S07.E06: There Goes The Groom

[DanaK]

Quote

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT 

After years of anticipation, Maddie and Chimney's long-awaited wedding day arrives. However, when the groom mysteriously vanishes, the 118 races against time to ensure he doesn't miss the most crucial day of his life.

 

[Snazzy Daisy]

[fastiller]

Well now.  That was heavy stuff.  The previews made it seem like it was going to be like The Hangover. Still not fond of that dress, though.

Edit: Bobby's ordained/licensed?

Edit2: Buck & Tommy & the soot!

Edited May 3 by fastiller

[ajsnaves]

19 minutes ago, fastiller said:

Edit: Bobby's ordained/licensed?

I just assumed much like ship captains, fire captains can officiate weddings. I means it’s really rather obvious when you think about it. 

[possibilities]

I was fine with the dress. It seemed to me like a pretty normal wedding dress, so if you like white lacy wedding dresses, it seemed like pretty standard stuff, though maybe showing more boob than usual. 

I was really annoyed by Buck and Eddie getting shitfaced and trashing the room. Grow up, assholes! And who is paying for the damage? Better not leave Chim with that bill.

I did think sootface was funny, though. I guess they needed some levity to end on.

I didn't see the car theft coming. I had thought maybe Chim was in a car accident and the good samaritan was going to drive him to the hospital, clearly seeing he was in distress. 

But then when I saw the shaking hand, he was obviously having a medical thing, even before the car.

 

[kwnyc]

Does this mean we are never going to find out how Chimney got his name??? ;-)

And everyone Chim ran across on his journey is going to have to get tested for encephalitis!

Also, I'm so glad Kevin came to save him. Doug can burn in hell.

And Maddy is right: a hospital honeymoon is definitely better than an upside down cruise ship.

Edited May 3 by kwnyc

[CoyoteBlue]

1 hour ago, fastiller said:

Edit: Bobby's ordained/licensed?

Honestly, anyone can get ordained via the internet (been that way since the 90s, iirc). He probably signed up because as FireDaddy, he's gonna get requests like this.

I loved Chim not remembering how he came to be called Chimney. I was kinda expecting him not to answer to people calling for him as "Chim" at some point during the search.

I was kinda amused that the previews suggested The Hangover and it was just Buck and Eddie having a good night.

• Maddie: Why are you dressed like that?
• Buck: It was a themed party.
• Maddie: What was it, pastel and puke?

Why is Chimney sporting a "beard" like an elderly hobo? How long has he been wearing that grey scruff like it's a beard?

[MrsDixon2U]

Oh, show how I missed thee. I really enjoyed this episode. I’m happy that Madney finally got married! It wasn’t looking good for the home team for awhile there, but I enjoyed the journey. Kenneth Choi held my attention and got me caught up in Chimney’s angst. I cringed, I cried, I chuckled. I’m so glad they didn’t go the brain damage route for him; Chimney has been a lonely heart for so long and Maddie’s been thru the wringer, they deserved this happy ending. I enjoyed seeing Kevin again and I was moved by the Lee’s & Chimney honoring the anniversary of his death. I honestly don’t know how I feel about Doug returning; I guess they needed an antagonist for the story to illustrate Chimney’s confusion.

My man Buck getting busy with Tommy, smut face and all. I’m kinda digging this journey of discovery for him. I don’t have a dog in this race I just want Buck to find his peace with whoever. I had to giggle at Hen & Karen with their all-knowing looks and comments.

My beloved Bathena. Bobby officiating the wedding with a beaming Athena looking on was everything. My goodness I love the sound of Peter’s voice and he ain’t too shabby to look at either. When Bobby turned his head and fixed his gaze directly on Athena as he recited “An unbroken circle without end” I melted. The looks, the little touches between Bathena really warms my cold black heart.

[possibilities]

The bus driver didn't ask Chim for a fare. It made me wonder if the bus itself was another of his hallucinations.

[Irlandesa]

I believe they looked at video feed of Chim on the bus because they saw him talking to hallucination Doug.  JLH's husband is very good at being creepy.

I just assumed Chimney might have had some money in his pants when he got on the bus.

2 hours ago, MrsDixon2U said:

My man Buck getting busy with Tommy, smut face and all. I’m kinda digging this journey of discovery for him.

I liked how the episode sandwiched heavy stuff with some light comedy. Oliver Stark had mentioned that others would find out about him and Tommy but he didn't give specifics.  I'm glad because that surprise was amazing. As was Chim's last line.

2 hours ago, kwnyc said:

Does this mean we are never going to find out how Chimney got his name??? ;-)

I kind of don't want to ever find out now.  After Chim's last line of this episode, I realized I don't think the show could ever top the mystery of its origins. 

[sweetandsour]

Did we even get a throwaway line about why Albert was not at the wedding?  I understand they probably couldn't get John Harlan Kim, but I want an acknowledgement, at least!

We get Doug instead.  Great...  Doug, of all people!

I remember how i initially bristled at the depiction of Chimney early in season 1.  I haven't rewatched those episodes, but i remember him being a sad sack and settling for some European girlfriend who clearly didn't even like him and was just using him.  I didn't care for that, period, and I really didn't care for it with an Asian male character, who (along with Asian women often don't get much nuance.  I was annoyed at Chimney being what I guess I would call "a beta simp" even though I don't like those terms.  Certain demographics don't get portrayed much in (western) media, so it's worse when they seem to fit negative stereotypes.

All that said, I am so happy with the distance they have gone with Chimney and Kenneth Choi has injected into Chimney since those early days.

Peter Krause can officiate any of my future weddings any day.

[Whodunnit]

1 hour ago, sweetandsour said:

Peter Krause can officiate any of my future weddings any day.

Or any other members of the 118.

[fastiller]

5 hours ago, sweetandsour said:

Peter Krause can officiate any of my future weddings any day.

Is that a euphemism? 

[Lady Calypso]

This episode was a total bait and switch. The promos made it seem like it was going to be The Hangover; turns out, it was actually Memento.

I don't think the bachelor scenes were necessary beyond a quick montage. I think they would have benefitted from immediately jumping into the action, rather than spend five-ten minutes on why Buck/Eddie decided to share one brain cell and randomly trash a hotel room and kick open a door. It just felt thrown in strictly for the bait and switch, because them deciding to get drunk AFTER knowing Chimney wasn't answering his phone felt out of place. 

But other than that weird decision, the rest of the episode was fantastic. I wish Maddie got involved in the action more, but the Chimney stuff was excellent. I'm glad we explored some of his deepest traumas a little bit. Kenneth Choi is easily the best actor on this show, so I'm glad he got that moment for himself. I love that we explored more of the Lees and we got an appearance by Kevin!

Viral encephalitis is not what I expected to be going on, but at least it's different than the dozen injuries Chimney has gotten. 

I do wish Maddie was involved more. For a wedding episode, she didn't get to participate as much as she should have. I wish she was the one to figure out where Chimney went, at least. 

But the actual hospital wedding was nice. A bit cliche, but perfect for the characters and everyone that needed to be there were there. 

Some nice levity in the episode as well with Buck coming out because he had soot on his face after making out with Tommy, and Hen's "about damn time" was hilarious (of course Hen knew!) and it still had some excellent moments throughout. 

[kwnyc]

I've pretty much decided that Chim is immortal. From rebar through the head, to being stabbed, by Doug AND a gurney, to performing triage with viral encephalitis, nothing can stop our man!

[Chaos Theory]

I was actually kinda worried the show was going to pull a “Chimney doesn’t  remember Maddie or his daughter  at all” story.

Love the show not prolonging the “Buck is dating Tommy” reveal and just went with the simplest way to do it in the most Buck way possible.

And yeah a hospital wedding is strangely appropriate for Chimney and Maddie.

 

Edited May 3 by Chaos Theory
My cell phone hates me and makes up words.

[tennisgurl]

Wow, I really thought we were going to be getting wacky Hangover shenanigan's, but of course Chim and Maddie cant have something that simple. I thought that he had some leftover brain issues from way back when he got rebar stuck in his head or one of his many other serious injuries, I didn't see it being anything like that. I am very glad that Chim is alright and that he and Maddie are finally married, they've been through so much they deserve a happy ending. Getting married in a hospital does make sense for them, and I agree that its at least better than an upside down cruise ship. 

I can totally buy Buck getting wasted and trashing a hotel room with a bunch of random girls, but I'm surprised that Eddie went along with it, he's usually more responsible. I guess he really wanted some bro time? 

I love that everyone found out about Buck dating Tommy because of the soot on his face and that Hen had already picked up the vibe. That seems very Buck. 

I can imagine it would be hard to get John Harlan Kim back for an episode, but it was weird not to even get a reference to Albert. I did like seeing Kevin again at least. 

[luna1122again]

59 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

 

I love that everyone found out about Buck dating Tommy because of the soot on his face and that Hen had already picked up the vibe. That seems very Buck. 

I can imagine it would be hard to get John Harlan Kim back for an episode, but it was weird not to even get a reference to Albert. I did like seeing Kevin again at least. 

Why would it be so hard to get him back? 

Buck's parents, especially his mom, looked completely bewildered and not happy about Buck's sooty face. I'm guessing she never...guessed. Wonder if that'll be a plot point later?

[kwnyc]

Chim sent Maddie a wedding video! (Kenneth Choi's Insta).

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6epZsRS4EG/?igsh=MThlcmg1bmp0eTJseg==

[eel2178]

6 hours ago, kwnyc said:

I've pretty much decided that Chim is immortal. From rebar through the head, to being stabbed, by Doug AND a gurney, to performing triage with viral encephalitis, nothing can stop our man!

For someone who was supposed to have been at death's door when he was found, he made a remarkable recovery especially considering he didn't have anything in the way of the necessary medical equipment in his hospital room.

[iMonrey]

I wasn't thrilled with this episode. I'm used to having soapy subplots thrown in amongst the fire and rescue stories, but when the entire episode is devoted to one long soapy plot it's not the show I bargained for. That said, it was a nice episode for Kenneth Choi and I do like Chim so that softened the blow a bit.

Who was Kevin, was he ever on the show? I've completely lost track of Chim's history. I know he had a younger half brother named Albert, and the last thing I remember is that basically his father remarried when he was little and started a whole new family so he had been estranged from him for years and never really knew his brother. 

Maddie going to the 911 call center in full bridal gown and veil was absurd. It would have taken her a few minutes to change into regular clothes before heading out of the church or wherever the wedding venue was. That was an awfully silly trope.

And yeah, I don't see the humor in Buck and Eddie bringing a bunch of strangers to Chim's hotel room and trashing the place. What are they, 12?

[eel2178]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Who was Kevin, was he ever on the show? I've completely lost track of Chim's history. I know he had a younger half brother named Albert, and the last thing I remember is that basically his father remarried when he was little and started a whole new family so he had been estranged from him for years and never really knew his brother. 

Kevin was the son of the couple who took Chimney in after his mother died. They aren't biological brothers.

Kevin became a firefighter (if I remember right to emulate Chimney), and he died saving a pregnant woman during a fire. Chimney felt responsible for his death.

Edited May 3 by eel2178

[DearEvette]

Obviously the underlying theme of this episode was: Karaoke!

First his bachelor party was supposed to be an 80s themed Karaoke bachelor party

and then we are reminded Chim worked at a Karaoke bar

and finally, the 'Islands in the Stream' song that ran under their wedding was the first song Chim and Maddie song together at Karaoke!

This was a good ep with a lot of callbacks: Kevin, Doug (and all the references to stabbing) and of course the aforementioned karaoke.  But I am bummed it wasn't the Hangover-eqsue hijinks that were hinted in the promo. 

I am disappointed in Buck and Eddie and how stupid and childish they were during the Not!Bachelor party.  I mean, Buck can be impulsive and stupid but I would have thought Eddie was too mature for that idiocy.

Lovely ending though with a special nod to Bobby and Athena exchanging looks during the vows.  Also the look on Buck's mom's face when he walked in with his sooty face had me howling. 

[eel2178]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Maddie going to the 911 call center in full bridal gown and veil was absurd. It would have taken her a few minutes to change into regular clothes before heading out of the church or wherever the wedding venue was. That was an awfully silly trope.

However, Maddie is such a huge drama queen, she would have been "unable" to spare the time to change clothes because she would feel it might take some of the attention away from her.

[Snazzy Daisy]

I am disappointed at first because I really want Madney’s wedding to be perfect after what they’ve been through - intimate ceremony at a gorgeous location with Jee Yun as their flower girl and everything.

Then they have to settle for a hospital wedding.  But JLH’s rendition of the timeless classic “Islands in the Stream” has changed my mind. It’s a perfect backdrop for the ceremony with Bobby marrying them and Jee Yun as their balloon girl. It’s intimately beautiful. 💙

All they need to do now is stay safe, don’t leave home, no honeymoon etc.

Chim hallucinating about Kevin saving him has brought me to tears. Chimney Begins episode feels fresh in mind, it’s like Kevin never left. 😭💔

[Diana Berry]

23 hours ago, kwnyc said:

Does this mean we are never going to find out how Chimney got his name??? ;-)

And everyone Chim ran across on his journey is going to have to get tested for encephalitis!

Also, I'm so glad Kevin came to save him. Doug can burn in hell.

And Maddy is right: a hospital honeymoon is definitely better than an upside down cruise ship.

That was my question isn’t everyone exposed that had contact with Chim? 

[Attatude]

I liked the episode and did not expect to.  It’s refreshing to see a different kind of wedding episode. I wasn’t excited about the predictable hangovers or another quiet, boring formal wedding. Instead, Bucks and Eddie sobered up fast when they realized Chimney was in trouble.  The best parts were seeing Kevin again. They never should have killed him off.  Also the return of Maddie’s evil ex.  The hospital wedding was satisfying. Nice to see Athena and Bobby are back in a good space in their marriage.

The bad.  That dress was even more hideous the longer Maddie wore it.  I was disappointed she got married in it at the end.  She has a beautiful full figure and could have looked lovely in something stylish.  That was the ugliest thing they could have found.

Oh Buck. The hotel room. And Eddie disappointed me by being part of the destructive duo.  Haven’t we seen enough bad behavior?  This should be a turning point for Buck. He’s not 18 anymore.

[CoyoteBlue]

On 5/3/2024 at 9:26 PM, Diana Berry said:

That was my question isn’t everyone exposed that had contact with Chim? 

Chim has had the disease for TWO WEEKS, so yeah, surprised that

1. no one thought to notify the team when it turned out they rescued a guy in the later stages of viral encephalitis
2. or it took the hospital two weeks to realize that?
3. Maddie should have been horrified that Jee Yun might have it, having lived in close quarters (and probably sharing food & drink regularly) for TWO WEEKS
4. Also, is it kinda sad that over TWO WEEKS, Maddie and Chim haven't swapped enough bodily fluids for her to have it?

I mean, if it were one of those meningitis-like viruses that hit fast and they did the initial rescue a day or two ago, sure, but TWO WEEKS? Hell, I've watched my friends and their pre-schooler toddler pass various respiratory diseases around like a revolving door of snot and coughing. 😆

[marceline]

This episode highlighted everything I dislike about Buck but mainly his lack of maturity. He doesn't respect boundaries and he has zero impulse control.

Not just destroying the hotel room (BTW, kicking in the door of the hotel should've resulted in a call to the police) but even having the party at all. Chimney told him flat out that he didn't want a party and Buck literally responded "Yes, you do!" Then the morning after that disgusting party, they don't shower and change? They just show up at the venue gross and stinky.

I'm not even going to get into Buck and Tommy. I'm just skipping those scenes.

I've got to say if there was an Emmy for Best Crier, JLH would rule that category. Yes, the dress was awful. I was reminded of some of the outfits they used to dress her in on Ghost Whisperer. I was convinced that the wardrobe person on that show hated her.

On 5/3/2024 at 3:39 PM, eel2178 said:

For someone who was supposed to have been at death's door when he was found, he made a remarkable recovery especially considering he didn't have anything in the way of the necessary medical equipment in his hospital room.

I feel like the show blew a lot of its budget on the cruise ship episodes so now they're just going to need to cut back where they can.

[shapeshifter]

Did they ever find Chim's car??

 

What are the legal implications for trashing an expensive hotel room?

 

So the purpose of the wedding dress was to make clear Maddie was wearing a wedding dress. Period. Full stop. 

 

On 5/2/2024 at 11:20 PM, kwnyc said:

And everyone Chim ran across on his journey is going to have to get tested for encephalitis!

There was a line  from Hen:
"Chimney was the only one that spent time nose-to-nose in a ventilation shaft with a carrier"
(plus we saw the sick guy cough in Chim's face).
Fortunately only the fictional TV version of viral encephalitis works this way; it's not something we viewers need to worry about: 

Quote

Encephalitis caused by a virus is known as "viral encephalitis". In rare cases, encephalitis is caused by bacteria, fungi or parasites. You can catch these infections from someone else, but encephalitis itself is not spread from person to person.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/encephalitis/causes/#:~:text=Encephalitis caused by a virus,spread from person to person.

— although all of the people Chimney was in close contact with could come down with the same virus, just not likely in their brains.🧠

But what about Buck and Eddie's drunken partying with strangers who clearly didn't worry about personal safety? They should get tested for lots of stuff!
Ooo, maybe Buck impregnated a stranger whose baby she would be happy for Buck and Tommy to adopt after she gets home to some place like Texas or Idaho.
That would explain why they included that bit at all.

Using Tommy's soot transfer to telegraph his and Buck's snogging grossed me out, but I guess it worked as shorthand in a whew!-we-got-that-part-of-the-script-done-and-over-with sort of way.
IDK.
My TV laughometer rarely registers.

Edited May 5 by shapeshifter

[Irlandesa]

35 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

What are the legal implications for trashing an expensive hotel room?

They'll likely get a cleaning upcharge or charged for anything they broke or ruined beyond repair.  As messy as that room was, I couldn't really tell if anything was that far gone.  It mostly looked like they'll be on the hook for a pillow, extra bottle cleaning and maybe carpet cleaning. 

It doesn't look like the hotel staff even came up to interrupt their party so I doubt there will be any criminal implications of it.  

[Attatude]

The hotel room scene shows that they think of Buck as immature and somewhat hopeless.  They don’t respect the character so how can we?  

Where is Mae?  She disappeared. We saw a glimpse of Harry in trouble in one episode but no Mae. Doesn’t she even come home to visit? 

[SunnyBeBe]

It seems odd to me to see a hospital wedding for a patient with a brain ailment.  Lol. Your mind needs to be really clear.  
 

The gown must have had sentimental value.  It reminded me of mine….from the 90’s!  Stylish back then.  
 

I had to fast forward through some parts.  Immature adults wrecking things is not amusing, imo.  
 

 

 

Edited May 8 by SunnyBeBe