9-1-1 Buddie - Why It Makes Sense

Hey Angels and Biscuits! Ciestiel here with a fandom essay. So, what’s The Tea? The Ted Talk?

 The Essay? Well, it is both a defense for the non-canon relationship of Buck and Eddie or Buddie from the show 9-1-1, why I think the show runner(s), writers, directors, and company are being disingenuous with their character’s, and to hopefully explain to some who may not understand why fans want them to be a couple - why we want that. This fandom essay will certainly make a lot more sense if you have seen 9-1-1 and are caught up with the current seasons.

So not only will I talk about 9-1-1 but I will also talk a little bit about other shows to give examples with what tropes or romantic patterns I think are being applied to Buddie that are often associated with canon couples and to just give examples of a canon couple with many similarities to Buck and Eddie. Also shows that will showcase great male friendships but without the romantic subtext and why Buddie does not fit this mold, as this is a big issue that comes up with Buddie. Why can’t fans just enjoy a good male friendship? Well, thing is we do. Fans even love Buck and Eddie being best friends. And We’d be fine with that if that was 100% how their characters are being written. But I argue that it’s not.

Ok. So. What is 9-1-1:

9-1-1 is a show that focuses on the lives and jobs of first responders. Specifically, Firefighters, EMT’s, 9-1-1 operator’s, and a tad bit of law enforcement and as of writing this blog the show airs on the fox tv network.

What is Buddie:

Buddie is the fan name for the non-canon relationship between the firefighters Buck and Eddie.  Now, this did not come out of nowhere. I know “shippers” often get a bad name but that’s usually a small percent of the fandom who just happen to scream loudest that give people who ship or support ships or shipping a bad name. Buck and Eddie, I think are a prime example of a ship that stems from how scenes are acted, how their scenes and dialogue are written, music choices, the choice of angles used for filming their scenes, lighting, how it all leads to certain impressions with these characters. This isn’t just fans seeing two attractive men and thinking “oh they’re hot they should date or sleep together”. 

Now of course there is going to be fans who think that but I would not say it’s by any means the majority. These are two character’s with more romantic chemistry than most of the canon couples on the show. Character’s whose lives are so intertwined. This ship has stemmed from fans wanting the writers and directors and show runners to put their money where their mouth is. Follow through with what they started. Ok. So, what does this have to do with anything? Why does their lack of follow through matter?

What do I think the show runners and writers and doing with Buck and Eddie?

I think there is a solid case, as of everything said and currently aired, that they are queerbaiting. Queerbaiting refers to romantic subtext in writing, romantic tropes that lead to being a couple in straight characters, etc but when its two same sex character’s they leave it subtext with never any intention of following through with making them a couple.

A more in-depth definition of queerbaiting –

The term queerbaiting refers to the practice of implying non-heterosexual relationships or attraction (in a TV show, for example) to engage or attract a LGBTQ audience or otherwise generate interest without ever actually depicting such relationships or sexual interactions.

For example, a TV show may be accused of queerbaiting when interactions between two same-sex characters are consistently suggestive of sexual attraction or a sexual relationship but the characters never actually enter into such a relationship (including and especially when their sexuality isn’t otherwise discussed or portrayed). It is also common to see tropes given to same sex character’s that would ultimately lead to a romantic relationship in heterosexual character’s but never quite gets to that point.

https://www.dictionary.com/e/slang/queerbaiting/ - queerbaiting definition found here

Now I don’t know 100% that this is what the writers and show runner(s) are doing. This could very well be a slow burn and take six + seasons to build up to a relationship. The show isn’t done yet so I’m not passing any final opinions on the matter just yet. But the current situation that is what it feels like is going on. It feels as if all this romantic stuff is being put onto Buck and Eddie without really intending any follow through with it. Trying to please one audience while giving the bare minimum to another. I wouldn’t be so skeptical if the writers/show runners/ or people involved with the show didn’t want to hype up Buck and Eddie being “best friends”.

Now, I have nothing against male friendships on tv. I will even discuss some before getting into Buddie. To show examples of male friendships that are loving and affectionate, but without romantic subtext. Without romantic tropes and subtext. There’s nothing romantic about it. It’s just the love of a best friend. And guess what, most never want those male friendships to date or to be in a romantic relationship in any way.

And this is maybe one of the biggest arguments I see when it comes to Buddie as a ship and those who don’t ship it, seem to think those that do dislike good male friendships. But that's not true. There are plenty of great male friendships on tv that have zero romantic chemistry but they are affectionate, caring, close, but hardly anyone ships them as a couple because all their affection is given platonic context. Not romantic. And fan’s see that. And enjoy the good friendship. I’d argue the opposite and ask why can’t Buck and Eddie have healthy straight female friendships? Buck and Taylor are a perfect example of a male/female dynamic that would work great as friends based on their chemistry. Not to mention there are many other male friendships within 9-1-1 that are not being written with the same intent as Buck and Eddie and as a result are not shipped.

So, what do I mean by romantic tropes, subtext, etc. Well, tv writers often repeat certain story elements turning them into a “trope”. A trope is just a storytelling device. They are often used as a way to describe situations in a way the audience will have a good chance of recognizing. Like friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, forbidden love, love triangles, stuff like that. These are specifically romantic but there are tropes for all genres.

Subtext is when the writers don’t explicitly say something but will imply it with situational cues like facial expressions, emotions expressed, lighting in a scene, music, writing dialogue in a certain way so it’s just vague enough to get the point across without actually saying something directly.

That brings us to my first couple comparison with Buck and Eddie. Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth from the show Bones. I think that the type of relationship that they have is a great example of what is happening with Buck and Eddie. I've seen many similarities and they are a good example of these tropes and subtext being used but with follow through.

So, what is Bones:

Bones was also a show that aired on Fox TV, and follows the Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan aka Bones. The show focuses on her consulting work with the FBI and her partner FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth.

Now why Bones? Well, like I mentioned above the relationship parallels are great and both Bones and 9-1-1 are Fox TV produced, though I don't know that they had any overlap in show runners or writers.

Dr. Brennan and Booth parallel Buck and Eddie a great deal. From how they start off to the rather romantic tropes that happen with the characters. And as I said before, Bones has follow through. So let’s talk about the relationship journey of Brennan and Booth.

They start out rough. Booth doesn't like working with scientists aka squints or taking them into the field. Bones, Dr. Brennan, is considered a squint, essentially people that work in labs and museums, but she is much more aggressive than the typical scientist. She demands that Booth take her into the field or she doesn’t work with him. And she has the power to play that card being the best in her field and likely the only one in her field in the United States. So essentially there’s a little hostility and rivalry at first. But after working together in the field they soon learn that there’s more to each other than they initially thought. Buck was extremely jealous of Eddie when he first joined the 118. He was not accepting of him, wondered why they needed him, and was rather hostile towards him.

Booth and Brennan soon become more than just work friends or work partners. They become actual friends. They spend time together outside of work, Bones even gets to spend some time with Booth and his son, Parker. Brennan finds out Booth has a kid after a serious potentially fatal/dangerous event. During the valley fever scare. Buck was introduced to Eddie’s son, Christopher, after a potentially dangerous event, the earthquake. Both sets of partners begin to share personal things about each other.

They clearly grow closer and develop feelings for each other. All expressed by how the scenes and dialogue are written, framing of scenes, lighting, facial expression and looks shared between the characters. They end up in each other’s personal space, A LOT. There’s a comfort level shared that isn’t there with everyone else. They have no problems entering into each other’s homes unannounced. Brennan has done so on multiple occasions and in one instance walked in on Booth taking a bath. She didn’t leave until they had the conversation she came there to have.

They look to each other as a model for problem solving. They risk their lives and jobs for each other more than they do for anyone else. The idea of losing each other causes a panic not present when other’s lives are in danger. Booth is an honorable man, a caring man, always wanting to do the right thing. But nothing seems to make him panic more than when Brennan is in immediate danger. Much like Buck did, he panicked when Brennan was buried alive by a serial killer. Acting rash, letting emotions get the better of him. When they found Brennan, he helped dig her out by hand. Sound familiar? That was Buck when Eddie was buried alive.

Brennan too, though she seems cold and rational and often remains so even in stressful and dangerous situations, she’s really very caring. And when Booth is in danger her emotions tend to get the better of her when they typically do not. When see her at her most human. She too panics in a way we see exclusively with Booth or her kids she has with Booth. When he was captured by the same serial killer she was willing to do whatever it took to get Booth back, consequences be damned.

Yet, though it’s obvious they have feelings for each other to the audience they still don’t date. They don't tell each other they have those feelings. Not for about six seasons. They do see other people, have some serious relationships in there. But through all of that Booth or Brennan always seemed to come first. While they weren’t a couple, they still cared most about each other, still dropped everything they were doing if the other needed them.

Everyone around them saw Booth and Brennan were in love but it seemed the timing was never right for the two. Until it was. Until they decided to say enough was enough and go for it.

Now Fans knew they’d be together eventually. It was clearly being set up that way. No one doubted it would happen because there were tropes, subtext, cues from all over in the show basically saying “in love will be a couple eventually”.

Most of these same cinematic choices, directing, writing, lighting, can all be seen with Buck and Eddie. Buck and Eddie are in each other’s space A LOT, much the same way Booth and Brennan are with each other. They have a very tactile relationship, much like Buck and Eddie. But they aren’t this way with everyone. Buck and Eddie help each other out with their problems, Buck is actively involved in Eddie’s son’s life. He takes him places like the zoo, without Eddie. He helps Eddie solve problems he’s having with Chris. He’s basically unintentionally co-parenting. Eddie trusts him unconditionally with his son.

A smaller similarity, Brennan’s friends make jokes and comments about them being into each other. The 118, friends, family, and random strangers do the same to Buck and Eddie. Pointing out how much time they spend together, joking about boy crushes (Maddie), saying they look cute together (instagramers), being assumed they are a couple (Elf), and other situations of the similar persuasion.

We see the most reactive emotions out of Buck and Eddie when one of them is in danger. Buck panicked more over Eddie’s life being in danger than he did for his own sister. Now, he did worry and react a great deal when Maddie, his sister, was in trouble. But the sheer panic we saw when Eddie was buried alive, was shot in season five, was a more panicked, rawer, more pure emotion, than we’ve ever seen from Buck. Eddie, too, expresses more when it comes to Buck. Eddie too, has outbursts that are just in relation to Buck. They are also willing to drop everything if the other needs them, like Booth and Brennan. And also like Booth and Brennan, even when they are in another relationship Buck will still put Eddie/Chris first and Eddie will put Buck first.

And finally, also like Booth and Brennan, they find themselves in relationships that never seem to pan out. Something is always missing, something that the audience can see they would have with each other but haven’t yet realized. Or are afraid to acknowledge it.  

Psych

Moving on to a show that showcase’s a male friendship written purely platonically, no romantic tropes or subtext, is Psych. The friendship? Shawn and Gus.

What is Psych?

Psych is a show that follows the antics of Shawn Spencer who is an excellent detective but never wanted to be a cop. He calls in tips for the police and they think he’s in on the crimes because no one could be that good, so to avoid being arrested he says he’s psychic. This leads to him and his best friend Gus to start the private psychic detective agency, Psych.

Shawn and Gus have been best friends pretty much their entire lives. Shawn is a bit flaky and irresponsible. Gus, a bit uptight and responsible. They are fairly opposite in personality but enjoy many of the same things. The duo bickers often, and humorously. They also have each other’s back, show affection like hugs and caring words. Their friendship is laced with a lot of humor. Psych is more of a comedy anyway but nothing about Shawn and Gus is written romantically. There is romance on the show, Shawn and Juliet being the most focused on romance. Shawn and Juliet also have a bit of humor and recurring jokes between them but they are written much like Booth and Brennan, just they actually got along fairly well from the start. But it takes them quite a few seasons of being friends and having feelings for each other before they actually become a couple.

There’s a huge difference in how Shawn and Gus are written and how Shawn and Juliet are written. Rarely does Psych make a romantic joke with Shawn and Gus or have scenes written to appear romantic in context. When they do its usually Shawn trying to get a rise out of Gus as he would be first to say “No. no. Shawn’s my best friend that’s it.” Or it’s played as an obvious joke with no seriousness behind it and it’s obvious from the writing, that or it’s to further part of an investigation. There’re no shocked looks from Shawn or Gus because they know a romantic relationship would never happen between them. They never get tongue tied on how to respond if someone said they were a couple because it’s a non-issue. They can shrug it off no problem and the show will go on. I don’t think they even have this issue unless Shawn is intentionally making it one. People don’t just assume they are a couple like people do Buck and Eddie. The writer’s of Psych did not want that to be written into their character’s so it’s not there in the show.

All the romantic tropes and subtext fall to Shawn and Juliet. They have looks shared, jealousy with other love interests, scenes written with romantic language in the dialogue so basically flirting, and chemistry build up over the seasons. It’s Shawn and Juliet that get tongue tied when people mistake them for a couple before they are ready or are a couple. We have Gus acknowledging their feelings and even talking about it with Shawn. We anticipate in excitement the relationship between Shawn and Juliet as much as Gus does. We as fans, like Gus, want Shawn and Juliet to be happy and get frustrated when Shawn and Juliet have so many hiccups. We see jealousy with Shawn and Gus, mostly from Shawn, when Gus is in relationships but the jealousy isn’t over wanting to be with Gus but over the fear he will lose his best friend to the woman Gus is with. Lose time with Gus. Afraid of how things will change. But then we have Gus there to reassure Shawn that they will always be best friends. And they are once again, best of bros. Shawn and Gus are a great iconic friendship. They are best friend goals.

Brooklyn 99 

Another show with an amazing male best friend duo. Brooklyn 99 follows cops of the 99th precinct in Brooklyn, New York. Jake and Charles are two of the detectives and best friends since working together.

Much like Shawn and Gus, Jake and Charles are another friendship duo laced with humor and affection. Especially on Charles’s part. He is overly affectionate with Jake and sometimes rather intrusive to his personal life. But they talk to each other about feelings and problems, help each out, aren’t afraid to express affection, frequent I love you’s shared etc. They know each other’s biggest likes and dislikes, favorite things. They are a part of each’s other’s children’s lives. But like Shawn and Gus they aren’t written with any romantic subtext or tropes. This is key to why people don’t ship them.

Affection can be present platonically and Psych and B99 I think are perfect examples of this. Jake is Uncle Jake to Charles’s adopted son. The relationship is much different than how Buck and Chris are portrayed. Charles want’s nothing more than to have Jake and his son spend time together and bond but despite how close Jake and Charles are Jake and Charles’s son don’t have that close a relationship. Much different than Buck and Chris. Buck was never Uncle Buck to Chris. He is Bucky, or His Buck. Eddie doesn’t see Buck that way, that more familial attitude that is more common among best friends and kids.

Jake and Charles are each other’s best man in weddings. They are right there supporting each other in their relationship goals. The jealousy between them is always when a “new best friend type” is introduced. There’s never competition when it comes to romantic partners, such as Amy. Jake and Amy follow the same tropes as Bones and Booth and Shawn and Juliet. Rivals to friends to romance. It’s written into their character’s storyline. It’s obvious by the writing they will date one day. It’s obvious they have feelings for each other even when dating other people. They too share loving/longing looks, flirt unintentionally, get romantically charged dialogue, scenes, and lighting. They love each other and are in love. Jake and Charles love each other but are not in love.

Also, on the show is another very affectionate friendship, Doug Judy and Jake. They also have said “I love you’s”, have a basically self-chosen ship name for their friendship, and are overall very close. But like Jake and Charles, nothing about the friendship is done in any romantic way so people don’t typically see or want them to be a couple. The fantastic friend’s duo is what people love about both Doug and Jake and Charles and Jake. I would watch the hell out of a Doug Judy and Jake spin-off, their friendship is one of my favorite things about Brooklyn 99.

Buck and Eddie 

Now we will move into the main focus of this blog, Buck and Eddie. I will talk about things from season two onward.

They meet in season two when Eddie is introduced to us as a character.

So, obviously, Buck and Eddie become close, best friends. No one disputes that. Buck calls him his best friend in Searchers, the first time it’s said out loud. They didn’t start out that way, however. Buck was jealous of Eddie. Not just because he was a new hot guy who was on his turf and he felt threatened with that whole hot firefighter calendar but of how easily the team accepted Eddie into their ranks. Buck had to fight and earn a place and respect but Eddie just walked in and had it. It stung and you could see it in Bucks facial expressions and overall attitude throughout episode one.

However, that animosity quickly subsided the minute he and Eddie share an intense call. He sees that Eddie has experience and skill. Eddie offers him to have his back and Buck offers the same. But Eddie acknowledges Buck’s skill. He tells him he’s good under pressure. He offers verbal praise which is something that Buck has been shown to crave. He needs that verbal validation. He did not have that unconditional love growing up, at least from his parents, and Maddie left for school and then got married and had her own set of problems when Buck was still young. But here Eddie was giving that validation. That was a very quick progression to friends but not necessarily unreasonable given Buck’s personality.

They bond over their time being partnered in the field. Buck spends the most time with Chris out of anyone else on the team. Buck helps Eddie out, giving him rides, going to see Santa, getting Eddie connected with Carla, and who knows what else we haven’t seen in the early seasons. The elf who was in the Santa’s village even thought that Buck and Eddie were a couple and Chris was their son. Buck did nothing to deny it. He could have corrected her, but he let her believe he and Eddie were a couple. We see it didn’t bother Buck in the slightest. He did get tongue tied but ultimately just let her think it. It shows early on Buck doesn’t hate the idea of a family with Eddie and Chris. Buck obviously cares about Chris. He loves spending time with him. When Eddie brings him to the station Buck was already informing Bobby and getting the necessary permissions. And he was playing with him on the fire pole with Eddie, being the most engaged. Maddie even picks up on their closeness by teasing him about having boy-crush on Eddie.

These things can be written off as unintentional, meant to be cute little jokes. But I'm not sure why we needed the image of Buck, Eddie and Christopher as a family so early on in Eddie’s story if they weren’t going to do anything with it. Why place those ideas in anyone’s head at all? And why have Maddie make those jokes to Buck about a boy crush? What purpose does it serve? To show him moving on from Abby could have been done any number of ways. She could tease him about any number of things but the thing they chose to focus on was Buck gushing about his new friend. Teasing him about having a crush on his new male friend, not some girl who could have flirted with Buck. . If we are to see them as platonic then why start planting these ideas in fans minds so early on? Isn’t that usually a joke often made between love interests? A scene like that, often is written for love interests in my viewing experience.

And on top of that we had it pointed out to us, the audience, that Buck thinks Eddie is attractive. Whether he is attracted to him or not was unclear but when Maddie was asking about Chim he mistook her compliments to be about Eddie. Clearly Buck at least thinks Eddie is more attractive than Chim. He was genuinely shocked she was talking about Chim, Buck seems to not think of Chim that way. But Eddie? Apparently. His response was yeah he gets that a lot but you should meet his kid though, and Maddie responded with oh Chim has a kid? She gave Buck a look that said she knew who he was talking about and was giving him a hard time. His response also came across as a little defensive. A response you’d be more likely to hear out of potential love interests. Even the way Buck looks over towards where Eddie is likely standing is more romantic than platonic, checking someone out while describing them versus just sharing details about someone.

 And it’s not just Buck that warms up to Eddie, we see Eddie actually open up to Buck, talk to him. He does that with Bobby sometimes but usually he doesn’t share as much or Bobby has to pry a little more. When Buck and Eddie took Chris to see Santa Eddie made a point to ask Buck if he was going to ask about Shannan, when he said no not his business and Eddie agreed he went on talking about it. Like he wanted Buck to ask so he could talk, he wanted the opening. His body language is also most open with Buck as opposed to other people. So, it’s not just spending time with Chris, it’s also Eddie trusting Buck with himself. Which we see more of as the series goes on.

During Buck’s welcome back party, we see Eddie bouncing with excitement to see Buck, everyone lets him be the first to hug him. Chris gives him a card with a “love Christopher” on it. The show spends time placing him in the Diaz family’s circle. A lot of time. We don’t see Chim put in that same spot with Hen and Denny. Or Hen with Athena and her kids. But we do with Buck and Eddie. It’s more like how Bobby was introduced to Athena’s family.

Eddie talked to Buck about his relationship with Shannon. Buck was the one to take Eddie to the school to make sure Chris was ok and to pick him up, after the earthquake. While Bobby was the one there for Buck with physical therapy after being crushed by the firetruck, Eddie was the one who got him out of the house after he wasn’t allowed to return to work.

There was a lot of this trust built up and then Eddie emphasizes it when he drops Chris off with Buck before the tsunami. He drops by Buck’s unannounced, clearly having a key to his place. Like it’s normal for Eddie to just show up without warning. I bet only Maddie would have a key besides Eddie. He gets Buck out of bed, not caring about his personal space. He says Chris is spending time with His Buck today. He’s Chris’s Buck. And maybe Eddie’s too. We don’t really know Eddie’s full meaning behind those words. We’ve never seen Eddie leave Chris with anyone but his family or Carla prior to this. He has a very overprotective nature with Chris. He wouldn’t even trust Shannon with him when she first came back and she is the Chris’s mom.

And with Shannon we see Eddie get angry for the first time. We see him start to show emotion. This is important for later. Chris has been the only thing that Eddie expresses lots of emotion for, aside from his anger at Shannon which is still about Chris.

Then we have the tsunami episodes. Eddie was happy to show everyone the selfies Buck was sending. He didn’t even seem worried that Buck and Chris were out that day. He likely assumed they were at the movies but still. He trusted Buck. And after Bobby said that Buck still has them even if he doesn’t know it Eddie has that look of ohhhhhh. And boom. Christopher basically becomes Bucks therapy.

And after. That scene at the end of Searchers, where Eddie tells Buck there’s no one is this world he trusts more with his son than Buck, that’s intense. That’s meaningful. Parents just don’t say that to anyone, friends included. Eddie wouldn't’ just say that to anyone. He also said Buck loved Christopher enough to never stop trying. Also, an important thing to note. And Buck needed to hear that. Buck needs verbal affirmations. He needs to hear that Eddie and Chris are still going to be a part of his life. That Eddie doesn’t hate him. That Chris doesn’t hate him. In fact it was much the opposite. Eddie saw a man who didn’t give up on his son, , Chris saw the man who saved him.

I wonder if Eddie saw something in Bucks eyes when he was trying to tell him about losing Chris. Or if Buck proved he wouldn’t give up. Buck looked so broken trying to tell Eddie he lost Chris. And the look they shared when Chris was found was intense. Eddie said there’s no one in the world he trusts more with his son, aside from the tsunami I’d like to know what led Eddie to that. I’m sure that was a large part of his feelings but I think we really did get cheated with some of the trust build up just a little bit.

Now to this whole lawsuit non-sense. After the tsunami Buck was cut off from his team, even Eddie and Chris it seemed. Chris was having nightmares but Eddie didn’t go to Buck for it. It didn’t seem like anyone came around to see Buck much. And then he comes to find out Lena has taken his locker, his place as Eddie’s field partner. They taped over his name. Eddie is clearly spending time with her. It was all too much for Buck after the loss of no one coming around and he did something stupid. He filed the lawsuit. All he wanted was to get back with his 118 family. Including Eddie and Chris. I think the thought of losing Eddie as his best friend, his partner, hurt him the most. He didn’t mean to cut ties with Chris. He never wanted to hurt his family, especially Chris. He just wanted to feel like he belonged again. Like he hadn’t lost his family.

But he did act rashly. And Eddie took his rash decisions the hardest. Which came out at the grocery store. He starts his conversation with Buck saying you don’t see anyone else whining about their problems but then proceeds to tell Buck all about his. Like well, maybe he did want someone who he trusted around to talk about his problems with but couldn'tHis whole speech was I couldn’t call you. I couldn’t reach out to you. It may have started with Chris misses you but it led to I need you why didn’t you consider that. It also made clear how much Buck means to Eddie. How much Eddie considers Buck a parental figure to Chris. The only other time Eddie got that emotional was with Shannon. He felt betrayed when she left. When she left Chris. And it seems like Eddie had very similar feelings here. Like he and Buck had built this relationship and that relationship included Chris and then Buck just up and left. It’s like he stopped trying. If he loved Chris so much why would he have done that. To Eddie that felt like a Shannon betrayal all over again and he snapped. Which makes his grocery store outburst make so much more sense.

Back in season two there was a scene between Eddie and Shannon, where they were talking about what Eddie didn't give her. She said, “You. I needed a husband and a co-parent, and all I got was a life alone in Texas with a baby while you were on another continent. I needed someone to have my back.” Eddie responds with, “I always had your back” and Shannon says, “No, you were in Afghanistan.”  I feel like Eddie might have been feeling what Shannan had been feeling in this moment. He thought Buck had has his back, had a place in Chris’s life, and with the lawsuit he just up and leaves. Because up until this lawsuit, Buck did have Eddie’s back. And now he left. But in Buck’s mind he wasn’t leaving, he was doing what he thought he had to. Much like Eddie and re-enlisting. Though both decisions weren’t necessarily for the best when looked back in hindsight. The show really loves their Shannon parallels. And I think Chim was clearly picking up on just how intense this outburst from Eddie really was.

And It wasn’t just that he couldn’t talk to Buck but that was certainly part of it. Buck was obviously Eddie’s first choice to bail him out of jail. He said to Lena he couldn’t call the team, he couldn’t call Buck. He separated Buck from the team. Like Buck was more to him than just a colleague or friend. That he can trust Buck when he can’t trust anyone else. Buck obviously means a lot to Eddie. He even looked ready to deck Buck before the car accident in the parking lot happened. And what happened next? Eddie goes and does illegal street fighting. And Buck? He looked crushed when he heard that Eddie and Chris are hurting. I bet that’s exactly why he gave up on the lawsuit. He didn’t want millions. He wanted his family. He was wondering where Eddie was at the rage room, he missed him. 

The show will continue to set up how much they mean to each other and separate them from the others. When one of them is in danger, usually Eddie, there’s a level of panic in Buck that isn’t present when anyone else is in danger, the only other time was when Doug had Maddie. But his reactions are similar to say when Athena was in danger and Bobby was the one in panic, instead of say Chim worried about Hen. We see it when Eddie is buried, shot, and when he thinks he could have been shot by the escaped convict. He also leaves Chris to Buck in his will as his legal guardian. They continue to have Buck involved in Chris’s life, taking him places, helping get that skateboard, showing Chris turn to Buck in a crisis. I’ll talk more about these scenes later but there’s no shortage of putting an emphasis on the importance of them as a family. No other best friend in the show spends or does that much for the other best friends’ child.

Included in the following paragraphs will be how the show seems to put romantic tropes to the way things are written with Buck and Eddie with their shared scenes together. Like how they set up shots for example.

Starting with Eddie’s ceremony when he’s finally not a probationary firefighter and Chris is walking his helmet up the aisle and they have in frame: Eddie’s Abuela, Christopher coming up the middle, and Buck. And let’s take a moment to look at Buck’s face as he sees Chris walking to his dad. It’s the face you’d expect a proud mom to have. But anyway. The fact they put Buck and Eddie’s Abuela in the same shot like that seems intentional and seems meaningful. Because Chris and his Abuela are two very important people to Eddie. And they have now included Buck into that moment. Giving us the impression Buck is as important to Eddie as his son (well almost, no one will be more important than Chris to Eddie but you know what I mean) and his Abuela.

During Buck’s welcome back party we see Cap push Eddie, who was looking all ready to pounce, right to Buck, to get the first hug. Everyone else waits while Eddie gets to greet his best friend first. And give him a very not bro-like hug. This kind of setup is also something we normally see with romantic partners. The love interest being the first to greet or hug or whatever. It is a trope. The hug was shot much like a love interests’ scene would be.

Then we have that shot when Buck finally confronts Eddie for ghosting him when he comes back to the station after the lawsuit. When they are standing apart, Buck to the left Eddie to the right. It’s a very couple dynamic cinematography. Buck looks so happy. they hug, fairly brief because Eddie is hurt from fighting, but they are supposedly good. Then after all is said and done, Eddie is still lying to Buck. He won’t meet Buck’s eyes. Like he knows if he makes eye contact Buck will push to find out what Eddie’s been secretly up to. And he knows he’d probably tell him. He tends to do that with Buck. He didn’t exactly want to talk about his relationship with Shannon when they took Chris to see Santa but it happened anyway. He talks to Buck. And Eddie currently doesn’t want to talk. The director of that episode even said it was filmed romantic way.

Next, we have Buck and Eddie having dinner together at Bucks place with Christopher. We never see Eddie having dinner or hanging out like that with the other’s. Maybe as a group sometimes but never alone. And Eddie, once again, seems perfectly comfortable in Bucks place. We’ve seen he has a key when he showed up to get Buck out of bed pre-tsunami. And now we see him taking plates to the sink like he’s done that a million times before. He didn’t need to ask Buck what he wanted him to do.

And then we have that conversation in the kitchen. While Eddie does seem to have forgiven Buck, for real this time, Buck can’t seem to forgive himself. He apologizes for what seems to be the hundredth time. And Eddie is honestly shocked. He thought Buck knew things were good. But to Buck things weren’t. He still felt awful. He never meant to hurt his basically family like that.

I think this is an interesting parallel here back to Shannon. She wanted Eddie to forgive her but she never really apologized. Not really. Eddie said he CAN forgive her. But wasn’t sure if he could trust her. He said he forgave Buck. No can, no maybe words. I think a lot of that has to do with each of their approach. Buck went out of his way to show Eddie he was sorry. Buck goes out of his way to take responsibility and make sure Eddie knows how sorry he was for not being there. Called Eddie out for wanting to take a swing at the wrong person. Knew he wasn’t being honest with Frank. He verbally apologized multiple times. He reached out to Eddie, showed Eddie he was there. Eddie saw his remorse. He saw how much Buck was hurting just by the thought of hurting him and Christopher. That’s why Eddie thought they were past it. And why Buck didn’t. Buck is pretty insecure with the people in his life. If they don’t tell him straight out what’s up he will worry. I don’t think Eddie’s the only one who feels like he’s not enough, just being himself. I think Bucks love language would be words of affirmation. He needed to hear Eddie tell him they were past it. To see Eddie really had forgiven him. And once they do get past it they are back to their weird flirty but not flirty thing they do. I mean did we all see Buck saunter over to Eddie with hands on his belt telling him he could take him?? That was a flirty way to say that, Buck. He SAUNTERED! That was a very unnecessary moment to include. They could have shown Buck and Eddie being back to a good place without flirting in the kitchen. Again there was a lot of intent in the way that was set up, written, and acted.

And I think it says a lot that Eddie says his kind of therapy is just being with Buck and Chris. Buck does seem to be a grounding point for Eddie. Saying that out loud to Buck I think was important too because like I mentioned above Buck needs to hear things. Hearing those words from Eddie tells Buck that Eddie loves spending time with him. With his son. Basically, like it’s his ideal day. It makes him happy.

And then we have the Christmas episode. Eddie invites Hen and Denny over to build gingerbread houses with Chris. But he also invites Buck. Hen points that out. All three of the boys. Buck, Chris, and Denny. Once again Eddie is not alone with anyone that isn’t Buck. Eddie knows how much Buck means to Chris. But I also think on some level he’s moral support for Eddie since he just told Hen that Chris was mad at him or upset because he had to work on Christmas and Eddie has been putting a lot of parental responsibility onto Buck, even if unintentionally. Chris has come to see Buck as a second parental figure. And then Chris asked, His Buck, if he can spend Christmas with him. If he couldn’t have his dad he could have his Buck. Which is saying something right there. He knew he was going to be with his Abuela and his Aunt Pepa but he still asked Buck. Buck obviously has a special place in Chris’s life for him to feel that way. To ask that kind of question knowing the alternative choice. But of course, they both work and Eddie and Buck look heartbroken when Buck has to tell that to Chris. Let’s not overlook the face Eddie makes when he watches them make the gingerbread houses. Eddie looks so…happy when he looks over to Buck helping the kids. He doesn’t really look at other people that way. Eddie is at his most calm, happy, content when he is with Chris and Buck. Once again, highlighting it is Eddie’s ideal day.

Then at the station during the Christmas dinner, Buck is sitting next to Chris. Or more like Chris gets to sit next to both his dad and his Buck. They group Buck with the Diaz family a lot during this part. When Buck gives Chris his gift, it is Chris, Buck, Eddie, and his Abuela off to the side. During dinner they sit like a family. During the 118 family photo Buck stands next to Eddie and the Diaz’s. When they return to the station to find all their family there the look on Bucks face is pure joy as he sees Eddie see Chris, as he watched Eddie rush to Chris. Buck too doesn’t really make that face for other people much like Eddie. He made a similar face when Chris walked Eddie’s helmet up after his probationary status was up.

 The show runners, writers, and directors are intentionally making Buck look like part of Eddie’s family. They started this in season two but it’s increased since then. The way they film the shots, the way they write the dialogue, and the way the actors act the parts all add up to a very romantic/family centered relationship.

It makes me wonder how much is implied off-screen between Buck and Eddie. Like how much time does Buck really spend with the two, how much co-parenting are we not seeing. Because Chris isn’t attached to anyone else from the 118 like he is Buck. It must mean Buck spends quite a bit of time with them. Kids don’t just get attached like that otherwise. Season five actually gives us a little bit of this as you’ll see later, but we still don’t know the full extent.  

Continuing the season three moments, we have an odd look between Buck and Eddie on being asked if they are single in the episode Seize the Day. Was that necessary? Why did they look at each other? It gives the impression that they are looking to each other to answer that question. As in, hey, am I single? Are we…? At least that’s how it’s taken in most situations like that. I see that type of question more often than not with love interests before they are a couple. In all honesty I feel like it’s too late to give us a love interest for either of them this far into a season for it to be a serious love interest. We’d have no time to get to know said love interest as an audience. This is like how love interests react not best friends. This would be how Bones and Booth would react to that situation not Shawn and Gus. Hen and Chim would probably have broken into fits of laughter if someone thought they were a couple. And if someone asked if they were single they certainly wouldn't look at each other the way Buck and Eddie did.

Then we have Maddie scolding Buck for not bringing a gift to Eddie’s house. He didn’t need Maddie to “save him from himself”. Buck knows when to bring gifts, he’s done so at least twice before. Like with Bobby and Athena’s Christmas party he brought wine and eggnog. So, he didn’t bring a gift because he was being forgetful or rude, he did it because he doesn’t feel like a guest in Eddie’s house. Because Eddie has made him feel this way. Eddie wants him to feel that way. So, when he says this is Eddie’s house, he’s not really a guest, both he and Eddie mean that. Eddie also gives Buck and Chris that really soft but huge smile he only gives them while Buck was playing with Chris on the couch with Albert. And Buck hovers next to Albert and Chris as everyone is getting dinner, like he needs to supervise, adding more domestic visuals with Buck and Chris.

Fools.  Now this episode was stressful for many Buddie shippers I’m sure. But we are not yet to the famous line of Dante “Abandon all hope ye who enter here”. Yes, Eddie does flirt with Ana. But Eddie is still human and the pretty girl kind of flirted with him. He probably feels expected to flirt back. To like the pretty girl. And sometimes there is a “mistake” relationship before the real romance happens. It happened a few times in Bones and Brooklyn 99. Many late in a season love interests don’t end up staying on tv shows. They are a stepping stone almost. Ana as it turned out, was someone who should have been perfect for Eddie but Eddie still wasn't happy. She was what Eddie thought he should want but it wasn't what his heart wanted.

Although I do fail to see how they could possibly build to something as good and developed with a new love interest as they have with Buck and Eddie. For an endgame relationship that is. The amount of chemistry built up with these two paves the way for many of the problems with fans not at all enjoying these love interests that get thrown in seemingly out of nowhere. The foundation has basically been built for them already and they would literally have to start from the ground up with someone new to make this any sort of believable. And the show isn’t likely going to invest in the time to properly do that. No one will be good enough, it can’t just be some nice, cute, woman thrown into either of their lives. This goes for both characters.  Not to mention that this all takes time away from building up stories they already have ongoing. Who then do they take away from? What calls do they sacrifice to make that foundation? I think the show would suffer if they wen that route.

Eddie did apologize to Ana after getting angry with her but some of the things she said make me wonder if they are hinting to Eddie’s future Buck feelings. Like her whole “There’s also some value in learning that… you don’t like horses.” Could that mean she picked up on something Eddie hasn’t? Or the writer’s foreshadowing? That really seemed like a line that could pass as a throw away but makes sense in a future episode. That line has a perfect fit if Eddie is realizing he doesn’t like women…and perhaps never did. That he only was with women because it was what he thought he was supposed to do. I’ve said many times Eddie is the perfectly written character to be gay. But unlike Michael he wasn’t aware or he repressed it most of his life as his life was based upon what other’s wanted or needed him to be. Eddie really doesn’t know who he is. So, if they wanted to go that route with Eddie the foundation is there. But writers do dirty tricks like that, leave seemingly meaningless one liners that foreshadow and make sense upon re-watch. That would fit in with his season five issues.

And I’d personally like to believe they wouldn’t set up Eddie with someone we the audience haven’t had any time to get to know. He’s not that kind of guy from what we know. He’s had one relationship. And even when he was separated (before she died) from Shannon he didn’t date as far as we know. So why would he just jump into something with this teacher whom we and he know nothing about? My theory that Ana was a stepping stone for Eddie to realize that he can’t keep making decisions that he thinks he’s supposed to make turned out to be fairly accurate based on what happened in season five.

Buck’s teasing Eddie while they got that woman unstuck from a window also seemed a little jealous? Not to say he’s jealous Eddie has a date and he doesn’t but jealous he’s not the date even if Buck doesn’t totally realize that’s why he’s jealous. A stretch perhaps but why did he need to bring it up right then? Or even just jealous of losing time with Eddie. Plus, Eddie looked like “hey, I didn’t tell you that to mock me” face. He seemed genuinely shocked Buck said that. And if Bobby’s face was anything to go by that was something he only had told Buck about because Bobby looked very shocked and confused, and clearly knew nothing of that situation Eddie had gotten himself in. Buck blurting that out seemed a little...out of place, is all I’m saying. Was he maybe a little relieved he may never talk to her again outside of school necessities? But Eddie apologizes anyway so...And then Buck continues to tease Eddie or ask him questions he clearly wouldn’t know about Ana while also alerting the rest of their friends about Ana. Resulting in the same face from Eddie as he called Buck a traitor.

And we can’t forget about the poker game at Maddie’s and how Buck was not at all offended that he would get set up with a man but that his sister said she wouldn’t do that to Josh. Plus, I think Buck isn’t really looking to date at that point in the show. I know he has said a lot of things that make it seem like he doesn’t want to be alone but since when has Buck ever had trouble getting a date if he wanted to. It seemed that Buck just isn’t actively looking. That he was kind of ok with where he’s at right now at least romantically. He hates being alone but he’s more afraid of the people in his life leaving him behind.

We also can’t ignore how Eddie clearly vents to Buck. Not only about Chris but his terrible flirting and snippy behavior. Yes, they are best friends but this is still important to their dynamic, their relationship, regardless of how platonic or romantic it is.

And Buck also puts things into a better perspective for Eddie. He doesn’t just offer up some weak moral support, he offers actual constructive advice. He trusts Buck. Yes, that comes with being his best friend but when you pair that with all the other romantic subtext you get that close bond that Eddie likely isn’t going to get with someone else. (Ana I’m looking at you). And he also trusts Buck with Chris. He trusts Buck’s advice even though he’s not a parent himself. More than he trusts anyone else according to Eddie. And they are at Buck’s place. Alone. No Chris? That was clearly a hangout so Eddie could vent and talk out his feelings. Not only that, Buck uses baseball as a stepping stone for his point. He knows Eddie likes it. And they only just brought baseball up last episode. But we know Buck pays attention to small details. Did Buck actually read that book in the hospital? Or did he research people who were different but found ways to succeed before Eddie came over? Also, Eddie knew who the player was so he probably knew some of the details of his interesting story. But he let Buck explain. They have a give and take dynamic we often see in couples.

And ok, when Eddie is talking to Chris he tells him things he told Buck in regards to Chris. He told his son to never stop trying. He told Buck he knows he loves Chris enough to never stop trying. He also tells Chris that next time he wants to try something they will try it together. And that just happens to also mean with Buck. And this new thing is also Buck’s idea, just like with Carla, and Christmas. Buck doesn’t hesitate with Chris, if he can do something for him he’s going to get it done. He puts so much effort into being there for Chris, for making sure Chris is ok, he already loves Eddie’s son so much and the tsunami only bonded them more.

And the most heartwarming scene of the episode? Eddie and Buck surprising Chris with the special skateboard while Carla films the whole thing. The way Eddie and Buck look while they both spend time with Chris is just so domestic and comfortable and sweet. They feel like a family. They look like a family. They act like a family. Buck and Eddie are so in sync with each other. They only look at each other that way. Eddie’s flirty eyes are still different than the “heart eyes” he gives to Buck and his son. It’s a look so far that is exclusively reserved for them.

There’s also a lot of this parallel of it being pointed out in the show that Buck is single but then they cut to him, Eddie, and Chris as a family unit. Maddie and Chim seem to think they don’t have a kid but oh they have Buck, but Buck has been co-parenting with Eddie for a while now and knows more about raising a kid than Maddie or Chim at this point.

And the episode title, Fools, leaves a lot of questions too. The episode Eddie happens to flirt happens to be titled fools? The fools were not limited to the calls they received. Our 118 family is not immune.

Now on to Eddie Begins. Let’s start with the big moment, with Buck breaking down when the rig collapsed trapping Eddie. He screamed his name, began to try digging for Eddie with his bare hands, had to be pulled away by Bobby where he broke down and cried. And then everyone, Bobby, Hen, Chim, and I assume a guy who works with those digging rigs, has to reassure him that no, no one thinks Eddie is dead. And that no one has given up. Buck even suggests to dig by hand if they have to. It was the same level of panic he had when he was separated from Chris during the tsunami. When Maddie was missing, if not more raw and more intense. It’s his, my family is in danger panic, though with Eddie things seem much more emotional. With Maddie he was obviously concerned and was willing to do whatever it took to find her but with Eddie there was more panic, more raw emotion, more recklessness.

Now I know Buck would be worried about anyone he cares about. But he’s never been that overwhelmed with emotion for anyone except Maddie. And I would still argue he was much more emotionally raw with Eddie. Someone he finds especially close and dear to him. He hasn’t responded that way to the others the way he responds to Eddie. It’s like the thought of losing Eddie truly broke him.

And then when Eddie is losing consciousness he thinks about Chris, Buck, and the others. Now Eddie, Eddie had lots of memories going through his mind while he was buried. Eddie tells Shannon after Chris is born and he has to deploy soon he will always fight to get back to his family. Then his thoughts move to Chris and Buck. There’s some of the 118 family too, as they are his family in a different way, but many of his memories are of Buck and Chris. It’s what motivates Eddie to keep fighting, to never give up. That relationship with Buck and Chris is important to him. And the look of pure relief and joy on Bucks face when Eddie is okay, is that look he reserves for Chris.

How they set up the scene where Eddie reunited with the team after being trapped underground very much reminds me of when Buck was trying to tell Eddie he lost Chris in the tsunami and then Chris shows up behind him. Everyone was trying to keep Buck calm, make plans to find Eddie, and then there he is. They start with Buck’s face. Show his emotion as he realizes Eddie’s not dead. Then we see Buck, and the others rush to him. As buck supports Eddie, we see the look of relief on his face. The look of joy/love at Eddie being ok. But the focus is always on Buck and Eddie first. Not group shots, of the two of them. Again, that’s something we most often see in scenes with love interests.

Also, Buck asks the same questions as a nine-year-old. Just a fun fact not sure what to do with that yet. We also had Buck looking at Eddie with the same level of anticipation of his answer to Chris asking him to be part of his show and tell at school that Chris had. And his level of comfort with Eddie just coming right up like he’s part of that family. And he just takes Eddie’s medal like no big deal. And Eddie let him.

Next episode is, The One That Got Away, let’s just start with Eddie’s sass when Buck says he wants to do something reckless. He clearly worries about Buck. I do wonder if this wasn’t long after Eddie had changed his will to make Buck Chris’s legal guardian. Like, he made Buck an important and permanent part of Chris’s life but Buck doesn’t yet know. But Eddie does so when Buck gets reckless we see Eddie react. Buck thinks he’s expendable but Eddie knows he’s not. These are examples of things that make more sense on a re-watch after the audience is aware of Eddie’s will change.

First point with this episode is how out of character it was for Buck to not go to Eddie’s for Chris’s sleepover. Eddie invited him outright. Even after he declined and everyone else had date night Buck could have shown up at Eddie’s. I understand that they wanted Buck alone at the bar to point out how alone Buck feels but I think they should have picked a different excuse for Eddie. And maybe this is showcasing Buck doesn’t feel like he’s part of Eddie’s “people” but Eddie clearly thinks of him as his people or he wouldn’t have invited him to his plans. And let us not forget Buck even knew he was not a guest in Eddie’s home. Plus, Chris loves Buck so much. Buck was who he wanted to spend Christmas with when his dad had to work and who he runs off to when he feels like he cannot talk to his dad or doesn’t want to be around his dad. I just couldn’t get past that it was very out of character for Buck to turn down time with Chris, no matter how lonely or out of place he was feeling, given just how much Chris means to him and vice versa.

And can we continue to point out how Buck looks pointedly at Eddie when they talk about not losing touch as a family. Buck’s eyes go straight back to Eddie. Every time he says that won’t happen to us or it better not. It’s once again a subtle point to how important they are to each other. Eddie is very firm about it. Looking back, it’s because he knows it for sure won’t happen because he changed his will to have Buck be Chris’s legal guardian. Buck didn’t know but Eddie had already cemented Buck into their lives. But Eddie knew. And on re-watch Eddie’s reactions once again make a lot more sense.

I guess this episode does point out or rather cement in that Buck has self-esteem issues, though that has been apparent since season one. That even when being blatantly offered an open-door Buck doesn’t feel like he’s welcome. But that could all change with a simple conversation. A simple talk with Eddie. And hell, it could start with Eddie telling Buck he understands what it’s like to be left behind. Shannon left him. Without warning. He knows. They could talk and it would honestly probably be good for both of them. Buck obviously has a big heart and what he did for Red was sweet. But he also took it too seriously as that’s his future but that’s simply not the case and someone seriously who isn’t Maddie, and probably should be Eddie, needs to tell him so. This episode also opened the door for Abby’s return.

To finish up season three we have a two-part finale. The first part isn’t too Buck or Eddie focused but we have a few moments we can talk about.

First up is the moment in the fire truck as Buck is giving hot air balloon facts and Eddie asks where he heard that from asking if it was Maddie, then Buck goes no someone else. I was a bit surprised at his reluctance to tell Eddie. Eddie is the only person there who doesn’t know Abby personally. He only knows what Buck or the team has told him. He has no first-hand bias. It felt like he doesn’t want Eddie to perhaps judge him or pick up that he’s still got some hang ups when it comes to Abby. But Eddie is his best friend and relationships are certainly something they talk about with each other and not the rest of the team. Eddie in particular. Not to mention Eddie’s suspicious eyebrows. He probably knew exactly who Buck was avoiding talking about. So why did Buck feel the need to avoid the question?

And then we have the scene with Hen and Karen where Hen says she doesn’t want to invite tons of people for the “dinner” with Chim because of cost. Well if Hen brings Karen, Chim brings Maddie, Maddie invites Buck (probably out of sibling loyalty), Buck invites Eddie. And then Bobby and Athena have to get invited. This was set up in such a way that couples were grouped together with the exception of Maddie and Buck but she has that sister love of inclusion with him. That’s more subtext. More tropes. More intent.

Now part two. The first big interaction with Buck and Eddie would be when Eddie is bringing up summer camp with everyone. Eddie doesn’t seem too worried about letting him go but Buck seems to have all kinds of concerns. None of the others voiced any concerns or challenges to Eddie’s decision to let him go. But Buck does. Acting more like an overprotective or worried parent than a friend. And when he says what if he gets homesick felt like it had two meanings, much like when Eddie said/yelled at Buck in the grocery store. For Eddie when he yelled Chris misses you, there was an undertone of, I miss you. For Buck, what if he gets homesick, felt like what if I miss him? The added snark of “sounds like child labor” adds to that feeling. As if he’s just trying to find fault with this summer camp idea. Of course, Buck wants Chris to have a good time but I think his worrying goes a bit deeper than seeing Chris as his best friend’s kid even if he doesn’t realize it. And of course, we have another frustrated Bobby eye roll at Buck’s words. Like he knows Buck is being ridiculous but isn’t going to actually tell him so and that he probably sees what Buck doesn’t. The looks Bobby has been giving Buck and Eddie this season have been wonderful overall, I was very amused.

Skipping to when Eddie and Abby talk and Buck shows up, Eddie notices the change in Buck’s demeanor. And his shocked face throughout the encounter is priceless. After, Eddie can tell Buck is not ok. He gives him the chance to tell Eddie he’s not ok by asking him directly which Eddie doesn’t do too often. His concern for Buck is obvious but he doesn’t push. He is trusting Buck for the time being that he will at least be ok enough to work and maybe Eddie understands better than anyone that focusing on the job is what he needs at that moment.

Next, we have Buck wanting to do something reckless to save both Abby’s fiancé and the other person. Buck is adamant and fighting with Bobby. That’s normal. Buck challenges Bobby quite a bit when it comes to reckless decisions. What is unusual in this case is Eddie stepping in, yelling at Buck to stop. He says this as Buck brings up the fire truck that crushed his leg. Almost like that was too much for Eddie. He had to watch that happen to Buck and was there when the truck came off him. He doesn’t want to risk his partners life. Normally Eddie is the one to jump into reckless situations with him but this time he didn’t. And Eddie doesn’t raise his voice often. Shannon and Buck are really the only people he has done that with. He didn’t even really yell at Ana, it was a raised voice and he was angry but he didn’t outright yell. I think that means something or speaks to the level of closeness Buck and Eddie share. That the only two people he ever gets truly angry to the point of yelling with are his son’s mother and Buck. The show puts a lot of parallels between Buck and Shannon and that can’t be for nothing. Eddie yelling at Buck also has more weight behind after knowing about the change in his will. He hasn’t told Buck yet but he is expressing frustration that Buck thinks his life is expendable or worth treating reckless. I don’t think it registers fully with Eddie and that he should maybe tell Buck until he is shot but it’s been starting.

Finally, we have May’s party. Not only was it adorable, it was very Buddie subtext heavy. First, let’s talk about how each couple was shown taking pictures together and then Buck and Eddie. They are, once again, paired like a couple. Taking many goofy photos with each other and then with Chris. Buck even taking many solo pictures with Christopher. No one else does that with Chris or anyone else’s children. Buck also seems to be helping Eddie keep an eye on Chris. He’s the one who helps him write a message for May. While keeping a general eye on other people’s kids is ok, Buck goes above and beyond for Chris. More than what friends typically do. I would need to see more evidence one way or the other but Chris also says love Christopher in cards addressed to both Buck and Eddie. Not sure if he does that to others but it is for sure done with his father and Buck. They really played up Buck and Eddie and Chris being a family at the end of this episode.

And now we jump into Season Four.

Starting with Alone Together, the only really noteworthy moment to happen was Buck talking to his therapist about telling people how he really feels. That could mean a lot of things, to maybe stop people pleasing all the time or actually tell people when he’s feeling something that’s not happy things. Or it could mean having a talk with someone with an adorable son about feelings you may have that are totally not platonic. Like I said, many meanings.

In the episode Future Tense, we get our first real Buddie moment of season four.  Specifically, with Buck and Chris pranking Eddie. Eddie did always strike me the type to be a slight technophobe so it was hilarious. But back to the Buddie.

When Chris and Buck are playing video games and Eddie says, “we’re taking an internet break” only for Chris to ask to go play games at Buck’s place, forcing Buck to look at Eddie for cues as to what to do. Eddie gives him that crossed arms you better have my back look. And Buck obviously compiles. It’s very good cop/bad cop parenting dynamics if I’ve ever seen them. It’s also very domestic. Like a couple where one is sort of still new to the whole parenting and rules thing. Much like Bobby was with Athena’s kids at first. He didn’t want to be the bad guy right away and usually deferred to Athena. That’s kind of where Buck and Eddie are at and they aren’t even a (canon) couple.
Then we have the actual prank. When Eddie opens the box with the coffee maker Chris is right away on the phone with Buck. So, either Buck is on speed dial or Chris knows his number. Either way that’s important. If Eddie has him on speed dial, and Chris knows the speed dial number, it only emphasizes how important Buck is in their lives. If Chris knows the number that’s also telling on his importance as most kids don’t memorize phone numbers easily, and only memorize important ones, like their parents.

And final point of this episode, is the look on Buck’s face after Eddie hangs up. It’s the same look we have seen Buck make after talking with Abby, the first real love he’s had. That can’t be totally a coincidence that Buck makes that face with Eddie then? Why was it necessary to make that same face that seems to only be with someone he has romantic feelings for previously?

Jumping next to the crossover episode. First thing, both Eddie and Buck seemed a little disappointed it wasn’t going to just be them for the Texas trip. Then Buck seemed rather jealous when Eddie wasn’t going to be with him in the field. And seemed rather ruffled that Eddie didn’t seem to share his distress.

It also seemed weird that Eddie and Marjan were so almost flirty? Eddie doesn’t flirt well even when he’s trying. I wondered if he bonded with her so much, instagram following, the selfie, and all that, to get her to follow Buck back. He subtly hyped Buck multiple times, telling her he’s not so bad and that he helped with Chris’s skateboard. Also, that Eddie’s flirty behavior was not intentional because when it’s intentional it’s terrible. So, it’s not a stretch to think that he was being so charming in an effort to be a hype man for Buck. To get Buck and Marjan to be Instagram friends as Buck was a big fan of hers. Also, Eddie has that very loving smile he often gets when talking about Chris and Buck when he was telling Marjan about the skateboard Buck helped with.

Then we have TK assuming Buck was flirting with him, Buck looking confused but not immediately reacting negatively, and Eddie showing up right after. Nothing is an accident in film. Eddie showing up is either a subtle nod to future stuff or continuing the aid of the Buddie Baiting. Plus, why was that scene even necessary at all? Having TK think Buck is flirting is a deliberate scene. Yes, it does add to TK’s story by finally admitting he and Carlos are serious, but they didn’t need Buck to do that. You could have someone actually flirting with TK to accomplish that. And if it’s more Buddie Baiting it’s bad writing and stringing fans along but if it’s not then it’s another way to slowly build up to Buck and/or Eddie coming to terms with not being straight and having feelings for the other.  

Next up, season four episode eight, or the night Chris moves fast, Breaking Point. Now I know Buck did call Eddie but there was no 9-1-1 attempt from Eddie or words like that to Buck, just an immediate “I need your help.” Now he knows a cop, he has family, but he calls Buck. It’s Buck’s help he wants. When your kid is missing I would think one either calls the co-parent or the cops or both. Best friends may be on the list of who to call for help but they wouldn’t be first on many. It just adds to the idea of how Buck and Eddie appear like co-parents. Not to mention that when Chris felt so upset that his dad was seeing Ana and he needed to run away, he goes to Buck. He trusts Buck. Buck is a safety net for Chris. Chris and Buck have a lot in common. Buck feels like everyone leaves him and so does Chris. More parallels and connections. He’s promising Chris what he wants out of life, people who won’t leave. Also, Chris doesn’t need to move fast when he has an Uber.

Also, in this episode was Buck asking Taylor to dinner with Albert and the woman Buck had a failed date with. Buck was dishonest with Taylor about why he wanted to have dinner with her but I fee like she overreacted. She called him needy, which after that I don’t know why Buck even entertained the idea of dating her in the first place. I know he’s afraid of being alone, and they got together during a time when Buck was in a bad head space, but that should have been the first huge red flag that Buck would just be settling with her. I understand why Buck does date her I just also think that calling him needy was maybe the first huge audience red flag that it was doomed from the start. A sign that she really doesn't get Buck or she hasn’t changed as much as Buck thinks she has.  

Our next worthy moments come in episode twelve, Treasure Hunt. Eddie teases Buck about Taylor being his girlfriend and even Buck is reluctant to call her his girlfriend in that moment. I think the fact they are coming back into this relationship hesitant is not the best sign for Buck and Taylor. Eddie actually seemed a little hurt when he told Buck that he was already teaming up with Taylor for the treasure hunt. Like he had thought Buck would come to him first. Eddie even went to Buck to suggest a team up only to find out his partner was working with someone else. But Buck being Buck included him anyway but Eddie clearly felt like the third wheel in the whole ordeal. Plus, at the end of the hunt Buck and Eddie are in each other’s space as much as Bobby and Athena. When Buck gestures with his hands his right hand is lightly touching Eddie’s chest. There is quite a bit more space between Hen and Chim, also best friends. Not to mention Eddie’s continued salty attitude plus having to include Taylor and her cameraman in the money splitting deal. I really wish they would have left Buck and Taylor as friends but maybe they can work back to that eventually. 

In the episode Suspicion, we get one of my favorite moment’s with Eddie this season. Carla asked Eddie how he feels about having Ana around. His answer to Carla was it’s easy being with her and while Carla is happy for Eddie she tells him to be sure he’s following his heart and not Christopher’s, which I always felt was exactly what Eddie was doing. Eddie looked confused but the look he gives Ana and Chris says what she said got to him on some level, like he knows there’s some truth to what she said. It gave Eddie pause, to think I want Chris to have a mom, a family, but this isn’t what I want.

But the biggest moment is when Eddie is shot. This carries over into the final episode of the season as well, Survivors. Buck gets covered in Eddie’s blood and the camera focuses on their faces, on them looking at each other as it happens. They don't break apart until Eddie essentially passes out. Buck froze up in shock and had to be pulled down to safety, after which he proceeds to pull Eddie to him. They take so much time to focus on Eddie and Buck looking at each other. And when the focus is solely on Buck he doesn’t hear anything, it’s muffled. All his focus is on Eddie. When he does come back to himself it’s to rescue Eddie. And the first thing out of Eddie’s mouth, to Buck, when they are in the ambulance is, “Are you hurt?” Buck is in tears telling Eddie to hang on and stay with him. When asked if he’s ok he outright says no, where normally Buck would lie and say he was fine. The camera focus was once again deliberately on them and not a group or wide shot. That’s often, again, used with love interests to keep focus and show importance specifically with those characters. The level of emotion is that of love interests.

This post on tumblr made an interesting comparison between how this scene was shot between Buck and Eddie and how a shooting scene was shot between Willow and her girlfriend from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Cinematically it’s shot very similarly, from camera angles, to where each pair is standing, the blood spatter, facial expressions, reactions. It’s a loved one potentially being lost. It ended much worse for Willow but Buck didn’t know if Eddie was going to die or not. Willow and Buck even share an expression of shock and pain as they watch their loved one being taken away. I really do recommend checking out this post.

Buck assumed Taylor was there for a comment. He’s shaking, still in tears, but saying he needs to tell Chris. Buck is the one to tell Chris, he was going to go straight to him still covered in Eddie’s blood if Taylor hadn’t been there to help him out. Buck could have told Ana and let her tell Chris but he was one the to do it. Chris took it better than Buck and in fact comforts him as Buck breaks down when Bobby tells him Eddie is out of surgery and it went well. Chris hugs him and tells him it’s going to be ok. The thought of losing Eddie seems to be a huge deal for Buck as this isn’t the first time he’s had a breakdown over almost losing Eddie. It’s a bigger deal than losing just about anyone else in his life save for Maddie. And yet…once again Buck is showing more raw emotion for Eddie than for anyone else, even Maddie. Like how love interests who are the love of each other’s lives react.Buck also is the one to stay with Chris while Eddie recovers from surgery, sleeping on Eddie’s couch. Ana waits for news at the hospital and Buck is the one with Chris. Not Eddie’s girlfriend. Buck. We also learn that Buck snores, not sure what to do with this yet either but we know it. Thanks, Chris.

Buck went up that construction tower to the injured man while the snipper was still out there another thing buck did that makes it seem like he’s the expendable one. Thinking he should be the one to get shot because he doesn’t have anyone like the others do. But he does have Chris which is why Eddie tells him. Buck said it would have been better if he had been shot, well Eddie disagrees. Tells him Buck matters, to THEM. Bobby thinks Buck will never change – he will always be the guy who thinks before he acts. Eddie gives him a reason to change.

Buck finally gets kissed by Taylor after he risked his life. Their relationship is based on fear. Fear of being alone. Buck almost lost Eddie. Taylor wanted more meaningful relationships in her life as she felt alone lately too. Buck was in no state of mind to be dealing with something romantic/physical with Taylor. Like I said before this was a doomed from the start relationship..

When Eddie is awake we see Buck not go after Taylor after they had a moment, rush to the hospital, and sprint his way to Eddie. Buck and Eddie share a look and the way they set up Ana in that scene really makes it look like Eddie and Buck are the couple and not Eddie and Ana. The camera angles in particular reflect this. Ana was shielding Eddie from Buck’s view and she steps aside so their eyes can meet. That is very common cinematography with on screen couples. That whole sequence of scenes was very romantically charged. A sequence you would see with love interests.

Eddie, still concerned with Buck, asks if he’s doing ok after talking to Chris when he’s the one lying in the hospital bed. Which is essentially Buck’s point to Eddie. Not to mention Buck’s guilt for not holding it together around Chris but Eddie was just happy Buck was there for Chris when he couldn’t be. Buck stepped up and he didn’t have to. This is when Buck lets it slip that he thinks it would have been better for Chris if he had been the one to have been shot.

That leads us to have the most memorable scene from this episode. Eddie breaking the news to Buck that he is Chris’s legal guardian should anything ever happen to him. Not Eddie’s parents. Buck. Buck told Eddie he thought it would be better had he been the one to have been shot and not Eddie, which was the reason Eddie felt he needed to tell him. Not because he wants Buck to be careful, but of course he does, but because he hates that Buck thinks his life doesn't matter. Because it does very much matter to Eddie and to Chris and Eddie wants to make that clear. Because he is not expendable. Out of everyone in his life, including his family, Eddie want’s Buck to raise Chris should something ever happen to him. He didn’t ask Buck beforehand, Eddie knew he wouldn’t say no.

Eddie knows how much Buck loves Chris, how much he will fight for Chris, for what is best for Chris. He knows Buck would never stop trying. He was reckless throughout the episode and Bobby even snaps at him for it. Eddie didn't know that but he knew he couldn’t let Buck feel like he should have been shot instead. Eddie even calls him Evan to get the point across. Eddie tells Buck no one will fight for his son as much he would. He is telling Buck that he thinks he is what would be best for Christopher. Buck is the person who Eddie thinks will fight for his son as much as he would. Not his family. Buck. Buck knows what’s best for his son. The fact he didn’t tell Buck, that he just knew he’d do it, says a lot. I’m not sure if Eddie was afraid to tell him, the why behind that is still unclear, but Eddie held onto that for a year. He’s had it in his head for a year that Buck is what’s best for Chris. Eddie has felt this way for some time, it’s not new or a surprise to Eddie. But to us and to Buck it was.

And when Buck and Eddie return to Eddie’s house Buck has that smile he often gets when looking at Eddie and Chris.

We also had some Bobby/Athena and Buck/Eddie parallels. Eddie is shot and Buck is there to pull him to safety. Bobby is shot and Athena is there to take down the suspect. To get her partner back. I believe her words, getting her partner back. Partner is used on this show for platonic and romantic context. A lot of parallels there with Buck and Eddie. Buck was so upset he couldn’t save his partner from getting shot. The way they talk about Athena and Bobby being partners. Buck is Eddie’s partner, someone he reacts to much like Athena and Bobby do when one is in danger.

Season five changes the game a little bit. The first episode of the season doesn't have much for Buck and Eddie but we do see Ana and Eddie start to fall apart, not unexpected, in fact I expected it. Eddie is really defensive about being invited to Ana’s sisters baby christening. Buck, Hen, and Chim are telling him it’s a big step and he’s trying to not hear it, to avoid it. He doesn’t want things to be moving forward or getting more serious. He’s not ready but not willing to admit it yet.

Eddie had a panic attack and didn’t tell Buck. He tells Buck everything but hides that from him. Why? He’s afraid of the answer, that being with Ana isn’t what he wants. The doctor even says he’s repressing things. What all is he repressing? Those panic attacks were from thinking about a future with Ana. He sees a cardiologist and when Buck finds out he doesn't drop it until Eddie tells him it was just panic attacks. Eddie didn't want to talk about what was going on with him but as usual Buck gets it out of him. We see Eddie really start to question what it is he wants. Ana should be perfect for him, she’s perfect on paper, yet the thought of a future with her sends him to the ER.

In episode two of season five we see Buck see something is clearly off with Ana and Eddie when she brings Chris by the station. He once again doesn’t seem to want to call Ana his girlfriend or make it seem too serious. But we have Buck happily bringing Chris into a hug. But he gave Eddie so many looks about the way he was acting with Ana, looks that said you’re not ok we will talk later. We also see Buck telling Eddie he needs to tell Ana how he really feels because he knows what it’s like to have someone not feel the same. And Buck makes a good point in telling Eddie that saying you think you’ll just stick it out is no way to talk about someone you’re supposed to be in love with. Telling Eddie just because Chris likes her, it’s not enough and it’s not fair to Ana to “stick it out” if his heart really isn’t in it.

This is also the moment when we get a glimpse of just how much time Buck spends with Christopher off screen. Eddie said Chris and Buck go to the zoo all the time which is why he had so much memorized about it. No other best friends on this show are given any emphasis on spending time alone with their friend’s kids. Not like Buck and Chris.

Episode three of season five, the episode that gives me some hope that all these romantic tropes and subtext might get some follow through, maybe. We see Eddie and Ana break up. He took Buck’s advice and told Ana he just doesn’t feel the way he hoped he would. He knows Chris loves her and he figured so would he over time but it didn't happen. This is also the most emotion I've seen out of Ana. They’ve made her out to be this perfect on paper character and that always bothered me about her. She essentially had no flaws. This was the most human we have ever seen her. But now Eddie has realized that what he loved was the idea of Ana. The idea of this perfect family that she kind of brought to the table. And it turns out he didn't want that, with her.

I think he most definitely wants someone in his life, someone to have a family dynamic with, and if the writers are smart, will lead it to Buck. He has a lot of what he wants in a relationship already with Buck. It’s not something all that subtle, particularly to viewers.

In Past is Prologue, we see some one-sided things in Buck and Taylor’s relationship. It starts in past episodes but Taylor isn’t really there for Buck. Eddie was the one to be there after getting punched by Chim. she’s never there after a shift, always choosing work. Buck goes out of his way to be there for her when she goes home for her father’s court thing. But she doesn’t take much interest in Buck until there’s a story to be had. Sure, she did try with Chim leaving, telling Buck that it’s not always about him. Which wasn’t great advice for Buck as he definitely took it the wrong way. But the level on investment just wasn’t the same between them.

Bobby also made a good point in this episode. Buck doesn’t talk to the woman he’s dating. Yet he talks to Eddie about how he’s feeling in his relationships, more than the women themselves. Eddie does the same thing.

Then we have Eddie wanting to leave the 118 at the end of the first half of season five in, Wrapped in Red Christmas. He is once again doing something for Chris and not for himself. While doing what’s best for your child is very understandable, there are still things in life that should be your choice. Eddie moved them to L.A. because he thought that was what was best for both of them. Being a firefighter, being with the 118, made Eddie happy. Chris had a moment of panic and Eddie immediately reacted to it rather than trying to explain to Chris that life comes with risks. That he could die just driving to work. Or just talking to Chris about what he’s so afraid of and helping him be less afraid. Eddie has a lot of issues he needs to deal with. Buck had a good point saying Chris just missed his his mom, since Christmas was always big with Shannon. And rather than getting to the root of Chris’s fear Eddie reacted with a rash decision.

We start to see them come out in the second half of season five. He also didn’t tell Buck first nor did he tell him alone. I think that is because Buck could have talked him out of it. And when Eddie does tell Buck it’s with Hen and Ravi. But the once again pan to Buck first. Focus on his face first. Not a group shot.

Eddie is clearly miserable going into the second half of the season after leaving the 118 and the many things he’s afraid of, things he doesn’t talk about, are coming out. Once again Buck is aware something is wrong with Eddie. He tried to look happy during dinner with Taylor but Buck knew he wasn’t ok. But Buck didn’t have time to push him. It was interesting dialogue to have Buck tell Eddie you don't need to pretend with me. That’s dialogue I would normally hear, again, with love interests. It’s usually followed by a breakdown of some sort, oh hey guess who has one coming. And the love interest helps them through it. It bonds them more. It’s deliberate, that kind of dialogue.

Not to mention that whole dinner scene with Buck, Eddie, Taylor, and Chris was quite awkward. Taylor felt out of place, barely touching her food. All the conversation was seemingly between Buck, Eddie, and Chris. They had a dynamic going that Taylor certainly did not feel a part of. The framing of the scenes, the way it seemed to focus on Buck and Eddie smiling at each other. Taylor seemed tense, out of place. Buck seemed at home. And when Buck says he had dinner with Eddie and he seemed different, there’s no mention of Taylor. It’s dialogue that could easily be included. “Taylor and I had dinner with Eddie last night, he seemed different.”

Lucy’s introduction to the show is basically mirroring Eddie and Bucks first day. The bomb in a truck? Except where Eddie put trust in Buck, Lucy just did what she wanted. Didn’t play much as a team.

Then we have Eddie finally feeling useful and good about his job and Josh had to come in and remind him he’s not really one of the dispatchers. That he’s a guest in this house. So when Eddie was going to meet Buck and company for drinks he was already feeling left out and alone.

And when Eddie showed up at the bar and was asked if he was with the firefighters, he says no I'm not. Eddie is feeling like he’s not part of the team, of the family. But more importantly he feels apart from Buck. They focus on Buck laughing. Buck’s face. We don't see anyone else’s face in focus. It’s Buck. So, we, as viewers, are led to think that Buck is what Eddie is focusing on. Happy. Drunk. Without him. He feels disconnected from his partner, his best friend, the person he’s closest to. He looks so broken, on the verge of tears, in that scene.

And we see how broken he is even more when he snaps at Bobby. Eddie and Chris have a sweet moment, Chris tells him he should be a firefighter back with the 118. Tells Eddie if he can be brave so can he. Then we see Eddie have an emotional outburst at Bobby. Telling him to go hell, telling him he has a hundred something bodies on his back, and he is denying him a transfer back to the 118? Eddie was feeling a lot of things, a lot of rejection. And Bobby likely amplified those feelings. He took it out on Bobby.

I saw what happened with Eddie in this first 5B episode as Buck’s biggest fear but rather than it being Buck it was happening to Eddie. I think Buck and Eddie may have some similar fears of abandonment, of being left behind. Not being enough. Trying to be what they think everyone around them wants them to be. Yet, when they are together they are enough, they are happy. Eddie looks the most content, the most himself, when he’s just with Buck and Chris. Same with Buck.

That same night at the bar is the night that Buck and Lucy kiss. That was a very telling moment for his and Taylor’s relationship. I have issues with Lucy keeping the drinks coming with Buck, but I think she would have stopped her flirting had Buck just said he had a girlfriend. He had plenty of opportunities. That’s a big sign that Buck isn’t as in love with Taylor as he thinks. He made a drunk mistake but he also intentionally omitted information that would have stopped that kiss, maybe not the drinks but for sure the kiss.

Now let’s talk about Lucy. Lucy represents everything Buck doesn’t want to be. She is like the worst version of himself. Everyone keeps saying she is like a female Buck but she’s not just a woman like Buck, she’s a woman who’s like Buck when he was at his worst when it came to relationships. She probably will only bring out the worst in Buck, not the best. We see her goad Buck into taking risks with the bomb. Buck was hesitant or maybe more cautious. The opposite of how Eddie is with Buck. Eddie is grounding, keeps Buck more level.

We also had a telling conversation between Buck and Maddie. She says that she’s the one who runs and Buck is the one who settles. And he always has in any relationship he’s been in.

Focusing just a little bit more on Lucy for a moment, Let’s talk about the bar scene in some depth. She kept buying Buck drinks, Buck is too nice to say no. After many of those drinks she corners Buck and kisses him. Now, where do we see that a lot? Usually shows give us this dynamic but the other way. The man buying a woman drinks until she’s drunk enough to want to sleep with him. Buck is a polite guy, he’s also got a lot going on himself right now. Maddie, Chim, and Jee are still gone, Eddie is clearly not ok and not talking to him about it, he’s missing all four of them, so Buck’s emotionally vulnerable. Not to mention that call probably was reminiscent of Buck and Eddie’s first call to Buck. He’s reminded of the time he and Eddie promised to have each other’s back. Reminded of the day he and Eddie really connected. And now he’s feeling such a disconnect from Eddie. It hurts. Plus the adrenaline from the call. It all leads to Buck making a mistake.

Now, Lucy doesn’t know those things but it doesn’t change the fact that she is behaving a lot like a man trying to get with the hot chick at the bar. Though Buck could have avoided most of this had he just told Lucy he had a girlfriend. She likely would have backed off the flirting and maybe plying Buck with drinks. For someone who’s supposed to be in love with Taylor, it doesn’t show in his actions. It’s a telling moment for his relationship that he isn’t as in love with Taylor as he thinks he is. He made a drunk mistake but he also intentionally omitted information that would have stopped that kiss, maybe not the drinks but for sure the kiss.

I’m still unsure of the point of her character in the show outside a catalyst for Buck and Taylor to breakup. I don’t see her and Buck having any chemistry, friendship or other, after their bar mishap. Lucy is and would be a constant reminder of what he did to Taylor. Buck wouldn’t just stop feeling that guilt, he’s a character who feels and feels strongly good or bad. And honestly the way her character behaves, I’d rather not see any story with her, it leads me to not care.

And then we see Buck kiss, basically a worse version of Buck 1.0. Yes, she kissed him first but he kissed back. Even drunk that felt out of character for Buck. The only way it even makes any sense is all his overwhelming feelings surrounding Eddie, Maddie, and Chim plus things being not as great as he thinks with Taylor just lead up to this mistake. He was feeling too much and just wanted to feel good. He fell into an old habit, old coping mechanism.

To me, all this is telling that he is not as in love with Taylor as he claims he is. I doubt even a bit drunk Buck would have done that if he was with someone he truly loved. Or if he was in the functional relationship he thinks he’s in he wouldn’t have been so emotionally overwhelmed in the first place. He’d have someone to share his pain with. To help him. I know people make mistakes but Buck’s character has been building up to the exact opposite of this sort of thing. And even Buck 1.0 wasn’t a cheater. On top of all that he lied to Taylor about it. Instead of telling her he made a mistake he asked her to move in with him. He panicked hard because he didn’t want to hurt her but will inevitably hurt her more as a result. I don’t think Buck and Taylor are going to last until the end of the season. Like Eddie and Ana, Buck and Taylor just aren’t what the other is looking for. Not really.

Buck was describing his relationship with Taylor as functional. Functional doesn’t mean bad but it also doesn’t mean love. You can be in a functional relationship, like who you’re with, but not be romantically in love. Take an arranged marriage. Some are ok, functional, the couple likes each other. They have a decent life. But it’s still not a relationship built on romantic love. Something may always feel missing. Like Buck said to Eddie, is it enough? Is functional enough? They way it looks now, no. It’s not enough for Buck and he’s about to figure that out.

Now let’s move on to Fear-o-phobia. The episode that promised more Eddie content than we got. We did get some good moments with both Buck and Eddie, despite false advertising. Our opening scene has Hen and Chim talking. Hen and Chim give us a look at some good platonic best friends.

Now, Eddie. He is back in therapy with Frank and is being asked what he is afraid of. Eddie is of course evasive with an answer with Frank but based on Eddie he fears not being enough, he fears he’s failed Chris, his military unit, fears what he does is meaningless. Eddie pushes all these feelings down but Frank warns him there will be a breaking point and it will take himself and everyone around him with him. Frank suggests that Eddie should talk to someone who can understand what he’s been through before the proverbial box of feelings explodes.

Jump to Buck, he finally told Taylor he kissed someone else, another woman, but not that it was his new coworker Lucy. Quick moment to point out, they have Buck say “I kissed someone else, another woman.” There was an odd distinction there, like Buck had to clarify the someone else was a woman because perhaps it could have been a man. But here we find Buck still lying for some reason. Like, once again, he’s afraid of both hurting and losing Taylor so he still holds back some of the truth.

I had hoped this would be the moment Buck and Taylor end because they still do not have good romantic chemistry and Lucy seemed to be here as a catalyst for their breakup but it turns out Taylor forgives Buck and even says, because she is under the impression he kissed a random woman, that she wished she hadn’t known at all. That’s an odd take on Taylor’s part. I would have called it quits then and there with the information given. She didn’t even ask that many questions for a someone who is a journalist. I think Taylor isn’t the only one holding on to a relationship that she’s not fully in or in love in. She doesn’t appear to have anyone else in her life. She told Buck where is she supposed to go when she returns to the apartment. Well, most people can go crash at a friends, or hell, Taylor makes a lot of money she could even grab a hotel if need be. But the fact it doesn’t seem like Taylor has any friends she could turn to? Seems to me she is just as afraid of being alone as Buck is.

I also thought it was not fair of Taylor to accuse Buck of intentionally trapping her because now that she moved in she has nowhere to go. No place that is hers. That doesn’t mean he was doing it because then she would feel like she couldn’t walk away. He was scared of losing her but I don’t think he meant to make her feel trapped. I think the way Taylor frames it is harsh like it implies more malicious intent than Buck had. But he did sort of ask out of fear of losing herBut people move in together all the time, and it doesn’t always work out and both parties are left wondering what to do. No one trapped anyone. Often what happens is one party leave and go stay with a friend or family until a new place can be found. So why is Taylor meant to be an exception? She’s not. It just speaks to the level of her lack of support system, lack of friends.

Maddie points out in their second visit of the episode, that Buck settles. I think that’s important. Buck has been settling in every relationship that he’s been in. He always want’s more than what he actually is getting and he doesn’t seem to fight for what he actually does want. Likely because Buck has that fear of being left alone, so he settles for less. And the way he keeps talking about Taylor, it certainly feels like he’s settling. With Taylor he says it’s a functional relationship, as I’ve mentioned before, and that doesn't equate to being in love. He can love and care for Taylor but not be in love. He loves Bobby, Hen, Chim, but he isn’t in love with any of them.

Maddie also makes a good point, that if Buck had known Maddie was coming home he wouldn’t have asked Taylor to move in. That’s…not a sign your in love if you ask me. It means for sure he wasn’t ready to move in with and probably his feelings aren’t what he wants them to be. Also Taylor and Buck are so out of sync anytime they try to do something domestic together. She’s been staying with Buck many nights prior to moving in and she still doesn’t know the silverware situation? It’s awkward. As opposed to how well Buck seems to know Eddie’s home, Eddie’s kitchen. They feel in sync in the same way as say Bobby and Athena do in their home.

And at the end of the day, Taylor says no more secrets and Buck is still keeping some. They both say they want to make this work but neither are really being honest with themselves. You can’t make something work based on lies, based on a need to not be alone.

Now to the BIGGEST moment of the episode. Eddie’s breaking point and break down. Eddie goes to call one of his former unit members from his army days. It’s not good news when he calls and Eddie reaches his breaking point locked in his room. He destroys his room, probably punched a wall or two, and really scares Chris. As I guessed would happen, Chris calls Buck. That’s significant once again that in a crisis, Chris calls Buck. He knows he could call 9-1-1, but he chose Buck.

And Buck. When Chris calls the huge genuine happy smile on his face was adorable, though short lived. The minute he hears something is wrong, the panic in Chris’s voice, his face falls and he immediately leaves to go to Eddie’s. We don’t see Taylor, we don’t see Buck even mention to Taylor what he’s doing or where he’s going. When he gets to Eddie’s he had to have used his own key to get in, just more emphasis on his comfort and trust with the Diaz’s. An interesting parallel this episode pointed out to me was how Buck and Eddie comfort Chris very similarly. They way they kneel down, embrace, hold his head. Buck likely picked up cues from Eddie but it is telling that Buck unconsciously adapted the same techniques as Eddie, techniques he knows Chris would be familiar with. And the first thing Buck does is make sure Chris is ok.

Now to the big Buddie portion of the evening. Buck approaches the door, says, “Hey Eddie, it’s me.” That’s language again often reserved for couples, love interests. It’s me, comes with so many strong feelings used to emphasis the bond between someone. To show that there is something special between the two. Buck used this earlier when he told Eddie, “You don’t have to pretend with me”. Then when he finds the door locked he looks panicked while trying to keep calm for Eddie and Chris. He breaks the door down and even looks as if he has tears in his eyes himself when he sees the disaster that is Eddie’s room, worried what he might find as we know Eddie is a weak point for Buck’s panic. He approaches Eddie, looking rightfully worried and wanting to reach out to comfort him but he hesitates. I think he knows, maybe not consciously, perhaps that in the moment he should wait and let Eddie indicate what he needs. It gave Eddie some control in the situation. I would have personally loved a hug out of them but I like that Buck let Eddie lead the situation in that respect.

Eddie, breaking down, makes eye contact with Buck. He opens up to Buck, lets him in. Buck kept his voice gentle even though he looked like he was a little out of his element. But he was determined to be there for Eddie. I was so disappointed we didn’t see how Buck helped Eddie calm down or what Buck said to Chris before he put him to bed. Those would have been powerful and emotional scenes. Ryan gave such a great performance. So, Eddie was supposed to talk to someone who understood what he’d been through and he took that to mean the people he served with. Maybe that would have been good or what Frank meant but he ends up talking to Buck at the end of the day. Buck, while doesn’t know exactly, does understand a little at least. This is the moment Buck realizes Eddie truly needs him and he will be there for Eddie and Chris this time. And Eddie finally gets out something that he’s truly afraid of, with Buck. This whole scene was framed like love interests, the chemistry between Buck and Eddie really came through. The familiarity Buck has in Eddie’s house comes through. It’s a scene I think needed more time but it was great all the same as it showed us more of the connection shared between Buck and Eddie.

And in the next episode, Dumb Luck when see Buck continue to be there for Eddie. Eddie has a nightmare, waking to find Bobby there with him. Turns out Buck had taken Chris to school, letting Eddie continue to sleep but in an effort to not leave him alone had called Bobby.

Later, Eddie has therapy with Frank and once again leaves exhausted. He comes home to find Buck cleaning up after helping Chris with homework. It’s all very domestically shot. Eddie coming home to his partner after a rough day. Eddie asks if it’s all worth it, the job, and Buck once again goes out of his way to be there for Eddie. To help Eddie. And to help Eddie had asked Taylor for a favor. He takes him to see Charlie, the boy Eddie helped save before getting shot. Buck explained to him he has a second chance because of Eddie. He’s happy now, has a good life, all because of Eddie. And Eddie admits he would save Charlie all over again because it was the right thing to do. And now thanks to Buck, Eddie got to see how he impacts the people he saves. What that second chance can mean. Also, Buck drew an adorable heart and I love Eddie being surprised thinking Chris drew it.

Now onto FOMO. There isn’t much significant with Buck or Eddie in this episode outside some conversations with May. May explains FOMO to Eddie. How it means Fear Of Missing Out. It started out by explaining the patient on a call may have been lying about who she was because she felt she was missing out of a life she could have had if she had been born someone else or made different choices. May then askes Eddie if he’d ever wondered about stuff like that. So, this is once more pointing out, a bit subtler, that he hasn’t lived a life for him. The way he takes a drink and avoids May’s eyes as he says not really indicates that he has thought about it, likely recently. Wondered what his life would be if he hadn’t tried to be someone he thought he had to be. May tells Eddie something similar, that she’s living her life for her mom and she’s losing herself. Something Eddie probably relates to. He did the same thing since he was a child, became someone he had to be to protect and take care of those around him.

May Day, another episode with minimal Buck and Eddie moments. This time we have a conversation between Eddie and Linda. She notices he’s not totally happy behind a desk and tells him that God will send him where he’s supposed to be in this world. And later in the episode when Eddie is back in the field with Buck, with the 118, it looked like he got he was remembered where he was supposed to be. Linda tells him God has spoken, and Eddie smiles. He feels at home again. Not to mention he got to get back at Josh this episode telling him he’s now a guest in his house.

Hero Complex has a few moments we can talk about. The first is Buck talking to Eddie while he packs for his trip to Texas. He and Chris are going down for Eddie’s father’s retirement party and Buck is just there. He wasn’t his ride so he was just apparently hanging out? He and Eddie talked about his family, concerns Eddie had about his father. What should he bring to wear? Buck would ask things like what happens when your dad pushes all the right buttons to get under Eddie’s skin and Eddie being Eddie responds with something a little sarcastic. Run away to a nice hotel with a pool. Buck is laughing and fiddling with some of Christopher’s dinosaur toys. This another scene that’s shot in an incredibly domestic way. Buck could have been Eddie’s ride to the airport but they don't actually specify what Buck was doing there.

Then we have Eddie in Texas, where we learn just how far back Eddie had to be someone else. Since he was ten years old he’s trying to be who others wanted or needed him to be. At ten his father told him he needed to be the man of the house. So, he never got to be a kid. He never learned who he was when he was young. And then he joined the army and had a kid and his life became about being able to provide for his family, being the husband he thought Shannon needed, and being the best father he could for Chris. Eddie and his dad to talk and seem to leave things on good terms at least so he has some progress there. Not being at odds with his parents may help him allow himself to figure himself out just al little more. If he’s not afraid he’s disappointing them.

Next, we move back to Buck and Taylor. When Hen and Chim come over to discuss the Jonah situation and get a little help from Taylor they are hesitant to tell the full story. They know Taylor loves a good story and has a history of using the 118 for one. Buck gets her to promise that the conversation was all off the record and she wouldn’t run the story but of course it wasn’t and she did. This was the breaking point for Buck and at the end of the episode we see him leave Taylor a very upset voicemail.

Starting Over, the season finale. Like many previous there isn’t too much but we do have the breakup of Buck and Taylor. They avoid each other a good portion of the episode, Buck not sure he can face her without being angry. We see him talking to Eddie about it helping Eddie fix his room. And once again they bring up losing who you are. We also have Buck literally helping Eddie fix his mess. The mess Ana had left him in. Eventually he does confront Taylor and he realizes that he was settling, they want different things, and he wants a fresh start that isn’t with her. While she does look sad initially she seems to be ok when she brings Buck his apartment key. We also see Eddie is doing better, gives Bobby a pep talk, and ends the episode back with the 118. We had Ravi make an excellent point this episode, that what you want in a partner is someone who has your back, will stand up for you. This was about Hen and Karen but of course it applies to all couples.  Buck didn’t have that with Taylor, she never had his back. But Eddie did, always does. It’s been a common thing the show points out with Buck and Eddie, that they have each other’s backs.

We start season six with Buck and Eddie being single, and are back to being partners in the field again. Things are finally looking back up for both men. They will get to take time to figure things about themselves.

*More updates to come as episodes air* 

The conclusion here?  

Now to me this all feels more like Booth and Bones, Shawn and Juliet, Amy and Jake in regards to a relationship. Not Jake and Charles or Shawn and Gus. Or say Brennan and Angela from Bones, an amazing female friendship. They make deliberate choices that feel like the set-up of a romance rather than best friends. 9-1-1 has also made a point to have characters like Josh or Hen confirm they are in fact gay. They have very pointed statements to clarify. The opposite is true for buck and Eddie. They’ve gone out of their way to have it open ended. They don’t confirm or deny being said to be into the same sex or just into the opposite.

Buck and Eddie definitely have an established relationship. They aren’t dating, at least yet as they are not a canon couple, but Buck has become a parental figure in Christopher’s life, regardless. And Eddie doesn’t let that happen with just anyone. And hell, they have more actual chemistry than most actual tv couples, in general not even just on 9-1-1. I’m always a bit surprised when people say they don’t see how anyone could think Buck and Eddie should be a couple or how they don't see that they look like a couple. You don’t have to ship them or want them to be in a relationship but saying you can’t even see why people do? That confuses me, because the show is really hitting us hard with romantic tv tropes. You can have male friendships without romantic subtext. Like Jake and Charles from Brooklyn 99 or Shawn and Gus from Psych or JD and Turk from Scrubs. Also platonic female relationships like Angela and Brennan from Bones. No one ships these friends seriously, or it’s a very small portion of people if it happens, because there is no romantic subtext or tropes. Fans have nothing to want out of it, nothing to root for as there is no romantic chemistry.

If this is just slow burn, like say Booth and Brennan were on Bones then fine. I get it. All these little moments were just part of the buildup and that’s fine. Booth and Brennan took about six seasons before they became a couple. And they dated other people while still having those underlying feelings for each other. I would be ok if this is the route Buddie is taking.

However, if these tropes go nowhere and Buddie doesn’t develop, then this show is probably going to take the title for best queerbaiting show on network television. The show may not have started out meaning to write them so romantically charged but after awhile, after having it pointed out, it becomes intentional. The writers and show runner’s can no longer say they don’t know what they are doing. It’s way past that. The show runners did an interview for season 5B and talked about Buck and Eddie. There was so much disingenuous talk in that article. If you want all the details click the link below to read my full blog.

https://www.hobbiesandtea.com/fandom-essays/https/wwwhobbiesandteacom/takeon911bossesarticle

But essentially, the show runners try to claim that it’s ok to interpret Buck and Eddie the way we want but it’s not the intent for them to be romantic. Well, no, because after four seasons on screen together, after four seasons of knowing how your writing and scene set ups are interpreted, you no longer have the excuse of it wasn't our intent. If it truly wasn't the intent, then the way the characters are written would change. This is more trying to have their cake and eat it too. The show runners claim not to be stringing fans along with Buck and Eddie but that is exactly what they are doing and I have no doubt they know it. Buck and Eddie often come up in the writer’s room according to the show runners. They know how many fans see them as written romantic rather than platonic. There is definitely intention behind what is going on. Nothing is an accident in film. Dialogue, scene set up, lighting, music, everything is thought out. It’s not a surprise that new love interests don’t hold a candle to the chemistry Buck and Eddie share because they are written like love interests.  

And in all honesty, I want Eddie to have someone who loves his son as much as he does because his son is his world. And who loves him too. And Buck already does that. And Chris loves Buck. And I want Buck to have that family that loves him because family is clearly something important to Buck and something he did not have growing up. He had Maddie until she left too. And he has all that with Eddie and Chris, that family. They could easily be each other’s home. They made something wonderful, it didn’t just fall into their laps. It’s been four seasons of work and build up.

 One of my favorite moments in the show was when the 118 was called to a scene with two elderly gay men. Buck was talking to one of the men and asked him basically how he got so lucky, how he found something so wonderful with his husband. The man tells Buck, you don't find it son, you make it. And the way I see it, Buck and Eddie have made something and fans see it. We SEE this life Buck and Eddie have built together. It didn’t happen overnight. But their lives are intertwined, they depend on each on, they love each other. And the way the writing has been, it’s not written as platonic love. They wrote something that could be amazing. Buck and Eddie could have this amazing endgame relationship built on trust, chemistry, love, and hard work. It would be one of the best tv relationships, in my opinion, because of how much buildup these two have had. How much work they’ve put into the relationship. It would be worth every bit of struggle to see them succeed in the end. To see them happy together, as a family.

And That’s The Tea

Bonus- Link to a Buddie video edit I made ^-^