Still reeling from the discovery that Don has known about him for his entire life, Blue was ready to turn his back on firefighting for good in Episode 5 of “9-1-1: Nashville.” Unfortunately for Blue (and his beautiful car), fate had other plans.
TVLine spoke with actor Hunter McVey about what’s still to come for Blue in Season 1, but first a quick recap: After quitting his skill test mere seconds before crossing the finish line, Blue went off the grid and was only willing to respond to Ryan. The people in Blue’s life were understandably concerned, but by the end of the hour, that concern would soon grow to full-blown panic.
Blue was in the middle of getting his old job back at the strip club when he noticed a drunk patron getting into her car. She refused to call a rideshare service, so Blue tailed her in his Mustang, placing a 9-1-1 call for good measure. As the drunk woman headed straight for a group of cross-walking children, Blue went into full “Fast and the Furious” mode, successfully blocking her at the cost of his own car… which flipped over… and exploded.
The whole ordeal proved to Don that saving people is in Blue’s DNA. And in light of those heroics, the fire chief agreed to fudge the results of Blue’s skill test and allow him to continue working with the 113.
Elsewhere in the hour, Roxie felt a personal connection to a Jane Doe she rescued from an apparent suicide attempt. Having once been in a dark place herself, Roxie dropped her entire $25,000 savings on an out-of-pocket brain procedure to wake the patient from a coma. While waiting for the patient’s parents to arrive, Roxie shared a difficult story from her own upbringing, a time when she thought her conservative Christian parents would never fully accept her for who she is. She was happy to report that she was wrong — they welcomed her with open arms and are now her biggest supporters.
Read on for our full Q&A with McVey about “9-1-1: Nashville” Episode 5:
Hunter McVey Mourns Blue’s Mustang
TVLINE | There’s a lot to unpack from this episode, but can we start with a moment of silence for Blue’s Mustang?
MCVEY | You’re telling me! I did not like seeing that in the script. I enjoyed all of the scenes filming that Mustang. The first scene that I ever shot for the show was actually driving up to the manor in that Mustang. I was sweating through my entire shirt, there were cameras strapped to the entire thing, and I was just focused on not crashing it. Every single time I get in there, I feel that surreal feeling, so when I saw that the Mustang is no more, I was like, “No!”
TVLINE | It was such a Blue car. I can’t imagine him driving anything else.
MCVEY | I know, we’ll see what happens next. Hopefully it’s not a smart car or anything.
TVLINE | I can’t picture that. But the fact that he was willing to sacrifice his car, and potentially himself, to stop that woman and save those kids — that’s pretty revealing about who Blue is.
MCVEY | That scene really solidified just how true Blue is to himself, how much he prioritizes his loved ones and the people that he cares about. It’s one of the qualities that I admire most about Blue, because it’s evident in the first few episodes as well that he may do some things that aren’t looked at as traditional, but it’s for the greater good of the people that he loves. The crash itself was just straight instinct to help others and knowing exactly what needs to be done without overthinking or considering the consequences. It shows that Blue is selfless.
What Other Secrets Are Don And Dixie Keeping From Blue?
TVLINE | Blue is obviously a full-grown man, physically, but when Dixie told him about Don’s Christmas presents and his face lit up, I felt like I was seeing a child. Are those sides of Blue constantly jockeying for dominance?
MCVEY | Oh, 100%. I would say that the little boy side of Blue may be taking up the majority of him. He sees things from a glass half-full perspective, and it’s the little things that matter to him.
TVLINE | Don and Dixie appear to have finally told him everything. Does he have enough information to forgive and forget, or are there more truth bombs coming?
MCVEY | I think Dixie may have a few more tricks up her sleeve. That was one of the bigger ones, and it was definitely important information that Blue should know, but I don’t think they’ve told him necessarily everything that he should know at this point. And there are some interesting dynamics to the Hart family that come into play. It’s the opposite of a traditional family, but as you grow up and live, you see that most people do not have a traditional family dynamic. So to be able to touch on some of these things that normal people deal with on a daily basis is pretty cool.
Hunter McVey Thought He ‘Was Not Going To Make It Through’ His Stripping Scenes
TVLINE | Along those lines of things normal people deal with, Blue being diabetic is interesting to me. I feel like that’s not well-represented on TV.
MCVEY | Yeah, and I love that. Some of the feedback that I’ve gotten from viewers with type-1 diabetes is that it makes them proud to be represented on television. I’m honored that Blue can do some justice and bring some knowledge and education to it. That makes me incredibly happy.
TVLINE | What about the stripper community? Have you heard from any of them?
MCVEY | [Laughs] No, I have not heard from the stripper community, because I actually don’t think I did them the most justice. I don’t know how it played on television to the people who are actually good dancers, but man is it difficult. It was a lot different than taking shirtless Instagram pictures, I will tell you that much. That was one of the moments where I thought I was not going to make it through. So hopefully if there are any strippers out there that felt good about it, I’d love to hear from them.
TVLINE | Well, since Ryan is showing Blue the ropes at the firehouse, when is Blue going to teach him some stripper moves? Maybe it could save his marriage.
MCVEY | I don’t know if that would save their dynamic, but I’m sure Blue would be completely willing if it would help.
Ryan And Blue Are More Alike Than They Realize
TVLINE | It was interesting that, even though Blue wasn’t answering anyone else’s calls, he was willing to meet with Ryan. I feel like that says a lot about how close they’ve become and how Blue views him independently of everything else going on.
MCVEY | Yeah, and I think one of the reasons he thinks independently of Ryan is because, aside from Blue, Ryan was the only other person not in the know. Ryan also had this ginormous secret kept from him his entire life. I was definitely happy that Blue could share that commonality with Ryan and have some common ground there. I also loved when they ordered the same breakfast and were like, “Huh.” That was a pretty cool moment.
Love Is In The Air! Who’s Catching Blue’s Eye?
TVLINE | We’ve learned a lot about Blue, but his love life remains a question mark. Will he be getting into any romance this season?
MCVEY | I think there is a very talented and beautiful woman who’s also in the 113 that Blue is becoming very fond of. He’s stepping carefully into the situation. He doesn’t want to do anything that would disrupt or hurt his new family dynamic, or hurt his chances at this newfound career that gives him so much purpose. But yes, of course, there is some interest there between Blue and another firefighter.
TVLINE | That’s so fun. We haven’t had too many firehouse relationships in this franchise.
MCVEY | It’s definitely going to be interesting. We’ve filmed quite a few more scenes than the ones that have aired so far. The dynamic goes a bit deeper than than what you guys have seen, and I’m excited for the audience to see it, because it’s maybe not what you’d exactly expect.
What did you think of “9-1-1: Nashville” Episode 5? And what are your hopes for the rest of the show’s first season? Drop a comment with your thoughts below.