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gwenyn28 · 6 months ago

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The "real" reasons why these actresses left 9-1-1

Because it is a common accusation Buddie fans have to deal with I wanted to talk about the reasons why the female love interests for Buck and Eddie left the show.

I already talked about it on twitter but due to a limited space I couldn't post links and go deeper into the stories. Therefore I will talk about this a bit more on here.

I will admit that there might have been some fans out there who were really mean and acted weird/rude towards these women. But still... there are real reasons for leaving the show, not "the Buddie fans bullied them and they couldn't handle it anymore so they left".

Connie Britton (Abigail Clark)

When 9-1-1 started in early 2018 Connie Britton was part of the main cast. She was casted as the dispatcher "Abigail Clark" so that the viewer could have not only the firefighter's view but also the dispatcher's. After an incident at a rollercoaster where Buck lost a person Abby looked up his number to ask if he was okay. They started to talk and soon after got into a relationship.

To begin with, her contract was just for one season and she left when her contract was up. Ryan Murphy said in an interview that they were renogotiating her deal because she loved the cast and wanted to come back for a couple of episodes (what we later got with the train wreck in the season 3 finale). But just as a guest star, not as a main cast again. In the meantime, for that dispatch connection, Jennifer Love Hewitt as Maddie Buckley (now Han) was cast.

It was also the plan NOT to bring her back in season 2 so that Buck could grow on his own and that this growth won't be connected with Abby anymore. After all, they just had a brief relationship and she left him at the airport and ghosted him afterwards.

(Source)

So, all in all, she was just supposed to be there for one season only. She didn't want to have a longer contract because she prefers to work just for one season of any tv show. And because she and Ryan Murphy are good friends, he agreed on this, wanting her appearance on his new show in 2018 to help him get the series off the ground.

(Source)

Tiffany Dupont (Ali Martin)

Buck and Ali met in season 2 during an earthquake where she was rescued by him and Eddie. Later on they met again and started to date. When Buck was crushed by a ladder truck and severely injured she broke up with him afterwards in the hospital. She told him that she couldn't live with him being in danger and that he wanted to continue with this risky job after his leg would be better again.

Tim stated in an interview 2019 that he loved Ali but she wasn't his first choice. Because she had chemistry with Buck and Eddie he decided to bring her back for Buck. Their relationship would have to go through the "make it or break it" because she knew that Buck's job was hard and dangerous and Ali wasn't a first responder. So, it had to be decided if she could live with that or not. In the end Tim wanted to keep her as an option for the next season as he reintroduced her but the relationship didn't make it.

(Source)

Megan West (Taylor Kelly)

Megan West was already one of Buck's former hook-ups who was introduced in an earlier season but came back in season 4 and 5 to play Buck's love interest. The possibility to give her a bigger role was there due to Jennifer Love Hewitt being on maternity leave. Therefore her character could get some screen time and she got a whole backstory.

Kristen Reidel, showrunner at that time, stated in an interview the inevitability of the couple's separation because of the people they were. Their characters were the complete opposites and even though sometimes opposites attract this didn't happen with Buck and Taylor. The break-up was the only logical conclusion.

Since Taylor's story arc came to an end with this break-up and the narrative of the show didn't demand another independant character, Megan West left the show after her story was told.

(Source)

Annelise Cepero (Natalia Dollenmeyer)

At the end of season 6 Buck met Natalia, a death doula, and started to date her. It seemed as if they had a connection (a weird one, but still a connection) and so she was Buck's girlfriend at the time season 6 ended.

In an interview mid-March Tim Minear said that he wasn't really interested in going down the road with Natalia when he took over again from Kristen Reidel as previous showrunner for season 5 and 6. He decided that it was time for Buck to stop talking about death, it was boring. He wanted Buck to live some more and to pursue joy. Buck should finally find happiness.

It seems like it was not just a creative decision. Not only storywise Tim decided to break up Buck and Natalia over hiatus. Annelise is based in New York. After the end of season 6 there was the writer's strike happening and season 7 was postponed. During that prolonged hiatus she got a contract on Broadway for "Hotel Happy" that premiered in February 2024. Therefore she couldn't join 9-1-1 again.

And since Tim was also fine with her not coming back storywise... it was mutual for her not to return.

Gabrielle Walsh (Ana Flores)

Gabrielle Walsh was a guest star and played Ana Flores, Eddie's love interest. When they first met when she was Chris' teacher, they really didn't get along. But later on, in the "Jinx" episode, Eddie asked her out and they started dating.

In an insta video (uploaded on youtube) she stated that she liked being on the show and that she loved her role, praising all the cast members. She admitted that she was sad to go but in the end everybody deserved to be with who they really loved. Some people interpreted this as a comment towards Buddie because directly afterwards she also talked about the Buddie fans and that there are no hard feelings concerning them, that she loved them.

Edy Ganem (Marisol)

Edy Ganem played Marisol and was brought in last-minute. She was kind of a hardware store fling for Eddie in the season 6 finale. Back then nobody knew if 9-1-1 would be renewed (or taken over by abc) so Kristen Reidel wanted to give every character a partner and love interest in some kind of closure if the show had ended back then. Marisol who was introduced earlier on on a call seemed to be a fit for Eddie in Kristen's eyes.

Coming to season 7 she was not planned to come back at first because Eddie was supposed to start dating Tommy Kinard. But then, as already stated above, Annelise Cepero wasn't able to come back as Natalia. This would have left Buck without a storyline. So Tim decided to switch from Tommy dating Eddie to Tommy dating Buck. Edy Ganem was free and could come back as Marisol for season 7 to play Eddie's love interest because Tim Minear didn't want both Buck and Eddie without a partner.

In an interview in April 2024 he stated that he had no clue about Marisol and her character. (She doesn't even have a last name.) He didn't want to give her screentime to explore the character and went with what he had. Or better, what Kristen gave him - the nun storyline. The idea was amusing to him and he thought it would help to learn more about Eddie.

In the end Marisol didn't stick around. She didn't even get a proper on screen break-up, just vanished after the end of the Vertigo storyline for Eddie.

It might have to do with the actress behind the character. She showed her true self more than once, posting trans- and homophobic things on social media and kind of victimized herself. Therefore it was a win-win to let her go after season 7, story- and personwise.

In conclusion: I read it very often that people say that the actresses left just because they were harassed by Buddie fans. Like I said in the beginning, there might have been some fans that have acted that way.

But the reasons I listed above where the cause for them to leave or not to return to the show - other obligations, wrapped storylines etc. And not just because "Buddie fans were mean to them".

#911 show #911 abc #911 fox #stating facts #love interest #abigail clark #ali martin #taylor kelly #natalia dollenmeyer #ana flores #marisol #buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz

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johanna-swann · 25 days ago

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Analysing shows to death is my number 1 hobby of all times, so I decided to rank all of Buck and Eddie's love interests that were there for more than one quick flirt (not counting, for example, snake lady from 1x01, Veronica who was in several episodes but only on 1 actual date with Buck or Lucy who Buck was never really interested in in the first place).

For Eddie we have Shannon, Ana, Marisol and I'm also including Kim because holy shit, that really was something. For Buck we have Abby, Ali, Taylor, Natalia and Tommy.

Love interests will be judged by likeability, having their own storylines & character traits, compatibility with Eddie or Buck and how well they fit into the bigger picture of the show.

Coming in hot on the 9th place: Natalia. She was nice enough and the one thing we did know about her (her job) could've come up again in interesting ways, but then it didn't. We don't really know anything about her other than her job and she wasn't on the show very long. I think the fact that she had a different perspective on Buck temporarily dying could've been good for him. For everyone else it was a very traumatic experience and sensitive topic, but for Natalia it's business as usual. It could've been good for Buck to have someone to talk to about this without having to walk on eggshells. But I don't think Buck was really in a good place to start dating again, he had just learnt (via coma dream) that being "just Buck" could be enough and that he shouldn't live his life trying to make other people see him a certain way. And then he came in with the "Natalia sees me" line. Natalia never interacted with any of the other main characters and then they wrote her out of the show between seasons.

Conclusion: She was likeable if a bit bland, but she wasn't exactly a well rounded character, I think she would've been much better as a friend for Buck and at no point did the show even try to integrate her as more than just Buck's latest girlfriend.

Talking about likeable but bland: Number 8, Ana. I'm sorry, Ana is objectively speaking a good person, she is kind and pretty and has an impressive career. (She has a PhD I think? And is also already principal at a school despite being rather young? Good for her.) But aside from the fact that she's "nice", there's not much going here. She's mostly there to give Eddie things to spiral about. The skateboard incident for example was mostly a catalyst to get Eddie thinking about what it means to raise a son with a disability, but he then talked about this in more depth with Carla and Buck, Ana was only the messenger. On the surface they tried to give her characteristics that made her perfect for Eddie. She was great with children and already loved Christopher (and Chris liked Ana too), she had a similar background (big latino family) and she really loved her job. But it was all surface level. Who is Ana other than a picture perfect potential wife? What are her interests, what is she like when she isn't being kindness incarnate?

Conclusion: Likeable, but basically a cardboard cutout. This was a least partially intentional (Eddie does come to the "ready made family with no substance behind it" conclusion too), but still. Boring. She only fit well with Eddie on paper and like most Eddie-related things on 911, she seemed a little removed from the rest of the show and whenever she did appear or was brought up in the vicinity of other main characters, it was always about Eddie. (Is Eddie ready to date again? Is Eddie still hung up on Shannon?) It was never about Ana as her own person.

Number 7: Ali. The way we meet her makes us immediately side with her (her boss is a sexist, predatory piece of shit and she won't let that slide). We don't see her again after the earthquake for a while, but when we do we find out she's an opinionated, career oriented, confident woman who has no trouble communicating what she wants and who prioritises her own well being when necessary. She was there for Buck and supported him in the hospital, but sat him down and openly talked to him about why this relationship won't work for her once he got to go home. She was brought in/back as the polar opposite to Taylor who at the time represented the "casual hookups" option, so she wasn't just added randomly, she was also there as part of Buck's character development. She also had good chemistry with Eddie in the opening disaster (I was honestly surprised when they brought her back as Buck's love interest) and I really liked the scene at the hospital with her, Maddie and Carla.

Conclusion: She was a likeable character with enough personality to make her interesting and while she was good for Buck temporarily (I don't think either of them was necessarily looking to settle down at the time), it was exactly that - her knowing herself and what she wants - that eventually ended the relationship. She was only on the show for a few episodes and didn't make any strong connections to the other characters. In my opinion she was pretty much perfect as a minor character / temporary love interest because she was intentionally written as such, but there wasn't much potential for them to be anything more than that.

Moving on to numero 6: Kim. Likeable? Uhhhhhhrm. Well. She was certainly something, but likeable? At first maybe, but then it was mostly a lot of "wtf?" and "what is wrong with her?!" Very fascinating. Her and Eddie had one thing they connected over and one thing only: Shannon. She briefly interacted with Buck, but the whole thing had nothing to do with the rest of the 118 who had bigger fish to fry at the time.

Conclusion: Brainworms inducing character, I don't know who came up with this and why, but I want to thank them because holy shit. Not very likeable, but very interesting and not boring (which is a far bigger sin on tv), the whole thing was connected to Eddie's previously established hang-ups on the Shannon of it all, so even though it was another Eddie plot that was disconnected from the rest of the show it was at least building on his previous storylines and then developed into a bigger plot including Marisol, Chris and the Diaz parents. Kim was a freak and I thank her for her service, even though the fallout in season 8 was fumbled badly.

5th place: Marisol. Kinda mediocre as her placement on the list suggests. I'm so not sure if I should've placed her farther down on the list (maybe 7th place or so), because in many ways she's basically Ana 2.0. Nice girl / pretty Latina who is good with Chris while Eddie is (unknowingly) still hung up on Shannon. However she has little more personality of her own than Ana. I liked that we met her as a random character with no connection to the 118. We saw her having a close relationship with her brother and the diy thing was alson a cool additional piece of information whereas (in the context of these women being fictional characters) I read Ana's profession more as an extension of her "good with kids, she'd be a perfect replacement wife/mom" trait. Like, Ana was very much written as a symbol of what Eddie thinks he should want, Marisol was handled more like an actual person and gender-stereotypical traits do play a role in that for me.

[A/N: To be clear, irl your profession doesn't say anything about how much of a feminist you can be. You can be the most badass activist and also a stay at home mom, but we're talking about fiction where every trait given to a character is a choice made by the writers to project a certain image. And they wrote Ana as gentle and kind woman who works in childcare whereas Marisol is a very handy person who wears overalls the first time we see her. These first impressions were intentional.]

Back to the point - Eddie was in a good place mentally by the end of season 6, it kinda made sense for him to try dating again at that time. They took things slow and had the whole "Marisol moves in, Marisol moves out again" thing. Season 7 was very short and full, but they still carved out some time for Eddiesol(?) to have their own hurdle before Kim entered the game.

Conclusion: Marisol was likeable, a bit more interesting than Ana who was (as I said) often more a symbol than a character. Her and Eddie had some chemistry and this relationship happened more on Eddie's terms (what he wants instead of what he's told he should want) than his previous one with Ana. As per usual Marisol and the related Eddie plot were somewhat disconnected from the rest of the show once they got together, but Eddie did talk to Buck about her. There was potential here for an interesting, longer love story, maybe Eddie reassessing some of his rather conservative views on what being "the man of the house" means to him, but then Marisol's actress got caught being transphobic on social media and they wrote the Doppelgänger storyline instead so. That's that.

Observation: One thing all the characters above have in common so far is that they all had little to do on the show outside of being Eddie's or Buck's girlfriend. The 4 love interests who are left also had other important relationships or roles on the show that weren't just about Buck or Eddie. Shannon was not only Eddie's wife, she was Chrisopher's mother. Abby was a main character in season 1 and had a lot going on other than being with Buck. Tommy had a connection to Chimney, Hen, Bobby and Gerrard or rather the 118 in general before he ever met Buck. Taylor had soo much screentime and as a reporter was often involved in the calls and emergencies on the show without it being related to Buck (remember the call where this guy got buried alive and Taylor and Ransone both worked the case later?).

Back to the countdown: Number 4, Shannon. The fandom is very split on whether she deserved better or wasn't judged harshly enough, so it's hard to say whether she is "likeable" per se. She is definitely a very complex character and as someone who just got off the phone with their mum because she wanted my opinion on what to do about my disabled little brother who she doesn't think she can care for at home any longer- Well, let's say I sympathise. Shannon was barely even 20 (not even old enough to drink) when she had Christopher and Eddie fucked right off to the other side of the Atlantic and especially when you're raising a disabled child money isn't everything. They often need more help, more supervision, have more appointments, etc etc. Eddie was well aware that he was leaving Shannon on her own with all of that, her only support network being the judgemental in-laws who didn't like Shannon very much. Should she have run off into the night only leaving behind a two line farewell note? Hell no. But still, I sympathise. The point is that Shannon is a complex, flawed character who got an extensive background story and her story revolved not only around Eddie but around Christopher too. Sadly they killed her off before her and Eddie's relationship could run its course completely and we'll never know how she would've fit into the bigger picture.

Conclusion: Shannon is a complex character who you can sympathise with, who had her own goals and motivations and who was more than just Eddie's wife. She and Eddie had a long, emotional, complicated past with ups and downs, but they loved each other and Christopher very much (it's debatable if it was true love in the romantic sense of the word, but they loved each other). Still, she wasn't exactly present outside of Eddie's personal life and was killed off after being in only a handful of episodes.

[Personally I think they had a great opportunity to a) have Eddie and Shannon co-parent post-divorce like Michael and Athena did or b) still divorce them but then write a delicious slowburn about how without the pressure, without the church and their families breathing down their necks, without a surprise pregnancy and after working out the lingering resentment they feel, they eventually still find their way back to each other. Kinda like Chimney and Maddie did, but make it a slowburn instead of a speedrun.]

Entering the top 3 now. Tommy. He could've scored higher if the writers hadn't completely fumbled this plot. Season 7 and 8 were hands down the worst seasons yet and all of the characters deserved better. (Yes even Gerrard and Ortiz in the sense that they of course shouldn't have got happy endings, rainbows and sunshine, but they deserved to be written as antagonists with more agency, more substance, more depth instead of whatever the hell that was.) (Not Brad though. Fuck Brad.) A-ny-way. Tommy isn't exactly likeable when we first meet him in season 2, but the show quickly shows that he isn't a complete asshole. We later find out he's been stuck in regressive environments his entire life and internalised a lot of that bullshit before he unlearnt it again much later. But even in season 2 they showed us Chimney and Tommy making peace, Tommy and Hen finding common ground and him being (if not friends) at least friendly with Hen, Chim and Bobby by 2x16. Which already says a lot about the character's complexity. We learn a lot about Tommy's hobbies, he's involved in a high-stakes rescue mission with the 118, due to his job it's very easy to make him part of other calls and emergencies (the show never did that, but it was at least possible) and he is very well connected to the main characters other than Buck. He really liked Buck a lot, showed up for him again and again and only broke up with him because he was scared of getting hurt because he liked Buck so much. Buck on the other hand wasn't written very well these past 2 (1.5?) seasons. He had little to do except come out as bi- No wait, explore his sexuali- No wait, figure out his identity as a queer ma- No wait. Discover he is not straight. Because he didn't come out as bi (he still has no label) and he didn't explore his sexuality or identity as a queer man beyond getting into a new relationship. Yeah, we really don't know much about how exactly Buck felt about Tommy outside of the vague "I can see a future with him".

Conclusion: A criminal amount of wasted potential. Tommy started out as antagonistic, but then got a (short, partially off-screen) redemption arc which to me makes him not only very likeable, but even loveable. It makes him interesting. He could've been very good for Buck, but sadly the show underutilised him and rarely showed their progressing relationship at all. Tommy was very well connected within the 911 universe, even had the perfect job to join a call here and there. The show just didn't do anything with all of that and it's truly a shame.

2nd place, Abby. Honestly, Abby could've been first. She's likeable, just like I sympathise with Shannon because she was in a tough spot I see the same with Abby and her mother. Abby is shown as a hard working, loyal person who will put her own needs second and prioritise family, but not to the point where she comes across as a perfect saint. She snaps at Carla, is (understandably) annoyed with her mom sometimes, etc. I also honestly believe she and Buck were good for each other. She got to feel a little carefree and adventurous from time to time with someone who didn't bring his own obvious heavy baggage into the relationship. And Buck got to experience a relationship with someone who cares about him and not just whether he is a good lay, he got to care for someone who took their relationship seriously and who made him grow as a person. Abby also shared some nice scenes with Athena and Bobby, she was a main character all on her own (covering the dispatch position before Maddie took over) who had her own personal struggles and calls at work. But here's the one thing that to me disqualified her from #1 without discussion: It was obvious from the start that for her the relationship with Buck was only a fling. She cared about him, deeply, but he was an escape. She liked him, maybe loved him, but I'm not sure she was in love with him. They never really stood a chance long term. I think even if Abby hadn't run off to Europe, she would've left Buck eventually.

Conclusion: Likeable, complex character, well connected within the universe, she and Buck made a very good couple - for a short while. Not much else to say.

Which for the 1st place only leaves Taylor. Controversial pick? Maybe. I know many people actively hated her, but personally I love characters who are just a tad bit fucked up. Taylor is shown as a very "modern" woman (I don't know how else to call it, she is still very feminine after all). She is career driven, not exactly a nurturing / kind / sweet girl, treats sex as a very casual thing and has some interesting morals when it comes to protecting an individual's privacy vs being honest with the broad public. She is however very similar to Buck when it comes to their jobs. They both live and breathe for their work and are willing to sacrifice personal relationships for it too. Taylor worked all her life to one day become someone who gets to uncover truths due to the fact that she never found out the truth about her mother's murder and her father's involvement. Buck for a long time measured his worth by what he could do for others, he was "born to safe someone", he's very empathetic and has this intrinsic need to help people and he took all that and made a career of it. Buck and Taylor get up to all kinds of shenanigans together - searching for a treasure, trying to solve a hit and run, etc. As a reporter Taylor isn't a first responder, but it is natural for her to be on scene for calls and emergencies and to investigate those matters further (thus running into Athena or other cops later on), it happened quite a lot actually. On a personal level however she isn't close to any of the other main characters and I think that was their downfall eventually. She understands Buck really well (as for example shown by her take on the "maybe this isn't about you" trope) and she even understands how close Buck is to the 118 ("Your life is full of meaningful relationships.") - she understands Buck, but she isn't like Buck. She prioritises differently and never really gets involved with the 118.

Conclusion: Taylor is a very independant character with a lot of strengths, but also flaws and those flaws made her extremely unlikeable to some of the more rabid fans, but I will love and treasure her forever. I think she and Buck complemented each other really well, but maybe they'd be better as friends? They had great chemistry, they could talk to each other about their jobs and understood each other in ways I think none of the other love interests did (except maybe Eddie and Shannon). On a professional level Taylor fit into the 911 universe incredibly well, she was just never closely connected to the other characters on a personal level.

#911 abc #evan buckley #eddie diaz #911 ships #abby clark #natalia dollenmeyer #marisol #(does she seriously still not have a last name?)#taylor kelly #ali martin #tommy kinard #shannon diaz #kim #(also no last name. i see.)#ana flores #do is still need to tag spoilers? 8x06 aired well over a month ago.#911 thoughts

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gayofthefae · 2 months ago

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You can tell when they wanted to Buddie. Because Buck and Eddie synched up being single for a season a half. Their only plots were about each other, it's when they had the lawsuit angst, it's when Eddie was said to have put Buck in his will if they planned that, which I don't find it farfetched that they did - especially given they were renewed by that point, it's when the technophobe cute domestic plot happened, and it's during that time that Buck got closure with Abby.

Ana was briefly introduced but Eddie's interest seemed to be more a setup for his disappointment by her and they did not start dating for about another season. It was a seed but not one that was required to develop.

They were setting up in season 3. I always thought it was abnormal, now that I know they're really doing it, I get why. In every other section but 3x01-4x08, they have both been dating. Buck wasn't over Abby then in the episode he got over her, Eddie got back with Shannon, then while Eddie was with Shannon, Buck got with Ali - but Ali was off screen and took up 0 plot focus away from his relationship with Eddie. It was the classic bad timing.

Then they were both single for TWENTY SIX EPISODES. Within which, their plots had consistent build, processing of their love lives, and focus on one another with casual screentime being spent together with Chris. That was buildup.

THEN THEY DID THAT WHOLE SETUP OF "Buck has a secret he's nervous to tell his loved ones" and it was SO about him being queer until it was swapped out for a therapist.

Then Ana comes back into Eddie's life and Taylor is introduced only two episodes later and in the same episode that Eddie and Ana are officially dating. Eddie breaks up with Ana in 5A but Buck is still with Taylor through the end of the season. The episode they both are single again, Buck defines true love to Maddie in a description of Buck and Eddie's season 5 plot and Ravi describes romance by directly referencing a previous season's line between Buck and Eddie.

Then, they are single simultaneously again for 15 episodes during which time they - also abnormally - have very minimal plot focus on each other.

They switch networks. Buck is immediately single from an off screen breakup that does not affect him at all. He kisses a man in episode 4. In episode 5, the seeds of destruction for Eddie's relationship begin being planted. By the end of the season, Eddie is single, but Buck is not. Now, as of season 8 episode 6, they are both single again.

It is also notable that prior to season 4, their relationships did not hog screen time in the way they did in seasons 4, 5, and 6. Ali was seen once or twice. Shannon only had any romantic and not familial focus for Eddie bookending her time on the show, not throughout. But Ana was a repeated topic of conversation and Taylor became a series regular for a full season.

The entire timeline of it all shows itself to be:

1. Moving on from past relationships

2. Romantic buildup

3. Fox says no

4. They can't date because...uh- they aren't single!

5. Break them up in hopes Fox will say yes

6. Fox says no

7. They're both single so just don't have them interact and hope people don't notice until it's been long enough to make them date people again

8. Make them date people again

9. ABC says yes!

#buddie timeline #buddie #911 abc #fox vs abc #911 shannon #ana flores #taylor kelly #ali martin #911 ali #911 natalia #911 marisol #the speed of those last two being cut is obvious they were planning to stall for longer but were happily surprised with the permission from #abc.

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stagefoureddiediaz · 9 months ago

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honestly maybe it's just me but buck is literally repeating the same steps as with natalia and taylor as with tommy. they meet, he has a crush, go on a date, it's awful and the date leaves, they then come back, then try for real. Like it sounds like even though Buck is off the hamster wheel in regards to his sexuality he very much is still on the hamster wheel when it comes to repetitive mistakes when it comes to his relationships.

Hey Nonnie

I woudn't say that at all. Yes of course there are some similarities - there always will be - between Buck dating Tommy and the Buck who dated Taylor or Natalia. But the reality is they are worlds apart.

For starters Tommy didn't leave because the date was awful, he left to give Buck some space to do a bit more figuring out - he said so himself that his what he was doing. He chose to leave the ball in Bucks court, understanding this was a big new thing for him and that it wouldn't be right to continue anything until Buck was ready. Buck then contacted him when he was and they met up and decided mutually to give things ago.

This is very different to both Taylor and Natalia - both of whom left after something big had happened in Bucks life (Eddie being shot and Kameron popping up out of seemingly nowhere) and then they were the ones to come back - to chase after Buck.

Look we can have whole conversations about the chasing being chased aspect of things but the long and short of it is That both Taylor and (to a lesser extent) Natalia, Ali and Abby chased Buck in one way or another and when it suited them. Tommy has never chased Buck - he shot his shot, sure, made his interest known, but he hasn't once chased Buck. Buck has always mistaken things for him doing the chasing (he is an very unreliable narrator) becuse he gets invested fast and so pursues things. His mistake is moving to fast - falling to quickly for people.

This is the major fundamental difference with Tommy, who is older and wiser and settled with who he is and what he wants. He also has the understanding of being queer and coming out later in life - of discovering that part of yourself that has been hidden and the fact it might take Buck a minute to figure out things.

The other big thing for me is the level of honest Buck is being here - this isn't something we've seen before in this way. He has been completely up front with Tommy when it has been important for him to be so (I would argue he did do the same for Natalia but that he was more forced into it by circumstance). That coffee they had was a very very clear example of that, he sat down, appologised and laid his cards out on the table. He's told the two most important people in his life that he's bi and interested in Tommy and yes maybe going to a wedding is a bit fast, but he also knows most of the people there so he's not walking in to a big unknown in t hat respect and he has a lot of goodwill with the firefam at this moment after flying them to the curise ship so they could rescue Athena and Bobby.

In all honesty I'm far more circumspect about Natalias behaviour as well - far more than a large portion of fandom was towards her. Did I like her as a character or for Buck, No I didn't, but she also didn't do all that much wrong in my eyes, her wanting to take a minute when presented with all that Bucks life is, to think things through before jumping into something is perfectly acceptable and healthy behaviour. The reality is that she was more interested in Bucks death than she was in his life and thats probably what brought her back - that itching need to know more about his death and what it was like.

But she came into his life when he was in a rough place mentally and it was never going to go well for that reason alone. All of Bucks girlfriends have that in common - they met him on the job and then come inot his life when he is having some form of internal crisis. Abby when he had just lost his first person on the job - making him emotionally vulnerable. Ali when he's accepted his relationship with Abby wasn't going anywhere a new guy had just started at work (yes they were getting on by this point but it is still new and an unknown) and his sister had just come back into his life after having had no contact for several years - and he knows she's in a fragile place. Taylor messes hm around but when she comes back into his life and wants to date him - Eddie has just been shot and he's looking after Christopher - he's massively emotionally compromised. None of these are good times to start a romantic relationship.

That isn't the case with Tommy - Bucks actually in a pretty decent place - yes the whole discovering he's queer could be argued as making him emotionally compromised, but he's being given the grace to do things at his own pace - in a healthy way - Tommy is letting Buck dictate the pace they go at.

We also have to remember that we are in a tv show - every single character who isn't a main (or to a certain extent a recurring) is there to act as a storytelling vehicle for one of the mains - their character traits are always going to be those which help get a main character from A to B, to move the story along and to make sure our mains learn something about themselves and their fellow mains along the way.

Abby was about getting Buck from being a bit of a clueless player into a long term (ish) relationship - about growing him out of his jock ways and getting him (and us) to recognise that he isn't a player that he wants real love and a long term relationship. Ali was about him getting over his first big disappointment - about getting hm to move on and about getting him his own place to exist. Taylor was about learning what love didn't look like, about how to treat others and showing him what he wasn't looking for and teaching him not to compromise on his morals. Natalia was all about Buck reconciling himself with his death and rebirth and as soon as he had done that, she was gone.

Tommy is about Buck discovering his queer identity, having a safe space to explore that and about getting him ready for Eddie - its why Tommy is soooo similar to Eddie - Buck will come out of this relationship (whatever form it takes) understanding who he is, and recognising what he wants is what he already almost has - Eddie.

Tommy is also about helping manoeuvre Eddie into questioning himself - another reason why he is so similar to Eddie - Eddie needed to see a gay version of himself - and with Buck to actually start thinking about himself and who he is and what he wants.

So all this to say that Nonnie - Buck has very much got off that hamster wheel and he is very much not making the same mistakes over again. I'm very excited to see how it continues to play out and I'm overjoyed with how the show is handling telling this story.

#kym answers things #nonnie asks #It got long #brevity is not my strong suit 😬😂#911 spoilers #evan buckley #911 meta #tommy kinard #taylor kelly #natalia dollenmeyer #ali maritn #911 abc

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