#(mostly for posterity most of this is written to be tommy neutral)

[saucerfulofsins]

I haven’t seen any posts comparing Buck’s coming out to Eddie and Tommy breaking up with Buck, which is a shame because the similarities drive me insane.

Or well. I say similarities, but that’s wrong. What I should be saying is: these scenes mirror each other. This post is more about the highlights than shot by shot comparisons – for that, I’d recommend you watch them side by side yourself.

Let’s start with the first and most obvious structural parallel: both scenes happen around 32 minutes into their respective episodes/between two-thirds to three-quarters in.

Now, for the scenes themselves. They follow the same basic outline, which I’ll discuss one by one. I’m following the same structure throughout: I discuss the coming out scene, then the breakup, and then give some analysis. At the end, I’ve included a section on further things of note that I couldn’t neatly fit into this structure and my final thoughts. Is this the first time I’m using the media analysis I was taught during my minor in Arts, Culture and Media with a focus on film in 2019? Yes, yes it is.

Buckle up, because this meta/essay is nearly 3k. For that reason (i.e. accessibility/readability and the amount of work I put in), this entire piece has been cross-post to AO3 (CLICK FOR LINK).

Opening shots

Seating 1.0

Buck in the kitchen

Seating 2.0

POV shots (both perspectives)

Eddie and Tommy leaving

Miscellany

Final thoughts

Analysis under the cut:

1. Opening shots

This part includes some of the most noticeable differences between the scenes, which explains why they feel different – at least at first.

CO: Eddie’s phone comes into view first – this is his chat conversation with Marisol, which the first part of the CO scene is about (note how this mirrors the gym scene, where Buck intended to come out before the conversation lingered on Eddie and Marisol). Eddie is also closest to the door during this part of the scene – which is where he will remain throughout.

BU: The first shot is of a closed door, which Buck opens for Tommy, i.e. Tommy certainly has no keys to Buck’s place, and this might well be a callback to doors as a recurrent theme. They greet with the briefest kiss possible. I rewatched this several times to make sure it really happened – it happens immediately after a cut and it’s filmed in such a way this could easily have been an air kiss lmao. (No seriously, I had to watch this screen by screen to properly catch it, and the audio is a lot more obvious than the visual). They make small talk about the movies and Tommy having ordered an uber (clearly a throwback to 7x05), and they switch positions so Buck is actually closest to the door.

As for clear similarities: Eddie and Tommy are standing up and remain mostly in the same place; Buck is moving around the loft – it’s an expression of his nervous energy, and the major changes in these scenes are about Buck, not Eddie or Tommy.

2. Sitting down

I made this a separate point for one reason, and one reason only: In CO, Eddie takes his own initiative to sit down, while saying he should go home and Buck offering him a beer, so clearly he won’t be leaving to go home any time soon(ilu Eddie but I’m begging you, stop putting yourself and also us through this 😭). In BU, Buck tells Tommy to sit down... which is in part to signal they need a more serious talk than can be done on the way to the cinema, but also shows a massive contrast in terms of familiarity and comfort, regardless of what Buck tries to tell Tommy later.

Both Eddie and Tommy sit down on the leftmost stool (closest to the door, i.e. it’s easiest for them to leave and Buck can’t get between them).

3. Buck in the kitchen

Fun fact! Before writing this post, I checked the scene where Buck confesses to Taylor that he kissed Lucy. During that scene, Buck is sitting down at the kitchen island, while Taylor lingers in the kitchen proper (i.e. with the island between them). She has moved in at that point – kitchens represent ‘being at home’ – but there’s a physical barrier between her and Buck, and it doesn’t actually keep from her leaving (even while saying she has nowhere to go).

CO: The camera uses a dolly shot to follow Buck throughout the kitchen – to the fridge and then back to the head of the kitchen island. He’s attentively listening to Eddie complain about Marisol and God watching him have sex (cursing God while sluttily drinking his beer).

BU: Buck walks out of view of the camera, through the kitchen, and there’s a dolly shot to the right to focus on Buck finding his place on the head of the kitchen island. He leans on the counter at this point. He does have a pretty open posture (identical to CO); Tommy sits with his hands/fingers folded together but he’s turned to Buck i.e. paying attention.

This is the position Buck has when he comes clear to Tommy about having dated Abby in the past; it’s also when his phone comes into the picture. Well. Pictures. Of Buck and Abby.

4. Seating 2.0

This is the longest section of analysis, and contains the part that makes me SCREAM but let’s start at the beginning. From the moment Buck sits down, the conversation turns serious in both scenes. This dialogue consists of mostly POV shots (which I will discuss next), and these medium shots that show Buck and Eddie, and Buck and Tommy.

CO: Buck sits down while Eddie says, “You and Tommy have the right idea, stay single.” This very clearly introduces a new section of the scene. Overall, the lighting of the loft is muted besides the yellow for visual interest and gay Eddie, thank you for your hard work Buddie colour theorists. Buck’s dining table is unlit and barely visible, so the space really takes a back seat and allows us to focus on Buck and Eddie. Please take note of the chair between them – this serves as a physical barrier, where someone is getting between them (a place for Marisol and Tommy, respectively).

BU: Here, the segway happens right after Buck’s come clear about being Abby’s ex 2.0. He sits down on the middle chair, but it’s quite obvious he’s shoved it away from Tommy. In fact, compared to CO, Buck is almost at the same distance from Tommy as he is from Eddie. There’s a barrier between Buck and Eddie, but there’s space between him and Tommy. This is emphasized by the lit dining table, which draws even more attention because of the white decorations: the loft is a space to be distracted by, focus on or even flee into.

Now. This is what kickstarted my obsession with these scenes, especially the coming out scene. The chair between them? Buck reaches out to Eddie, leans his arm onto it and in the process drawing attention to it. He actually leaves his arm there for an extended period, throughout several of the following shots, and only seems to pull back when he says he and Tommy were on a date.

The following shots – of Buck’s coming out and Eddie’s initial response – are back and forth POV shots. The first shot from medium distance, is this:

Do you see it. DO YOU SEE IT. Do you see what drives me crazy! Eddie is mirroring Buck’s earlier posture – also this is immediately after Buck says Tommy left him on the curb (i.e. Eddie realizes there’s no Tommy getting between them). Eddie’s not just opened up, he’s reaching out, extending his arm back onto that empty chair between them. And again, like Buck, he leaves it there for several shots. It’s still there when he tells Buck to call Tommy, although he briefly vaguely gestures to himself during the “He’ll love you! We all do!” It’s not clear when he takes his arm away; no shots show it and then he’s getting up.

This just. This drives me insane.

For comparison, Buck doesn’t reach out to Tommy during the BU scene. And, compare Tommy to Eddie:

5. POV shots

Okay, the section header is a bit of a misnomer because the scene consists mostly of dialogue and therefore has POV shots. Like I said, there’s also overlap between the POV shots and the wider establishing shots I used in section 4. The bulk of this part of the scene, however, shows a lot of over the shoulder close ups with quick POV switches. In both cases, this is where the subject at the heart of the scene is discussed.

Now, these differences are pretty small and they could be a consequence of these episodes having different directors. However, there’s zero doubt in my mind that Chad Lowe closely studied the CO scene for its sheer number of cinematographic parallels and therefore it might be entirely on purpose too YAY.

There’s some variation in the distance of these shots, but the most intimate ones look like this:

(Still not over that face he’s pulling here, dear Lord). Buck takes up most of the screen – his shoulders are visible, but the top of his head isn’t. I guess this is technically still an over the shoulder shot, but barely. Eddie is out of focus, just enough there to be a blurry ear. These shots are intimate. This is almost what Eddie is seeing – and actually these shots make it feel like they’re sitting a lot closer than they actually are.

"Until now.” Buck’s entire face (including hair) is in the shot, and we can see Tommy’s shirt. This is the closest/most intimate we get to see him (and Tommy, in reverse). For both sides, they’re very clear over the shoulder shots. Yes, this is intimate – but it is not intimate. A quarter to a third of the screen (esp as the conversation moves on) is dedicated to the other person. Buck is more visually interesting too. He has more colour in his face and his background is more clearly white than in CO, whereas Tommy blends in more with the brown coat rack background (shout-out to @sparklespiff for pointing out that difference while I was trying to figure out why Buck felt more noticeable, btw).

SIDENOTE: I know some posts have already been made about the pictures on Buck’s fridge and Eddie’s mantelpiece, like they seem thematically relevant (or perhaps not yet, but soon). Buck’s walls in general have more pictures on them in S8, which is evident both in Buck’s background and Tommy’s. I am nowhere near talented enough to identify them, but going by their general colour and composition, I believe all of Buck’s wall art pieces are that, art, not family photos.

6. Eddie and Tommy leaving

These scenes have some of the clearest parallels, and of course an incredibly clear difference in how Eddie and Tommy are leaving Buck.

CO: Eddie leaves not because of Buck (well, not technically), but because he has to go do something: “I gotta go talk to Marisol.” Buck is smiling while Eddie gets up and is on his way out. Of course, this is when Eddie stops, turns around, and Buck looks up. In fact, Eddie says “Come here” but he’s the one to walk up to Buck to give him a hug. Buck just stands up from the chair. During the hug, we get shots of both Eddie’s and Buck’s faces, and of course Eddie holding Buck’s shoulder. When Eddie leaves, we hear the door open and shut – the focus stays on Buck.

Again, when Tommy leaves, we only hear the door while the camera cuts to Buck. The show then picks up his response (with the same expression) during his arrival at Eddie’s, where Eddie lets him into his home.

BU: Of course, Tommy has nowhere he needs to go to (hello, return of the failed cinema date) – when he says “I should go” it is because of his conversation with Buck. There’s a medium wide shot of him getting up while Buck looks confused, looking like he’s about to reach out for Tommy – the first time during their conversation. The camera uses a slow dolly to the left, which is when Buck calls back Tommy to ask for clarification: “Did you just break up with me?” Tommy says, “Yeah, I guess I just did.” This has been pointed out before, but they’re clearly not sure. Tommy also says, “Believe me, I didn’t see it coming either.” (Was LFJ speaking from Tommy’s perspective in that interview?). That line is fascinating, actually, because only moments ago, he was incredibly adamant about being Buck’s first, not his last. This feels like a throwback to “Enjoy it while it lasts,” leaving them both overwhelmed/confused.

Look at how similar these shots are! Also, the reason I was adamant about calling these scenes mirrors and not parallels is because Buck and Tommy greet each other with a moment of physical affection (which, as I mentioned before, is incredibly short and barely visible). Eddie wouldn’t have ordinarily but feels it’s important to hug Buck to show him nothing has changed. In terms of meaning and cinematography, their interaction is a lot more substantial and reciprocal. They’re also making sure to leave on good terms – whereas Buck and Tommy meet on good terms, but part essentially as strangers. Buck and Tommy ending the scene like truly feels like an end. Buck and Eddie’s scene feels like a significant shift in their relationship, and for me part of that is a result of Eddie hugging Buck, and shaking up their routine.

7. Miscellany

Just some bits and bobs I couldn’t fit elsewhere in the analysis!

“I like him too. Just not the same way as you.” 7x05 was truly out there foreshadowing 8x06’s “I am not gay.” (I want to do a full 7x04 + 7x05 parallels post at some point, but that’s going to be a fuckload of work and possibly even larger than this post).

Like I pointed out, Buck and Eddie drink beer during their scene (which they often do during their conversations). Buck and Tommy are breaking up without accoutrements. Of course, we know Buck brings over beer to Eddie after the breakup. Because the scenes mirror each other so closely in every other aspect, it feels incredibly poignant: Eddie again fills a role in Buck’s life Tommy should have had. I also figured I’d check their fake brands, and they are different labels. I would assume Buck brought a new flavour, considering Eddie’s looks.

Speaking of continuity, Buck opening the door to Tommy in a sense mirrors Eddie opening the door to Buck at the end of 8x06. The key differences in their cinematography is that during BU, the establishing shot of the entire scene is of the closed door without a peephole shot. When Eddie opens the door, it follows his Risky Business tribute so the door takes up less presence, and even when it’s closed, Buck is clearly visible through the peephole.

Phones clearly are connected to (past) female love interests; Eddie is interacting with Marisol but it’s through text and impersonal – we don’t see the messages, we just hear Eddie complain. On the other hand, Buck is out of contact with Abby but he still treasures that relationship – otherwise he wouldn’t still have those pictures on his phone after 7 years. I guess that’s kind of cute? Idk, I never really liked Abby or how she treated Buck, but Tommy’s speech has turned me into an Abby defender lol

Like Buck, Maddie also stands at the head of the kitchen island during her conversation with Chimney. Chimney’s in the kitchen proper, though, and Maddie walks up to him so they can actually stand face to face and be happy about the new pregnancy together! (I genuinely missed that scene the first time I watched the episode, I was so caught up in the bones of it all SORRY MADNEY I LOVE YOU FOREVER).

8. Final thoughts

I mean. Are we really surprised? I’m not! Actually that’s a lie. I saw the similarities but was shocked at just how close these scenes are in full. However,I do think this scene in particular does a lot to show just how deliberate these parallels between S7 and S8 are (and between S8 and previous seasons in general – we’ve seen similar/near identical cinematography a couple of times now), and how deliberate the parallels are between Eddie and Tommy (who are literally taking up the same position in these two scenes).

And just. The fact it’s the coming out scene between Buck and Eddie, which was about opening up & telling the truth, and it doesn’t change anything (allegedly), versus Buck and Tommy, which is about opening up & telling the truth, which changes everything... it reaffirms how I feel about the coming out scene – this is a major moment of change, and that change is deeply entwined with their respective romantic relationships. AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!

[readingraebow]

It Section Five

Chapters 11-12

1. What happens when Ben goes to the library? He sees Pennywise. He's talking to the librarian and asking if he can get a library card when he hears his name. He turns to look but realizes that no one else has reacted, meaning no one else can hear the voice. So he tries to ~keeps his cool through the rest of his conversation with the librarian even though the voice keeps yelling at him. When he finally does look, Pennywise the Clown is standing on the top landing, inviting him to come up and see him on neutral ground. Ben doesn't. And Pennywise eventually turns into Dracula, though a different version than the movie Draculas. And then Pennywise eventually disappears altogether, leaving behind a single balloon with a note written on it. At first it says "Have a good day! Tonight you die!" since Pennywise had been telling Ben that he's planning to murder all of the Losers Club that night. But then Ben asks after his favorite librarian and learns that she died three years ago, apparently from a stroke even though she was fairly young. Then the message on the balloon changes to say that Pennywise killed her. So Ben leaves the library then, with his new library card and a book he'd happened to grab off the shelf which the librarian thought he wanted to check out. When he gets outside, he notices that it's one of the books he'd checked out that day that he met with the Bowers gang at the Barrens. His boot print is even still on the cover. And he looks at the card in the back of the book and his name is the last one on it. But stamped below it, over and over again in red ink that looks like blood, it says CANCEL.

2. Where does Eddie go and what happens there? He goes back to a street that he thinks he had no connection to but then he remembers that he used to like walking down the street as a kid. At the end of it was a truck depot owned by two brothers who were perpetual bachelors. So Eddie walks down to it and finds that it's closed. He goes to the back of the property to the field where they used to play baseball and remembers when Belch Huggins hit two home runs, one of which they never found the ball. And just as he's thinking this Belch Huggins, who was murdered in 1958, comes back over the wall and looks, um, greaaaat. (Not.) He also starts seeing basically everyone who he remembered from this road, who is now dead, and is just in some kind of state of decay. It, as always, plays on fears.

3. What happens when Bev goes home? So she thinks it still says Marsh on the mailbox and believes she's going to find her dad but instead she finds an old woman named Mrs. Kersh. She finds out that her dad died five years ago and Mrs. Kersh feels terrible about delivering the news so she invites her in for tea and to look around. So Bev explores the apartment to see the changes and then Mrs. Kersh calls her when the tea is ready. Well, while they're talking, Mrs. Kersh starts changing and ~deteriorating. And she says that her dad's name was Robert Gray, better known as Bob Gray, better known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. And that's when things really start deteriorating. The house starts turning into candy since It plays off fears and her greatest fear was Hansel and Gretel because the witch ate children. And her dead dad appears wearing Mrs. Kersh's nightgown and they both start chasing Bev. She manages to get out of the apartment and when she looks back, it's rundown and looks like no one lives there and she wonders if she was ever really inside at all or if she just imagined the whole thing.

4. What do we learn happened to Richie in 1958? What happens to him now? In 1958, Richie witnesses Henry slip and fall in the wet hallway at school. And Richie being Richie, does a voice and everyone laughs and Henry then decides to kill him. So after school, Richie is running for his life and ends up loosing them in the toy section of a department store. So, having lived another day, he's going home and he stops in City Center under the Paul Bunyan statue. Well, the statue ends up "coming to life" and the axe comes down and chops the bench in half where Richie had just been sitting. It also comes off the platform and starts after Richie. But Richie ends up getting away and looks back and everything was exactly as it had been before, like nothing happened. So Richie convinced himself that the whole thing was a dream. Now, however, he goes back to City Center and the statue is still there. There also used to be an annual rock festival every year. There's a poster for this year's concert though it changes to say it's honoring Richie and it's his "all dead" rock show and lists a bunch of dead musicians. At the end it says that Richie is dead too. Well, Richie starts to leave but he looks up at the Paul Bunyan statue, only it's no longer Paul Bunyan. Now it's Pennywise the Clown. Well Pennywise starts taunting Richie and Richie does get away. He gets back to the sidewalk and turns back around and this time finds Buddy Holly as the statue, with his glasses taped just like Richie's had been. Well, a little kid who happens to be in the square starts sobbing uncontrollably and Richie's contacts start burning in his eyes. He gets away but pretty much has to rip his contacts out of his eyes.

5. What does Bill learn from the little boy he encounters? The little boy ends up reminding him of Georgie, only in the sense that Georgie died so close to home. The boy says that he knows a kid called Tommy who he says has "toys in the attic." He says that Tommy saw a shark in the Canal. He said he saw the fin moving through the waters but the boy said that nothing could live in that Canal. Bill, however, tells the boy to stay away from the Canal and the boy asks if that means Bill believes Tommy. Bill says he does and the boy says he does too and sometimes he thinks he has toys in the attic too.

6. What ghost does Bill encounter in Secondhand Rose, Secondhand Clothes?He finds Silver in the window. He goes in to buy Silver and calls Mike to see if he can store Silver in his garage. Mike asks if that means Silver might be important to their mission and Bill says he thinks it is. So he wheels Silver out of the shop, noting that whoever last owned Silver didn't take very good care of it. The back tire is flat, the front tire is bald and the bike basket and chain are both rusty. And as Bill wheels Silver toward Mike's house, he also realizes he can't remember what happened to Silver or how he came to no longer be Silver's owner. He if he sold Silver, gave it away or even just lost it.

7. What does Mike just happen to have in his garage? What is strange about this? He just happens to have a bike tire repair kit. Bill asks if he has a bike and he says he doesn't. So Bill asks why he has it and Mike said he was at the mall a week or so ago and felt strongly compelled to buy it. So he did and, it turns out, it was because Bill would need it. Mike also happens to have a deck of Bicycle playing cards (for Silver's spokes) and clothespins. Bill asks if he just happened to have those too and Mike says it's something like that. And when he hands the playing cards to Bill, they end up flying everywhere and two cards land face up: both the Ace of Spades. When Bill picks them up, one has a red back and the other a blue.

8. What, do we learn, happened to Henry in 1958? What happens to him now?Henry murdered his father in 1958 and ended up in Juniper Hill which is a home for the criminally insane. He was transferred from another facility and has been at Juniper Hill ever since. But he hasn't just been there because of his father's murder. The police pinned all of the other murders on him too. They'd found books belonging to Victor Criss and Belch Huggins in his room as well as Patrick Hockstetter's belt and a pair of Veronica Grogan's underwear. The two latter had both been murdered and Victor and Belch were both still missing. Henry confessed to the murders of Victor and Belch because he's the one who had led them down into the tunnels where he'd watched both of them die. So he felt responsible for their murders. He'd actually won Patrick's belt off of him and he had no idea how Veronica's underwear had ended up in his room but he suspected he did. But he confessed to their murders too because why not. So the police hailed Henry as the killer finally caught and declared the whole matter over and done with. Well, now Henry has started hearing voices which he thinks are coming from the moon. Then he sees Victor Criss, still twelve, under his bed and Victor helps him escape from Juniper Hill. Because, as Pennywise's voice from the moon says, they need him to go back to Derry and kill them all.

  Section Five Reading Journal

Okay so. I honestly found the second chapter in this section the most interesting, mostly because that’s the chapter that actually felt like it advanced the story. The chapter where they each, as adults, go back and see Pennywise just felt super repetitive to me. Like why do we need to see them individually see Pennywise again. Haven’t we already seen that enough in this book?

I am honestly just ready for the two face offs with Pennywise (as kids and as adults) because this just feels like it’s drawing out the story way too much. I was honestly irritated even writing questions because they feel like they’re the exact same questions and answers from other sections.

This book literally does not need to be 1000 pages. It’s just repeating the same thing over and over. Yes, Pennywise plays on their fears. Yes, they all see Pennywise and he taunts them. WE GET IT. CAN YOU GET TO THE ACTUAL STORY, PLEASE?

I like this story, I really do. But I think I like it more because the movie (or the mini series I watched, I’m assuming Chapter 2 will do the same thing) cuts out all the repeats and just gives you the actual story parts.

Honestly, this book is just too long and the last two sections have bored me. I think this book just needs to be them when they’re kids (but without so much setup for each kid and them all meeting) and then way less of them as adults. Because right now it just feels really long and repetitive and I keep waiting for the actual story to start.

I am liking the sections when they’re kids way better than the adult sections. So I’m glad that the next section goes back to them as kids.