It’s Christmas time in LA again, resulting in the 118 getting called out to Christmas themed emergencies. Buck has trouble picking out a Christmas gift for Taylor. Meanwhile, Eddie makes a heartbreaking decision regarding what’s best for Christopher.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Chase Scene: The man that is discovered by wife #2 of his Secret Other Family, is chased by both women throughout the Christmas village setup. All three push and dodge their way through the other customers, before the man is struck by a vehicle on the street.
- Christmas Episode
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Eddie quitting the 118.
- Continuity Nod:
- Bobby tells Buck that he proposed to Athena for their first Christmas together in Merry Ex-Mas
- Buck mentions that Shannon returned on Christmas in Merry Ex-Mas
- Eddie mentions to Carla that he learnt the hard way that bullets don’t bounce off of him, referencing the events of Eddie Begins and Suspicion.
- Crying Wolf: An old woman continually calls 911 over Christmas time and gives fake emergencies, she’s lonely and calling to be able to talk to someone. An alert gets put on her address, so the 911 dispatchers know they must verify an actual emergency before sending anyone out to her.
- Faking Amnesia: After getting discovered that he has two wives and getting hit by a vehicle resulting in two broken ankles, the husband thinks he can fake amnesia to buy himself time to think up an explanation. Buck points out that he would have more luck trying to make the wives forget.
- Gingerbread House: Christopher is seen building one.
- Internal Reveal: Carla learns that Eddie was taken hostage at gunpoint.
- Mall Santa: The families in the cold opening are on their way to visit Santa.
- Mistaken for Cheating: A wife accuses her husband of cheating, but when doing the math on the ages of the other women’s children, she realises that she is the one the husband is cheating with.
- My New Gift Is Lame: After having trouble deciding what to get Taylor for Christmas, Buck gets her a bracelet that doubles as a distress beacon. Taylor in turn gets Buck a sweater.
- Plagued by Nightmares: Christmas time and the recent traumatic events involving Eddie have brought back painful memories for Christopher, resulting in him suffering from nightmares.
- Midseason Finale: Last episode before the hiatus.
- Secret Other Family: A woman is at a Santa Claus event with her daughter, talking about missing her pilot husband. At which point, the girl spots her father...with another woman and sons. It's after the guy runs away from them and is hit by a trolley that the first woman realizes the other woman's kids are older, meaning she's his ‘second’ wife. They're still fighting at the hospital before it hits them; they're both better off without him, with Athena dryly telling the guy he "should ask Santa for a lawyer."
- Shout-Out: After getting judged on how he put up the Christmas decorations, Eddie tells Carla that it felt like getting judged by Martha Stewert.
- Wham Line:Eddie: I'm leaving the 118.
