The Best And Worst Traits Of Every 9-1-1 Character

When it comes to television procedurals, Fox's "9-1-1" has some of the most developed, interesting characters out there. And, yes, the show is largely about the case of the week, but it is also firmly centered on the lives of its first-responder characters. All of these characters are fully fleshed-out beings –- heroes who display unimaginable bravery and high-level skill, but who are flawed humans with real issues and struggles. It is their fascinating histories, dynamic home lives, and complex relationships that make the show what it is.

Fox began airing "9-1-1" in 2018, and the series is now in its fifth season. As a Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear production, it is expectedly campy and extravagant, but the characters thrive in quiet moments. The rescuers (and their families) have tackled everything from addiction to divorce to domestic abuse, not to mention their career-related dramas like kidnapping and rogue shooters. Through it all, they have displayed both positive and negative characteristics. Here are the best and worst traits for every main character on "9-1-1."

While she is extremely competent, Athena is also sometimes a loose cannon. She does not like people telling her what to do, even if it is for her best interest, and she is not one to wait for permission so much as ask for forgiveness. Her stubbornness and inability to stop herself has gotten in her way multiple times, resulting in both personal injury as well as professional setbacks. For example, even though it was cathartic for Athena to find her former fiancé's killer, she went against the rules in her investigation and was suspended from her job because of it.

Athena also let her emotions get the best of her when she busted up a party being thrown by her daughter May's (Corinne Massiah) bullies, right after May attempted suicide. She did not just go off on the girls, but arrested one of them for drug possession, even though she should not have been at the house in the first place. Athena was then put on desk duty for her actions. Perhaps the best examples of Athena being too independent and stubborn are when she puts her own life at risk because she does not do what she is told or follow protocols. Toward the end of Season 3, Athena is ferociously attacked by a serial rapist when she tracks him to a storage facility. If she had waited for backup to go inside, she may not have had to endure the brutal injuries he inflicted.

Many of the main characters on "9-1-1" have sad backstories, but of all the characters, Bobby's past is the most tragic. Throughout Season 1, we learn about Bobby's darkest demons, starting with an alcohol and pill addiction that developed due to an on-the-job injury. After going in and out of rehab, Bobby's addiction got to the point where he kept a separate apartment in his building, away from his family. Bobby left a space heater on in his second apartment one day after a drinking binge there. When he returned home his wife confronted him on his drinking and kicked him out. While he was outside the building a fire started due to the combination of the heater and faulty materials that were not up to code. One hundred and forty-eight people perished, including Bobby's wife and two children.

In the Season 1 episode "Bobby Begins Again," we learn that Bobby moved to Los Angeles after a suicide attempt -– during which his own team had to revive him -– and nearly a year in rehab. It is also explained that Bobby keeps a journal with the names of each person he saves, as he intends to kill himself when he breaks even. While he later ditched that plan, the guilt and sadness inside of Bobby has never –- and will never –- entirely disappear. It comes up again when he gets suspended, pending an investigation into the fire, and also due to his interactions with his wife Athena and her own children.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Buck was a rookie when "9-1-1" started, and viewers know that it took him a while to settle into the job. In the premiere episode, Athena scolds Buck when he expresses that he does not think a person deserves their care (the mother had harmed her own child). He is portrayed as argumentative and reckless in the earliest episode, and Bobby even fires Buck after he repeatedly takes the fire truck out in pursuit of sexual escapades (he is rehired after he helps Athena make a save). Nowadays, Buck's impulsivity ends decently most of the time –- such as when he disobeyed an order to evacuate a factory (in Season 4, Episode 5) and made a big save on his own.

Buck is, however, still his own worst enemy, as evidenced by his Season 3 arc. After being brutally injured in the Season 2 finale when he became victim to a serial bomber, it was not originally guaranteed that Buck would recover enough to rejoin the team. In the Season 3 premiere, Buck is put back on medical leave after he starts throwing up blood. Rather than take a desk job for the Los Angeles Fire Department, Buck impulsively quits his job. He later decides to take a fire inspector job (in the fourth episode of the season) and gets cleared to return to active duty, but only after filing a lawsuit against the LAFD and the city -– which does not go over well with the others.

As we have established, Hen is a good person who cares deeply about others. It is surprising, then, that she has not always exhibited that high level of caring for the person closest to her -– her wife, Karen (Tracie Thoms). In Season 1's seventh episode, Hen cheated on Karen with her ex-girlfriend, Eva, who was recently released from prison. In true Hen fashion, she immediately regretted it, asking Chimney why she would do such a thing. "It wasn't a mistake, it was a choice, Chimney," she said in Episode 10. "And I've got to ask myself why? Why would I make that choice?"

Hen and Karen were able to work through the cheating and even weathered a messy custody battle with Eva (and later with their child's biological father, as well). That said, Hen is still sometimes withholding from her wife, which causes Karen a fair amount of distress. In Season 3, Episode 17, Karen takes Hen's phone to Chimney's apartment because she suspects Hen is cheating again. While this time, Hen's secrecy was because she was covertly prepping to take the MCAT and go to medical school, she displayed a lack of care by using Chimney in her lies and deceiving Karen once again.

While Chimney is lovable like a puppy dog, he also sometimes displays a level of observation that you might also expect from a canine (that is, not great). He sees what he wants to see and is not good at picking up on signs from others. This is evident early on in the show, starting with his relationship with girlfriend Tatiana (Rachel Breitag). After Chimney's proposal did not go as planned, he took off in a car and got into a terrible accident resulting in a spike through the forehead that nearly killed him. As Chimney lay in the hospital, Tatiana broke it off, realizing that she was more into the idea of an EMT than Chimney himself.

Similarly to how he did not pick up on Tatiana's disinterest, Chimney did not attend to current girlfriend Maddie's obvious struggles after the birth of their baby, largely ignoring the clear signs of postpartum depression. It took Maddie leaving her family for Chimney to actually wake up. "She was struggling, and I felt like there wasn't anything I could do other than drive her to her appointments or remind her to take her pills, so whenever she would tell me she was okay, I let myself believe it because it was easier that way, for me," he told a fellow EMT in the seventh episode of Season 5. "So, I could go to work, put on a happy face, not be filled with terror every freaking moment. That's great for me, not so good for her."

Compared to the other main characters, we do not know as much about Eddie -– and this may be because his personality is less developed and less vibrant than the others. When Eddie first arrived at the 118 it seemed like he would be a central factor in the show, but he often feels like an afterthought when there is a team scene. This seems to have gotten worse, and we can't help but wonder if there is any link to Ryan Guzman's racism scandal, on which many of his co-stars publicly commented (via People). But then again, it is not like Eddie was ever really a ball of fun.

In addition to the lack of excitement Eddie brings to the table, he has also been depicted as somewhat angry and aggressive. This was most obvious when he and Buck were fighting over Buck's decision to file a lawsuit against the department and city. First Eddie got into a fight over parking, which resulted in him being arrested for assault. Then, at the suggestion of Lena -– a fellow firefighter played by wrestler Rhonda Rousey –- he became involved in an underground fighting ring. Two episodes later (in Season 3, Episode 8), Eddie nearly killed his fighting opponent in the ring. He has since mellowed (seemingly), but Eddie has yet to get much of a personality outside of his father and firefighter roles.

Let's start with the obvious: Maddie runs away from her problems. And while we cannot really fault her from running from her abusive ex-husband Doug (played by Hewitt's real-life husband, Brian Hallisay), perhaps prosecuting him would have been a better option. After tracking Maddie down, Doug kidnapped Maddie and stabbed Chimney (toward the end of Season 2), which may have been avoidable if she had Doug locked up before fleeing.

Maddie once again fled the scene in Season 5, feeling that Chimney and their daughter would be better off without her around. This happened because of Maddie's severe postpartum depression, so again, we cannot fault her for the choice, but we still think that there were other ways of dealing with the situation. Though it is obvious the storyline is a way to deal with Hewitt's maternity leave, why could Maddie not have let others know about her struggle and gone away to an in-patient treatment program? Why did she need to leave without any notice? Because it fits her pattern.

Maddie's experiences in life –- both with her ex-husband as well as her dysfunctional family -– seem to have turned her into someone who lacks confidence and self-esteem. Nearly everyone in her life, from brother Buck to boyfriend Chimney to her bosses at the call center, can see how smart and caring she is, but Maddie does not seem to know her worth.