‘9-1-1’s Ryan Guzman Breaks Down Emotional Season 7 Finale And Teases Eddie’s “Difficult” Season 8

Looking back at 9-1-1 Season 7 ahead of its highly-anticipated finale, Ryan Guzman said that as an actor, he was challenged in all the best ways.

Season 7 took Guzman’s character Eddie Diaz out to sea for an epic cruise ship rescue, sent him and the 118 to the Bachelor mansion to form first impressions of Joey Graziadei and Jesse Palmer, and saw him absolutely let loose with his bestie Buck (Oliver Stark) at a Bachelor party. But his journey wasn’t all roses and almost karaoke scenes. Eddie also watched his girlfriend move in only to learn she was a nun, freak out, and watch her move back out. If that wasn’t chaotic enough, he later found himself in a complicated situationship with his late wife Shannon’s doppelgänger, Kim (Devin Kelley). And in 9-1-1‘s Season 7 finale, “All Fall Down,” Eddie’s world completely falls down around him.

After Eddie’s son Christopher catches him with his mom’s look-alike, he calls his grandparents to pick him up and decides to stay with them in Texas indefinitely. On top of his heartbreak at home, Eddie’s second family — the 118 — is rattled to learn Bobby (Peter Krause) has been replaced by the anti-Cap, Captain Gerrard (Brian Thompson). So where does that leave him in Season 8?

“That leaves Eddie in new territory, which can be scary on both spectrums of life,” Guzman told Decider via Zoom. “Is he going to go back into the craziness of beating his walls and going nuts and losing himself? Or is he going to choose something that we’ve never seen in these past seven seasons? My hope is the latter, obviously. But if the first one comes, that’ll be interesting as an actor.”

In honor of 9-1-1‘s Season 7 finale, Guzman chatted with Decider about reuniting with Devin Kelley, the major finale cliffhanger, what Season 8 has in store for Eddie, the profound impact the show had on his personal life, and more.

DECIDER: Before we dive into 9-1-1, just want to say I’m a big Step Up fan and was so happy to see you dancing on Instagram. I hope one day when Eddie is in a better place we can see him bust some moves.

RYAN GUZMAN: Oh, thank you so much. I’m very grateful. We joked about doing something this year, actually. They were going to do something big this year. So maybe — 

Oh, fingers crossed for next season. We need that. I also want to commend you on your balance as an actor this season, because looking back at some of Eddie’s major storylines — the nun debacle, secretly dating his late wife’s doppelgänger — they were admittedly ridiculous, but you found humor and trauma in each. Eddie was really challenged this season, so how did Season 7 challenge you as an actor?

Season 7 challenged me in the best ways as an actor. Tim [Minear] coming back to our show and giving us new life allowed for a lot of playfulness for myself. So I knew that coming into the season I wanted to be a little bit more lighthearted with Eddie. I wanted to showcase some humorous moments and give the idea that Eddie has finally turned this page and he’s kind of had a good life — knowing that at some point in time, it’s all gonna come crashing down on him. And that’s what I think offers great TV. Tim is always the one to tell us that if we were to give each character just good, humorous things to play, then there would be no drama and nobody would want to watch. So in that essence, I loved every bit of Season 7, and I’m so excited for Season 8.

I spoke with Devin Kelley earlier this season and she said working with you again felt like coming home. Do you think we’ve seen the last of Kim after the finale? Did Eddie get the closure he needed, or could Kim and perhaps some mental manifestations of Shannon follow him into Season 8?

I think Tim and I are of the same mind that any chance we have to get Devin back we would. [Laughs] We absolutely love her. She’s an incredible person to act opposite of. She just offers so much texture to each scene that she does. So as far as what happens in Season 8, I never know what’s going to happen on a day to day basis. That’s all Tim. That being said, what I hope for is yes, some premonitions of Shannon or Kim coming back into his life. I don’t know if we’re done with her yet. But if we are done with her, then I think Eddie is going to have a very rough Season 8.

She also joked that she’d be coming back as a guy named Carl next, so we’ll keep our eyes peeled for that.

[Laughs]

There’s a photo of Eddie and Kim (as Shannon) kissing from Episode 9, and in the finale I believe Eddie’s parents mentioned a kiss as well. But the final edit that aired showed the two of them hugging. Do you know why that decision was made?

Yeah. So we played it both ways on the day and the kiss was too much. That is just a complete violation of who we know Eddie to be. So it didn’t live in its truth. And the truth is that this was more cathartic for Eddie. It was a release, and how crazy it was, Eddie leaned into it. So the hug is a great example of holding on to a past, and also the tears at the same time were a release of what’s happening in the present. And then obviously Chris and Marisol walk in, and the reality sets in. So that was a better version than the kiss.

We’ve seen Eddie face his fair share of challenges over the years, but he’s always had Christopher. Now that Chris has taken a step back from their little family unit, where does that leave Eddie in Season 8?

That leaves Eddie in new territory, which can be scary on both spectrums of life. Is he going to go back into the craziness of beating his walls and going nuts and losing himself? Or is he going to choose something that we’ve never seen in these past seven seasons? My hope is the latter, obviously. But if the first one comes, that’ll be interesting as an actor.

It is implied, but not confirmed that Marisol is out of the picture after this episode. Do you think there is a world in which their relationship survives this?

Listen, I know that Marisol is a nun and she’s very forgiving and she’s of the Lord… [Laughs] But this would be very hard to come back from. Crazier things have happened on this show, though. So I don’t know what we’re in store for with Marisol and Eddie.

Speaking of Marisol’s nun arc, Eddie sought out advice from Cap, the practicing Catholic in his life, who later gave him a book of Catholic prayers. Do you think we’ll see Eddie’s relationship with religion explored further in the series?

I think that’s the direction that Tim is writing towards. I mean, Bobby has always had a deep relationship with religion and Catholicism. So I believe this is going to be another conduit for Eddie and allow him to find some sense of structure in a moment of imbalance. It could be a very useful tool for Eddie to get his feet underneath him. How hard he leans into that? I don’t know. I don’t think that he’s gonna be a priest or anything. [Laughs] But I definitely feel like going to lean on what Cap has given him a lot, as he has before.

This season also let us see more of Bobby’s childhood and family. Have there been any talks of more Eddie flashbacks that would let us see him as a kid, or more of his younger years with Shannon? Or even just more of his family — his parents, his sisters — we’re dying to see the sisters, Ryan.

I’m dying to see the sisters. I just had that conversation not too long ago. What happened to the sisters? Did we not like them? What’s going on? [Laughs] Yeah, I think if anything, this would be a great time for the sisters to come back and slap Eddie around, and be like,”What did you do, you idiot? We’ve been telling you for years not do this type of stuff.” So who knows. That’d be a great opportunity for Season 8 as far as the family goes. And Season 5 and 6 we explored the relationship between Eddie and his father, so that’s kind of been mending and he’s more open to that relationship. There’s a lot to be explored. Again, it’s hard to say where Tim’s gonna go with the storylines.

You mentioned Eddie would feel isolated after this finale and now we know why. He called Buck in for reinforcements like we saw him do in the Season 7 premiere. Do you think he’s going to be leaning on Buck more in wake of Christopher’s absence, or is this next stage of growth something you think he needs to figure out on his own?

I think with Eddie we’ve understood that when he first came on the 118 he tried to do a lot on his own, and that didn’t lead him down a healthy path. What we’ve come to know is the best parts of Eddie are when he leans on Cap and Buck. What I would like to see a little bit more, though, is him leaning on Hen and Chim and getting multiple versions of life and influences to get a better spectrum of life. So yeah, I do believe that the absence of Christopher will cause such a void that he’ll have to lean a little bit further on the 118.

The finale ends with another cliffhanger — that the 118 has a new captain. What can you tease about that in Season 8?

Yeah, Captain Gerrard is in effect. We know Gerrard is the worst version of human. So I think Season 8 is, to say the least, going to be difficult navigating, because there won’t be that open family atmosphere. I won’t be coming to Cap for my problems. It’ll be a handle it on your own situation. So that might actually propel Eddie to start to handle these issues by himself again and be seeking out Cap in a way that he never has before. It’s gonna be a lot of variables now with Gerrard, and I think it changes the whole scope of what the 118 is.

Over the years, but especially this year, you’ve been very open about your own mental health struggles, which I want to take a moment to thank you for. Having been on 9-1-1 for years now, do you feel that the show and playing this character — a man who is both macho and incredible vulnerable — has that taught you to better navigate your own life or helped you grow as a person?

There’s been quite a few times where I’ve learned from Eddie. And I believe that this — this show has always been a blessing. The way I received the call to get to be on this show was divine intervention. And I think, as I’ve dove deeper into who Eddie is and explored Eddie, I have found a lot of myself. That being said, I think it happened at the perfect time in my life. Truth be told, that the event you just talked about happened right before getting 9-1-1. So there was a moment for me where I wanted something new, I needed to be some something new — someone new. I need to explore myself. So that exploration allowed for a lot of awareness that I never had before. And coming into understanding Eddie, it was just a great sounding board of what can and can’t work. So yeah, there’s been plenty of times where Eddie has helped me out and it’s kind of crazy.

This interview was edited for length and clarity.

9-1-1 Season 7 is now streaming on Hulu. Season 8 premieres on ABC in Fall 2024. Read on to learn everything we know.