9-1-1's Volcano Claims Its First Victim In Season 10 Premiere — Grade It!

"9-1-1" may be entering its 10th year of life, but the ABC drama is showing no signs of slowing down, returning Thursday with a cinematic hour that only this show could pull off — kind of like how Chimney is totally pulling off those highlights. We see you, Kenneth Choi!

The Season 10 premiere kicks off with a giant sinkhole opening up in downtown Los Angeles, giving the 118 a chance to remind us what they do best: save lives while looking cool as hell. (That one was for Harry's new 'stache. We're big fans.) The scope of the crisis is massive, if not the biggest we've seen on the show so far, and it takes every ounce of strength for the team to repel, swim, and carry the victims to safety.

As the dust settles, "9-1-1" then takes a second to cheekily celebrate its milestone premiere, with this balloon bubbling up from the watery wreckage of the sinkhole:

ABC

Unfortunately, this sinkhole is only the beginning of their problems. After going through previous 9-1-1 logs from the sinkhole's general vicinity, Maddie notices a troubling pattern of disturbing calls about all manner of strange behavior and physical ailments. Equally troubled by the 118's recent trip to an aquarium, where something was turning the water acidic, Maddie places a late-night call to Ty Worrell (Rob Huebel) from the Office of Emergency Management... who initially tells her to "put down the bottle and go to bed." So rude.

Ty changes his tune when the sinkhole begins emitting a high-pitched frequency, not unlike that of a screaming tea kettle, but it's too late to do anything about it. A sudden explosion from underground sends magma flying through the air, with one particularly molten-looking piece landing directly on poor Ty's head. (You've got to love "9-1-1," a show where jerks always get their comeuppance.)

And thus, the stage is set for next week's continuation of the Season 10 premiere. Of course, this week's episode wasn't just about the everyday phenomenon of sinkholes turning into volcanoes. Read on for a breakdown of the danger in which Detective Athena Grant has found herself, as well as the miniature wedge being driven between Buck and Eddie.

While Athena's promotion to detective feels like a natural progression for Angela Bassett's character, she finds herself questioning her new position in the premiere, especially since her first official case involves... a Shih Tzu. Fortunately, a far meatier case is unexpectedly dropped into her lap when she and May witness a burn victim being abandoned by a sketchy van outside of the hospital.

Without breaking a sweat, Athena locates the drivers, chases them down, and squeezes out a confession. Athena's partner, Detective Newell (Rick Otto), singers her praises to the entire precinct, but something about the case isn't sitting right with her. After some additional digging, she concludes that the diamond ring they found on the burn victim — which she previously assumed was meant for a girlfriend — was actually stolen.

Newell encourages Athena to drop the case and take the win (which we find highly suspicious, given how many crooked law enforcement officials we've seen on this show!), but she persists. And wouldn't you know it, the ring was stolen from a local jewelry store. Athena also discovers a tunnel underneath the store's safe, which means it's time to play her favorite game: run headfirst into a dangerous situation with no back-up! 

And just like that, Athena finds herself trapped underground just as a volcano begins to erupt. That Shih Tzu case probably isn't looking so bad now, huh?

The only thing more chaotic than Los Angeles facing a volcanic event is the situation unfolding in the Buckley household. As a concerned nurse points out, Buck has made three non-work-related trips to the emergency room in the past few months, and Eddie doesn't buy Buck's story about "falling into a door jam." 

Sure enough, Buck confesses that he allowed Theo to watch "Nacho Libre" (a classic), and it inspired his son to get a little too physical with him. Between that and the bite marks on Buck's arm, Eddie can tell that Buck needs to get his house in order, but he bites his tongue... for now.

Eddie's concerns take new form when he invites Buck and Theo over for dinner. Not only does Theo spend the entire night trashing Chez Diaz, but the little devil accidentally knocks Christopher to the ground while running amok. Christopher is fine, but Buck suggests that he and Theo take off — and Eddie doesn't disagree.

Buck is clearly in way over his head with Theo, and while that's probably what we should be focusing on here, we're too busy enjoying the "Buddie" of it all. If someone out there is watching "9-1-1" for the first time this week, we have to imagine they just assume that Buck and Eddie are a married couple. There's Eddie's concerned rush to the hospital, their tense family dinner — heck, even Christopher looks like he could be Buck's son. Never change, "9-1-1." Never change.

Your thoughts on the "9-1-1" Season 10 premiere? Grade the episode in our poll below, then drop a comment with your full review.