think that's the evolution of this relationship. It's just kind of being there for each other and allowing each other to feel vulnerable and work with each other."
After confiding in Buck about his relationship issues, Eddie took his concerns to Bobby, who has continuously proven to be a positive soundboard for Eddie and all those in his 118 family.
"Bobby is the unofficial therapist," Guzman said. "I mean, everybody comes to him. There was one episode a year or two years ago when Bobby was off duty because he couldn't come back to the 118, and we were still coming to him.
"So there's a groundedness that Peter gives Bobby, and that just lends itself to those types of scenes.
"Eddie and Bobby's relationship ends up becoming all the more connected through the sharing of their traumas and the trust that they gain through this, again, vulnerability. And it's a very safe space for Eddie.
"So when Eddie goes to Cap, he knows that he's going to get some information that will help him progress in whatever direction, maybe the direction he hadn't thought of before.
"Which is interesting in this new one because it's not giving too much of a direction. It's almost giving Eddie the opportunity back and saying, 'Well, you got to do it for yourself. You have to figure it out for yourself. I don't have any answers for you.'"
By the end of the hour, it was surprising to see the start of the Madney wedding, though things appeared to be getting off to a rather rocky start.
But this being 9-1-1, was there any other way this would go?
Guzman was tight-lipped about what we'll see when the series returns from its mini-hiatus, though he did have a little something to tease.
"We end on a massive cliffhanger. Going into episode six, a lot of chaos is going to ensue. A wedding is going to be happening between Chimney and Maddie.
"The wedding we've always wanted, the wedding everybody's been dreaming about, second to Athena and Bobby and Hen and Karen.
"A wedding is happening, and everything that can go wrong might go wrong."
***This interview has been edited for length and clarity.***
You can watch 9-1-1 on Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.***
