#lemotmo's thoughts and ruminations

[lemotmo]

Thoughts on 911 8x17...

Disclaimer: I am operating on 2 hours of sleep, because I watched 911 live and it airs at 2 am where I am. So please, do forgive any incoherency or inconsistency.

Okay, where to begin?

First things first: This truly felt like an episode of the 911 TV show I fell in love with all those years ago. It was THAT good. It NEEDED to be THAT good as well. The last two episodes were bad and we needed a winner. We got it. YAY!

There are so many things to talk about here.

One of the first things I noticed was that this episode was made up of family and found family.

We had 4 clear distinctive family groups:

1. Athena and the kids, with some Karen & Athena and Hen & Athena thrown into the mix.

2. Hen, Karen and the kids with (again) some Karen & Athena and Hen & Athena thrown into the mix.

3. Maddie, Chimney and the kids (no Jee, but their unborn child was there) with some Hen & Chimney thrown into the mix.

4. Buck, Eddie, Christopher and aunt Pepa with some Hen & Eddie and Karen & Eddie thrown into the mix.

(The rest of the post is under a cut, so I don't clog anyone's dash)

All of them were struggling with Bobby’s death in their own way. I’ll talk about all of them briefly, but I’ll dive deeper into the last one, since it’s about the Buckley-Diaz family and I love them:

1. Athena was trying to stay strong and she mostly succeeded, but she couldn’t hide her irrational anger at Chimney.

To be fair, I completely understand where she is coming from. It has to hurt to see Chimney running around, doing perfectly fine, when she lost her husband because he wanted to save his friend.

It isn’t fair to Chimney, but it’s understandable why she reacts that way.

I love how we saw her with Hen and Karen and how great their friendship is.

I love Athena when she has to respond to silly calls like the laundry call. Angela shines in scenes like that.

2. Hen is struggling with the whole captaincy thing. Part of her wants it, but another part doesn’t. I know she called the Chief that she doesn’t want the job, but I wonder if she won’t call him back to tell him she has changed her mind in 8x18?

Because if it isn’t Hen, then who?

Unless they find someone from outside of the 118 or Bobby comes back somehow? (Which I still believe is a big possibility.)

I don’t know…

I still think it might be Hen in the end. Even if Bobby does come back. He won’t want to be Captain anymore.

3. Poor Chimney. He didn’t ask Bobby to save him, but he feels guilty anyway. That has to hurt.

To be honest though, I think Bobby would have saved him even if he had been single with no kids. Bobby is just THAT kind of guy.

I love how we got to see Maddie supporting Chimney in this episode. This was something 8x16 lacked completely.

4. Ah. Wow. This episode really brought home once again just how magical and real the chemistry is between Buck and Eddie. Nothing feels forced which it did with other pairings this show has thrust upon us in the past.

Let’s break down the Buckley-Diaz family scenes chronologically:

A. The episode opening with Buck’s flashback. The way the lighting changed as soon as we flashed to the now. It went from warm and cozy to cold and sterile.

It’s interesting how this flashback was mainly focused on three people: Buck, Bobby and Eddie. Buck of course because he was the one daydreaming. Bobby for obvious reasons and Eddie because he hadn’t been in the fire station for a while, even when Bobby was still alive. They got most focus, which means that Buck isn’t just struggling with Bobby’s death, but also with Eddie’s imminent departure back to El Paso.

It also seems that a lot of the scenes in the fire station were cut. There was no talk with Gerrard… thank god. There was no grocery shopping and lots of take out in the fridge scene. It was definitely the right choice to cut those scenes.

B. Next up was the Hen, Karen and Eddie scene. This was very interesting. We opened on them talking about Buck. The way Eddie talks about Buck and how worried he is, has Karen asking the right questions here. He briefly touches on how he hadn’t spoken to Bobby in two weeks and there’s a bit of that Eddie guilt peeking through. It’ll explode in that later scene with Buck.

I also liked how Hen tried to reassure him that he was building a whole new life in El Paso and that was okay. It was obvious that Eddie didn’t want that at all. Being back in LA, being back ‘home’ as Karen repeated. (Which… I love Karen so much. She is soooo perceptive.)

LA is Eddie’s home, yes. But the way he talks about Buck all the time? This scene definitely implied that Eddie’s home isn’t just the city, the people and the 118. It’s specifically Buck.

C. The Buck confession scene was something all right. I was so surprised that it was Buck in that confessional though and not Eddie. But I guess it does make sense since Buck is trying to find Bobby in everything he does.

I love how he had his phone at the ready, because he had no idea what to say. Typically Buck! The way he felt so much like the Buck we know from previous seasons was so refreshing. He is struggling, but he is still very much the Buck we all fell in love with.

His ‘talk��� with Bobby was so beautiful. It felt so honest and raw. Oliver’s acting was on point here.

The way he is trying to honour Bobby’s last wish, trying to take care of everyone. And then Bobby’s sign! It’s such a Buck thing to believe that Bobby sent him the earthquake sign.

D. I love how Buck recognised the ‘dentist’ lady from that previous episode where she was blue. He has such a good memory.

E. Then we get to THAT Buddie scene. First of all, they are living the domestic dream together. Making arrangements on who is doing what, like going out for groceries. Love that!

The way Buck is obviously upset over Eddie going back to El Paso and the job offer. He is trying hard to be supportive, but by the tone of his voice we all know (Eddie included) that Buck isn’t all that happy about it.

The way they got into this argument, because Eddie didn’t tell Buck about the job offer and Buck found out through Ravi. It’s poetic. Eddie’s guilty little face and his ‘I was going to tell you.’ was sooooo husbands coded.

I love Eddie lashing out at Buck and using the same words from their previous fights: “You make it all about you.” It’s some kind of a defence mechanism, so he doesn’t have to deal with his own emotions. So he focuses on others and tries to hurt them, so he can forget about his own hurt for a while. It’s a classic avoidance technic. We’ve all been there.

It’s something that Eddie has done before with Buck, so no matter what happens on 911, we can always count on Buddie continuity.

Eddie knows that Buck has been spiralling, but he didn’t know how to break through. He’s upset, so he lashes out. It’s a human thing to do. So I better not see any people talking trash about Eddie and how he is evil and abusive for hurting Buck.

I already saw a few of those bad takes on Twitter. Mainly from the BT people though. Most of them want Eddie to stay as far away from Buck as possible, for obvious reasons. With Eddie there, T doesn’t stand a chance. So it’s mainly about that. But still… such a terrible take.

Have any of you ever been in a fight with someone you love before? This is the way it goes! You lash out to hurt the other person, because you are hurting as well. Eddie has no malicious intent here. He is just frustrated with himself. He doesn’t want to go back to El Paso, he wants to be in LA. He doesn’t really want the El Paso job either. He worries that Buck will spiral out of control when he’s gone. So what does he do? In true Eddie style, he lashes out.

What follows then is an absolute masterclass of acting by Ryan Guzman. Oh my fucking god! That man can ACT! He is so good! I’ve always known he was good, because we have seen flashes of brilliance like this before, but this one took the cake. He is waaaaay up there as one of the best actors on 911. Not even kidding about this. He is sooooo good. 😌😌😌

That hidden anger and guilt and the way he grabbed Buck, his face filled with despair and rage and… so many emotions all at the same time? The tears, the bending over the table, the hand gestures and him unable to look at Buck for too long… it was brilliant.

It was helped along with the wonderful writing, direction and cinematography of the scene. Oliver and Ryan both went with it and their natural chemistry shone. It was such a great parallel to the BT scene in 8x11, in the same kitchen. The way Tommy seems to avoid the confrontation by running away every single time things get real and how Eddie stands his ground, unwilling to leave and giving back to Buck as good as he can. It was poetic cinema. And in the same exact spot in the kitchen as well.

The flashback to Eddie getting that phone call broke me in a thousand tiny pieces. The way he broke down crying and how he explained the terror of having to tell your child another loved one died. Trust me… I’ve been there. Telling your kid that someone they loved died? It is even worse than having to deal with the grief yourself. You worry and fester on how you’ll tell them and how they’ll take the news. You just want to protect them from harm and you realise you can’t. It’s a terrible feeling. I felt for Eddie in that scene.

The way Ryan just broke down in tears and his ‘He saved my life’… man, so good.

And Buck just standing there, realising that Eddie was hurting as well, but he hadn’t shown it because that is what Eddie does. Oliver’s acting here was also on point. His facial expressions when Eddie broke down were so good.

And of course his ‘If I was there, could I have made a difference?’ triggered Buck’s guilt again.

Oh these beautiful idiots. They are made for each other.

But what a great scene. I understand why Kat (journalist) said that this was her all time favourite scene in the entire series of 911. It is mine now too. Ryan Guzman, the actor that you are…

F. The morning after, when Buck walked into the living room, only to find the room empty, blankets folded with a little note on top? That was so Eddie and Shannon coded. The difference is that Eddie came back. He had always intended to come back to Buck while Shannon didn’t come back to Eddie and Chris.

Buck’s ‘jerk’! EEEE! It was sooooo good! I love how they decided to add that scene. It was perfect! It fit so well in their narrative.

Side note: how did Eddie even fit on that couch to sleep on it? It looks so much smaller than the previous couch and he is a big guy.

G. The way Buck saved that woman from her bathroom? The way he seems most at ease and happy in those kinds of situations? This makes me feel pretty sure they won’t go for Captain Buck anytime soon. The man loves those dangerous calls waaaay too much. As a Captain he wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.

H. Buck arriving home and Eddie just standing there WAITING for him!!! AAAAH! That was such a great scene. A clear call back to the ‘detour on sunset’ scene.

Again… this scene is so husbands coded. The way Eddie clearly realised that he had been an asshole to Buck the day before and when he woke up that morning he knew he had to make it up to him. So what did he do? He made sure that Buck’s favourite kid ever came back to LA!

Once again the parallel to Tommy walking out and never coming back, while Eddie -even if he does walk out- always comes back to Buck. Just… perfection.

That Buck & Chris reunion made me cry so hard! And Eddie looking on so fondly! I mean… that is a man in love you guys. I think that, on some level, he already knows it. It’s all there on his face.

Chris and Buck man! Pfffff… they look so alike when they are next to each other. It’s uncanny! The show knows this and they are using this to show us just how much this family belongs together.

Aunt Pepa!!! Complimenting Buck for his cooking in THAT kitchen, heavily implying it’s still the DIAZ KITCHEN and Buck has a spot there! Evancito!!!! Carinõ!!!! WHAT IN THE FANFIC HELL IS GOING ON IN THAT SCENE???!!!!!

And Chris looking at Eddie in the end, him looking back with that smile? This just screams domesticity and love. Eddie and Chris love Buck so much.

The way we see Buck smiling and obviously feeling so much better. Eddie knows that Buck needed to get outside of his own headspace and gain some perspective, away from his Bobby spiralling. It worked so well.

Especially that aunt Pepa talk did wonders for him. The way Buck was staring at Eddie and Chris and Pepa automatically using ‘our Eddie’ in their conversation, including Buck into their family? Perfect!

Aunt Pepa talked to Buck the way his mom should have talked to him. Telling him he should face his grief head on and own it. They are a family your honour!

Some miscellaneous stuff:

I still don’t really like the way this show redeemed Gerrard, but I do like him in this episode. He has finally understood that it’s important to respect the firefighters under his command. Bobby’s influence in action, no doubt about it. His proud look when the 118 figured out a way to bring the water to that burning building was interesting.

Spiritually? Bobby was everywhere in this episode.

That last scene with the building exploding and that piece of rock falling onto Athena’s police cruiser. That was so well done!

In conclusion:

This was such a good episode that harkened back to the 911 we all fell in love with. Even the calls and emergencies just felt right. The dentist call, the laundry call from Athena? They were all so good and wholesome! Call backs to previous people they saved as well!

It was just a really good episode. And I know that IMDB ratings don’t really mean anything, but I still love how we went from the 3.2 for the last episode to the 8.9 for this episode. Good times!

As for that trailer for 8x18?

Chimney and Athena stuck together? That will be soooo interesting to watch unfold. Sparks will fly! They can’t avoid each other now. They’ll have to work together to get out of there.

As for Buck and Ravi stuck as well? With the bts of Eddie in his white henley? Yeah, Eddie will get that phone call, realise that he is not losing anymore family (especially not his partner) and he will walk right into the fire station, ready to assist.

I’m expecting something big Buddie-related. Maybe Eddie’s realisation that his home is LA and especially Buck. Or maybe Buck realising that Tommy was right about him being in love with Eddie.

Or hell, maybe both at the same time!? What do I know!?! 🤷��♀️

And Hen will be there coordinating and finding a way to get them all out safely. I really think she might just realise that she’ll want the job of Captain anyway.

Who knows? All I know is that we’ll have lots to talk about during hiatus!

I’ll be sat though. I’m so excited!!!

[lemotmo]

All right 8x14 thoughts…

Now everyone keep in mind that this is just my personal opinion about the episode. There’s no right or wrong here, just subjective opinions. 🤗

I liked this episode a lot. I was at the edge of my seat the entire time. The episode was well structured and the stakes felt high. But to call it one of the best episodes of 911 ever? Not even close. The thing is, I wasn’t ‘moved’ by any of it. Normally I tend to cry over something every single episode, but this time I didn’t. There was not enough ‘heart’ in it somehow.

I liked the baby-storyline in the beginning and how Ravi doubted himself, with Buck helping him out. But it felt a little out of place in this episode. I get why they did it. They wanted to give Ravid his heroic moment at the end of the episode with the anti-virus. But it felt a little too on the nose for me.

I do love how they managed to sneak in a little Eddie mention when Buck told Ravi that no one is allowed to leave anymore. ❤️

Everyone is in danger right now. Chimney is dying from a virus. Hen has a collapsed lung, which can’t be good for her and Bobby and Ravi are stuck with them. The Army has no intention of rescuing them and no one can get out. So it’s up to Buck and Athena to find Moira now and get the ball rolling.

So we’ll see that happening in 8x15 and they’ll of course find the anti-virus and save Chim right on time. We already know that. Bobby’s fate is still a wild card at this point, because of that funeral bts. Even though I don’t believe for a second they’ll actually kill him.

The thing is though… Chimney in danger again? This soon after his near death? Bobby in danger again? This soon after his heart attack AND almost blowing up at the beginning of the episode? The only one who hasn’t been hurt for a while was Hen, so she might have had an nde coming. It all felt very repetitive somehow.

And let’s talk about who was missing in this episode. The lack of Eddie was glaring. The man is an ex-army medic. He would have fit right in in this episode. I cannot for the life of me understand why this show wouldn’t have pushed this story-idea to season 9, so he could have been there right with them. It would have made so much more sense as a season opener and the story would have hit so many more beats. Eddie knows the army-protocols. He could have been an asset. It just didn’t make any sense.

Him being there would have upped the stakes even higher with Buck being on the outside and the fact that we haven’t had an Eddie nde for a while now. It simple would have made for a more entertaining and satisfactory episode.

And like I said, I like Ravi a lot, but I’ve been with Eddie and the rest of the 118 for years now. They have all of my heart. And for me the 118 definitely includes him. Without Eddie something just feels off. So yeah, I would have rather seen Eddie there than Ravi or even both of them together. As long as he was there. 🤷‍♀️

It seems that they moved all Eddie scenes to episode 13 and I suspect a few to episode 15 as well. They can’t do two episodes in a row without Eddie. The people would riot! He has to be there in some capacity.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to next week to see how they’ll solve this problem and yes, I’m looking forward to seeing Eddie on my screen again. What can I say? He is my absolute favourite character.

[lemotmo]

Most OOC episode ever and you didn’t hate it?

Well…

*looks around in confusion*

I mean…

No? I didn’t. 🙄

Did I miss something here Nonny? Are people not allowed to have different opinions anymore? Did someone appoint you to be the fandom police?

You do know it’s perfectly fine for you to hate an episode while other people still found some enjoyment there right?

Look, I’m not saying this was the best episode ever. Far from it… believe me. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate the things that were good about it and that I really liked, next to the things I really didn’t care about and were badly handled.

These are the things I didn’t like:

A. I didn’t care for the nonchalant way a few of the characters acted about Bobby’s death. Buck, Eddie, Hen and even Maddie’s characterisation felt off somehow. They weren’t completely OOC, but a few of their reactions didn’t ring true to me.

Buck because he hardly reacted to anything in this episode, which does make me think (and hope) they’ll get back to that in a future episode.

Eddie, because the Eddie we know and love would have been on a plane the moment Bobby died. Chris would have been fine at his abuela’s for a while, because Eddie would never leave Chris with his parents. Isabella also lives in Texas now, remember?

Hen was understandably worried about Athena, but she didn’t seem all that much affected herself, which was odd.

Maddie just kinda ignored Chimney’s ordeal and sent Buck to talk to him? The Maddie we know would have forcefully sat her husband down and made him talk.

B. Tim said he killed Bobby off for realism, but where was the realism in this episode? Chimney was in organ failure two weeks ago and now he’s fine? He’s exercising himself to death and drinking copious amounts of vodka? Athena is allowed to just exhume the body of a baby and embark on an investigation around it? Where was her boss in this? She should have shut this down.

C. The lack of a logical Buddie continuation. Eddie came back from Texas, but we didn’t even get one single scene where Buck picked him up at the airport? No hug and short conversation about how the other is feeling? Buck’s feelings for Eddie were questioned in 8x11 and up until 8x13 we saw they were in regular contact. Are we just supposed to assume that they talked about Bobby over FaceTime?

D. While we’re on the topic or Buddie. Why was Ravi there in their scenes together? Don’t get me wrong, I like Ravi, but he there was literally no use for him in those scenes. He felt shoehorned in.

E. Outside of Athena and Chimney, we hardly got any of the characters reactions to Bobby dying. But we got an entire emotional scene with Gerrard’s reaction to Bobby’s death? What?! 😶

F. Athena’s investigations took up waaaaaaay too much time. Why did we have to focus so much on the fire and then the mom? Why did we need to see the scene where that woman wanted to kidnap the boy? They could have just talked about it. Why was is necessary to show the scene? It took away precious screen time from all the other main characters.

G. Finally, this was Bobby’s big goodbye. Why was it so short and kinda void of emotion? They filmed the funeral for an entire day and then we got two minutes or less in the episode? Where were the emotional beats we are so used to on 911? Remember the shooting? Or the lightning strike? The characters reacted accordingly to one of their own almost dying. But ever since Bobby’s heart-attack in season 7 the character’s reactions have been bordering on ‘not interested’ to complete ‘indifference’. What is up with that? Bad writing perhaps? Bad direction?

These are the things I liked:

A. Even though the mother & child story took up a lot of time, it did hold value for the story. It helped Athena get to grips with her feelings of Bobby dying. The story was engaging enough to keep my interest.

B. Angela and Kenny shone in this episode. Athena and Chimney’s process of grief and guilt was really well written and it made me choke up a few times in the episode. Athena kneeling down next to Bobby’s coffin in the end? Had me bawling.

C. BUDDIE! EDDIE IS BACK! I missed him and the Buddie dynamic so much! Eddie stayed at Buck’s, had stubble, felt guilty for not being there, ate crumpets and hugged and talked to Ravi. That is my Eddie all right.

I like how him and Buck snapped right back into that rhythm of them trying to comfort and reassure each other. I love how Buck told him it wasn’t his fault when Eddie blamed himself for not being there.

It was short and brief, but it opened the door for Eddie to return to LA, which he will. We already saw a lot of Ryan bts for episode 18, so we’ll get more Eddie!!!

I already complained about the fact that I wished it had been just them in those scenes, without Ravi. But on the flip-side of that, I do think Ravi was put in those scenes on purpose. (I really didn't like it though, but this was Tim's decision so I've got to deal with it.) It kept Buck and Eddie from communicating about Bobby. So I do think the show will get back to that somehow. Well—that’s what I hope anyway. 🙄🤞🤞🤞

D. The amount of ‘Bobby is alive’ foreshadowing in this episode was insane. His body was kept for 14 days? Nobody bothered to check the coffin to see if he was really in there? Not even after the empty baby-grave?

Combine that with all of the other information we already had from ‘leaks’ to hints and cast reactions? Yeah, that man is alive and well somewhere. 😏

Notice how the scene went almost exactly like the ‘leaked’ script from 1 April. The only thing missing was Bobby calling Maddie from the coffin. So my bet is that he’ll show up alive and well in 17 or 18. I don’t think they’ll go into hiatus with Bobby’s fate still undecided.

E. I loved how Athena decided to bury Bobby in Minnesota with his first family. It was so fitting for him. A perfect resting place. Bobby would have approved. It made me cry. 😭

What about the rest of season 8 and beyond that?

I’m interested in the rest of the season because I’m convinced that Bobby is alive. My guess is that they’ll show us the 118 trying to move on with their life, navigating the grief. Right up until the moment when Bobby returns.

I know I know, all of this hinges on the fact of whether or not Bobby is alive. But I’m not willing to give up on him yet. It’s all too dodgy in my opinion, so I choose to believe he is alive. If we get nothing hinting at Bobby still being alive by the end of season 8? Only then will I start accepting that he might really be dead. 🤷‍♀️

Most importantly, I do still have faith that they’ll return to Buddie in the two last episodes. The foreshadowing in 8x09, 8x10, 8x11, 8x12 and 8x13 was too big of a set-up for the show to just drop that or put it in the fridge until season 9.

I have no idea how they’ll get Eddie back to LA though. Maybe Bobby’s death put some things into perspective?

I’m also completely lost on the timeline and I refuse to speculate anymore, because at this point I truly haven’t the faintest idea how they’ll go about the Buddie of it all. 🤔

All I know is that it will be crucial for this show to make it crystal clear and very very very concrete that Buddie is a sure thing and is going canon. If there is absolutely nothing? I know that a lot of people in this fandom might not watch season 9 at all.

Personally, if we don't get anything concrete in season 8? I might just go into season 9 allowing myself to get spoiled again before each episode, just like I did at the end of season 6 and 7 when things looked so bleak and dire that I had lost a lot of hope. That way I can prepare myself for whatever is coming for Buddie: good or bad.

I also don’t think this show is doomed and that season 9 will be the last season, just because they killed off Bobby and handled his goodbye in the worst way possible.

Was it a good move? HELL NO! Will the show lose viewers because of this? Yes, that’s very likely. But a lot of them will say they won’t tune in again, but they’ll be there at the start of next season anyway.

Next to that, they will probably also gain a few new viewers along the way. This show is still one of the strongest shows ABC has. It has Oscar-winner Angela Bassett and a lot of other fan-favourite actors. So yeah, I do think this show will be just fine in the end.

But just imagine how many viewers it would gain if Bobby would turn out to be still alive? What an amazing twist would that be? And if they throw in Buddie with that? Well, you’d have an unbeatable duo right there.

So yeah, I still have faith in both here.

Does that mean that everyone should share my opinion now Nonny? No, of course not. Everyone’s opinion is valid here. If you hated the episode? I completely understand. I get why and I support you 100%. If you loved it and thought it was the greatest episode ever? Great! Good for you! Once again I support you 100%.

All I’m saying is that I’m somewhere in between right now, trying to see the bright side of things. My opinion might change at the end of this season, but this is where I'm at right now.

That’s just how I roll Nonny. Sorry not sorry. 🤷‍♀️