Ah, it's time for that wonderful time of year at the 118 when the firefighters have to sit across from Bobby and get the rundown of everything they're doing well on the job and what they could be doing better.

Performance reviews are stressful, even when you know you're killing it at work.

Or they're stressful for some people, but not Chimney. He's not worried about what Bobby has to tell him during 9-1-1 Season 6 Episode 14, and that's why it's such a shock to him when he's shoveled off to the academy to brush up on his leadership skills.

We all remember Captain Han, don't we? Those were rough times.

Chimney has never aspired to ascend to the big chair, which is not a problem. But even if you don't want to be the "leader,' you should still work on the skill set it takes to be in that position.

Chimney has been a firefighter for a long time, and he made a good point about how long he's been there and how well he's acquainted with things. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he outlasted everyone there in the end.

But when you've been somewhere for a long time, you can get complacent, which was part of the reason Bobby decided the academy was the perfect place for him to go. There's nothing like returning to the start to remind yourself where you came from and what it's all about.

Chimney's return to the academy coincided with the return of Ravi, who had been MIA the whole season.

Since he debuted, Ravi quickly grew on both the team and the audience, and while the show must go on, and it has pretty damn well during 9-1-1 Season 6, there were definitely times when you could have imagined Ravi there and fitting in seamlessly.

He always brought a different energy to the group, as someone a little bit on the outside but still part of the team.

We found out that Ravi was at the academy after hurting his shoulder in a daring off-hours rescue, and he seemed to be excelling in his role as peer instructor.

Chimney, in all his glory, basically just became a glorified Ravi and stepped in to do his own brand of teaching, and he was damn good at it. Chimney is inherently a good leader. He's a good decision-maker, communicates well, and is helpful.

He stepped into the academy and truly gave everyone a taste of what it would be like out in the field in a way that only he could with his years and wealth of knowledge.

Poor Novak was out of his depth, and you could tell that from the jump. But while Ravi had written him off already, Chimney saw him for what he was immediately. And he tested him while also helping him.

Tell me that's not the sign of a great leader!

After the debacle on the wall, Chimney realized right away that the injuries preventing Ravi from re-joining the team were all a façade, and the moment they shared where Ravi got to express his conflicting feelings about the job was a highlight of the hour.

Ravi's rescue had to have been incredibly emotionally taxing, given the circumstances. Finding out the nature of the accident and coming to grips with losing someone would be difficult for anyone, and he questioned the job and what it meant to put on that uniform.

Preserving life is one of the core components of being a firefighter. And while Ravi's internal dilemma made sense, Chimney wasn't wrong to point out that he didn't need to be back in the field if he had serious reservations about which lives were worth saving.

And to Ravi's credit, he knew that. He was bidding his time at the academy, clearly at a crossroads and trying to figure out up from down. Being out in the field will always come with snap decisions, and it was better for him to work through his feelings away from it, especially in the immediate aftermath.

But Chimney saw him hiding and called him on it. He could stay stuck, or he could try to move forward.

Ravi is a damn good firefighter. It's in his blood. But he needed to remember the job and what it entailed, and Chimney gave him that.

The idea of "handing things off" sounded good in theory, but you must imagine it will still take Ravi time to let it go fully. And he may never let it fully go, but he can still do his job with the support and leadership of his peers at the 118.

Leave it to Bobby, Captain of the Year, to understand even from afar that Ravi needed the push, Chimney needed the reminder, and just like that, he got the old band back together again.

Welcome back, Ravi! Hugs all around!

"Performance Anxiety" was an hour that stayed true to its title. Eddie found himself lamenting the fact that he didn't necessarily get to "perform" when his out-of-nowhere date dumped him before he could dump her.

Here's the thing with an Eddie dating storyline at this point in the season; there was no buildup.

Eddie had this complicated and emotional journey through the back half of 9-1-1 Season 5, but throughout 9-1-1 Season 6, he has yet to have much of a storyline outside of being a supporting character to others' journeys.

There had been no indication that Eddie was interested in dating, and that rang true when Pepa blindsided him with a woman sitting at her kitchen table.

Eddie seemed a bit nervous heading into the date, even though Eddie 'I don't panic' Diaz would never cop to that. But that's not abnormal. First dates are inherently stressful.

He seemed resolute in his decision to let the girl down easy, not at all interested in getting to know her.

It wasn't clear whether his reluctance was rooted more in the fact that he didn't like being blindsided and set up or that he genuinely wasn't interested.

Finding out Vanessa was even less interested than him threw Eddie for a loop when it should have made him happy. He didn't want to date her, and she didn't want to date him, so easy peasy. She went off to have a good night, and he could go back home and call Buck to hit up an underground pinnacle tournament or something.

But I was genuinely surprised by Eddie's reaction because it didn't necessarily fit with the way the story was presented, mainly because this is the first time in so long we've even been clued into the fact that Eddie was lonely or ready to put himself out there.

If the end goal was to show us that Eddie WAS ready and willing to date, there were certainly countless other ways to get us here. And they could have planted some seeds along the way because it all felt very abrupt.

With Christopher growing up (way too fast!), a desire to date makes sense, but it would have worked better if we'd had those moments of him sitting alone while Christopher was out or talking about his loneliness.

Pepa's speech wasn't wrong, but there also isn't anything with being alone or doing things in your own time.

If you choose to be by yourself and fill your life with meaningful relationships that aren't romantic, there is nothing wrong with that. We're all different people and don't need to follow anyone else's path.

Pepa pushed him to admit out loud that he didn't want to be alone, and you could decide whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Maybe he would have come to that conclusion on his own, or maybe he did need someone to talk it through with him.

At the very least, she allowed him to work through whether or not he was getting complacent in his personal life. With the answer seemingly being yes, hopefully, this is only step one in the quest for Eddie Diaz's heart.

What comes next for him is the much more intriguing part of this journey.

Now that Eddie's expressed his desire not to be alone, what does real, actual dating look like for him? Will he date around, or does he already have someone in mind that would fit into his life? What are the qualities he wants in a partner?

And most importantly of all, is there enough time this season to adequately portray this journey?

The way things played out here surprised me, so perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised with their ability to do this story justice and not just shoehorn it into the final hours. Eddie deserves as much.

And for the love of all things holy, let Eddie decide what he wants. We don't need any more pep talks from Bobby (I love him, but it's enough), nor do we need any more dates from Pepa. I want to see Eddie figure things out for himself.

The follow-up for Hen came with a little side-plot about her fears regarding Nathaniel's reappearance and what that meant for her and Karen's place in Denny's life, which are valid and relatable fears.

Changes are always challenging and scary.

After years and years of it just being you and your spouse, introducing this whole new parental figure had to be terrifying on some level because of the fear that you'd suddenly not be enough for them.

Love a little Athena and Hen catch-up time, and Athena was right to point out that Hen's anxiety was creating scenarios that didn't exist, though it was easy to catastrophize when feeling so unsure about a new kind of normal.

Part of the issue stemmed from Hen and Karen not knowing Nathaniel. Getting to know him and building their own kind of relationship with him could help ease some of her anxieties.

I'm not saying they have to befriend him and invite him over for family dinners every week because that's unrealistic and not remotely necessary, but that dinner was a nice start in at least showing an interest in a relationship that's important to Denny and understanding the man who's been and will continue to spend time with their son.

Hen's decision not to put on a show and do what her family does was a lovely moment. Their family is beautiful, and they've raised a remarkable son, and they don't need to do anything differently for Nathaniel or anyone else.

The calls during this hour were pretty run-of-the-mill, with their fair share of teachable moments and gore.

The bodybuilding competition, in particular, was a way to showcase how much stock we put into performances that aren't even about us sometimes. That boy was doing everything solely for his father and to live up to his legacy, which was tainted.

In the end, his win didn't even matter because the show he was putting on wasn't for anybody else but his father, and it didn't even matter.

Can we quickly discuss the resolution of Maddie's call because it was so random? For a second, I thought we were back in Buck's dream.

Maddie is such a gifted dispatcher, and I can appreciate her stepping far outside the box to help in an emergency, but the change from Maddie singing to the duet almost didn't look real. I wondered if it was happening or if the poor kid imagined it for a second.

One thing about 9-1-1 is that they will take those risks, but do they always work out? I'll let you be the judge.

Loose Ends

• No one wanting to give Bobby a review was hilarious. It's always hard to tell your superior what you think about them, especially because you always feel like they expect you to be totally honest, which can be challenging!

• The standoff in the bakery emergency was so dramatic for no reason. I love it when 9-1-1 is unserious and goes straight for the ridiculous.

• Bobby cutting Buck some slack because he died and came back to life is so fatherly of him.

• Maddie and Chimney singing to Jee was the cutest thing in the world. This series said they were going to give Jennifer Love Hewitt an excuse to show off those pipes if it's the last thing they do!

• Vanessa seemed like a super cool girl, and I wouldn't be opposed to Eddie gaining a friend to help him realize who the perfect person for him just might be because it was not her. His person is definitely out there, though.

• So, was that man injecting synthetic oil directly into his biceps? Is that a real thing? Every week this series makes me question humanity.

Everyone was so happy to have Ravi back. He's really back with his people now.

I hate to countdown every week, but we only have three new episodes before the finale.

That's it!

We're so close to ending this wild ride, and I don't know about you, but I am not ready.

Let me know in the comments what you need to see before this season ends, and also share your thoughts on this installment.

We'll be back next week as usual, but in the meantime, make sure you watch 9-1-1 online so you're caught up ahead of the upcoming finale.

Whitney Evans is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lover of all things TV. Follow her on X.