#sometimes i wonder if Hen and Aisha and Oliver and Tommy and Lou are the only ones that even like Buck

[v88sy]

ooooh don't even get me started on how one-sided the Eddie-Buck "friendship" is oh my god.

Buck has showed up for Eddie consistently since he was fucking introduced. He's been there for Eddie through basically EVERY crisis, but when - genuinely - was the last time that Eddie was there for Buck, without ulterior motives, without excuses, without foisting Chris off on him to "fix" him? I literally cannot find an example of that.

Buck has been there. Buck is the one who asks "how high" every time Eddie says "jump", and Eddie can't even be bothered to be kind to him during a high-stress moment, when he should know by now that Buck doesn't handle stress well in his personal life. Buck doesn't handle being left behind well at all, and Eddie just doesn't fucking care.

He was the same in s5. He left the 118 without any kind of discussion - not that he needed Buck's permission or anything like that but a heads up would've been the kind thing to do for his supposed "best friend" - and then made Buck seem like the unreasonable one for being upset by it.

Over and over Eddie has accused Buck of "making everything about you", and that is not the behaviour of a good friend, much less a "best friend".

Their "friendship" is entirely one-sided. Buck likes Eddie for who he is. Eddie likes Buck for what Buck can do for him.

But god forbid we ever speak ill of the man who carelessly bulldozed his son's sanity and his "best friend's" self-esteem repeatedly just to get his own dick wet.

(I don't hate Eddie, ftr, but he's not a good friend, and he hasn't been a good dad for a While, and I'm sick of people acting like he's some sort of saint.)

Right, and no one is saying that Eddie shouldn't put his own child first. Not even Buck is saying that.

But you're right, I can't really think of time when Eddie was there unconditionally for Buck like Buck has been for him.

When he came out? Well, not being a homophobic/queerphobic asshole when your friend tells you something like that is the minimum of basic human decency, really. It doesn't make you a good friend and honestly, I think I'd have the same reaction if a total stranger shared that truth with me.

The fact that he was genuinely happy for Buck when he saw that he was happy with Tommy? Again, the bare minimum of what you should want for another human being if you have even an ounce of empathy in your body. Of course you wouldn't wish for another person to be unhappy in their relationship.

And notice how that support stopped once the relationship was over. Not once do we actually see him talking to Buck about what happened, trying to understand it, or just offering to listen. Instead he snatches Buck's phone away when he feels the need to call Tommy, treating Buck like some child.

Honestly, it's so mind boggling to me how everything has been written. Is this on purpose? It would seem so, considering how Ryan and Tim talk about Buck in their interviews. I truly don't understand.

Why intentionally make your own show so damn bad? Why intentionally write one of your mains as just an all around awful person? Or do you just fail to realize that this is not how a found family should treat each other, and yes, people DO grow and change for the better. It's ok, and even more so, it's what people want to see.

[911whatsyourgratitude]

I'd like to give thanks for episode 8x05. Oliver said it was his favorite and I can see why. It checks almost all the boxes of what I expect from the show. There are funny moments but also heartwrenching drama, not to mention exceptional costumes, make ups, and decorations. All in a single episode. Moreover, an episode usually highlights the abilities of one or two actors, but 8x05 showcased the skills of Aisha Hinds, Tracie Thoms, Oliver Stark, Lou Ferrigno Jr., and Ryan Guzman, all at once. This is quite a rare treat.

Aisha showed-off her acting skills in two back-to-back episodes. I was amazed by her monologue in 8x04, and once again by her acting while saving Denny's life in 8x05. I'd been sure there was no way Denny would be killed in 8x05, but the Hen and Karen's panic expressions, and Hen's trembling voice, made me worried for a good while. I think it doesn't matter if viewers have already known how the story will end. The way it's delivered is what matters the most. That's why we watch our favorite shows/episodes repeatedly.

The trio of Oliver, Lou, and Ryan worked wonderfully in sync. The timing of their banter is impeccable. I love the way Ryan delivered his lines when Eddie was treating Buck's boils. His intonation and punctuation was impeccable, including when he emphasized that the boils might be caused by stress. And his facial expression when Eddie couldn't see Buck in the face on the next day is a comedy gold.

All eyes have been on Lou since Tommy kissed Buck back in 7x04. And because this episode cemented Tommy's position as Buck's boyfriend (and hopefully, as end game romantic partner), his performance was dissected more than ever. We wanted to know whether he deserved the coveted place in Buck's life or not. There are clips, gifs, slow-motioned gifs, zoomed gifs, pictures, and zoomed pictures of Tommy taken from episode 8x05 circulated on Tumblr. Probably, even microbes are not scrutinized under microscopes as much as he was. And boy, how he delivered! His facial expressions and gestures showed a lot of what his lines didn't. Fans love the fond look he threw at Buck, the amused and disbelief look at Eddie, how he touched Buck's leg a little in the hospital, how he rolled his eyes when Buck told him he knew how to break the curse, his sleepy voice while he was waiting for Buck to close his laptop, and so on. If this was a test to be Buck's other half, Tommy has passed with flying colors.

Oliver is always a bit of enigma to me. Like Angela Bassett, I've never yet watched a scene where I thought he needed improvements. And 8x05 is no exception. It's delightful to watch him telling the lore of Billy Boils with such concerns. And the way he portrayed Buck's stubborness about the curse, makes viewers fond of Buck instead of being annoyed by him. It is also fun to notice little details in Oliver's acting. Fans have watched with delight in previous episodes how Buck's shoulders slumped after he took care of the bees, and how Buck waved to the phone when Chimney was taking Maddie's call about Athena's plane emergency. In this episode, we caught the detail of how Buck winced in pain while he was trying to sit when Tommy visited him in the hospital. I always wonder, which ones of those details were directional, which ones were planned ahead by Oliver, and which ones were improvised on the spot. Oliver always acts which such ease, as if every scene is natural. Sometimes I just realized that his acting must be not that easy, when I watched other actors stumbled while acted on similar scenes or deliver similar lines. It is clear that Oliver Stark is extremely talented. I often wonder where's the talent ends and the hard work begins.

I also want to thank the people who have worked on the decorations, backgrounds, wardrobes, and make-ups on 8x05. Details on the Firehouse Haunt Fest decorations are amazing, so are the costumes of the casts. I bet the team had a blast while working on this episode. Also, hats off to whoever made Billy Boils. That prop reminded me once again why I didn't choose medical program at the university.

We notice that the festivities were not only shown in the Halloween costumes. The outfits of the casts also reflected the autumn vibes. Special shout out to the team who dressed Maddie, Buck, Eddie, and Tommy, and who decorated Buck's loft. Those beautiful outfits and decorations are really pleasing in the eyes. Especially in the cemetery scenes, where Buck and Tommy looked very sharp in their suits. Some fans have used a screen shot of Tommy in the scene, with green leafs and bright sky in the background, as their wallpaper.

A special thank to Taylor Wong, the writer of 8x05. She briliantly wrote the different treatments Buck received from his boyfriend (Tommy) vs. his bestfriend (Eddie), without painting Eddie as the bad guy. Making Tommy and Eddie ganged up to roast Buck is also a smart move to show that Tommy and Eddie are best friends, and not secretly compete for Buck's love like some people imagine. And

Lastly, a bunch of thanks to Christine Khalafian and Tim Minear, who have made this brilliant episode come to live. I cannot wait to watch the next one.