#hiatus crackheadery

[ktinastrikesback]

Tina! Ive been rewatching S4 and I have an urgent observation for your analysis:

So in Breaking Point (my sleep paralysis demon, as you know) in Christopher's room there is that little board by his door with those four drawings tacked to it: one pic is a boat in water, one is of trees, one is of a rainbow, and one is of his family showing him, Eddie, and Shannon.

In 4x13, they show this board again but all those pictures are gone. In its place is some generic poster about music.

I am in a state of peak hiatus crackheadery, but do you think there's a parallel or some greater symbolism here? Especially considering this episode marks the shift of Chris's family dynamic (Buck being his de facto guardian)? After the universe mobile and the Moving Poster I am highly suspicious about all backdrop objects.

@kitkatpancakestack my love! Thank you for sending me this! I was actually rewatching some scenes the other day and wondered when exactly they changed the board in Chris’ room, so thank you for providing me with an answer! Interesting that it changes between Breaking Point and Suspicion.

I think they’re probably just trying to shift Chris into his pre-teen era, but it’s also interesting that the family drawing including Shannon goes away after Breaking Point. “I wish I could forget,” Chris tells Buck, and then of course Buck assures him that if people leave, it’s okay to miss them, it’s okay to move on. Maybe Chris keeping that drawing up was his way of holding on to that memory, and his conversation with Buck helps him decide to take it down. I don’t know what the significance of the trees and rainbow may be, but I am pretty sure the boat links to the tsunami. Perhaps Chris’ removal of these drawings is him finally being able to let go of two major traumas from his past and move on.

Of course, it’s most likely that he just wanted to redecorate his room/the prop department wanted to change things up, and I made this sad/emotional for no reason 😂 But best believe, I will be hyper-vigilant about the solar system and other universe imagery in s5!

[kitkatpancakestack]

CHIMNEY HAN as SELF-CARE TWEETS

[kitkatpancakestack]

9-1-1 COUPLES as RELATIONSHIP TWEETS

[kitkatpancakestack]

9-1-1 CHARACTERS as THE ONION HEADLINES

[kitkatpancakestack]

Having watched 9-1-1 since S1, and in this case specifically since S2, I feel like one becomes desensitized to whatever this nonsense is between Buck and Eddie. I know this bc sometimes I'll be watching a clip or an episode and I'm like "ah yes so sweet, Eddie and Buck are each other's person" but THE WAY their story is told, it's easy to forget how this shit must look to the outside/casual viewer!

If you're like me and find yourself in need of a vibe check because these two dumbasses got you spiraling, here's a list of honest to God canon things this show has delivered:

🤔Buck and Eddie took all of half a day on the job together before they were ride or die BFFLs

🤔Outside the major disaster event, the second plot-focused episode of S2 is Buck doing the absolute most for Eddie for no other reason than he worships the ground Eddie walks on. In this episode we get the unbelievably subtextual conversation about "they're not my type" and "not mine either....at least not anymore" and *shoulder bumps*; we get Buck going with Eddie (???) to the hospital, Buck basically planning out a whole fun day at the firehouse for Chris, Buck introducing Eddie to Carla......I mean......

🤔Eddie was railing his wife most of S2 and still was so, so invested in Buck (he brought him to visit Santa with Chris????)

🤔"Are we the only people we know who don't have kids? .......BUCK!" *Switch to Buck about to risk it all for his future son*

🤔Buck and Eddie literally stare for about 10 solid seconds across space and time when Chris is found post-tsunami and it's so intense I have to look away!?

🤔Eddie tells Buck there is nobody he trusts with his son more than him. Nobody in the whole entire world. One in 7 billion babeyyyy.

🤔Oh yeah, they have an entire divorce/reconciliation plotline masquerading as the lawsuit arc

🤔They behave especially homoerotically in Buck's kitchen, but that's none of my business I guess ☕

🤔Buck bi-panics through all five stages of grief when he realizes he cannot dig to Eddie with his own bare hands

🤔Abby says "he (Buck) moved on a long time ago" and then just immediate cut to Buck talking about Christopher going to summer camp. Please, Tim, at least try to make these parallels less obvious I mean🙄

🤔Eddie is #disgusted at Abby and v protective over Buck, and I don't have the emotional capacity to detail the symbolism of Abby moving away and Eddie stepping forward (taking her place???) smh

🤔Buckley-Diaz domestic excellence literally in a literal episode literally titled Future Tense

🤔Eddie comes home from his date to *shocking revelation* Buck appearing from behind the wall! The scorned lover! And he tucked Chris into bed! Eddie calls Buck a miracle worker! The lighting is warm and suggestive! I am not supposed to view this at least a little bit romantically!?

🤔Christopher is feeling sad and insecure and he is mad at Himbo Dad #1 so he runs to Himbo Dad #2 bc he knows how to work the system

🤔In an episode titled "Parenthood," despite the fact that Buck is not a parent, they really do be putting him in situations to share his Big Opinions on parenting, usually in tandem with Eddie? @Tim share your location I just wanna talk

🤔Treasure Hunt aka How To Pine Quietly For Your Best Friend and Instead Disguise It As Petty Jealousy, written by Eddie Diaz

🤔*slow, deep breath* Eddie got shot in broad fucking daylight but wait Buck is there too? Oh and you're gonna splatter him with Eddie's blood in a moment that is so perversely intimate and then you're gonna utilize the music in the scene to illustrate how Buck and Eddie are caught in this one moment together separate from literally the rest of the world? Okay cool cool cool cool cool cool cool —

🤔Wait wait Eddie REACHES for Buck????

🤔You're telling me Eddie fights off the sweet relief of unconsciousness to make sure Buck isn't hurt?

🤔They really let Buck say "Just stay with me" and "I need you to hang on" Like That and Eddie turns his head to look at Buck, the last thing he sees before the sweet void takes him????

🤔Buck said "I know what's best for Christopher" this whole entire episode and not a single person found this surprising

🤔Buck and Taylor kiss and Eddie's comatose gay heart says, "miss me with that straight shit" and wakes up immediately

🤔Eddie waits to video chat with Chris until Buck is in the room and also Ana girl where'd you go? I thought this was your sERioUs bOyFRiEnD

🤔Eddie Diaz said he values and appreciates and loves his best friend and he is going to make it everybody's problem *changes will*

🤔"You act like you're expendable, but you're wrong" are actual words between these two men that actually played on screens everywhere at 8:57pm EST on FOX

🤔The very last plot-focused scene of the season (we do not count the montage however it is very cute) is this moment bw Buck and Eddie.

If you, too, realized you became desensitized to the literal soulmate narrative between these two, consider yourself vibe checked!

[kitkatpancakestack]

Sept. 20th Playing Hard To Get: a Meme Board

[kitkatpancakestack]

FELLAS imagine this, it's 2020—you live in Los Angeles, CA. You've just survived nearly drowning in a well. You're at your house with your kid. Your best friend is there. You've named him the legal guardian of your son in case you die. You love him. You're too emotionally traumatized to tell him this. You plan to keep it to yourself until you die. You're Eddie Diaz.

[kitkatpancakestack]

Buck and Eddie serving up unconventional excellence like, "Yeah, the getting-to-know-you stage IS fucking exhausting, let's just come out the gate as co-parents and figure the rest out later. And you know what? Dating is the WORST, let's just exist in this queer platonic family we've built for ourselves. And while we're at it, marriage SUCKS so how about I exhibit my devotion to you through nominating you as the guardian of my son if I die? Bet." Smh they out here absolutely killing the game, everybody else can go home.

[kitkatpancakestack]

The looming presence of Season 5 really has me in a meta state of mind. Special thanks to @emofrxnk who ALWAYS engages in 9-1-1 and buddie crackheadery with me. Her genius is kept offline but is nonetheless unmatched.

I'm doing my re-watch as one does, and noticed a fun little parallel between the bomb scene in 2.01 and the shooting scene + its preceding events in 4.14. There are some main points I want to cover here:

1. The importance of the vehicle used in the scene

2. The name "Charlie"

3. The point of the scene

4. The repercussions of the scene

Ambulance vs. Battalion

Okay, so this bit of genius is all @emofrxnk. We were discussing the obvious poignancy of the battalion car in 4.14 catching fire, because it was so deliberately referenced and repeatedly shown again going up in flames. She mentioned how the battalion car (which Buck and Eddie both arrive to the scene in) symbolizes the state of their relationship prior to the series of events that succeed it. As in, the car catches fire, and this represents (which we know to be true after watching the end of the episode) a change in the status quo of their relationship. What they had before is literally burned to the ground, gone, and something else will take its place.

In 2.01, Buck and Eddie are riding in the ambulance together to the hospital. Eddie finds the live round and the two of them do their whole bonding thing, and when it's all said and done, the ambulance literally explodes. Following the line of thought mentioned above, the ambulance can be paralleled to the battalion car in that it represents another significant change to the status quo of their relationship, being that their petty rivalry literally exploded in their faces and something else will take its place (and boy did it!)

The Name Charlie

Listen, I know coincidences happen and I know it's hard to keep up with every detail in a show, but you're telling me, out of all the millions of names they could have chosen, for this particular kid, they decided to recycle the name Charlie? Excuse my skepticism but I just have a hard time accepting this as an accident.

The scene in 2.01 and the scene in 4.14 are practically identical, but the first thing that drew my attention to the parallel between them was the name Charlie. I'm not sure how long it would have taken me to see the parallel without the repeated name, if I even realized it at all. In 2.01, Buck and Eddie work together to save the older Charlie's life. in 4.14, Buck and Eddie work together to save the younger Charlie's life. You cannot convince me there isn't something there.

The Point of the Scene

Let's talk about what happened in the scenes, as well as the Point of the scenes, or the supposed reason for including them in the sequence of events during the episodes. Both scenes to me feel like they painstakingly ensured Buck and Eddie would be together. I say this because Hen and Chim are literal paramedics. Would it not have made sense to have one of the with Eddie in the ambulance in 2.01? As for 4.14, Chim was with Buck when they talked to Eddie before the shooting scene. Chim really should have gone with him. Like, wtf is Buck doing there, y'know? This is a medical priority, Chim is the most experienced, he should have gone with Eddie. But this was intentional.

Both scenes also feature life or death situations for Buck and Eddie. In 2.01 it's a bomb, and the threat of being blown up. But they go through this together. In 4.14, rip all of our souls, it's the shooting. It's the framing and the blood splatter that draws both of them into the scene, so even though only Eddie got shot, it feels like both of them are stuck in this life or death situation together.

Essentially, the contrivances of these scenes are deliberate. We see what made it through five rounds of cuts and editing. They knew what they needed to show us and it needed to be delivered in those specific ways.

The Repercussions of the Scene

Maybe a hot take but I think these two moments in 2.01 and 4.14 are THE MOST important buddie moments, as far as their relationship development goes, and we haven't even witnessed the fallout from 4.14 yet.

I am cognizant of all the small and crucial moments we get between these scenes, but the overall significance cannot be matched. 2.01 is literally the catalyst of their relationship. It's the moment their enemies to friends speedrun crosses the finish line. It kickstarts everything. 4.14 also feels like the catalyst to something new, we just haven't had any material to confirm or deny this, yet. But as far as magnitude goes, Eddie makes Buck Christopher's legal guardian. He calls him Evan. He proves just how much he Knows and Sees him (and while we're at it, he's been seeing right through Evan Buckley since 2.01 and you can quote me on that).

These are both absolutely pivotal moments for their relationship, and these are the two moments that represent a palpable and disruptive shift in their dynamic.

I don't know if there's anything here or if I'm actually losing my mind, but I'm chucking more word vomit into the void. This hiatus is either pushing me further toward or further away from the truth. I lowkey make these analyses posts as documentation that will either be my ultimate vindication when buddie is endgame or my ultimate shame when they aren't, but either way, it is incredibly cathartic.

All I can say is, hold onto your butts, guys. Season 5 is coming for our lives, I can feel it.

[kitkatpancakestack]

Downed a pot of coffee ☕ this morning and transcended into peak hiatus crackheadery headspace, so now I'm obsessing over the possible motif of coffee in this gotdamn show, and also this might just turn into me losing my shit over Future Tense again, so fair warning ⚠️:

(If this has been discussed before I do Not apologize bc I am too far gone for these fools to be sensitive about repeat discourse.)

Now, Future Tense. This damn episode, it will haunt this fandom and my dreams until the end of time won't it? I just thought that, in an episode establishing the main pressure points for the characters/couples this season, it was fcking WEIRD that Buck and Eddie were not only featured together but their plotline was The Coffee Maker Saga. I mean, Madney was clearly set up for the birth and the fallout of the birth to be their pressure point (see: Maddie's PPD); Henren was clearly set up for med school and juggling a family to be their pressure point (see: Nia, Hen's mom returning, juggling med school with all this); Bathena was clearly set up for their miscommunication to be their pressure point (see: Athena quitting therapy and Bobby sponsoring the DUI lady without telling each other); and Buck and Eddie get.......game night and coffee maker pranks? How suspicious. Got me actin up over it, actually.

Please indulge my caffeinated crackheadery for a few minutes here. The first instance we witness coffee discourse is during the first emergency, bw Buck and Eddie. (Now, it may also be worth pointing out that one of the focal points during the emergency is the coffee maker going haywire, but I'll just leave that here for someone else to get into :3) This scene is about Eddie being scared of and reluctant to embrace the future vis a vis "that new fancy coffee maker" he was thinking about getting but now is decidedly against. It's interesting he is the one portrayed as being sus about the future and Buck is the one who says, "Welcome to the future." I'll get into why later, but it's established. This moment, yes, is a jumping off point for the comical scenes to follow, but this is 9-1-1 right?! By their self-admission these moments always mean something more.

Now, the NEXT scene is bw Bobby and Athena (Bathena x Buddie parallels have been discussed ad nauseam but you've lost your mind if you think I'm just not gonna do it here) and also involves coffee + discussion of some sort of fancy "futuristic" technology, i.e. the Roomba. Athena is the one shown here to be dinking coffee. Not Bobby. Just Athena. I thinks it's also important to mention that while both Bobby and Athena appear skeptical about the Roomba (aka the future) it is Athena who explicitly says, "I am not ready for the future," and Bobby asking if she's finally onboard with May's new job, implying he at least is comfortable with and accepting of the unpredictability of what is to come. Bobby foiling Athena vs. Buck foiling Eddie. Also note that, as Athena expresses her distaste of the future, she pick up the coffee again that she had previously set down. Hm.

Also, with the scene of Maddie, Chimney and Buck baby-proofing the house, there are a couple shots of Maddie in the kitchen where she's off center and their old-school coffee maker is the eye-catcher of the frame. Idk what this means, if even it means anything at all, but still felt like I should put it in here.

Could they be using coffee, of all things, something symbolic of new beginnings and connecting with others and realizing true inner feelings, as a metaphor for the future? I would tuck this away in my tinhattery category except for the fact that coffee was so deliberately highlighted in this ep (bw buddie specifically) and the ep itself is titled Future Tense.

(Side bar: not to forget, of course, three episodes later in Jinx where Eddie and Ana meet again bc she burned her hand on coffee, and then during their date they both turn down coffee at the same time and say "jinx!" Very interesting, Tim, very interesting indeed 👀")

Anyway, to circle back to whatever previous point I was making before, just humor me on my coffee/future metaphor. Buck being the one to say "Welcome to the future," and buying Eddie that fancy new coffee maker = Buck is done with old feelings and old behaviors and ready to move onto what's next; something better, even if it's weird and scary. HOWEVER, Eddie saying "why does that sound terrifying to me" and droning on about how his old coffee maker is just fine and him turning into a technophobe before our very eyes = Eddie is comfortable with what he's used to and content with the familiar; he is not yet ready to branch into the scary, unpredictable unknown of the future, even if it could be good for him and better than what he's known before.

And the fact that it's Buck AND Christopher pranking Eddie with the fancy Hildy coffee maker? I think you get my point that this "scary" new future is a life with Buck and Christopher, the future that is uncertain and unpredictable with a perception he cannot exert absolute control over.

(Side bar again! → I'm just saying, so INTERESTING they continue to reinforce the Buck/Ana parallels which have been blatant since S3 with two plot-centered moments between them and Eddie in S4 involving coffee)

Anyway, this post absolutely got away from me, but it's just so INTERESTING, y'know? Analyzing this show is so FUN, I need S5 like yesterday.

[kitkatpancakestack]

ya'll I'm so sorry but I'm about to go tf off again about this damn weewoo show and these dumb coparenting firefighters.

I can't keep track over what's been discussed already and what hasn't, but I'm freaking out over my re-watch of 4x08 (Breaking Point). I could probably write 25k words on that episode alone and maybe this will be a multi-part post, but I don't want to set the precedent that I'm organized so this will be some more word vomit thrown into the void.

The rest under a cut so you can ignore my hiatus crackheadery if you wish:

Alright, so whoever is still here, I want to talk about three specific scenes in Breaking Point that happen in succession. They are as follows:

1. Eddie's talk with Chris about Ana

2. Buck's awkward double date with Taylor

3. Christopher running away to Buck

Firstly, what I do remember is an excellent meta by @jackles-coded (and they do have some excellent posts about 9-1-1) about this episode and how Albert/Veronica were proxies for Eddie/Ana, so definitely go check that out for a deeper dive. Sorry I don't have the direct link :(

Alright, let's get into this nonsense:

Eddie's talk with Chris about Ana

There are some interesting choices in this scene for sure. We're going to be talking about the usage of the word friend. In this scene, Eddie talks to Christopher about the friend he mentioned before, which Christopher gives a god-tier side-eye to, before Eddie specifically follows up by saying his friend is a woman, in which Christopher proceeds to go ape shit. The end of this scene shows Eddie holding his face with his right hand. There's a shot of LA before the next scene, but the first shot in that scene is a close-up of Buck's right hand, before it zooms out to show the rest of him. Listen, I don't know if this is tinhattery or not, but what a subtle way to connect these two scenes. Which brings us to . . .

Buck's awkward double date with Taylor

The song playing in the background as this scene opens, I know we all know it by now: Where Do We Go by Beauty Queen. In case you don't know, have some lyrics:

I wanna know there will be someone else for you / Cuz I can't stand making plans without you / where do we go when there is nothing left to do / cuz I'm wondering, wondering / where do I go when I stop running? / Will I have a place for my heart to stay? / Don't wanna end up one day with nothing / Where do I go when I stop running

When I return will it have been too many days / spent too long trying just to get away / feeling low and I know you can relate / cuz I'm wondering, wondering / where do I go when I stop running? / Will I have a place for my heart to stay? / Don't wanna end up one day with nothing / Where do I go when I stop running

Speaks for itself, right? It's actually driving me insane.

Not only is this obviously about Buck and Taylor, but this song being placed immediately after the scene with Eddie implores me to parallel it to Eddie's situation with Ana as well.

The scene continues, Taylor spits that unforgiveable bullshit at Buck, causing him to revert to Buck 1.0 before our very eyes. And again we have the usage of the word friend: "Because I could really use a friend right now," says Taylor. Leaving Buck looking dejected, and leading right into the next scene which is . . .

Christopher running away to Buck

So we go from Taylor leaving Buck behind to a scene with Ana trying to peace out herself, but Eddie asking her to stay. And we know what happens: Chris takes an Uber (???) to Buck's and Dad!Buck jumps out for a hot second. We have Buck assuring Christopher that he will always be there for him, and then again the use of friend: "You're a good friend [Buck]."

Listen, I'm sorry (not sorry), but these three scenes happening one after the other, connected the way they are, with an obvious theme about "friendship" and what does it mean and when does it lead to something more, threaded through each scene? What was the reason? What is the endgame here?

The episode altogether, but especially these three scenes, are so loud. The writers really tipped their hands for us, but again, I don't think it's something you catch on the first or second viewing. This plotline was entirely about Buck and Eddie. They have their little moment together at the beginning (which is an entire meta to itself), but they are intentionally separated throughout the rest of the episode. It was about them blindly following the paths they thought they were supposed to travel, ignoring the obvious signs of where they should be going. I am beside myself. These writers . . . .

4.08 is a gold mine, someone dig into this nonsense with me please.

[kitkatpancakestack]

This hiatus got me on something else. Im just sitting here minding my business thinking about the chronological timeline of Buck and Eddie's relationship (as one does) and shit just has me like ???? Because we all laugh HAHA about how Buck and Eddie's story arcs parallel and about how they heal each other but then it's weird because I'm used to divorcing reality from my wierdass headspace, but there's nothing to divorce here? It's just . ....it's all exactly how it was written....in the script ....and out in primetime tv....put out there for everyone to watch and analyze and enjoy....

I'm like, crazy how in my head Buck is the partner Eddie always needed and Eddie makes Buck feel Seen and Loved in a way no one else has....but then I watch the show and it's already there! It's canon!

And I'm like, well at least I have Buck parenting Christopher and Eddie taking notice of Buck's protectiveness of his son all to myself, but then no! That shit is canon too!

This is incoherent drabble of a burnt out twentysomething, but damn this lunacy is so hilarious to me. The way I ever thought....I thought they would never.....and then they DID.....and KEEP DOING.....I mean am I crazy or are we headed to the mountaintop? These writers giving me whiplash. I don't care where we end up I am loving this journey.

[kitkatpancakestack]

idk if this has been discussed before but i trust ur opinions/knowledge base of 911 to kno if it has been/be willing to entertain this: right after buck says "im ready to start thinking about the future" in 4x06 opening theres this little look from eddie does this little look (from chim to buck i think?), hen side-eyes eddie, and then chims finger waggle?? like, why? did i miss something what is it about buck's future that has them in this silent convo

*opens doors* *shoves doorstop in place* yes hello anon welcome to my den of hiatus crackheadery!

I have seen this mentioned before but it DEFINITELY bears repeating. Idk what is done intentionally and what is just coincidence with this show, but I tend to be of the opinion that majority of their choices are deliberate and intentional. For all the minute details they miss the mark on, the overarching stories and plot devices (foreshadowing, transitions, symbolism) are pretty tight and evidentially meaningful.

All that aside, concerning the specific scene you mention, it feels like one of those things that seems small now but (should they go canon later on) will actually be a major subtle hint. When you think about everything directors/producers/writers etc. have to portray in 40ish minutes of screen time, and all the material that has to be cut beforehand, it's hard to view things as coincidence. Especially considering the minds at work on this show.

That switch to Eddie as soon as Buck says, "It's time to start thinking about the future," will haunt me, because absolutely it could mean nothing, but absolutely it could also be a little wink wink from the writers on exactly who is waiting for Buck in the future. As for how Chim and Hen act in the scene, that's up for debate. Is it sus that both of their eyes flicker to Eddie after Buck mentions thinking about the future? Undoubtedly. I don't know that it's much more than that, but the entire scene altogether just makes you rub your chin and go hmmm.

Anyway, you didn't miss anything nonnie. I feel like watching scenes like this (that I'm almost certain are supposed to convey something else besides what's on the surface) usually leave viewers feeling like they missed something. I know I sometimes do.

Thanks for the ask, I hope at least some of that made sense. I live for analyzing the seemingly inconsequential trivialities of this show. Drop by any time!

[kitkatpancakestack]

Actual real genuine question from someone who has shipped Buddie since the nanosecond Buck turned around to look at the new guy… but I’m wondering what makes you feel that canon Buddie is inevitable? Sorry if you’ve addressed this before but I just watched the season 5 finale and have pretty much lost all hope at this point so I’m really interested in your side of it.

Hey anon! No worries, I'd be happy to go into my thought process a little. Apologies if this gets long!

So, I should preface by saying I didn't actually start seeing Buck and Eddie as a possible romantic pairing until the back half of s3. And I wasn't set in stone about it until s4. And s5 has just been a rollercoaster ride.

The way I view their relationship I try to view through the lens of every other canon couple I've been a proponent of over the years. Admittedly there is a certain trepidation and hesitancy around Buck and Eddie, just because of what them being together would entail, and the fact that a story like theirs really hasn't been shown on television before. But I think it helps to get down to the foundation of it all, bypassing all of the ready reasons why it "can't" happen or "won't" happen or "will never" happen. I've said before that there is what the script is saying, and there is what the scripts is saying. Foreshadowing and story arcs are represented through scene transitions, music choice, wardrobe, and thematic parallels. Things don't just pop up out of nowhere. There is usually always established precedence for something occurring on the show. I try to think along the lines of what we are being told vs. what we are being shown. For example:

During Eddie's awkward af relationship storyline with Ana, we were being told that he was finally moving on and doing something for himself and had found the perfect addition to his family. We were being shown that there was something dishonest about his approach to dating her and that it wasn't explicitly for himself.

From the minute Buck and Taylor reconnected, we were told that they were both in a similar state of stagnancy regarding relationships and that they had grown and would likely slot together in a more compatible way. We were shown that their core identities had not actually changed and they were careening toward this inevitable dissolution of their relationship.

(putting the rest under a cut to save y'all's dashboards)

I think a lot of people were disappointed after 4x14 as well, which I understood in the context of what we were told (Buck and Taylor kissing and getting together because they're compatible in their goals now), but not in the context of what we were shown (Buck being suspicious right off the bat of why Taylor is waiting for him outside the hospital; Buck not running after Taylor because Ana called to tell him Eddie was awake; The will scene coming after and not before the kiss scene with Taylor).

I could literally go for pages dissecting scenes and transitions and other choices (hmu if you want any of that, it's hiatus season so that means it's peak crackheadery time), but for the sake of not doing that here I'll just mention the two scenes in s5 that really fucking sealed the deal for me:

Eddie holding Buck and Christopher's heart drawings in his hands

Ravi's "a partner should be someone who always has your back" comment to Buck.

Those two choices just . . . kind of floored me, tbh. And they wouldn't be significant if there was not precedence for that significance, because we've seen the extended metaphor of Eddie + hearts since s4, and the concept of partnerships and ideal partners being someone who "has your back" was the literal shooting off point of Buck and Eddie's relationship, and the stated reason Eddie and Shannon didn't work out.

Obviously these are my opinions and my beliefs but I feel pretty good about them. And also there's so much story that has already been told and so much story yet to be told, so I wouldn't give up hope just yet, but I can't singlehandedly convince you of that. I suggest going back and doing a rewatch because sometimes when you consume it all together like that and not piece by piece weekly, it's a lot harder to look away from.

I hope this helped at least a little bit, and if you need anymore clarification or anything else, feel free to reach out! It's hiatus season baby!

(and, yes, I am prepare to eat my words if all of this turns out to be nothing, but I am also prepared to dance upon the graves of all those who doubted. I'm ready for anything.)

[kitkatpancakestack]

I had this saved in my drafts for awhile and I wasn't sure whether or not it added anything new, but I am feeling such EMOTIONS for these two that I figure wth I might as well chuck it into the void:

So, I know the fandom is frought with S5 speculations and head cannons, but as I have only begun to digest S4 in its entirety, I'm still thinking about it. They just gave SO MUCH, and in an abbreviated season no less.

This time I been thinking about Buck's character arc as portrayed in S4, and I've been doing my rewatch, and maybe I'm late to the party and this has been discussed ad nauseam, but I really think Buck Begins and Survivors are the literal bookends of his plotline that season. The parallels alone seal the deal for me. Can't believe I'm about to make a post primarily dedicated to Evan Buckley and not Eddie Diaz but here we go:

What I found interesting is the comparisons bw where Buck's character is in the beginning of each episode, where he wants to be, where he thinks he's headed, and where he ultimately ends up.

Where he is at the beginning

In Buck Begins, we obviously get Buck like a raw and gaping wound with his parents, completely untethered to his sense of self. His whole thing is feeling like he's lost purchase on the possession of his forged identity (Buck) in the wake of his parents - and Maddie to an extent - who intentionally or inadvertently corner him into the identity he is always trying to escape from (Evan).

In Survivors, Buck has supposedly gained sufficient closure by this point in the season regarding his disparate identities, but we find out this is still not the case. There's something holding him back, but this lack of closure is more portrayed to the audience through the surrounding characters: "Buck's gonna Buck", Bobby's use of the word "Buck" during their kitchen argument, Taylor dragging him for acting invincible like he always does. He's obviously improved from his starting place in Buck Begins, and yet the vibes are still the same: him seeking the correct way to be "Buck" from everybody but himself.

Where he wants to be

I think this goes without saying that Buck is just constantly trying to live up to the expectations wittingly or unwittingly placed upon him by the people he respects the most. In Buck Begins this concept manifests as an absence of meaning, which is noticeably filled during the end scene when the team (interesting how they chose to leave Eddie out of this moment 👀) is telling him what it means to be Buck.

In Survivors, whatever shaky grasp Buck felt he had on his identity is obliterated by the very same people who previously defined "Buck" as something good and noble, and then freely manipulate that name and ascribe to it a meaning with negative connotations. I think it's especially telling in Buck's scene with Bobby, when Buck feels he's being complimented, but this is not Bobby's intention.

Where he thinks he's headed

Buck is just so dumb sometimes, I say affectionately of course. In Buck Begins (and beginning of Jinx), it seems Buck believe he has gained the closure he thought would "fix him" from his parents and Maddie, that it's a work in progress but he's got what he needed. Nevermind this is conveyed in an episode titled Jinx. But I think he truly believes he has filled whatever hole is inside him, that he can now face the future without baggage, and that is just *face palms* *laughs sadly*

In Survivors, I'm going to humor the writers on the Buck+Taylor scenes, bc it's so obvious he thinks he's about to get what he needs, what he deserves, which is someone who chases him, and this is absolutely correct thinking, just not the correct individual. Since his parents, Buck's whole thing was seeking a meaningful relationship (he equates this with a romantic relationship) which he thinks he's headed for with Taylor.

Where he ultimately ends up

This is just me screaming my hiatus crackheadery into the void here, but in Buck Begins I Do Not get the sense Buck has ended up in that much more of a meaningful place than where he started. Yes, he has answers. Yes, he has closure (?). What he does not have is solidified sense of self. Putting my buddie hat on, me thinks it's very interesting of the writers to separate Eddie from the previous scene of everyone telling Buck what his name means to them, that they give Eddie an entire scene with just Buck where Buck doesn't have to explain himself, doesn't actively seek meaning or definition, there's just an implied sense of being Seen and Known which is of course confirmed by Eddie's, "No, I know you did ❤️."

In Survivors, this hanging plotline is resolved through Eddie. Absolutely insane of the writers. The buddie scene at the end of Buck Begins and the one at the end of Survivors have the exact same energy. They're saying the same thing. Eddie knows Evan. And when he says his birth name, when he says his whole spiel, I known I've mentioned this before but it feels like a period to the sentence started in Buck Begins. All Buck wanted, more than a place to belong or a relationship, was just to be Known. It wasn't resolved through his parents bc they didn't really know him. It wasnt resolved through Maddie bc, even they are the closest, there's something about the shared trauma of their childhood that prevents her from knowing him fully, in the way he seeks. It obviously wasn't resolved through Taylor bc despite what we get upfront, she doesn't know him either.

Eddie does resolve this bc he knows him, sometimes I think better than Buck knows himself, and the show makes sure to double down on that, and I just think that shit is beautiful.

[kitkatpancakestack]

This is a dumb reach, but now I'm wondering if there is any subtext with our airport luggage guys? Who were first in 3x10 and then reappeared in the infamous 4x08?

@yramesoruniverse don't even play you KNOW I am on my Breaking Point shit right now.

I don't know that I'd call it a dumb reach, but I am so deep into hiatus crackheadery territory that I can no longer differentiate between bonafide analysis and conspiratorial tinhattery. This may very well be the latter but we're here to have fun, right?

I think I've talked before about how incorporating past emergencies into new episodes is a smart way to continue an existing theme without eating up a lot of run time. This is especially relevant because in each of the eps in which this happens, the repeat emergencies are the first emergencies of the episode. This is significant because it sets the stage, like the show wants you to make that connection right away and watch the events unfold within the context of the previous episode you have now been forced to recall. Case in point: the internet famous dude bros from 2x01 who reappeared in 3x11 (3x12? Whichever one is Fools) to connect two fairly Eddie-centric episodes, both of which centered on an initially disastrous meeting (Buck vs. Ana) and how those respective meetings played out. These two meetings, and by extension Buck and Ana, continued to be heavily paralleled throughout the episode.

Another example is the porch pirate from 2x05 (Awful People) who we first saw in 1x08 (Karma's a Bitch), two episodes thematically focusing on people facing the consequences of their actions. Also to note that these are significant episodes for Hen and her family as well. In 1x08, Karen finds out about her cheating with Eva. In 2x05, Eva is back and trying to take Denny from Hen and Karen.

These could just be fun call-backs, but 9-1-1 does a stellar job of weaving themes throughout episodes — throughout seasons— and if this is intentional I think it's a genius strategy. Film students sound out on this one.

As for the scene in question: it compels me to consider the overall themes of the episodes. 3x10 was the Christmas ep, but it's focus for the characters was largely about each individual family unit reaffirming their dedication to each other. Even amidst the dreary rain cloud settling over the episode's events, there was an undercurrent of optimism, a feeling that if these people stuck together they would turn out alright. The two airport luggage dudes manifest this: one guy just trying to get thru his job, fed up with the holidays, the other trying to look positively on the situation.

And then there's Breaking Point, my beloved sleep paralysis demon.

Listen, idc, this episode was entirely about Buck and Eddie. Just like there are episodes that blatantly focus on Bobby and Athena or Hen and Karen or Maddie and Chimney, this one belonged to Buck and Eddie. It was an episode about reaching the end of one's rope. About a disruption to the status quo. About the degree and type of disruption required to make these people crack. The idea of it not so much being a specific incident but a culmination of events, of "bad choices" or bad luck, to finally break the character: our airport luggage guy with the upbeat attitude who literally got sucked into the rotors and still came back to work, and then the culminating disaster that tipped him off the ledge and made him quit.

So we have 3x10 portraying a sense of coming together, and 4x08 portraying a sense of fracturing apart.

And you might think, but wait a minute, didn't Eddie "come together" with Ana and didn't Buck "come together" with Taylor at the end? Sure, but it isn't about that. It's about Buck and Eddie fracturing apart from each other.

And while my buddie goggles are in place, also interesting is the use of Christopher in these episodes. In 3x10: Chris not being able to hang with his dad and so deferring to Buck. In 4x08: Chris getting upset at his dad and so deferring (Ubering) to Buck. 3x10: Buck coming thru for Chris, so he and Eddie can spend Christmas together. 4x08: Buck coming through for Chris, telling him he's not planning on leaving him anytime soon.

This has already become much longer than I expected, sorry. Granted, it could all be bullshit and the writers just being all "haha funny airport luggage dumbasses make brain go brrrrr" and putting them back in for entertainment purposes. But idk, idk. It's suspicious. I am hiding under Tim's stairs and thinking some serious thoughts.