#ok i’m so sorry anon this is 90% just a ramble abt my thoughts on eddie and 5B in general when u were just. talking abt a case rip

[caswlw]

another thing i didn’t get about the ep was that they were clearly trying to do the whole “the call directly corresponds/influences the current issue x character is facing” 911 thing with eddie and the family with the dad who the balcony collapsed on and the kid being like “is dad dead?” but. literally that dude was just in a freak accident it had absolutely nothing to do with his (or eddie’s) job at all

PLS RIGHT

like all of these cases will always tie to the thesis of the ep (usually a title relation too) and smth that’s going on w the mains, like ig there’s bt and the work couple, you have bobby and the ppl from that building, etc

but like that dude was fine 😩 if anything it gave more focus toward the more analytical perspective of oh. so even if it looks like eddie is in Danger Danger, he’s going to be okay !! esp if yk a little kid (his son) is viewing it solely from the perspective of someone who cares abt him and doesn’t understand the nuance of every little emergency

more analysis under the cut bc i can’t help myself

plus you have to think like. eddie was told by carla in 413 to do what his heart wanted- not chris; whether or not it’s addressed here in this way, yet again eddie is making the choice that for chris this Must be the best course of action rather than literally anything else (which is also pointed out as carla tells him that he really loves this job and doing what he does- but leaving it is again. doing what she warned him against in 413).

what’s obvs important to note is that chris is eddie’s heart in a less than literal way, so when he’s all rash w decision making, it’s bc he sees chris as an extension of himself in how he takes care of his own shit. that said tho, i wouldn’t be surprised to have an arc where eddie realizes that he isn’t happy w whatever he’s doing post leaving the 118 bc his true calling is being a firefighter- whether it goes in the TK direction of saving ppl while not on the job and seeing how it’s instinctual (like buck 302/303) or it’s in the vibe of clipboard fire marshal buck where he tries to do smth close to being a firefighter that fits Wrong (which. that idea is worth a whole other analysis post of possibilities). like chris is Extremely important to eddie of Course but being the sole driving factor behind every single one of his choices would create a weird dependency situation- smth well avoided by most of the other parent-child relationships on 911 proper.

i also think that the best way for the show to address the situation w/o rocking the boat literally out of the water would be to have eddie and chris talk about what his job entails and why he Has to do it- probably w some other plot intertwined w chris specifically so he can understand why the instinct is there yk? and chris obvs has expressed joy at the idea of being a firefighter (end of 301? 302 opening?) and the fact that eddie is a firefighter ! but these traumatic events back to back clearly are hurting him and the best way to solve it isn’t to avoid it completely like eddie plans on doing (as he’s chosen as of 510 at least).

not to mention buddie excessively too but telling chris abt the will? the way that there’s a family (extended 118, more spec the diaz-buckley situation) built up around them no matter what. and obviously this doesn’t ensure that eddie is safe and sound like chris wishes, but it could show that all of them take care of each other and keep each other safe, as well as chris if it Comes to that (again, the will). and what’s insane is that eddie KNOWS this and has for a WHILE and avoiding the concept* completely isn’t helping chris, it’s not helping him, and it’s not helping his relationship w that aforementioned family

i guess what i mean to say is that everything is weird. if eddie does become a paramedic then there’s no telling what that means for the whole balance of the team yk? or how they’ll structure the final 8 eps bc if eddie is a focus of like 2 w his “leaving”/stage 4 plot, and we need at LEAST two probably three eps abt the madney happenings PLUS the crossover, that leaves little time for whatever the finale disaster is plus whatever they throw in for hen (more med school advancement, general wilson family moments), athena (idk i just don’t want her to be a cop anymore :/ but generally accepting that her kids r older now and they have shit going on that is separate from her), bobby (general upkeep of the family when it’s Actively falling apart + idk what they’re doing w all these refs to yk. building construction. but s1 refs abound), buck (WOW i could talk abt the bt shit forever but they’re probably breaking up by the end of 5B- maybe the finale even, MADDIE COMING BACK??, rekindling friendship w chim, the will i hope), and that’s just the mains !! albert existing, may and her fitting inside the dispatch and her family without having to abandon either PLUS any chance of college still, and ravi and that little backstory snippet from 508(?). there’s so much to still b addressed and obvs there’s B and C plots but i have to say i’m both thinking 24/7 abt how they’re going to do it best to not hurt anything else and i’m also obsessed w just. imagining how they’re gonna fuck it up

*the lack of major story reference to s4 is a bit strange imo like obvs madney was major last season and they’re not really now? and the plot bunnies left in the final few eps w buddie or bathena ?? ALBERT’S EXISTENCE ??? when he most def could be in things despite chim not being here like he and buck were roommates- and then you have hen and med school ?? weird but anyway ykwim it’s like major things are just going unspoken