#whether you like him and bucktommy or not - it just wouldn't make sense??

[wikiangela]

I feel like when lou said Tim asked him to come in for a 4-episode arc it was like very early on before the story developed (or Tim remembered how things work in the og and that he actually needs to give screen time to more than one or two characters and balance it out and can't rush this story lol) and now, with how we left off in 7x05 (with bucktommy clearly into each other and starting something) and 7x06 being hopefully more madney focused as it should be lol, and with the shit lou's saying (about how we'll love Tommy more after 7x06, and the saucy events, among other things??)

now it just wouldn't make sense narratively to end it anytime soon imo so tommy has to stick around at least until the end of the season

[johanna-swann]

Before 911 comes back this week:

One thing I've been thinking about in regards to Buddie is that, whether you like the ship or not, it wouldn't really add anything to the show. (Hear me out.)

We already get a handful of very tender, emotional scenes between them every season or a quick moment of Buck acting as a somewhat fatherly figure towards Chris, we already see them bantering or hanging out after work and helping each other out with the big important things. Both characters are already well established mains. They already have an amazing and unique relationship and are family to each other. They already have a kid (sort of). They already know each other inside and out. And all of that is nice and great even for fanfiction, it's a very comforting idea that they could just fall into that romantic partnership they both yearn for so easily.

[I say both, but personally I think for Eddie it's more anemoia than anything else. He thinks he wants what he believes he had with Shannon, but we all know their romance turned very rocky the second things got serious. Between getting pregnant young and on accident, being constantly pressured by their entire social environment, Eddie enlisting then re-enlisting and Shannon leaving when Chris was about 4 years old… They only ever lived under one roof together for months at a time if the timeline is supposed to make sense.]

Anyway. If either of them found a different partner it would add a lot more fresh content to the show which it desperately needs these days tbh. The new love interest would be a completely new character or at least a side character we now get to know much better. The couple would have to work on their relationship and on building something new together. They'd get to know each other slowly. They'd also get to interact with the firefam and be introduced to that family. There'd be a lot of new dynamics and just generally a lot more wiggle room than you'd have with Buddie.

They had a chance to do that with Tommy and fumbled it. Now I know Bucktommy sparked quite some controversy in the fandom, but that doesn't mean it couldn't still work with another character or even with Tommy if they ever decided to bring him back.

Marisol's actress was unpopular with us (fair, she's a transphobe), but before they decided to jump the shark and break out the Doppelgänger plot I was actually invested in Eddie (re-)learning how to build a romantic partnership with someone on both their terms - not society's. Ana was more a symbol than a girlfriend to him and maybe he wasn't ready to be dating seriously at the time, but when Pepa started bugging him about dating again in 6b it actually made sense. He had his whole getting therapy and getting better arc in s5, more time had passed since Shannon's death, it felt like the right time to give Eddie a romance plot again. But then the Doppelgänger plot happened and that progress was nipped in the bud.

Before that we had Taylor and it was amazing how she and Buck almost had a similar energy going as Bobby and Michael at times. Sneaking around, solving mysteries, being brought in for questioning. The usual. There was also this uncertainty in Buck on how to navigate his first stable relationship that actually could have a future. (Ali didn't live in LA fulltime and they only dated for a short while, he loved Abby but let's be honest they were never gonna last.) And it was so easy to let Taylor be a part of the work related plots? She's a reporter, of course it's plausible she shows up on scenes or during investigations. The writers were on to something here, she's still my favourite out of all of Buck's and Eddie's love interests.

But the point is that if they ever decide it's time Buck or Eddie to settle down (please, I am begging) and with the way 911 works (ensemble cast on a procedural drama that doesn't allow its characters to change) there's much more potential for interesting plots with an outside character who isn't part of the firefam yet instead of adjusting the flavour of a relationship we've already had 6 seasons of.

[johanna-swann]

I think your takes on BuckTommy coming together stronger than ever are really good! I want to believe that they’ll have their romcom moment and be each other’s forever loves. But the way this week has gone was terrible timing - plus Lou’s exit interviews indicate they’re done for good (at least until 8a before the hiatus).

A lot of people are deactivating their accounts on X (which they should’ve done ages ago….) and people are stating they’re dropping the show.

How can we still look forward positively for Buck and Tommy? 😭

Okay this is my very personal opinion on all of this, I'm just talking about what I think about Bucktommy and also a little about the show in general.

So. I'm not a professional writer, but the reasoning and build-up behind their break-up immediately caught my attention. They spend a considerable amount of screentime on Buck questioning his relationship with Tommy, getting reassurance once again that Tommy is a good guy (this time from Josh) and having him realise "you know what, the Abby thing doesn't matter because I like Tommy anyway and I can see a future with him". And then on Tommy's side it wasn't "Hey, no offense but we're not there yet" or anything, no - Tommy broke things off pre-emptively because he already liked Buck too much.

The entire episode they showed how happy Buck was in this relationship, how comfortable Tommy made him feel and they also framed Tommy as a really sweet, sensitive guy throughout the breaking up process. Which doesn't make any sense to me if this is supposed to be a permanent good-bye.

It still would've been sad had Buck said "I really do like him and he's been amazing, but I'm just not sure I can see a future with him". Or Tommy could've been against settling down on principle instead of this weird "you will break my heart" thing. They could've gone the "Tommy has to move for work" route or so many other things. We still would've felt for them. But instead they spend an entire episode telling us how great Tommy and their relationship are for Buck and then broke them up anyway. This screams for a "to be continued".

But. Story aside, I also have read the interview by now. I know that LFJ has said his good-bye to the show and that sounds very permanent. I personally can't help but feel like this storyline isn't finished, so if LFJ does make another appearance in the future, I wouldn't be surprised. However it's more likely that we won't see him again, at least for a while.

If he doesn't come back, maybe ever - well, we knew this could happen. He was only supposed to be in season 7 for 3 or 4 episodes. We got a lot more than that which is cool. We always knew that despite the potential for more he might just be Buck's bi-awakening and not much else. I'm sad if this is truly it for Bucktommy, but it's not like this is completely unexpected.

A lot of criticism against Buck's coming out arc and Tommy were concerns I actually shared. Their chemistry felt a little off in the beginning, Buck didn't seem to be queer outside of dating a Tommy (he had no heart to heart with Hen, no wikipedia deep dive about labels, once he got over the initial confusion there was nothing), Tommy was barely if ever even mentioned when he wasn't on screen anyway, we barely saw any of their milestones (until tonight)... There were signs.

For a lot of us this was a very realistic possibility from the start and shipping them was never about whether Buck and Tommy would last, it was about having fun, playing with ideas, making up cute scenarios and headcanons. We knew Bucktommy endgame was just one of the many ways this show could go and that's fine.

Also Bucktommy won't just disappear. Those episodes, the fan art, the gifs, the fanfiction, the shippers - we'll still be here. There'll be a shit ton of fix-it content coming (I can almost hear the first ao3 authors already typing).

About the people deleting their accounts and leaving the fandom. If you really are just watching the show for one ship and your ability to enjoy the show depends entirely on them being canon, then by all means. Leave. What else am I supposed to say to that? For me there's other things going on in the show that'll be interesting. I was never here just for the ships, I care about the characters being put into situations. Even when I was still a Buddie shipper I didn't watch the show just for Buddie.

So yeah. Bucktommy are cute together, I will always love them, if they're over now I'll move on. If Tommy does come back at some point, great. I'll see you guys on ao3 or blogging about 8x07 next week.