#Like we the viewers all know Eddie adores Buck

[loulovingho]

What made me furious and decide not to watch the rest of S8 (at least live, until and unless they fix bucks storyline) is the goddamn fact that Tim literally did this to fuck with the general audience who were finally getting back on track and getting interested in Bucks storyline like goddamn.

If you shot 8x06, BEFORE 8x05, why make 8x05 the way you made it???????? Just make Tommy a bit more of an asshole??? ((I'm not even kidding!!!)) Like you COULD have made him be dismissive of Bucks obsession with the 'curse', you could have made him feel bitter and slightly projecting on Buck's found family ((a throw away line like how 'oh didn't know you had a group text, frown)) something, ANYTHING that would have made us feel a bit more prepared for 8x06 and Buck's 1.0 era??! ((And btw YES it is biphobic to suggest that bi people need to sleep around to figure out what they want, for god's sake Oliver, just don't do episodic interviews anymore I BEG)).

But instead, we get sweet, understanding Tommy, we get fluffs pillow softly and talks as a non believer to a ghost Tommy, we get excited for love again Buck, and THEN you do this?????!!!

Unforgivable. Fuck you Tim. You've just told millions of people in a shitty af political climate that older gay men who struggle with their need for survival and loneliness that they're gonna end up alone if they date a bi man. Sorry that's AN interpretation. It is LOUSY representation. It is LOUSY and cruel writing. You messed with in a too big way on this one. So. Yes. Lost this viewer. Peace.

Yes to all!! They could have made Tommy more standoffish, could have had Eddie at the funeral instead. Or, if they had to do a breakup, have it be from Buck’s side. Because, out of the two (in 805) the love and adoration came mostly from Tommy. They did the whole thing just to be shitty.

[tgd-sideblog]

I would actually be really interested in a version of events where Christopher is unwilling to return to L.A. and Eddie decides to follow him to Texas in an effort to build bridges. So Buck watches yet another of the most important people in his life leave him (and blames himself just a little because of course Eddie is going to do whatever it takes for Chris but if Buck had just been able to convince him to stay then he wouldn't be loosing both of them).

Except Eddie texts and calls and still reads the L.A. news so he can find out about upcoming events Buck might be interested in and very much is absolutely not gone from Buck's life despite not being there physically.

Other parts of his life might have to take priority but that doesn't mean Buck is getting dropped it means Eddie puts in extra effort. Instead of Eddie not being able to be there physically meaning Buck is left feeling abandoned once again, instead it becomes an opportunity for Eddie to prove that he will keep choosing Buck even when he isn't convenient in the slightest.

[jennafur03]

Is Buddie Queerbaiting?

Here we are with the most controversial topic about the 911 series. The first thing I want to state is that this is totally opinionated, so if you don't agree then that is your opinion, and feel free to comment about it (respectfully). The second thing is no matter what my conclusion is I am not holding it against anyone. This is for fun, as are all of my discussions.

To determine if the writers are using Buddie to queerbait, we need to define the term.

Queerbaiting is defined as "a marketing technique for fiction and entertainment in which creators hint at, but then do not depict, same-sex romance or other LGBTQ+ representation. The purpose is to attract ("bait") a queer or straight ally audience with the suggestion or possibility of relationships or characters that appeal to them," by Wikipedia.

This definition implies that the writers of the show must be aware of what they are doing and continue to do it for queer appeal. However, if the two characters become a couple in the show, the allegation of queerbaiting is dropped.

I will take a few scenes from the show and digest them to determine the intent behind the writing and the acting. Before I start I would like to mention that sometimes when actors' body language depicts romantic feelings this may not be accurate to how the character is meant to feel.

"You Two Have An Adorable Son": This quote is often seen by the viewers as a start in the development of Buck's feelings for Eddie. Let's digest it further. Buck and Eddie talk about Shannon while Chris stands in line for Santa by himself.

While Buck and Eddie speak about Shannon, Eddie doesn't make eye contact with Buck for the first 40 seconds of the scene. He doesn't even turn his body to look toward Buck. Eddie's lack of eye contact could be written off as him looking at Christopher, but Eddie doesn't even look toward Christopher the entire time. His eyes are shifting around yet refusing to look at Buck. The first time he looks Buck in the eyes is after Buck gives him reassurance five times for his actions. The significance here is when someone lies they can often be seen to have shifty eyes when making eye contact. Eddie is not only lying to himself, but he is also lying to Buck.

Buck's body language is relaxed in the beginning. He is leaning toward Eddie and is supporting himself with his hand. If he had some sort of attraction for Eddie he would more than likely be sitting straight up and would look more uncomfortable. He is also having no problem looking Eddie in the eyes even though he is not reciprocating. Buck is attempting to support Eddie by letting him speak and making sure to approve his words.

When Eddie admits he ran out on Christopher and Shannon first he looks down and Buck shifts in his seat. Buck and Eddie's faces mimic each other in this scene; a look of disappointment. Eddie shares a look of regret, and Buck makes a face of confusion. When Buck shifts, he leans backward but quickly shifts forward again to listen to Eddie. This signifies that at first, he is disapproving of what Eddie is going to say, but he quickly shifts back to give Eddie the benefit of the doubt. At first, Buck stops reaffirming Eddie with his words, but then he quickly reaffirms him again.

Buck looks down at Christopher with fondness (which if you read my last post you know why this is important) then shifts his eyes to both of them as Eddie picks him up. While Eddie walks away with Chris, a woman comes up to Buck just before he follows.

Buck's first reaction is not panic or the need to correct, but he smiles. Then he immediately looks down sheepishly. While looking down he contemplates how to correct her. By doing this he is establishing the narrative that he feels the need to correct her, but does not want to. He avoids her eye contact and clenches his teeth and fist. He is clearly uncomfortable. Even though he doesn't know this woman, it seems difficult to lie to her. He looks back at Christopher and Eddie--who are out of frame-- and meets her eye contact and quickly says thank you before running off. He gives a disingenuine smile before leaving. He takes large steps as soon as he turns around which may be seen as impolite. If you are done with a conversation and in a rush, to seem polite normally you take a few regular steps and then increase size or speed. This shows how uncomfortable he feels at the idea of being called a dad to Christopher. It doesn't seem like he doesn't want to be one, rather he feels it is wrong to be called his dad--especially without Eddie around.

What does this scene have to do with queerbaiting? This scene is often related to the beginning of Buck and Christopher. Buck and Christopher's relationship is not standard to a fathers-friend-to-kid relationship. His relationship with Chris can be related to Eddie's trust in Buck. This is the beginning of Eddie and Buck's growing domestic relationship. It started with Christopher.

Eddie Gets Shot: In this scene, Eddie and Buck are talking about a scene when Eddie gets shot by a sniper rifle. Buck stares at Eddie before Buck is tackled to the floor. Buck goes into shock while staring at Eddie bleeding on the floor. He doesn't get up to save Eddie until Eddie is fully unconscious. Buck moves under the firetruck yelling for Eddie. He grabs Eddie by the arm and pulls him to the engine.

This goes into what I said in my previous post about how Eddie tries to save Buck by himself. Buck takes the initiative to save Eddie even though he is not a paramedic and there is a paramedic next to him. They set him in the fire engine and Buck uses the first aid supplies.

During the entirety of the scene, Buck is taking shallow and quick breaths. He doesn't allow himself to take a deep breath because he is afraid to waste even a second when he could be helping Eddie. He keeps his eyes wide the entire time and his eyebrows up. He is clearly in distress and is not trying to hide it. He also stays directly over Eddie, when it may have been easier to treat him to the side of him.

While in the ambulance, Eddie asks Buck if Buck is injured. The reason may be that Buck had Eddie's blood all over him, but it is more likely that he cares about him and wants to make sure he is okay. Eddie can see that Buck is functional, so even if he is bleeding it is more than likely not severe, but he still needs to ask Buck if he is hurt. When Buck tells him he is good, Eddie's eyes soften and his head relaxes. He falls out of consciousness. Buck gets upset and begs Eddie to hang on.

For all the people who don't like when Buck uses the term "Eds" in fanfics because it isn't canon, he actually does in this scene. It seems involuntary because Buck is in a rush to do everything in this scene so it was more than likely a slip of the tongue. While Buck is asking Eddie to hang on, he uses himself as an excuse for Eddie to stay awake. He says 'I' and 'Me' in almost every sentence asking Eddie to stay awake.

When they arrive at the hospital, Eddie is wheeled into the ER, but Buck does not follow. He stays behind and stares at Eddie. He stays close to the engine and he is asked if he is okay. He responds he is not after the man walks away.

Why did the writers include this? Eddie not being okay is making Buck not okay. It's completely safe to assume that anyone in Buck's situation would not be okay. The reason the writers make Buck not say it directly to the other firefighter is that Buck doesn't want to admit how much it affects him. The reason could be anything, but it would be safe to assume that he isn't exactly sure himself. His body language is hard to digest from his state of shock, but he has his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, his shoulders are tight together yet not up, and he isn't moving.

The reason this situation is related to queerbaiting is the cliche behind it. Take 911 Lone-Star for example. When Carlos is unconscious in his kidnappers' house from an overdose, TK takes the initiative immediately. He starts compressions and his breaths are fast and shallow. Once the EMS workers return with the Narcan (the shot used to overtake the overdose) he shouts for it himself.

He sits in shock unable to move before Carlos takes a breath. Other than the fact that Carlos takes a breath to signify he is okay and Eddie is still unconscious, these scenes mirror each other very well. This is the reason that Eddie and Buck seem to be pushing a line between bromance and romance, the amount of romantic cliches they go through is unhinged.

Eddie Changes His Will: After being shot Eddie admits to Buck that he changed his will after he almost died in the well accident. He tells Buck that if anything happens to him, Christopher goes to Buck.

Eddie once again is having trouble making eye contact with Buck at first. Since we are aware that Eddie is not lying to Buck, we can assume is either nervous or scared. He looks down while Buck is staring at him the entire time. Buck doesn't break eye contact with him, even though Eddie hasn't looked at him yet. Buck tries to interrupt him while Eddie talks about death and looks down. He doesn't like Eddie talking about himself being gone.

When Buck interrupts, Eddie interrupts him immediately and finally makes eye contact. Eddie looks down again and speaks with his hands. Buck's face doesn't change from a shocked and scared expression until Eddie mentions the well. Buck interrupts and this time Eddie allows him to. Buck looks down and gives a slight smile telling him he survived. Eddie looks at him fondly and meets his eyes again. After that, Eddie starts to keep his eyes close on Bucks.

After Eddie says he changed his will he looks down while saying if someday he doesn't make it. Buck mirrors his action without looking at him. When Eddie tells Buck that Chris would be taken care of by Buck, Buck immediately asks for clearance. He almost looks angry at this moment, but it might be easier to say that he was less angry and more utterly confused. Sometimes when we are given good news that we don't feel we deserve we feel the need to shut it down before we can get hopeful. Buck's actions mimic this feeling.

While explaining this to Buck, Eddie doesn't break eye contact, but Buck almost immediately does. Buck's face relaxes for just a second before he scrunches it up and tries to not let himself accept the situation so he asks Eddie for clarification again. When Eddie says Buck could refuse, Buck looks upset and makes sure to clarify that he would not refuse to take care of Chris. Eddie reaffirms him by saying he also knows Buck wouldn't refuse.

His face relaxes for an even shorter moment, and then he asks for clarification again. He asks why Chris wouldn't go to his direct family members and Eddie says it's not what he wants. Buck once again has trouble talking about Eddie dying. He can't even say the words 'death' or 'gone'.

Eddie tells Buck that no one will fight as hard for Christopher as Buck will. Buck tilts his head up and flutters his eyes. He is trying to contain his emotions. Buck looks away from Eddie again, even though Eddie keeps eye contact. Buck looks down and his face shifts to another expression of almost anger. He wonders why Eddie hid this from him for a year.

Eddie calls Buck by his first name 'Evan' and Buck immediately looks at him. It is unclear at this moment why Eddie does this. It may have been to capture his attention or to appeal to his emotion. But a better question is, why the writers did this?

The writers knew the reaction that this would give. The only people who ever call him 'Evan' is Maddie and his parents. For them to make Eddie call him Evan introduces a new point of their relationship. Something has shifted for Buck to be comfortable with Eddie calling him Evan. The way he immediately grabs Buck's attention, but Buck doesn't seem uncomfortable shows us that it's the first time Eddie has called him this in a serious manner. More importantly, this shows that Buck doesn't necessarily mind Eddie calling him Evan. This is odd because of Buck's natural discomfort with being associated as a Buckley because it relates him to his parents more than he likes.

Eddie's face while explaining that he is upset that Buck says he should have been the one to be shot is almost inappropriate at first. He smiles while talking about it at first, but then switches when mentioning Buck's feelings. He looks disappointed that Buck would think like that.

He tells Buck that he acts like he is expendable. They both break eye contact, and Buck looks down. Eddie sighs very heavily before telling Buck that he is wrong. Eddie and Buck immediately make eye contact and Buck's face has relaxed and so has his body. Eddie keeps sitting up straight to make sure Buck believes what he said.

Through this scene, the switch in emotion is interesting. Buck not allowing himself to accept the fact that Eddie put him in his will. Eddie goes from stern to upset multiple times. The biggest question here is why did Eddie not tell Buck sooner?

Eddie avoids the question to an extent. He blames the fact that Buck wishes he should have been shot instead. That isn't an answer to why he didn't tell him. A reason that I saw someone post on Twitter was that he wanted to keep Buck in his life no matter what. He found a way to legally bind them to each other. Of course, that may not be accurate because it wouldn't make sense in the plot we see in the show. So why do it?

Eddie's body language shows us that he has a hard time communicating this to Buck, because of his avoiding eye contact. This makes sense as this is a sensitive topic, but once he gets started he has no problem looking Buck in the eyes. He is trying to show Buck how serious he is by doing this. Eddie may have waited to communicate this because he may have never planned on actually telling Buck. The reason he could have changed his mind was because of what he saw while he got shot. Buck took care of him.

This relates to queerbaiting because Buck and Eddie begin to toe the line in their relationship. They are becoming more and more involved in each other's lives by the episode. Trusting Buck with his kid is one thing, but trusting him when Eddie isn't there to make sure everything is okay is another. That amount of trust doesn't come easily.

This situation is so unique I couldn't find something to compare it with. Most situations in TV that resemble this are when someone is widowed and they allow their new partner to adopt their child--like Arizona and Callie in Grey's Anatomy. That isn't a situation you see all the time on TV, so the way they play this off as friendship is very abnormal.

The Verdict: Personally I believe that Buddie at its current relationship status (I am writing this after the end of season 6) is queerbaiting.

Besides all the jokes in the show about Buck's 'boy crush' and Buck being 'the only person without a child', the writers seem to be losing the ideals of a bromance.

All of these situations seem to be played as platonic, when in any other TV show these situations would take place between two romantic characters. The problem with this situation is that the writers ruled all of these scenes off as attempted friendship when in reality some of these situations seem more emotional and vulnerable than real couples in the show get. Now the intent behind the situations is all that matters when we come to the question of queerbaiting.

It would be hard to believe that the writers are still oblivious to the situations they are putting Buck and Eddie in at this time. In my last post, I talked about the fondness and protectiveness they are showing, and that is why it's hard to believe this is just an accident.

Queerbaiting is making the characters seem to be LGBT to pull in LGBT viewers. As a member of the LGBT, I can personally say that Buddie is the reason I started watching the show. I saw an edit on YouTube and started watching. People want to see characters that they relate to, and if Buck and Eddie started a relationship it would be relatable to more than a few.

Although queerbaiting isn't as good as having them together, I don't believe it is harmful in this situation. Buck and Eddie are living their best lives and if that doesn't include a romantic interest then it doesn't. I don't think there needs to be a change (even though we all want to see Buddie canon in Season 7) because it is not harmful to the viewers or the show.

A/N: Hey everyone! Once again I am working on my persuasive writing skills with this app. I also used the same books on body language and dark psychology to analyze Buck and Eddie. If you made it to the end, congratulations! Let me know your opinions on this, and let's not turn this into Twitter in the comments, please. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and I tried to keep my beliefs before reviewing these clips out of my argument. It is really fun for me to write these tho! If there are any other clips yall want me to watch and analyze just comment below! I will hopefully be back on here soon with something else, but please tell me your opinions on this and if you want to see more!

[texasbama]

i feel like a lot of my issue with 6a so far is it almost feels disjointed, both the storylines and the tone, things haven't flowed or whatever. so there's been individual episodes and scenes that are great but it hasn't all quite gelled for me yet. (thought i'm still giving it time)

Im with you friend! And forgive me but I’m gonna use your ask to just ramble for a second here.

Lets look at what what we’ve gotten in these first 8 episodes shall we?

6x01: a very lackluster premiere. Some Madney feels, a little Buckley Diaz family. But overall? Alright.

6x02: some good Hen stuff but very disjointed overall.

6x03: a heavy Bathena episode but yall know I was not a fan of that episode. I’m black, I know what our trauma looks like. I didnt need a reminder. But it was good ep for Athena

6x04: good moments with Eddie, the sperm donor story begins. Hen decides to try again

6x05: i dont even remember what happened in this one…i know Eddie looked hot at the end though. Oh! They made the young black dispatcher a criminal! How could I forget🥴

6x06: HENREN! BEST EPISODE THIS SEASON.

6x07: lots of Eddie. Buck being used for laughs. Fun but…?

And lastly tonight’s episode…what really happened? Uncle Buck was adorable. athena/may was cool.

I say all this to say, good moments do not a great season make. And that doesn’t mean that I hate what we’ve gotten. Ive enjoyed it for the most part but its been a very slow crawl to the finale. There’s really no thread that ties these episodes together. I feel like fandom has found things to dissect each week, but to the casual viewer I’m sure these episodes are just…alright.

I want more Maddie in general. More Chim! Haven’t gotten a lot of him outside of work. I want more Hen and Chim! They are best friends! And speaking of besties, I definitely would like more Buck and Eddie. Yea I ship them but in canon they are best friends! Best friends hang out outside of work! I miss those dynamics outside of the firehouse.

Like you, I am hopeful! We still have 10 episodes left in the season so I’m hoping it picks up a bit in 6B. I need some high stakes emergencies! This is a show about first responders, more specifically a firehouse and they have fought what? One fire? two I guess if you count what we’ll get in 6x09😅

I know what this show is capable of (HELLO! SEASON 3!), so I think its ok to be a bit disappointed when its not living up to their own previously set standards. And again, just cause I think this season is a little slow doesn’t mean I’m not having fun! It just means I know I could be having more fun(again. SEASON 3! 10 10 10’S ACROSS THE BOARD)

[buckleydiazmp4]

I'm not the original anon who asked about 911 but I am also curious about the Buddie situation? can you tell me abt them?

oh hi!

well here goes my attempt to explain.. them?? i guess?

(decided to put it under the cut bc it's long and i don't wanna disrupt anybody's dash)

i don't know where you stand in terms of supernatural/destiel, but since the last anon asked me abt buddie v destiel in terms of queerbait then i'll take that as a point of comparison

destiel was indeed the main queerbaiting method used by the cw to promote spn. they knew that most of the audience had been watching the show thanks to cas and dean's chemistry and wanted them to be together. however, for many reasons, mainly homophobia or probably chain of command etc etc, they were never gonna make them explicitly canon. so instead they kept.. "amping up"??? the chemistry and the romantic subtext between them enough to keep the audience engaged but keeping plausible deniability. obviously after the last season and the whole bury your gays where they killed off cas, ppl were angry. it was and still is a whole thing bc honestly the cw sucks.

tl:dr #1, destiel was queerbait and ppl who watched spn are now in fear of living through it again when watching other shows

anyways, onto buddie.

ppl who haven't watched 911 but see a lot of buddie content fear that the show is basically doing the same thing, adding little details and subtext between buck and eddie to engage queer viewers or buddie shippers in general and thus have a bigger audience.

what i don't know, but i think is pretty subjective, is if the previous anon would have 911 ruined for them if they started watching, shipping buddie, and then they never got together explicitly in the show.

911 is currently still running and imo there is definitely some amazing chemistry between buck and eddie, not to mention a romantic relationship between them would make total sense.

SPOILERS AHEAD! SKIP THIS PART IF YOU WANT

buck and eddie are pretty much the closest friendship in the show, veering strongly into romantic territory. buck has had a string of catastrophic relationships with women throughout the show, and it's always implied that they don't work because buck needs someone who really knows him, loves him and wants to commit to a serious relationship with him. (eg, a best friend or someone to form a family with).

this particular struggle of buck's is easy to parallel with his relationship with eddie, who has his own relationship problems (including a wife who he separated from, tried to get back together with, and then she died), since he hasn't had any stable love interests.

a crucial part in all of this is christopher, who is of course the person who eddie loves and cares for above all else. chris has had a big say on the way eddie's relationships turn out, because loving eddie means loving chris.

guess who loves chris with his whole heart and is pretty much a second parental figure to him? buck.

between that and the outrageous life-or-death (or psychological distress) situations they have lived through together, there's an unbreakable bond between them. they confide and rely on each other in nearly every aspect of their lives, both during good and bad times.

SPOILERS OVER!

i personally have fun and adore buck and eddie's relationship as it is currently, and yeah, i'd love for them to be canon as much as the next person. but i'd also be okay if they continued to give us the same buddie dynamic we have right now.

there are a lot of meaningful moments and scenes that basically reaffirm how truly close they are even outside the plot they show us on screen. i love that because it's like they're giving us little blank spaces to fill up with headcanons and fics and gifsets and that is so fun!!

but certain ppl are more adamant in their desire to see their relationship develop romantically on-screen. despite not being one of those people, i get why they want that and i sincerely hope they get it!!

but if it doesn't happen, i'll still happily watch the buck and eddie we've been given and cherish all of their interactions. that and of course as i said in the previous ask, i love 911 for a LOT more reasons than just buddie.

tl;dr #2, buddie isn't canon, whether or not it's queerbait depends on who's watching and how they're watching, but 911 is still worth it as a whole.

[matan4il]

I love that food became the language of love again. We have talked about food before. The way its a metaphor for a love on here. I always joke that I'm hungry after I watch 911. I was never that hungry during S5 lol..

But seriously Bobby's everything he makes for his team/family, Athenas soul food, Maddies meatballs.

Then you had Anna and her weird over abundance of basic food, cakes, salads and muffins. To Taylor's frozen waffles.

Yet here we are , I actually have no clue what Buck was making in the pot because the lasagna is done but I don't care lol. Making them lasagna, dim lighting, boggle playing!!!!

If I don't get Canon Buddie just please writers give me this forever. No more women. I missed this stuff so much after the introduction of Anna.

Hello Nonnie!

Yes, def! I mean, in addition to what we saw in 601, the idea of different forms of food as an expression of love and family ties (or lack thereof) has been a part of the 911 verse going all the way back to Bobby making meals for the 118 as a part of choosing to be more than just their captain, of adopting them as his new family.

"I was never that hungry during S5" OMG, I am grinning like a mad woman right now. XD Def this, and TBH, there are so many ways in which our guys make us hungry, don't they? ;p (sorry, I couldn't help this lame joke)

I like to think that Buck was making something for dessert in that pot, and God only knows how many tries it took him to perfect that. And I ADORE the contrast between how hard he's working to make the food perfect for his Diaz boys, while everything around him is messy, it's exactly how you can tell that this is love, and it's the realest kind of love, where you want to make your loved ones so happy and at the same time, you don't mask who you are from them.

And I'm with you, even if we don't get canon Buddie, as long as we get husbandy Buddie scenes and domestic Buddifer ones, I can still be happy and fill in all of the missing details of how Buck and Eddie will eventually get together myself (or through fic). And it's true, with a show as thinly stretched as 911, where a big chunk of the time is spent on the calls, and the rest has to be split between a big cast, external Love Interests (of any gender) will necessarily come at the expense of Buddifer. So I hope (and tend to believe) the higher ups are taking note of what actually makes viewers happy...

Thank you for this lovely ask, Nonnie! Have a great day! xoxox

(If you’re looking for my ask replies, here is my ask tag! xoxox)

[wanderingwomanwondering]

Buddie 509 - Eddie & Telenovelas

In 509 buck calls eddie on watching telenovelas with chris. It was the most adorable call out this season imho. Others have already noted that buck knows eddie’s secrets (and vice versa). That of course happens because buck and eddie trust each other, spend a ton of time together, and confide in each other. There’s more to eddie’s love of telenovelas though I think. Let’s talk about why eddie might be reticent to admit that he (not just abuela!) consumes highly emotional melodramas.

Eddie tries to front and pretend that he watches them to practice spanish with chris. Okay I guess. Telenovelas are good for that. I know because I’ve done it and had spanish teachers in the past recommend it. Still, eddie speaks spanish fluently and has family in town (abuela and pepa) that speak spanish fluently too. So his reason for watching telenovelas is purposefully thin. But the bigger indication that he’s just making up excuses is his refusal to look buck in the eye while he spits those little white lies! No, my dude enjoys watching telenovelas, independent of chris (and abuela).

I think eddie actually loves telenovelas because they are chock-full of intense emotion that he denies himself. Eddie is reserved and in control. Telenovelas are not that. Like at all. Telenovelas are driven by tons of emotions as well as secrets, and eddie has plenty of both. Buck is the person closest the eddie’s inner/emotional life and buck is the one who knows eddie secrets, even the low stakes domestic kind like watching telenovelas.

Toni and clive’s story has strong telenovela energy and eddie is hooked. He wants to know the details of their story. He actually encourages pursuing the “long lost love” and even asks “what happens next in the story”. Eddie is a romantic at heart! He believes in the love story and wants it to work out. But it’s interesting that he doesn’t see romance for himself. He’s on the outside looking in. He’s watching toni and clive’s story unfold but not pursuing anything similar for himself at the moment. He’s living vicariously through others, whether they be on his tv screen or members of the firefam.

I think eddie’s resignation??? to his own lack of romance at the moment is at least partially why he also stays on the sidelines in the buck/taylor conversation in the fire truck. He’s watching buck’s love life unfold just like one of his telenovelas. 

Laughing, exchanging knowing looks with other viewers (i.e. hen, ravi, and bobby), and occasionally talking to the tv (i.e. “when was the last time a woman told you she had to go home to wash her hair” and “yeah. who does that?”). Eddie has given up on love, at least for now, so he’s decided to just watch other people’ love lives unfold. Still he was a tiny bit active in toni/clive’s story, encouraging hen to get involved and help make that love story happen. But with Buck, he mostly just watched. I have more thoughts about how that scene went down but I’ll leave that for another post.

Buck happily calls eddie out and eddie doesn’t make eye contact with him after the call out. I see you avoiding, shying away from your truth, eddie. Buck however is looking at eddie the whole time and when eddie tries to save face, buck lets him and just say “uh huh” with the sweetest “soft shit like this makes me love you more everyday” face. Buck just loves finding eddie’s heart, no matter how hard he tries to hide it.

I legit think eddie wishes that he had even half the permission for free and open emotional expression that telenovelas and one evan buck buckley have. I also think it’s interesting af that telenovelas aren’t just high emotion but they are also dramatic. They are messy emotion, and we know how eddie feels about messes. But the telenovela idea at least implies that eddie is maybe trying to at least LOOK at emotions, especially messy heart/true love emotions, even if he’s not quite ready to deal with his own yet. Eddie watches telenovelas because he loves them and wants permission to feel out loud...even if it’s a little messy. He just hasn’t given himself that permission yet. Or maybe he’s waiting on buck to give him that permission, to step up and lean in.

[intricacies-of-fate]

Hi, guys, so the video is a little all over the place but there's a reason for it so please read the post before watching it!

First, we need to talk about sound design. In film and tv sound is used to support or enhance the narrative, think of friends and the laugh tracks that would be there to get a bigger reaction from the viewers. In newer sitcoms they usually let the joke play out on its own or have an upbeat theme playing in the background.

In shows like 911 where you have a lot of drama mixed in with some lighthearted, funny moments, what we get are background themes that are there to clue the audience into what the writers are going for in a particular scene.

so for example, in the scene with Tatiana and Chimney we get their upbeat "this is a funny moment" theme to let us know that there was no way she was carrying Chimney's child.

In the second scene, we get an emotional, powerful background theme that is meant to show us this moment had a profound impact on the characters.

and then we get to the infamous elf scene.

There's a lot of debate around it: it was joke, they were making fun of shippers, it was a wink to the shippers, etc. (disclaimer: I don't care what the writers or anyone who works on the show has to say on interviews or on their sm, what matters is what airs, what they present to the audience and the regular audience don't follow their social media, they are not looking for the latest set picture or interview with the writers or producers, they just tune in each week and hope to be entertained)

Soooo, how is the scene framed? previously in that scene, they had regular ambience sound (the water of the fountain, christmas music, children laughing and people talking) but when Buck and Eddie reach Christopher and interact with him we get a beautiful, instrumental theme playing. When the elf girl tells Buck they have an adorable son, the theme soars and overpowers the rest of the sounds of the scene, even as Buck awkwardly responds and walks away.

This scene is not framed as a joke. This is something else entirely.

[onrainynights]

why you can't compare buddie to destiel (from someone who ships both)

this is kind of addressing the recent negativity in the buddie tag, but it's also a collection of my thoughts and reasoning for being buddie-positive despite my experiences with destiel and spn in general. the text of 911 is not really discussed at all, and this is relatively spoiler-free, so if you're thinking of watching 911 I encourage you to read it. if you haven't seen both shows it probably won't make perfect sense, but I wrote this with spn fans who haven't seen 911 in mind, since that's most of my followers (and also seems to be where much of the negativity was coming from) pretty long post under the cut to save your dash

I just want to prepare y'all for the fact that buddie could be the slow burn will they/won't they mlm romance we've been waiting for practically forever.

at this point it's not fair to call it queerbait because where their relationship is now fits the characters and their development. this is not like destiel, where there were many moments over the years that could've ended with them getting together and it would've made sense with the story. buddie right now is in this sweet, wholesome pre-relationship kind of place, which on its own is a compelling dynamic and so fun and good to see. a resolution of it right now would feel out of character—they both still have some development to do before that would feel natural. and so, I don't think we can really call it queerbaiting unless the characters get to that point and there is still no resolution.

also I'd like to point out the overall positivity from the cast when it comes to buddie. both Eddie's and Buck's actors have said (I'm paraphrasing cast statements in this post unless they are in quotations) positive things about the pairing, and Buck's actor has said that he likes the interpretation of Buck as queer, and he would be happy if the writers took his character in that direction. also Eddie's actor with "that's what they all say" when buddie was referred to as a "bromance". Jennifer Love Hewitt, who plays Buck's sister (another main character), is very supportive of buddie, saying she's "rooting for it", that it would be "amazing", she doesn't "see how it couldn't happen one day". this was in response to hearing that a fan insists Buck and Eddie will be a couple. She flat-out said "I think so, too." She jokes about buddie with Buck's and Eddie's actors all the time. Also, my favorite bit from the video of her saying all this, "Let's manifest it together!"

It's safe to say this is a VERY different environment to spn. I don't think I've ever seen a cast this positive about a show's main non-canon queer ship before. NEVER. I think it's safe to say that if/when buddie is canonized, the cast will be just as excited as the fans—at least JLH will be! Add into the fact that the show's PR seems to be leaning into bi buck and buddie right now, it's a VERY different vibe than spn had, definitely. There's no gaslighting of the fans here, at least not that I've seen. also, although 911 has a large casual viewership, I think it's safe to say the GA would not be upset by buddie—there are only 3 serious, long-term romantic relationships involving main characters in this show, and one of them is a lesbian marriage with two children. And yes, the characters are shown being lesbians, it's not just a stated fact; the audience is privy to their relationship (and their interactions with their adorable kids). I think it's safe to say that buddie would go over well with the fans, even the casual viewers (of which there are many). buddie doesn't seem to be a huge divider in fandom like destiel is, either. reactions generally seem to be either "I ship it" or "I don't care either way."

Also I'd like to point out that while yes, it's possible that buddie is only bait (which would be disappointing), there's a reason queerbaiting works. people WANT to be queerbaited, because it's nearly indistinguishable from a slow burn will they/won't they queer romance. queerbaiting allows fans to make theories, create fan content (including fic), and keeps them engaged with the dynamic and the show. fans who are vulnerable to queerbaiting want a slow burn will they/won't they queer romance, which is currently an almost completely untapped market. spn could've tapped it, but despite the huge fandom they did not. there are SO MANY people outside of spn fandom who want a slow burn mlm romance, one that keeps the audience guessing, one that's will they/won't they, one that is not guaranteed, and that is why queerbaiting works so well. the audience doesn't just want the payoff, they also want the build-up. the longer the build-up, the higher the payoff, and the suspense of the build-up is gone if you know from the start that the payoff is definitely coming. that's part of why malec from shadowhunters didn't fully tap this market—there was no question of if, only the question of when (which wasn't really a question either, given there was an episode in season 1 literally titled "malec" when they got together.) the characters were always queer, the show being an adaptation of a book series where they were in a relationship and eventually had children together.

this was why November 5th was such a big deal—fans were so far past the will they/won't they aspect of destiel, firmly believing that destiel would always end as a "won't they" and not a "will they" that when cas confessed his romantic love for dean, destiel trended on Twitter over the US election. you all know that story, but maybe not everyone reading this knows that after Nov. 5 there was a case of hundreds if not thousands of spn fans experiencing love sickness because of the confession scene. the payoff of making destiel fully canon (and reciprocated, in English) would've been huge. fans would've been throwing their money at the c/w.

which leads me to the possibility (this is not at all me saying that I think this happened or even is likely, just that it's one possibility that /could/ have happened) that buddie started as bait, that the writers never intended for them to be a couple, but saw fan reactions to buddie during season 2 and started to lean into it in season 3 (and 4 so far, but it just started so I don't want to make any generalized statements about it) possibly still as bait or maybe not deciding yet if they'll go anywhere with it. and then maybe they saw destiel trending on November 5th, realized just how BIG the market for a slow burn will they/won't they mlm romance is, and said "hey, we already have the foundations for one of those. why not go for it and draw in all those viewers who clearly want one so badly?"

if buddie goes canon, because the cast and PR have been so positive about it, unlike spn, and because of the text of the show itself, the show's creatives could VERY EASILY claim that they were never baiting, that it was all an intentional slow burn will they/won't they romance from the beginning, and most people would believe them; there isn't really any evidence to the contrary, although I am sure there would be at least a few fans convinced it started as queerbaiting, and there might not be any evidence to refute that, either.

the point is that 911 is currently sitting on a gold mine. if they play their cards right, and execute buddie well, they will monopolize this market that old straight white men serving as network executives have failed so far to really tap into. they queerbait without the payoff, which gives the show a reputation among those in the market who haven't seen it, guaranteeing they will never watch it. shows in this vein: sherlock (huge reputation for queerbaiting and a finale fans didn't like) and spn (huge reputation for queerbaiting and a finale fans didn't like). spn got so, so close with cas's confession but then continued to gaslight its fans, and PR did not lean into destiel AT ALL. if 911 did buddie? the PR team would be all over it. it would be a moneymaker, big time, and Fox knows it. if buddie, or even just bi buck, went canon, tumblr would be all over it. viewership for the show, which is already impressive, would skyrocket. 911 would monopolize this market, because fans wary of queerbaiting would watch it with the knowledge that the payoff is there, and there really wouldn't be a competitor until other shows saw the success of buddie and followed suit with their own pairings, and given the fact that the market specifically wants /slow burn/ queer romances, that might take a couple years. that puts 911 in a really good position, where suddenly the fandom of the show, not just the GA, is very large and likely very dedicated to the show. the success of canon buddie might just change the landscape of TV in the coming years, showing execs that while queerbaiting does work, actually going through with it is really where the money is. 911 would not just monopolize the market for a while; it would pioneer it.

if buddie never goes canon, I would probably be a bit disappointed at the wasted potential, but unless the characters get to that point where canon buddie seems like the most logical outcome and they /don't/ go for it, I won't be truly upset because I don't think it's fair to claim its queerbaiting until then. I can't tell you how likely it is that buddie will be canon at some point, but it seems FAR more likely than destiel /ever/ did, and we ended up getting cas's confession in the end. I have hope, despite being hurt so badly by spn. 911 is a genuinely great show with some fantastic writing, and they don't leave chekov's gun unfired, unlike spn.

really, it comes down to this: if Jennifer Love Hewitt is allowed to clown for buddie, then so am I, and I'll enjoy this show—which is amazing even without canon buddie—while I apply my clown makeup.

[lovecolibri]

When first I read the article about introducing lucy I was ok unnecessary because we ha already 45 characters, but she'll last 3 episodes, exactly like lena, after the episode we have arielle that does interviews left and right like she was a character present from seasons, and teasing a b/l finale. Journalists that talk about feelings towards lucy, he met her 3 seconds ago?Can't wait to see buck living with taykay while spends his days drooling all over lucy.

Also just had one thought after sending in that ask. She was eager to shoehorn this woman into the front and ruin a beloved character in the process. She trampled all over buck. I get that this is going somewhere and I'm desperately hopeful the explanation is good enough for people to feel a little better. But K is K and the interviews she gave were a mix of homophobic gaslighting and adoration for A. Again, SO very bizarre

Yeah I was ready for this new lady to push on Buck's recklessness (which she apparently will do too I guess? Who knows. They gave like 700 interviews) and for something to go wrong on a call and that be the trigger to get Bobby involved like he did with Eddie and the street fighting and sending Eddie to therapy, and then she would be gone when Eddie came back. Instead we got....this mess.

Also, did we all just...forget about Ravi? The man who was Buck's partner? So they aren't actually down two people? This just seems SO deeply unnecessary. In case we've forgotten, season 3 had a net total of ZERO love interests for Buck OR Eddie and guess what? The season was amazing even without the relationship drama for them! Who would have thought?! I wonder what happened in season 4? (Hint, Tim put a certain co-showrunner in charge 🙃)

I think this storyline has potential to give us some interesting things and end in an interesting place, but that doesn't change the fact that the staring point is bad and didn't need to happen like this. And you’re right, they have SO many characters (but not enough, because the ONLY reason we had so many tay kay scenes in 5a is because they didn’t have enough cast and she was cheaper, haven’t you heard? 🙄), and so much going on with Eddie and Maddie and Chim and them all healing and coming back to work, and they have characters we already know but haven’t gotten this much screen time and development for! So WHY bring on yet another new side character when the major complaint from the general audience about 5a, was that there wasn’t enough focus on the main characters that the casual viewers tune in every week to see? Here’s hoping the general audience being upset about all the article pushing this new character AND having her dragging their fan fave Golden Child down with her will inspire some...scene shuffling like the did with 5x09 after the abysmal response to Ghost Stories from the GA which was still rated nearly a whole point higher than 5x11. Which is a shame because unlike Ghost Stories that only had the opening, and a few Karen and Chim moments to save the episode, 5x11 was an absolute banger except for the cheating part. And that? That drug the ENTIRE episode down for a lot of fans. Let’s hope Eddie’s breakdown can manage to salvage the day for 5x13!

[coal15]

Wild Speculation Time! Weeeeee!

Okay, so I don’t literally think this will happen or that this is what’s going on, it’s more of an: it would make a lot of the recent strange writing choices make more sense.

Ahem. Let the wild rumpus begin:

I’ve noticed there are persistent off-and-on rumors that Ryan and Oliver don’t get along like they used to. Whether “not getting along” means “not besties” or “I loathe the very sight of you,” who knows. 

If it is true that they don’t get along while at the same time more and more people are not only shipping Buddie, but anti-shipping other options all well? Wow, that is a tricky spot to be in for a showrunner. 

Forcing actors who can barely stand eachother to play love interests is . . . well, it’s been done before in plenty of shows, but it’s certainly not a working environment I’d wanna be a part of. It’s a great way to make everyone on set super uncomfortable, and I don’t want that experience for any of our lovely 911 cast or crew. Bleh. 

So let’s look at other options:

Write both men off the series (which would, by default, get rid of Christopher too). Or  write only one of them off the show. 

Okay. I’m running the show. Who do I write off? The audience does love seeing Eddie in Awesome Protective Dad Mode. But overall it seems like Buck is the more popular character in general, and the audience also loves his bond with Christopher. 

But if you get rid of Eddie, Chris goes with him, right?

And now for the absolutely terrible idea that I could totally see them doing just for the sake of resolving fan displeasure and/or on-set issues:

We all noticed that Eddie and Ana are not only an unpopular pairing, but it almost seems like they’re intentionally boring and w/out chemistry, right? It seems to me like most viewers have noticed that. And they wrote Eddie being a bad parent to Christopher the second he had a chance to get New Pussy in the near future. Unconcerned about bringing Ana into their home without a mask or any distancing, seeming not to care that his son has CP (which is often associated with a weakened immune system). And then not even noticing his kid leaving the house and getting in a car that then drives away. Yeah, he went from sweet concerned father to shitty oblivious father in the space of a single episode. 

Like I said, it’s a terrible idea, I’m not a fan of this idea but what if . . .

They BIG TIME played up the bond between Buck and Christopher while highlighting Eddie’s inexplicable attraction to Ana and how it instantly makes him a worse father on purpose. What if it’s being done to make general viewers less sympathetic toward Eddie. Thus less attached to the character. And by contrast more aware of what a great father Buck is to Christopher? 

I mean, one way of making a ship less popular is to turn half of said ship into an asshat. Hell, they could even spend the back half of S4 and some of S5 slowly morphing Eddie into an outright total douche if they wanted to. Then give his character some kind of “semi-redemption-then-he-dies-at-the-end-of-the-episode” send-off to close out his arc.

“BUT WOULDN’T THAT DESTROY CHRIS?!?” You bellow at your phone after reading those words. “PERISH THE THOUGHT YOU HORRIBLE HORRIBLE MONSTER PERSON!!!”

And yeah. With the way their relationship has been written up to this point it would be basically awful. But many a show has been willing to retcon an entire character and/or relationship history if it suits a narrative they wanna push. Not saying it’s a good thing to do, it’s usually not. Just saying it’s not unprecedented in TV Land. (and sometimes the only workable option if a drastic change simply has to be made for whatever reason) 

Anyhow, my point being : if the showrunners wanted to get rid of Eddie but keep Christopher and his adorable relationship with Buck, they might think that their best option is to gradually (or not so gradually) morph Eddie into an uninvolved and/or shitty parent, while at the same time highlighting Buck’s evolution into a full-on paternal presence in Chris’s life. Aaaaaaaannnnnnd then write Ryan off the show via whatever means while making it clear that he wants Buck to take custody of Chris in the event of his absence or death. 

Can’t say enough: I DON’T LIKE THE IDEA, but it would make several recent and super bizarre writing and casting choices make more sense. This is a show that usually does a great job with matching for chemistry. Athena and Bobby, Maddie and Chim, etc. Even Buck and Ali had . . . well, not terrible chemistry. Same goes for Taylor. Which makes it so strange that Eddie and Ana are such a huge dud. Even outside of “interfering” with Buddie, the actors simply have no chemistry at all. Which wouldn’t be weird if we didn’t have so many examples of the same damn show getting it spot-on right. Part of me believes it has got to be intentional. 

Which gives us 3 likely(ish) possibilities:

1) They planned to straight-wash both characters all along and the utter lack of chemistry between Eddieana and ooc Eddie were simply poor writing/casting choices. Or that we’ll soon be moving on to Eddie’s “the one” (also female, of course)

2) Every writing choice in the last ep was actually designed to showcase the stifling awkwardness of Eddie with a “girlfriend” while also showcasing how much Buck already fits into the Diaz family as a parental figure. Basically nudging the general audience toward the idea of an official Buckley-Diaz family. 

3) Eddie’s shitty parenting and tight Buck+Christopher bond will continue to escalate, highlighted more and more, until the audience dislikes Eddie and loves Christopher+Buck enough that writing Ryan off the show is a hell of a lot less risky. 

I know Christopher has already been through so much trauma-but the Eddie Diaz I saw in the last episode is probably the last person (besides Ana) I would want guiding him through yet more trauma. If we’re going by this last episode alone? Yeah, that should be Buck’s job.

OH! Nevermind, there is a 4th possibility:

4) They just straight up re-cast Eddie and have the other characters make a few offhand comments like “did you change your hair? You look different,” and the show goes on as if he’s always been played by Mr.NewActor. 

(Or I guess they could re-cast Buck instead, but I’m honestly less attached to Ryan as THE Eddie, so if I had to choose? Like, me personally? I’d pick Ryan for the ax. Sorry Ryan. Best of luck in the future, but I can’t imagine anyone besides Oliver playing Buck)

[inawickedlittletown]

Alone Together - meta/review

This was such a good episode! I think while I thoroughly enjoyed 4x01 and the way that it got us back into the rhythm of things especially with, you know, a pandemic happening, 4x02 got us back into the usual balance of emergency and personal aspects. 

-

Spoilers below:

The episode begins with news coverage and it’s a good way to jump right into what’s happening and give us a recap to last week. And then we meet the three roommates. I can’t be bothered with remembering their names, but they were fun. The dynamic there is interesting and of course, this leads into some really awesome shots of the Hollywood sign breaking and the mudslide. The whole sequence is such a good opening for the episode and it sets our scene well. While I don’t have any complaints, this emergency is smaller scale to the tsunami and the earthquake of the past two season openings, but that isn’t much of a problem when we consider that they shot this in the middle of a pandemic. So, it works. 

What I found most interesting about this episode, and in a way how it continues the stories that were begun in 4x01, is that we delve further into the personal. Not every character is featured heavily, but we get small and big moments with all of them. 

Athena: 

The struggle that Athena has faced since the end of last season has been handled so well. Her trauma and how it lingers on her and yet doesn’t change how strong and fierce and amazing she is, is amazing to watch. It’s inspiring. Having Athena be right in the midst of everything especially when she wasn’t supposed to be just fits so perfectly. Having her contrast with Sylvia who is afraid of leaving her own house, and having Athena rescue Sylvia and herself and not give up, not even when the voice of dispatch was her daughter asking her to save herself. I just love Athena so damn much. She went through a journey in this episode and while I don’t think that her trauma is over, I think she will push herself to move forward and move past it. If not just for herself, then for May. 

I also really appreciated that we got a moment where Athena gives her approval of David by telling Michael that David looks tired. It was such a nice touch. The Athena and Michael relationship has been developed so well from S1, to a place where they are both with other people but can still be family. 

And finding out that May made the choice to be a dispatcher over going to school to be about her mom felt absolutely right and I feel so much for both of them and both sides, but I do have to say that May’s outlet for her lack of control in her life/the life of her loved ones is at least healthy and it’s making a difference. 

Lastly, I will never not be fond of Bobby and Athena — the way that Bobby was allowed to go search for her personally and that moment when they saw each other. His promise to always search for her. After everything Bobby went through during Athena’s attack, it’s easy to think about how difficult this was for Bobby. 

Chimney:

The other big focus of this episode was Chimney. 4x01 set up the living arrangements and it was immediately apparent that while Chimney had his reasons, that he didn’t need to be as set on that. After all we’re told that both Eddie and Hen went back home to their kids, so Chim should have gone home to Maddie and his unborn baby. 

It’s nice that we begin this conversation with Buck and Chim, instead of directly involving Maddie. We already know how Maddie feels about this — she misses Chim and wants him around. 

Chim’s joke about his “bad joke” being a “dad joke” was perfectly in line with his type of humor and it set us up for the conversation to come in which we learn that Chim’s whole problem is not just concern about the pandemic, but a deeper fear that he won’t be a good parent. His convo with Buck certainly offers some insight into his worry, but also the willingness that Chim has to do absolutely anything necessary for his baby, whose gender the characters and us, the viewers, don’t get to know yet. 

The rescues that Chimney and Buck end up going on begin with Chimney — not Buck — hearing a baby crying. And just like with Athena, the emergency itself gives Chim more insight into himself and into his situation and into what he needs to do. He rescues the baby, finds a bunch of pregnant ladies, and then goes on to deliver a baby and while talking to the mother, I think Chim finally gets to understand what the importance that being present for Maddie means. 

We get a very sweet moment where Maddie arrives home and finds Chimney already there and the whole thing is just emotional enough both from Chimney’s perspective of just how pregnant Maddie is and Maddie’s surprise and joy to have him there with her. They really are the sweetest together. And by the time that we’re in the closing parts of the episode and we see Maddie and Chimney on a video call with the new roommates — uncles to be Buck and Albelt, it’s clear that they’re settled together and happy and that Chimney knows better than to argue about coffee. 

Hen:

Ms. Henrietta Wilson knows how to emote with her eyes. We first see her reactions to Chimney’s bad joke and just her general demeanour and it’s all perfect, and then gets better when she’s reacting to Bobby’s facts about the Hollywood sign. In a liveblog post I said this was very Buck and I stand by it. Not just the rattling of facts, but the need to research a new place in some way. 

But where it gets good is when we see Hen in the middle of the drama among the roommates. Hen does so much with just a slight widening of her eyes, or a look in a certain direction. The timing is absolutely perfect and is practically alone in making that scene funny. 

Other than these small moments we don’t get much of Hen in this episode, but we do get the sweetest moment towards the end where we get to see Hen and Karen’s daughter, Nia. Not only is this little girl adorable, but with just a couple of lines, I’m sure she’s stolen every viewer’s heart. And to add to this, the love and pride that Karen feels for Hen radiates. I cannot wait for the show to go further into Hen’s experiences on her road to becoming a doctor. 

Bobby:

Bobby mostly plays the part of a secondary character to everyone else’s story. We see plenty of him and we learn that he’s the one with facts about the Hollywood sign. Mostly, I enjoyed that he played a part in finding Athena and I think it was an interesting choice to have him keep his composure and be professional. In some ways this relates to May and the conversation that May has with Maddie about the need to put feelings and personal stuff aside to do the job. And yet we know that after what Athena has recently gone through, that none of that could have been easy for Bobby. 

Eddie: 

Very little Eddie once more. I’m honestly not concerned about it to be honest. I’ve seen a lot of talk about how little he shows up in promo stuff and all that, but I just think it’s important to remember that this is an ensemble show with a rather large cast and that it’s entirely possible focus on his character will come in other episodes. And to consider that he’s one of the characters that was chosen for the cross-over. 

But we did get to see minor Buck and Eddie interaction, and more importantly we got to see Eddie and Christopher. 

And I think it was so important to bring Carla in, even over video, because she really is a huge part of Chris’ life. It does lead to the question of who is taking care of Christopher while Eddie is at work? How is school being handled for him? And it was just so lovely to see Eddie fall asleep at a bedtime story too. 

Buck: 

He is just so damn smart. Who would have thought to follow the feedback to find that baby? Buck is the kind of character that takes in the variables and finds a way to problem solve. He’s the kind of smart that you want and need in a crisis. And he’s also very cognizant of what’s going on with Chimney and his sister enough to be able to try and get through to Chimney about how he needs to move back home. I just love the consistency of having Buck be research crazy, quick to figure things out, and still at times a dumbass. It’s what makes him so perfect. 

I also appreciate that he’s called out for having too many rules by Albert and I just want to know all about the rules that Buck would impose on those staying at his place other than the sharing of chores that is mentioned in the episode. 

I’m also very curious about Buck and his therapist, the covid crush that literally everyone on the internet scoffed at and figured out even before last week’s episode aired. We were all right. It was fun to see all the crazy theories, though. But I do find it interesting that Buck feels he needs to hide the therapist from everyone because that isn’t really about what he and the therapist might be talking about, as much as it is about not wanting to be judged for needing a therapist. 

And his feelings are absolutely valid. Not because I think anyone in the 118, or Maddie, will judge him for needing it, but that they do sometimes her pushy with things and wanting to know more — we see that already with the covid crush thing — but I think it’s also to do with not wanting to explain himself and all of this is even more valid with the knowledge that we have about Buck’s parents showing up. 

But, the fandom at large has wanted Buck to talk to a professional for a long time, so I think we’re all very happy that he’s getting help. And I’m also very glad that we got the reveal in this episode and it wasn’t drawn out and made out to be something it isn’t for much longer. 

Dr. Copeland. They really know how to pick names on 9-1-1, don’t they? 

But of the small clip we get to see of her, it is clear that she is helping Buck and Buck begins the therapy session we get to see by admitting that Dr. Copeland might be right about him hiding his true feelings and Buck, holy hell, what does that mean?

Because, it could literally mean anything. It could be about his sexuality and discovery about his romantic feelings about a fellow firefighter. Or it could be that it’s about how much of himself he hides away or doesn’t present to the world in light of, you know, all the trauma that he’s faced and that we’ve all wanted addressed. This could also tie in some way to his past and that doesn’t have to take away from possible reveals about his sexuality. Mostly, it just makes me more and more excited for Buck Begins. 

Overall, an excellent episode. I love the things it touches upon and how the show isn’t steering directly into a deep focus on covid and instead giving us these moments of things have changed and this is how it is now from seeing everyone in masks, to seeing Hen going to her class online, and even down to Buck’s therapy happening over a screen. It is excellently handled when it comes to David and Michael and not only in the confirmation that they are living together in spite of the possible contact with the virus, but in how we see them handle that. Michael taking care of his man. All of that was lovely. 

The episode closed out on an amazing note, giving us these momentary glimpses into where everyone is and their familial spaces and the love and acceptance felt there and all the small tidbits and hints at what may be coming up. 

[troybarnesbucky]

I woke up and decided to analyze each 9-1-1 pairing with regards to timing and also buddie

I just woke up and all im gonna say right now is this: this is long-winded but basically it takes a look at all the relationships on 9-1-1 and compare the timing and level of intimacy to that of buck and eddie’s relationship. 

at the end of season 1 of 911 I remember watching and realizing they were gonna push the whole bobby and athena relationship, and I was surprised, because I didnt think there was any preamble or much hinting to it. but I guess it made sense to me - they were both single, both in the same social circle, they got along. sure, made sense. and then season 2 comes along and they’re smack dab in the middle of their relationship and we have zero time to adjust to it as an audience, but once again, we quickly did (mind you, I did not watch it live as intently as a fan would, but I do recall a lot of episodes because my mom watches the show and I remembered a lot when I was catching up myself). at this point bobby and athena are happily married and I really do love them together, genuinely.

then, maddie comes along and there’s a bit more to the story. she has a lot going on, a lot she’s been through and we spend much of her first season getting to know her and watching her confront her past and create her own present. chimney had a bit of a rough start with relationships (.... tatiana, sorry love, but you could’ve had it all sis). her and chimney start out as friends but it’s very clear from their blossoming friendship that the writers intend for us to want a relationship for them, and we DO. because theyre adorable together and genuinely have so much chemistry and they’re good for one another. it’s a bit of a slowburn but we get there eventually, so much so that in the season 3 finale, we find out maddie is pregnant! which yes, did make me cry shut up. 

hen and karen had a rough start. even if they did look happy, they went through a ton of shit in the first and second season, especially the first season. which is fair; hen cheated on karen, and a large part of her storyline revolved around her ex and having to fight for denny. but there’s so much love between them, and a heavy history that is palpable through the screen. by the time season 2 comes around, they are a bit more grounded, and more so by the time season 3, too. it was interesting to think about their relationship is comparison to the others, which we watched blossom in real time. especially in season 3, because we see their love and support of one another during their attempt to have another child, and yes I also did cry when they met nia for the first time and no I will not elaborate. hen also went through a lot of shit this season; karen, despite what she went through, was and continues to be super wonderful and supportive, if a bit wary (but its okay because drunk karen and chim was a gift and we were well fed) for a second. their relationship is everything and also karen carries the whole show’s sense of humor on her back, I said what I said. 

then we have three more main relationships: michael and athena’s, which is over in episode 1; buck and abby (im not counting ali because genuinely she was in three episodes, im only looking at the main relationships for each character), which starts and ends in season 1; and eddie and shannon, which technically starts before season 1 and kinda ends in season 2 but then she dies. 

personally I dont think there’s much to add about michael and athena’s relationship. firstly, michael is a doll and if they hurt him in season 4 I will riot. but more so, the show gave us a LOT to work with in terms of their past relationship. also, it was interesting as a viewer, to learn about them from the bottom up. we see the tail-end of their romantic relationship and watch it get replaced with a genuine love and care for each other and their family. it’s a stark contrast to what a lot of shows on television would go for; it has a bit of rough, bumpy start, but by midway through season 2, they’re both on steady ground in terms of personal family life, and it’s actually a breath of fresh air. their dynamic is heavily surrounded by love for family, and we love love love that. 

I think with abby and buck we all liked it a little, at the start. buck was sweet to her and we see a change in attitude and an effort from buck that is clear to have never been made before. abby is also a pretty admirable character; she takes care of her mother, is incredible at her job as a dispatcher, and she struggles with maintaining personal relationships but still gives it a go with buck. and buck, from the start to end of the season, grows a lot, both independently from and surrounding their relationship. as a viewer I watched the show way later on, so I knew abby was leaving and honestly, I really did like her and their chemistry. as we go into season 2, we have buck, who is still living in abby’s place, and then the introduction of eddie.

so here’s the thing; this is where I was trying to get to. the show (the writers) made and continue to make interesting character and relationship choices. with eddie and shannon, there is a very clear closeness and chemistry between them that yes, does get revamped for a little. there is also history, which is very important and can’t be disregarded. but more than anything, we are looking at timing in this meta. eddie comes along in season 2 and there are a lot of things happening: hen and karen are getting back to normal, athena and bobby are suddenly dating, buck and abby are - despite what buck thinks - very over, and chim is single and ready to pringle, plus maddie is new and freshly separated from d*ug. as we go through season 2, we see development with athena and bobby, very clearly on their way to a stable relationship and marriage. hen and karen are working through things, we don't really doubt their relationship either. both maddie and chimney are single, and they become friends, and we very quickly, as viewers, realize where the writers are taking us and what they want us to think. 

so now im gonna get on my clown shit when I talk about buck and eddie. specifically, regarding the writers and their timing and why I think they’re either really stupid or actually very smart.

listen, everyone loves slowburn. hell, I'm writing a buddie au that will probably end up being like, upwards of 80k words and it’s gonna be a slowburn. buck, at the beginning of season 2, is in denial. im not gonna go through details but I will say that like..... okay, he’s heartbroken and thats fair. eddie, through means of “what a man,” is introduced and within one fell swoop, buck is immediately jealous and then like, twenty four hours later, they’re besties. tea. totally fair. in terms of timing, especially regarding relationships, there really aren’t many things to note: buck goes through that weird thing with taylor kelly, eddie goes through his drama with shannon, and when shannon wants a divorce, it kinda all goes to shit. by the end of season 2, we have buck trying to move on (and also nearly dying by means of a firetruck but thats not my point but also writers wtf) and dating ali (guys how do you spell her name lol) while eddie deals with the aftermath of his (ex, technically but I don't know if its mean to say that) wife. there are more than a few moments between buck and eddie that hint to a potential romance and feelings, like the santa scene and multiple others. then, season 3 is very very interesting. 

buck and ally(? seriously I don't know) are broken up, eddie is focused on christopher and actually, also buck, and then the tsunami happens. there is also not much going on in terms of other relationships on the show; maddie and chim get their shit together while also having a crazy season starting and ending with talking about having kids with a brief intermission of “I cant say I love you” and nearly dying on both parts and albert appears lol (and then disappears, too?? wtf). athena and bobby are pretty cool, hen and karen are trying for kids and hen wants to be a doctor. we have some others, like josh, who go through too much shit for my liking and deserve better, and michael, who...... deserves the world. 

okay. cleared that up. but timing-wise, if we look at the writers and their regard for timing, then we see this: any time two characters are single and there’s an ounce of friendship even hinted, they end up together. fine, that’s fair to say because we’ve seen it, right? after the tsunami, which is a WHOLE OTHER thing im not getting into, we have the lawsuit, eddie fighting, lena bosko (yall can be mad but she was hella cool), hen killing that cello (I think) player, michael getting sick, wow this season was fucking insane holy shit.

but in terms of character relationships and timing, a lot goes on with buck and eddie. in this one season alone, we go from eddie being the first one to hug buck at his surprise party and christopher giving buck a card with “bff” on it, then buck almost dies (again) and eddie is, quite frankly, the only one who takes no crap from him after he quits and then the tsunami and buck literally tearing himself apart to find his best friend’s son and collapsing at the sight of them reunited and then “there’s no one I trust more with my son than you” (is that the quote, I don't know it by heart) and THEN heart eyes, and then the lawsuit and supermarket and “you’re exhausting” and “christopher misses you” and “I couldn't even call you to bail me outta jail” and then the “I’m hearing a lotta ‘I’s, buck” and “I forgive you” and then the Infamous Kitchen Scene and me endlessly screaming WHY WAS BUCK’S HAND ON HIS BELT LIKE THAT? but also very pointedly I will say eddie fighting specifically when he can’t talk to buck and then it stops around the time he can hmmmmm. and also “this is eddie’s house im not really a guest here” then the fuckaifajfgkjfglgakjdgag tunnel collapsing and buck literally, once again tearing himself and everything apart for a diaz, digging with his bare hands and the defeated look on his face and refusing to think about eddie dying and eddie very nearly dying but then recalling christopher, his family, buck, then christopher and buck, then christopher and buck again, then a rare shannon appears, and then it’s just-

okay. OKay. O K AY. ok. here’s what I think. either the writers are incredibly smart or just viciously stupid, or the third, lesser liked option, they know what they’re doing and don’t give two shits. they are sitting on, and quite frankly they have created, a fucking goldmine. but in terms of timing, and relationship choices, we have eddie and anna(?) as a brief thing that will either reappear in season 4 or never be touched again, then abby’s lame-ass apology that was just her attempting to justify her actions by claiming she simply just should’ve told buck sooner. but a lot of this season explores buck’s loneliness, and in a way, too, eddie’s. 

yes, eddie has christopher, and the others? they have families and significant others. buck has no one (except maddie but you get my point) to go home to. I think, in terms of timing and thematic elements, this season took the time to explore the loneliness of two men, but also by doing so, only high-lighted their need for one another, their love for one another. in the past, that has lead to two couples getting together: athena and bobby, and chimney and maddie. 

so, my point is, season 4 is the make it or break it point. we got (weak-ass) closure with abby, eddie’s anger and regret with shannon (and yes, christopher), an exploration of both of their loneliness, and a very, very clear rocket launch of their closeness and dependence on one another, in season 3. it started with a lot and ended with closure on all extraneous factors that could have possibly deterred the two of them from a potential relationship. more so, abby is getting married and buck has no choice but to move on; he may not have loved her anymore but he needed the closure (and no I do not think it was good enough and I think buck deserved more but that’s not my point).

this can’t be read that much into. it’s not subtle, it’s not subtext. it’s very clearly there on our screens, with every small or big line. they mean a lot to each other. anyone with eyes can say that, has to say that. the problem is, what’s the intention? like, are the writers actually doing what I've just said, setting up for a slowburn, taking it season by season. you can look at it that way, and it actually doesnt take a lot to get to that point of a thought process. there is a HUGE, fundamental shift in buck and eddie’s relationship in season 3. there is a perceived difference in their friendship versus both their relationship with others and the friendship between others. denny doesn’t call chimney his best friend, “his chimney.” athena has never once told hen she trusts her children with her more than anyone in the world. 

there are a lot of interesting choices that have been made over the course of three season, particularly this past season. there are also a lot of possibilities for the upcoming season. we may see a return of that teacher, we might see buck fall into other women, we may see eddie not fully over shannon, or (hopefully not) an abby return. it’s just a matter of waiting, but there’s no denying the way things were left off; buck and eddie were both single throughout the entirety of season 3, considerably closer and not guests at each other’s place, both very lonely in spite of the people around them, closer to each other than the rest of the 118, both have a family member (or more than one for eddie) to keep them anchored. buck is, yes, more lonely, but they are both left off in the same place. my question, more than anything, is whether it’s intentional after all that’s said and done. and if it’s not, then why, pray tell, are the writers following their OWN very clear and self-fulfilled pattern of timing and relationships to an even stronger extent than they ever have? 

[matan4il]

As one of the OG viewers here, meaning I literally watched S1 live and then S2 was a bit of a reboot for those of us and thank God for Eddie and Maddie coming on. I have to say it kind of makes me laugh at how little attention the fandom gives to just how adorable Buck was with Abby vs how he was/is with Ally and Taylor. When you watched not knowing we would get Eddie, Abby and him were adorable mostly because of his cute ass gestures. Yet they have never let him mimic that with another women and that screams to me so much. It transferred to acts of service for Eddie and Christopher which I'm down for. But not gonna lie, I cant wait to see that first date energy he will have for Eddie and vice versa Eddie for Buck. Becuase both these boys deserve unconditional adoration and flowers and dates. So 9 11 writers please don't do me wrong here. They deserve to be what Shannon and Abby could never be for them.

Hi Nonnie!

OMG, so much this, adding Buck's sister and husband really helped the show dynamic. And also, while I loved Abby as a stand alone character, she was disconnected from the rest of the 118 other than Buck, which was... it served her character, because yes, when you're looking after an ailing parent at home, feelings of isolation are very normal, but 911 is an ensemble show, and it's at its best when it shows all of the connections and love within this found family. Abby didn't really fit into that, which is one reason I think s1 feels 'colder' than the following seasons.

As for Buck, he was def adorable with her! I have to admit, I don't like her with him, the way she felt like she never took him seriously, he was just the guy who helped her get her groove back, so she still called him 'boy toy,' not to mention getting his phone number from the incident report, which was crossing an ethical line... Buck himself, though? He was adorable. It was his first serious relationship and you could tell how excited he was to be in one, and I think even more so, to feel deserving of one. And you're right, he def never had the same kind of big-eyed wonder energy with his other female LI's since then. But he's def had it with Eddie. Just think about Buck during the 414 guardianship reveal scene! He's so floored by the fact that Eddie sees him as such a crucial part of that little family unit, it's insane. Or how about his excitement when he's about to introduce Eddie to Carla? Or take his cute lil' hop when that elf lady mistook him for Christopher's other dad, i.e Eddie's partner! Adorable doesn't quite cover that! No, that boy is in deep. And absolutely, Buddie deserve to have each other's back and to enjoy that type of bond in every possible way...

Thank you so much for this ask, lovely! Hope you're having a great day! xoxox

And if you or anyone else are looking for other replies of mine, you can find them in my ask tag. xoxox

[matan4il]

I recently rewatched Hen Begins, and it was funny to me how the two guy firefighters (idk their names) are obviously meant to be the the og Buck and Eddie. They're bros, teasing each other about girls, etc. I know watching these two straight dudes interact with each other is meant to show the difference between Hen/Chim and them, but I also see in their interactions how differently Eddie and Buck are coded in comparison. Buddie is much more sensitive with one another, less bro-like? idk!!

Hi Nonnie, and thank you for this wonderful ask! Yes, you’re talking about Tommy and Sal. I agree, they have that vibe of two frat guys who’ll get drunk together and tease and haze each other, but they don’t have the same sort of intimate feel that Buddie have, of knowing each other and supporting and being there for the other guy and looking at the other man with soft adoration and making the other person’s well being not just a concern, but the center of their focus. There are a lot of friendships on this show, some more developed, some less, some wonderful, some meh, male friendships, female friendships, mixed ones, but none of them are quite like what Buddie have, only emphasizing that there’s a bond there which is deeper than just the regular range of friendship we know. And that doesn’t belittle friendship and how much it matters, to acknowledge that what Buddie have is different. They’re life partners in a way none of the other friends are. And the other friends all MATTER to each other. A lot. But not in the same way. If Buddie were a man and a woman with these levels of intimacy, the viewers would have already recognized that it canonically hovers on the border of the romantic. Thank you again for sharing this wonderful observation! xoxoxox

do you know how many episodes are gonna be in season 4? on imdb it says the main cast is in 55, but there have only been 52 episodes so far. i’m wondering bc ana’s page says she in 4 episodes but idk what that means

Hi Nonnie! Thanks for turning to me, I’ll do my best to answer. From what I know, both shows, 911 and LS, had 18 eps ordered from them. When Paul on LS was asked online about this, he said LS would have 14 eps. This is not official, but is probably pretty reliable. A lot of people assume, based on this, that 911 too was shortened from 18 to 14 eps, but the truth is that while reasonable, we don’t know for sure. As for Ana, her actress is currently listed on IMDb as being in 4 eps of 911, 2 from s3 (312 and 315) and 2 so far in s4 (406 and 408). We don’t know if that’s all she’ll be in, because IMDb's updates can be pretty slow and even random... I really hope this helped! xoxoxox

here’s a friendly reminder that your original content is incredible!!! let’s spread some support by sharing this message to 10 other blogs whose creations you love, and don’t break the chain❤️✨ have a great day/night and remember that you’re loved!!! 💖💖

@fyeahbuddie Nikki, thank you so much, my darling! Love you tons and YOU KNOW that this goes right back at you, you’re so creative and talented, but I’m happy to say it again and again, because you deserve to hear it! xoxox

@bicepsie Carmen my love, thank you so much for sending me this and for being my first Buddie friend on Tumblr, you gave me a lot of strength when times were hard and I love you so much. Love your content so much, too! xoxox

[matan4il]

Meta asks

that thing Eddie does where he tries to get Buck to look him in the eyes when he's trying to comfort him is so soft and it kills me every time

Nonnie, thank you for this ask, this is truth and you should say it! And it’s one of the things that makes it feel different to a regular friendship, good as it may be, because there’s something so intimate about it, so connected and... in need, I’d say, like Eddie doesn’t just want, he needs to know that Buck is okay. Add to that his thumb on Buck’s pulse point, on that very intimate, some might say highly erotic spot (it’s me, I’m ‘some’) and it’s a wonder we didn’t all spontaneously expire after that scene. Buck included.

Hi! I love your Buddie Meta posts! The Buck Begins ep was so so good. I really loved the scene where the team comes to help Buck, and after watching it a couple of times, I noticed how incredible the song lyrics are in that moment. Just before Eddie reaches Buck and is the first one to grab the line, the lyric is literally "the future I just can't touch" !!!!?? Am I nuts for reading too far into this...but Eddie is the only one we get a close-up of, and after that lyric?? HE is Buck's future!

Thank you so much for the kindness, Nonnie! *hearts* Also? Yeees! I actually wanted to do a meta post looking at all the songs playing during Buddie scenes and their lyrics... I will at some point! But because it’s already been on my mind, I can say that I don’t think you’re reading too much into it. BTW, for anyone who doesn’t know: the song is So Far by Ólafur Arnalds. The lyrics are perfect for describing Buck’s mindset in that moment of desperation overall, but there are other songs with similar lyrics. So it feels significant, choosing this one, with its climactic moment that calls attention to itself when it mirrors the climactic moment of the whole ep, while cutting out a small section of the song, so that the last line before the climax is the one you quoted, Nonnie, even though it’s not the original last line before the song’s climax, AND while making the choice that it would be Eddie who comes into view right at that moment and Eddie whose face is visible up close and Eddie who’s the only one to get that treatment during that scene. You couple all that with how many moments we’ve had between Buddie where the lyrics seemed to be significant and it doesn’t feel coincidental.

Hi! I absolutely adore your meta posts! They really lift me up whenever the fandom seems to lose a bit of hope on buddie becoming canon. I feel like parts of the fandom keep going from thinking we are being spoon fed buddie content and surely it'll become canon to "the writers are homophobes and buddie will never be canon because they cut back on their scenes together" and it's giving me whiplash. But you make great analysis and your posts are always consistent, and I'm so glad for them!

Thank you sooo much for this, lovely Nonnie! I’m so happy to know my meta posts help. And TBH, I don’t blame fandom. Because it’s hard to have faith in something happening if there’s very little precedent to it, you know? Though I think that could actually also be a selling point for the executives on the show. They do something groundbreaking like making Buddie canon and 911 will become a part of queer history and talked about even decades after the end of the show. Currently, Henren and Josh and Michael and David are all nice rep (for gay people), but it’s not new in the same way that Buddie would be (especially if they do let them identify as bi).

Back to fandom’s whiplash, especially when other fandoms have let people down, it’s easy to feel despair. After all, it used to be that homoerotic interpretation used to be explicitly unwanted by TV execs. Then they discovered they could have really loyal fans of this without losing homophobic viewers, by using homoerotic subtext and never delivering on it. And at the time, that was progress. Because shows recognized those queer ships fans and started valuing them (though not enough to lose other fans). And then they started getting backlash for not delivering, they started being accused of exploitation of the fans of such ships. The term ‘queerbaiting’ was coined. Sometimes fans are too quick with it, but other times I find using this term as criticism to be fully justified.

Now, a lot of shows where fans had hope, to me they felt like they were consciously queerbaiting and I never expected them to deliver. But 911 strikes me as different. It doesn’t have the same infatuation with toxic masculinity that many of those other shows have, its viewers have already shown that they’re into/cool with diversity (enough for LS to actually use the diversity angle as a main selling point from the get go), the general vibe of the show is that it really does care and wants to make things better (or we wouldn’t have gotten storylines like the one with Michael being stopped and searched because he’s black) and at this point, TV execs have more experience with the fandoms of such ships, they know their value and the possible criticism. So that 911 execs are clearly aware of fandom and presumably, wouldn’t want the backlash, yet they continue to provide so much Buddie fodder with each ep, it makes me have hope in a way I haven’t with a lot of other ships I had, where I had fun in fandom, but I was always conscious canon isn’t happening. That’s not how I feel here. Is my feeling a guarantee of anything? Nope. But as long as you want it, I’ll continue to share it and what makes me feel the way I do. And then we can hope together that what I’m feeling isn’t wrong. ;) Thank you again, Nonnie, sorry this got long and hopefully this was helpful in some way! XD

Hope you’re ALL having a great day! xoxoxox