What Happened to Christopher on 9-1-1? Here’s Where Eddie’s Son Went
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When one door closes, another one opens — at least, that much was true for the 9-1-1 Season 7 finale. While Bobby survived his close call with death, fans said goodbye to another beloved character as Christopher Diaz left 9-1-1 (and life with his dad, Eddie) in the Season 7 finale.
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What happened to Christopher Diaz on 9-1-1?
9-1-1 seemed to confirm that Christopher, who’s been played by Gavin McHugh since Season 2, was leaving the series after the Season 7 finale, which saw the character move back to Texas to live with his father Eddie Diaz’s parents. The decision came after Christopher caught Eddie cheating on his girlfriend, Marisol, with a woman named Kim, who looked uncannily similar to Christopher’s mother and Eddie’s late wife, Shannon, who died in Season 2. (Shannon and Kim are both played by actress Devin Kelley.)
After he caught Eddie and Kim, Eddie locked himself in his room, where he called his grandparents and asked if they could fly to Los Angeles from Texas to get him. Once they were in L.A., Eddie’s parents empathized with their son, who started his affair with Kim as a grieving mechanism for Shannon’s death, but informed them that Christopher wanted to move back to Texas for a while. Though hesitant at first, Eddie agreed and allowed Christopher to move away. Eddie and Christopher’s final moments together showed Eddie saying goodbye to his son, who was still angry at him for his affair, and telling him that he’s welcome back to L.A. whenever he’s ready to return.
As a result of the storyline, McHugh — who has been a main cast member on 9-1-1 since Season 3 — had a reduced role for Season 8. McHugh was the only main cast member to exit 9-1-1 following Season 7. However, there was speculation that Peter Krause, who has played Captain Bobby Nash since Season 1, would also leave the series following his heart attack in the Season 7 penultimate episode that left him hospitalized and on life support. At the end of the Season 7 finale, Bobby, who suffered a heart attack after a fire broke out in his and his wife Athena Grant’s home while they were sleeping, recovered from his injuries and reunited with the rest of Station 118.
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Other cast members expected to return for Season 8 include Angela Bassett (Athena), Oliver Stark (Evan “Buck” Buckley), Alisha Hinds (Henrietta “Hen” Wilson), Kenneth Choi Howard “Chimney” Han), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Maddie Buckley), and Ryan Guzman (Edmundo “Eddie” Diaz.)
9-1-1 was renewed for an eighth season in April 2024 after it became ABC’s most-watched current series across all platforms following its premiere on the network in March 2024. (The series originally aired on FOX from Seasons 1 to 6 but moved to ABC after FOX cancelled 9-1-1 in May 2023, which allowed ABC to renew it.)
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter after the 9-1-1 finale, Guzman, who plays Eddie, opened up about his character’s difficult decision to allow Christopher to move away as he dealt with his mental health. “I think there is a full acknowledgement that Eddie is not the best part of Christopher’s life anymore, that he does not offer the best and healthiest version for Christopher anymore. That’s not only crushing to Eddie, but now the acceptance of that fact is something that I don’t think Eddie has really leaned into [yet]. We will explore it in season eight,” Guzman said.
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Guzman also told The Hollywood Reporter about what he wanted to convey in Eddie’s final scene with Christopher, as well as when Christopher caught him cheating with Kim. “I’ll touch on the first scene where Christopher sees a version of his mom. With that scene, I was playing more so the fact that ‘I just destroyed my son again,’ and the fact that ‘I’ll never be able to come back or explain this [to Christopher],'” he said. “There’s no way I can explain why I’m talking to a woman who looks exactly like his dead mother, and why I’m keeping it from him while connecting with this new woman that I’ve brought into his life. It’s just a shift of a world that you can’t explain to a person experiencing that. At such a young age — 13, 14 years old — you’re not going to be able to rationalize that.”
He continued of Eddie and Christopher’s final scene together. “So, cutting into this last scene that we shot of Eddie finally saying goodbye to Christopher, I think there is a full acknowledgement that Eddie is not the best part of Christopher’s life anymore, that he does not offer the best and healthiest version for Christopher anymore,” he said. “That’s not only crushing to Eddie, but now the acceptance of that fact is something that I don’t think Eddie has really leaned into yet. We will explore it in season eight. There was a balancing act for myself as an actor: “How do I convey that this is breaking dad’s heart? But I know you’re making the right decision. I have to let you do what you need to do.”
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Guzman also told The Hollywood Reporter about whether he sees Christopher forgiving his father for his infidelity. “I mean, I think just as far as human nature goes and especially as men, we kind of age a little slower than women do [emotionally speaking],” he said. “It took me forever to look back at my own life and forgive my own dad for things that I should have forgiven way earlier on. And [it’s important] to humanize your father. We always grow up with this idealization of ‘Dad is Superman, and he gives us so many answers, so he must know everything.’ And when that harsh reality is given to us that, no, he’s just a human being trying to figure it out, we can’t, again, rationalize that.”
He continued, “So I don’t think there will be an opportunity for Christopher to forgive Eddie. I think now, it’s about, how does this change who Christopher is for the rest of the entirety of his life? It won’t be until he gets to that mature moment where he can look back and be like, “Oh, I’ve had enough trauma myself now. I can understand, Dad, that you were just trying your best.” So this will be a new life for both Christopher and Eddie. We’ve broken down a barrier at such a young age that I think propels Christopher to find his own manliness, his own manhood, in a way that maybe Eddie actually wanted, but obviously, this is the worst way to propel it.”
9-1-1 is available to stream on Hulu.
Watch ‘9-1-1’ on Hulu
For more on 9-1-1, check out how much the cast makes per episode — including who’s the highest paid — in the gallery below.
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