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9-1-1: FLASHBACK

Disaster week continues! Today’s reaction is for the season 6, finale episode “Pay It Forward” which originally aired May 15, 2023 on FOX. The episode was written by Andrew Meyers and Nicole Barraza Keim and directed by Bradley Buecker. Let’s get into the episode!

Recap

We begin the episode with a familiar voice reporting a collapse at the 710 interchange. For those of you who are not familiar, Interstate 710 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of California. Thank you, Wikipedia! We are told by the same voice that there are firefighters down. Maddie intercepts the message and asks if they can reroute and assist. The voice says, “Negative. We have a priority spinal transfer.” Maddie asks if they have a visual on how many firefighters are down. We then see LAFD firefighter turned Air Operations officer Lucy Donato (played by Arielle Kebbel) aboard a helicopter looking down on a chaotic scene. She tells Maddie all the firefighters are down. The entire 118.     

We rewind to three hours before the interstate collapse. We see Buck at the loft talking to his friend Connor (played by Colin McCalla). Connor’s wife Kameron (played by Chelsea Kane) is currently residing with Buck after having an argument with Connor. Connor says he would try talking to his wife but she’s acting crazy because of her pregnancy. He suggests Buck try talking to her, but the latter reminds him that Kameron’s not his wife and the baby is not his. Connor points out that technically speaking the baby is Buck’s and Buck tells him not to go there. Buck reminds his friend that he’s about to have a kid which means he needs to grow up and stop hiding. He tells Connor to be honest with his wife. Buck hangs up when Kameron enters the room. She asks him to open a jar of pickles which he promptly does for her. Buck tells her he’s leaving for work, and she tells him to be safe. We then head over to the Wilsons’ where Hen is trying to get ready for work while navigating a room full of rambunctious kids. The house is a mess due to a sleepover the night before. Karen tells Hen she enjoys all the chaos because it reminds her of how she grew up. Hen tells her she secretly loves the crazy, too, before heading out the door.

Over at the station, Bobby announces Chimney’s engagement before jumping into the weather report. We see Eddie texting Marisol and Buck on the phone with Kameron. Bobby calls them both out for being distracted. Buck immediately apologizes and Ravi suggests Kameron stay at one of his properties. Hen tries to sneak in but Bobby notices her. She apologizes for being late. Bobby gives up and walks away. We then head over to a diner where we see a familiar face pay for his breakfast and the breakfast of a group of basketball players eating in the diner. We leave the diner and see a young woman named Jo (played by Abbie Cobb) driving a camper van along the interstate. Jo has recently lost her mother and is taking a road trip with her mother’s best friend Mallory (played by Cyd Strittmatter). Mallory unfastens her seatbelt and goes into the back of the van to make espresso. Jo tells her it’s not a good idea for her to be walking around in the back while the vehicle is in motion, but Mallory assures her she will be fine as long as she’s not driving fast. Jo gets distracted and doesn’t see two vehicles who have been involved in an accident. She swerves just in time to miss them and is able to come to a complete stop. Jo asks Mallory if she’s okay but before the latter can answer, another van slams into them from behind knocking them over on their side. We see another vehicle where the driver is fighting to stay awake. The 118 arrive at the scene of the collision. Bobby tells Hen and Chimney to check the out the occupants of the camper van while Buck, Ravi and Eddie check on the other vehicles. We find out Jo only has a broken leg, but Mallory may have spinal injuries. Chimney tells Bobby they will need an air ambulance to airlift Mallory to the hospital. As Bobby and the rest of the 118 work to clear out the area, a LAFD Fire-Rescue helicopter lands and Lucy gets out. Chimney tells Lucy to take good care of Mallory, and she tells him congratulations on his engagement. Lucy and her partner load Mallory into the helicopter and the 118 watches as they take off.

We see driver from earlier fall asleep at the wheel. He crashes into one of the piers supporting the interchange, setting off a chain of events. The ambulance Hen is driving starts to slide backwards. Everything inside the ambulance slides as well including Jo who is strapped to a gurney. Chimney gets pinned to the back of the ambulance as it goes over the edge. Buck nearly gets crushed by the ambulance while Ravi watches from the piece of interstate that’s still intact. Bobby tumbles down into the wreckage below while Eddie who is still inside the camper gets tossed around like a ragdoll. We move over to the dispatch center where Maddie and Josh are discussing the former’s engagement and wedding plans. Maddie answers Lucy’s call and learns about the 710 interchange collapse and the 118. Maddie sends a request to all firehouses and LAFD units in the nearby area to report to the collapse. We see Athena do a U-turn in her cruiser and head towards the accident.

Meanwhile, Buck comes to and finds himself lying on the front hood of the ambulance. He looks through the front window and sees Hen unconscious. Buck uses his radio to do a headcount. Ravi radios back to Buck telling him he’s grabbing the ropes off the rig to attach to the ambulance which is hanging precariously off the side of the broken road. Eddie radios back saying he’s trapped in the camper van. He reports having a few broken ribs. He tells Buck the van will get pancaked if the ambulance falls onto it. Buck tells Eddie he and Ravi are coming to him. Buck radios to Chimney and gets an answer. Bobby calls for Bobby, but the captain doesn’t answer. Buck lowers himself down and crawls through the passenger side of the ambulance. Hen finally comes to and immediately asks Buck if he’s okay. She wipes the blood off his face and asks where everyone is. Buck gives her a report on everyone’s whereabouts. He also tells her that Bobby is MIA.

Buck climbs up to the top where Ravi is while Chimney asks Jo to help him patch himself up from his injuries. Buck attaches a rope to the fire truck’s wench and then to the ambulance. We see Bobby radio for help, but no one is answering. While Ravi is pulling the ambulance up, that gives Buck room to lower himself down to Eddie. Athena finds the driver that caused all the chaos and sees that he is dead. We see the guy from the diner walk by the storage container Bobby is trapped inside. He hears something knocking from inside and alerts Athena who is trying to get people away from the area. Athena chastises the man for not following her orders, but he tells her he believes someone is inside the storage container. The 118 (minus Chimney) and Jo, all make it safely up top right as the camper van crashes to the ground below. This causes the back door to the ambulance to swing open. Chimney falls out but catches himself on a rope. Buck goes up to rescue him. Buck radios to dispatch that he got Chimney. Down below, Athena and the guy find Bobby trapped under some rubble. Athena radios for someone to come rescue them. We see some workers in the are use their equipment to pry open the container. As Bobby is being removed from the container, he looks up at the guy assisting Athena with familiarity in his eyes. Turns out, this is the basketball player who got trapped inside the hotel during the earthquake back in season two. Bobby thanks the guy whose name is Jeff for helping to save him but doesn’t acknowledge that he knows him. Jeff doesn’t appear to remember Bobby. Our battered and bruises firefighters and paramedics are taken to the hospital. Ravi and Buck are the only ones who don’t have major injuries. Hen definitely has a concussion and Bobby and Chimney will probably need some minor surgery.

That evening, Kameron goes into labor. Buck calls for paramedics and then rounds up every towel he can find. There’s a knock on the door and thinking it’s the paramedics, Buck calls for them to come inside. Turns out, it’s not the paramedics – it’s Natalia (Annelise Cepero). Buck enlists her help while he checks to see how much Kameron is dilated. Buck delivers the baby himself, and we learn Connor and Kameron’s baby is a boy. Buck tells Kameron the baby is perfect before handing him over to her. Connor shows up at the hospital and tells Buck he will never be able to repay him for what he’s done for him and Kameron. Natalia joins Buck and tells him she’s not used to seeing life at the beginning. She tells him she doesn’t understand why he did what he did for Connor and Kameron. He tells her he did it because he could. He tells Natalia that he likes her and that he’s glad she came back. The two of them share a kiss.

In our final scene of the episode, our six members of the 118 and some randoms meet on the roof of the firehouse. Bobby coaches them in a breathing exercise and then we get a montage of what they all have been up to since the accident. Chimney and Maddie decide to have their wedding at their new house. Christopher convinces Eddie to call Marisol (played by Edy Ganem) and the latter asks Eddie on a date. He accepts her invitation. Karen and Hen get a call to foster a baby girl. They accept the call. Buck gets his sofa steam cleaned. He then asks Natalia to help him shop for a new sofa. As their breathing exercise comes to an end, the bell rings and the 118 spring into action. Lastly, Buck and Athena finally embark on their honeymoon.

Observations

Finally, Buck is not the one who gets injured.

This episode marks the third appearance of Jeff Pickens who is played by Mike Gray. The first time we were introduced to the character was in the season two episodes “7.1” and “Help Is Not Coming”.

When the 118 first arrive on the scene of the accident, we can clearly hear Bobby call out to someone with the last name “Kinard”. Tommy Kinard will feature heavily in the next season. Could this be foreshadowing?

Bobby and Athena were supposed to go on a cruise earlier this season, but Athena’s dad got sick. We see them finally able to take their honeymoon cruise at the end of this episode.

Bobby is cut off from the rest of the 118 in this episode. Could this also be a foreshadowing of things to come?

I thought it was so sweet that the first thing Hen does upon regaining consciousness is check on Buck and start dabbing away the blood from his face.

The clothes we see Bobby and Athena wearing as they board the cruise ship are the same clothes they will be wearing in the season 7 premiere.

This season started with a man-made disaster and ends with a man-made disaster.

Buck couldn’t save his brother from dying but in this episode, we see him save Connor and Kameron from being childless

This episode marks the last appearance of Natalia Dollenmeyer played by Annelise Cepero.

Speaking of Natalia, it is not secret that when it comes to Buck’s love interests on this show, Tommy Kinard is my number one. However, it is nice to see Buck with a woman who is a POC and who has a curvy body type.

What more can I say about this episode? When I look through the list of all eight season finales, this one is my favorite. Thankfully no one got shot or crushed by a firetruck. All our major characters are alive and well. We even get our major plots for season 7 set up at the end of this episode. Season six is decent. It’s not my favorite season but there are quite a few gems along the way. I feel like this season had a great beginning, a great middle and a great ending which is ultimately what you want when you’re telling a story. This season has way less filler episodes than the previous and I’m so glad we took a break from the multi-episode disaster arcs. If I had to rank the seasons, I would place season six in the number six spot behind season four. Next up, we will dive into a disaster from season one. Until next time …

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1: FLASHBACK

Yesterday, I reacted to the season two episode “7.1” which sees our first responders dealing with the aftermath of an earthquake. For today’s edition of 911: Flashback, I will be reacting to the season two, third episode “Help Is Not Coming” which originally aired October 1, 2018 on FOX. The episode was written by Zachary Reiter and Tim Minear and directed by Bradley Buecker. Let’s chat about the episode!

Recap

Night has fallen in Los Angeles and Maddie is getting inundated with non-emergency calls. She gets a call from a man named Drew Hudson (played by Burt Grinstead) whose wife Ainsley has gone into premature labor. Maddie tells him that 32 weeks isn’t so early that Ainsley is in the danger zone. She tells Drew to monitor his wife’s breathing and time her contractions. Drew is adamant his wife needs an ambulance. Maddie tells him resources are spread thin, and no ambulance will be coming. She then goes on to tell Drew she’s a trained nurse and she’s delivered a lot of babies. Drew reveals that Ainsley is unconscious which, in hindsight, should have been brought up earlier in the conversation. Drew explains that he was in the process of taking Ainsley to the hospital when the aftershock hit. Ainsley fell and hit her head. Maddie remains calm considering this is like her first day on the phones. She asks Drew to check Ainsley’s breathing. Thankfully, she is still breathing. Maddie gets the bright idea of having Drew drive his wife to a fire knowing emergency units will already be on the scene. We head over to the fire where we see Captain Martinez (played by Pablo Espinosa) getting a call from Maddie. She alerts him of Drew and his unconscious, pregnant wife coming to them. Captain Martinez sees the couple pull up and directs his EMTs to treat Ainsley and transport her to the hospital. Maddie thanks the fire captain and we get our first official Maddie tears of the series.  

We head back to the Hollywood Palm Hotel where we see the father of our family of four approach Chief Miranda Williams (played by Romi Dias) about his daughter, Kat. The chief assures Brian (played by Eric Nenninger) search and rescue operations are continuing. Growing impatient, Brian tells her he wants to try looking for Kat himself. Chief Williams says she cannot allow him to do that because then he’d end up needing rescue, too. She tells him that the best thing for him to do is be with his family. Chief Williams also gets an update on one of the firefighters from the 118 being trapped inside the hotel. Bobby and Chimney are still inside the hotel looking for Hen. They call out to her but don’t get a response. Another firefighter is able to pick up Hen’s heat signature and informs Bobby and Chimney she is three meters deep behind a pancaked section of the parking garage. Chimney points out that if they attempt to get to her, it can cause further collapse. Several stories up, Buck and Eddie have managed to rescue Ali from certain death and are leading her through the stairwell which is now sideways. Bobby radios to them saying he needs a head count. Eddie radios back saying he and Buck are good. Two red shirts named Castillo and Jackson also respond. We hear the names Paulson, Marcus, and Riley reply as well. Chimney radios Bobby despite being with him. Bobby calls out to Hen but doesn’t get a response. Buck and Eddie exchange ominous looks. Ali asks the two firefighters if Hen is their friend. Eddie ignores the question and says to keep moving.

Meanwhile, Hen is trying to contact the others but not getting a response. She stumbles across the firefighter from the previous episode. Russell Byrd (played by TJ Linnard) is trapped underneath debris and is not doing well. He tells Hen that his pelvis is fractured, and he has a flail chest. He’s not going to make it out of there alive, but Hen is going to try. Hen gives Russell some pain medication to keep him comfortable. He asks her if she’s married. She tells him about Karen. He tells her he used to have a wife. He was so afraid of not making it back home to her at the end of the day that he just stopped coming home altogether. Hen tells Russell that her team is right above them, but her words are for naught. Russell succumbs to his injuries.

Over at Athena’s, Michael is trying to stay busy while May and Harry are watching the news. Michael chastises them for not cleaning up the mess in the living room. Harry, our little sociopath who was celebrating his school getting wrecked by the earthquake, accuses his dad of not caring about their mom. Michael looks angry but doesn’t lash out at Harry. He tells the kids to grab their coats and the earthquake kits and get in the car. Speaking of Athena, our resident sergeant arrives at a convenience store where an angry mob has formed. She pushes her way through the crowd and heads inside. Turns out, the owner whose name is Herve (played by Michael Ray Escamilla) fired a gun which is why the crowd outside is in such an uproar. Athena notices something’s not right about the situation and asks him how much he’s charging for water. Herve tells her $14.99 which is highway robbery if you asked me. A woman from outside peeks her head inside and says he’s lying. Herve is charging $100 for a case of water. Athena quickly cites a penal code and tells him about the anti-price gouging law. She threatens to write him up if he continues his shady business practices. Herve says he can off 50-percent off everything in the store. Athena approves of his idea. She announces to the crowd outside that everything in the store is half price.

We head back over to the dispatch center where Maddie is asking an LAFD Liaison named Bill Jenks (played by Matthew Jayson Cwern) if he’s heard anything about the 118. He tells her he hasn’t heard anything but assures her he will find her if he gets any new information. Over at the hotel, Buck, Eddie and Ali are still navigating their way towards getting out of the building. They hear someone calling for help in one of the hotel rooms. They investigate and find a hotel worker named Batari (played by Kevin Teh) trapped under fallen furniture. Buck and Eddie work quickly to move the furniture out of the way while the latter checks for injuries. The hotel worker apologizes for soiling himself as Eddie tries to get him to wiggle his toes. Eddie tells Buck he believes the man has a spinal injury. They brainstorm a way to transport Batari out of the building and Ali suggests using an ironing board. Eddie wonders how they will transport him via the stairwell. Buck thinks they should use the elevator. The three of them peek inside the elevator shaft and see the car is above them.

Down in the parking garage, Hen works hard to free herself but isn’t making any progress. She takes out her phone and records a goodbye message for Karen in case she doesn’t get out. She tells Karen that she wants her to know she fought hard to get back home to her and Denny. When she finishes recording, goes back to chipping away at the debris she’s trapped behind. She creates a space in the wall and the mean rich lady’s dog – Paisley – comes running out to her. Paisley runs off and Hen goes after her. Meanwhile, Michael takes Harry and May to their church so they can be a service to their community. They are greeted by another member of the church, Ms. Lorna (played by Kimleigh Smith) who puts them to work. While May hands out water, Harry notices a young man sitting under a table. When Harry asks the guy what he’s doing under the table, he tells Harry that his mom told him to go to church if something bad happens. Harry tells him he will have an easier time seeing his mom if he gets out from under the table.

Back at the hotel, Buck and Ali watch as Eddie repels down the elevator shaft with Batari. Buck then helps Ali harness up so they can repel down, too. Another aftershock hits, sending the elevator car crashing down. The four of them manage to get out of the elevator shaft without getting crushed. Meanwhile, down in the parking lot, a firefighter tells Bobby and Chimney he can see movement on the other side of the wall. They’ve found Hen. The only issue is there is a lot of concrete separating them from her. On the other side of the wall, Hen manages to find Kat. Outside the hotel, Captain Williams radios Bobby and tells him a collapse is eminent. She gives a direct order to evacuate. Bobby and Chimney defy orders and go looking for Hen. They see several floors of the parking garage and have collapsed onto each other. Bobby gets an idea to use one of the cars that hasn’t been crushed to pull one of the crushed cars out of the way thus creating a space for them to get to Hen. Chimney spots a huge pickup truck and decides it would be better to pull the car. The chain snaps just before they manage to remove the car. Buck and Eddie show up along with several other firefighters and Captain Williams to assist Bobby and Chimney. They all manage to create a space large enough in the wall for Hen, Kat and Paisley to crawl through.

Over at dispatch, Maddie gets a call from a woman asking if something else happened. She says she sees a glowing cloud in the sky. Maddie asks the woman if she has power and she says no. There’s not a light for miles. Maddie smiles and tells the woman she’s seeing the Milky Way. Los Angeles is usually too lit up at night for people to see it. We head back over to what’s left of the Hollywood Palm Hotel and we get a montage. Kat reunites with her family. Bobby shakes hands with Captain Williams while Buck talks with Ali. Chimney checks Hen out to make sure she doesn’t have a concussion. Kat’s mom mouths a silent thank-you to Hen. The basketball coach is leading his team in prayer. Hen stands at attention as Russell Byrd’s body is taken out of the rubble and loaded into an ambulance. Buck gets a text from Maddie asking if he’s okay and he messages her back saying he is fine. We then head over to the hospital where Drew and a conscious Ainsley are celebrating the birth of their baby. Athena makes it home to her kids and Michael. We see all the basketball players signing Jeff’s leg cast. Hen arrives home with Paisley in tow. Buck drives Eddie to Christopher’s school. The two are so happy to see each other.

We end the episode at Athena’s. The kids are putting things back on the shelf while Michael cooks dinner. Athena gets a call from Bobby asking her to come outside. Athena goes out front and sees Bobby standing in the driveway. The two embrace, happy to see each other. Happy they both survived the day. Michael comes outside and invites Bobby inside for dinner. Bobby politely declines but Michael tells him he’s already made a place setting for him. He tells Bobby the kids are excited to see him. Athena takes Bobby’s hand and leads him into her home.

Observations

Maddie is remarkably more confident since the last episode.

We will see Drew and Ainsley Hudson again later this season in the episode “Careful What You Wish For”

The death of Firefighter Russell Byrd marks the first on-screen death of first responder

While I don’t agree with the convenience store owner hiking prices during a state of emergency, Athena’s interaction with him is yet another moment that makes me uncomfortable. I’m not sure how I feel about her using her power to threaten someone. I love Athena but at the end of the day, she’s still a cop and sometimes cops engage in problematic behavior.

Buck accidentally refers to Ali as “Abby”.

At the end of the episode, Hen, Karen and Denny become the proud owners of Paisley the dog whose owner was crushed during the earthquake.

Poor Christopher! What a traumatic first day of school!

A lot of people misinterpret Buck’s look at the end of the episode as him displaying romantic affection for Eddie. I think at this moment Buck is in awe of seeing a father and son embrace each other. Knowing Buck’s personal history, I’m guessing he didn’t get a lot of hugs from his dad.

Michael is so supportive of Athena dating again and is so welcoming to Bobby.

We have reached the conclusion of our first disaster story on 9-1-1 and there are many more left to discuss. The last episode was packed full of action while most of this episode leaned more towards dramatic moments. I loved seeing Buck and Eddie work side by side. They work well together, and they have come a long way since their initial meeting which was only two episodes ago. My favorite part of the episode is the final scene. This show does a great job of showcasing the different dynamics shared between our main characters. I love Athena and Michael’s relationship and how it has evolved since the first episode of the series. They may not be together anymore, but they are very much still family and that’s what this show is all about. Families come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s an older sister living with her much younger brother. Sometimes it’s a lesbian couple and their adopted son and a dog. Sometimes family is a woman, her gay ex-husband, her new boyfriend and her kids. These families may not look familiar, but they should feel familiar because love is the unifying factor. Okay, let me get out of my feelings and end this reaction! I hope you enjoyed this adventure we’ve been on and I look forward to discussing another disaster tomorrow. Until next time …

[callmebrycelee]

BUCKTOMMY HIATUS EVENT: WEEK 4 | favourite tactile moments (1/2) + pt.2

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Countdown (2025-) || Happy Birthday Final (1.03)

[callmebrycelee]

BUCKTOMMY HIATUS EVENT: WEEK 4 | favourite tactile moments (2/2) + pt.1

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1: FLASHBACK

Summer is officially in full swing. When I think of summer, I think of the summer blockbuster. Movies like Independence Day, Spider-Man 2 and my personal favorite, Jurassic Park all came out during the summer and made a big splash with viewer. 9-1-1 generally gives us at least one episode per season that feels on par with these summer blockbuster films. For today’s edition of 911: Flashback, I will be reacting to the season two second episode “7.1” which originally aired September 24, 2018 on FOX. The episode was written by Zachary Reiter and directed by Bradley Buecker. So, no more wasting time. Let’s get to shaking!

Recap

In our first scene of the episode, we meet several characters that will play a major role in both this episode and the one that follows. We see a family of four arrive at the Hollywood Palm Hotel. We then pan over to a wealthy woman (played by Earlene Davis) complaining to a worker about her dog not being allowed inside the hotel. Next, we see a basketball coach (played by Vincent Ventresca) walking with his team. On their way downstairs to have breakfast, the coach pulls his star player, Jeff Pickens (played by Mike Gray) aside to tell him a recruiter from Duke University is coming to see him when they get back home. We then head downstairs where our family of four is waiting to check into their room. The dad (played by Eric Nenninger) informs his wife and kids that their rooms are still being cleaned and suggests they grab breakfast. The camera moves over to a young woman named Ali Martin (played by Tiffany Dupont) who is waiting in the lobby. She gets a text message saying her interviewer is currently stuck on a call and wants her to come up to his hotel room. Ali takes the elevator to the eleventh floor and walks to the room 1101. She’s greeted by a berobed man named Harlow (played by Brian Howe) and ushered inside the lux penthouse suite. Ali appears to be extremely uncomfortable as she takes in her surroundings. Harlow leers lasciviously at Ali and asks her to show him what she’s got. Ali immediately launches into her presentation while Harlow pretends to be interested in her designs. Harlow’s phone starts to ring. Ali asks if he’s going to answer it but he shrugs her off and says it’s probably his wife. Back downstairs, the coach and his team hit the breakfast buffet while the family of four discuss what they want to do while visiting Los Angeles. The daughter, whose name is Kat (played by Nev Scharrel), announces that she needs to use the restroom. Both parents give her permission to go alone. Meanwhile, the entitled rich woman from earlier is complaining about her eggs to another hotel worker. Her dog starts barking and runs off. Back at the penthouse, Harlow asks Ali if she wants some coffee. She declines and he asks her if she wants a mimosa … in the shower. Ali, offended by the proposition, grabs her things and goes to leave. She threatens to report Harlow to HR and the board of directors at their company. Harlow tells her that HR is terrified of him and that he handpicked every member on the board. He then tells Ali that if she makes a complaint against him, he will destroy her.  Back in the lobby, Jen finds the rich lady’s dog who is hiding under a counter. Then the ground starts shaking and the dad, whose name is Brian, jumps up to go look for his daughter. The hotel lobby descends into chaos and glasses start falling from the shelves and people begin scrambling to safety. One of the columns breaks and the floor begins to collapse. Brian tries to get to Kat but the building starts to break apart. Upstairs, the penthouse room tilts, causing Ali and Harlow to slide across the floor. Ali grabs onto a column while Harlow lands face first on the window which is not overlooking the ground below. Back downstairs, the ceiling collapses. Jeff shields his coach from the debris. When the shaking stops and the dust clears, Brian calls out for his daughter. She doesn’t answer. Meanwhile, back upstairs, Ali holds on for dear life while a section of the wall pins Harlow against the glass. The camera pans out and we see the hotel leaning at a 45-degree angle while all the buildings around it remain upright. Now that’s how you do an opening scene!

After the title card, we rewind back to two hours before the earthquake. Eddie drops off his son off at school. Maddie arrives for her first day at the call center. She’s paired with veteran dispatcher Josh Russo. She takes her first call, which doesn’t go well because she’s too focused on looking for the answers in her notes. Josh takes over the call and is able to dispatch an ambulance to the victim’s location. He asks Maddie to hand over her notes which he promptly tosses in the trash. He then tells her the only thing she needs to do the job effectively is her listening skills. Next, we see a maroon-haired youth being pursued by two LAPD officers. He successfully eludes them only to end up being caught by Sergeant Athena Grant. The kid, whose name is Marvin (played by Julian Works) is a repeat offender and is taken into custody by Athena. While driving along the freeway, the earthquake hits. Athena manages to stop the police cruiser just in time as the road in front of her collapses. We see the dispatch center lose power and Eddie nearly gets crushed by a fallen beam at the firehouse. Thankfully, everyone is safe. The backup generator at dispatch kicks on and the calls start pouring in. The 118 go out to start looking for people who need help. On the truck, Buck can see that Eddie is texting someone, looking concerned. Eddie tells Buck that he has a 7-year-old son named Christopher. Buck assures Eddie that Christopher is fine.

The 118 arrive at the hotel and are aghast at what they see. Brian and his wife are being led away from the hotel by two officers. Hen hears Brian yell at one of the officers about his daughter Kat being trapped inside the hotel. Bobby’s unable to get in touch with Athena and Hen can’t reach Karen or Denny. Chief Miranda Williams (played by Romi Dias) brief Bobby and the others about the situation. According to the manager of Hollywood Palm, the hotel was between checkout and check-in when the quake hit which means they were light on guests. The plan is to start looking for any survivors still inside the hotel. Chief Williams warns that an aftershock could cause the hotel to fully collapse in on itself which means they have to work fast. We learn the earthquake was a 7.1 which is worse than the Northridge earthquake of 1994 which was on a 6.7. Bobby tells his team not to worry about the things they can’t control and focus on one task at a time. A police officer directs Bobby and the others over to where the penthouse is leaning. Bobby says someone will need to get to the room from inside. Buck suggests he and Eddie enter the hotel from the outside via the fourth floor, which will cut the distance in half. The two of them climb a ladder up to the fourth floor and break open a window leading into a hotel room. Buck tells Eddie that after Northridge, FEMA spent $200 million dollars retrofitting every school in Los Angeles. He assures Eddie that Christopher is in the safest place he could be. The two of them then crawl through the window.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Michael and May arrive at Harry’s school. They find Harry on the playground. Michael hugs his son, but Harry tells him he’s excited because due to all the damage to his school he won’t have to go back there for a very long time. Michael tells him that he shouldn’t be happy about that because a lot of people have gotten hurt. Michael then tries to contact Athena but he can’t get through. Harry asks where his mom is and Michael tells him that she’s working. Speaking of Athena, we see her taking charge of the situation on the freeway. She directs people to move their vehicles while she checks to see if there are people who need help. She comes across a man who is trapped inside his car. The man tells her he can smell gas. Athena goes to her police cruiser to grab a crowbar and a fire extinguisher. The man’s car catches fire and Athena uses the extinguisher to put out the flames. The extinguisher runs out, but the fire is still going. The car explodes and the man panics. Athena tells a construction worker she needs something bigger to put out the flames. She sees a cement truck and asks the worker where the keys are. He tells her someone else has them and they’re on the other side helping out. Athena releases Marvin, temporarily, from custody and directs him to hotwire the cement truck. He then drives the truck over to the man’s car and uses the cement to extinguish the flames. When the flames are fully put out, Athena tells the man to hang on – help is coming. Athena puts Marvin back in custody and tells him she will write a letter on his behalf to give to the judge. She then thanks him for his assistance.

Back at the hotel, Bobby, Chimney and Hen head inside the hotel from the ground floor. They find the mean rich lady trapped under a piece of ceiling – dead. The three of them come across Jeff and his coach. Jeff’s legs are pinned under a large chunk of ceiling. Bobby tells the coach he has to leave but assures him he will look after Jeff. Hen accesses Jeff for injuries and reports that his tibia and femur are crushed. Thankfully no major arteries were severed. Bobby tells Jeff they have two options when it comes to extracting him. Either they amputate his leg – which Jeff is vehemently against – or they will have to use an airbag to lift the wall off of him which could compromise the integrity of the structure around them. Bobby tells him they will go with the airbag. Meanwhile, upstairs, Buck and Eddie work quickly to reach the eleventh floor where Ali and Harlow are trapped. Back downstairs, Bobby, Hen, and Chimney manage to extract Jeff and get him safely out of the building. Meanwhile, Buck and Eddie reach the eleventh floor. They make it to room 1101. Buck throws Ali a rope and tells her to secure herself. Next, Bobby, Hen, and Chimney try looking for Kat. Upstairs, the glass that Harlow is pinned against starts to slowly crack. An aftershock hits causing the building to collapse even more. Hen gets separated from the others and trapped behind a lot of debris. Back in the penthouse the glass finally shatters, and Harlow goes splat against the ground below. Ali falls out of the building, but Eddie is able to grab her while Buck holds onto her rope.

Observations

This episode marks the first appearance of fan-favorite Christopher Diaz played by Gavin McHugh.

This episode marks the first appearance of Captain Miranda Williams. Captain Williams will turn up again in season four and in season six.

This episode marks the first appearance of Ali Martin. Ali will go on to be a love interest for Buck in future episodes.

In this episode we meet a character named Jeff Pickens. We will see Jeff again in an episode from season six.

Hen meets a fellow firefighter named Russell Byrd (played by TJ Linnard). Russell is from the 221 station.

Buck reveals that Maddie is currently living with him in Abby’s apartment.

The entitled woman who we see complaining about pretty much everything is seen wearing red heels. When Bobby, Chimney, and Hen find her, only her red shoes can be seen. This is an allusion to the movie The Wizard of Oz.

The earthquake in this episode is stronger than the one in Northridge, however, there appears to be way less damage.

9-1-1 Lore

Eddie tells Buck he is raising Christopher on his own and says that Christopher’s mom is not in the picture.

The character Marvin is played by Julian Work. Julian will go on to play firefighter Mateo Chavez in the 9-1-1 spin-off, 9-1-1: Lone Star. We will learn that Marvin and Mateo are first cousins with a very interesting backstory.

Well, we’ve come to the end of my 911: Flashback reaction. This is one of my favorite episodes of the series and one of my favorite disaster episodes. This episode is so action-packed, and the effects are well done. I do think it’s funny that none of the other buildings around the hotel appeared to be damaged. In future season, the show will do a much better job of making the damage from the natural disaster feel more widespread. Overall, I think this is an episode that 9-1-1 fans often come back to on a rewatch. We see further developments in the Buck/Eddie friendship, and we see Maddie hitting it off with her future bestie Josh. I like that we got to see the civilian perspective from Michael’s POV. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be away from a loved one during a natural disaster and unable to communicate with them. At least with Bobby and Athena, they can distract themselves by focusing on the task at hand. I hope you will join me for the next edition of 911: Flashback when I cover the next episode which is the conclusion to our 7.1 earthquake arc. Until next time …

[callmebrycelee]

[callmebrycelee]

man crush monday

ebon moss-bachrach

full name: Ebon Moss-Backrach

date of birth: March 19, 1977

place of birth: Staten Island, New York City

age: 48

sign: pisces

best known for: Restaurant manager Richie Jerimovich in The Bear. Ebon will portray Ben Grimm aka The Thing in the film The Fantastic Four: First Steps which comes out later this year.

height: 6 feet and 1 inch tall

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1 s04e02 - Alone Together

[callmebrycelee]

9-1-1: FLASHBACK

Welcome to a new edition of 911: Flashback. Today, I will be reacting to an episode from season four. Season four is an interesting season. It’s the pandemic season. Season four isn’t one of my favorites but there are quite a few gems here. The episode I’ve picked is one I find myself returning to quite often whenever I’m in the mood to watch a rerun. Today’s reaction is for season four, seventh episode “There Goes the Neighborhood” which originally aired March 1, 2021 on FOX. The episode was written by Stacey Rose and directed by Sharat Raju. Let’s take out our telescopes and binoculars and get a closer look at what’s going on in this episode.

Recap

We start things off in a suburban neighborhood where college student Reed (Gustavo Gomez) is attempting to learn remotely. He is interrupted by his mother Meegan (played by Krista Allen) and her band – Mother’s Plague – who are performing a cover of “Bad Reputation” in the garage. In addition to distracting Reed from learning, Mother’s Plague are also smoking. Reed scolds his mother and her friends before going back inside the house. He attempts to listen to his professor but is interrupted again by the band’s loud music. He then hears a blood-curdling scream and rushes outside to see what’s going on. Reed freaks out when he sees that his mother and her bandmates’ eyes are bleeding. A 9-1-1 call is made. The 118 arrive bedecked in protective gear. Reed passes out and is revived by Bobby while the others check on Bobby’s mother and the rest of Mother’s Plague. Their vitals are normal, so Hen asks if any of them have traveled recently. Reed reveals that his mother and her bandmates were smoking. Buck finds their drugs and Hen and Chimney both confirm the weed is synthetic and laced with rat poison. Also, they’re not the only ones smoking tainted weed. Turns out half the neighborhood is getting high. Bobby orders Buck and Eddie to start canvassing the neighborhood for others who are exhibiting the same symptoms as Mother’s Plague.

Later that day, Buck is on a date with a young woman named Veronica (played by Keana Marie). He tells her about the emergency involving a woman who got stuck while trying to throw her poop out the bathroom window during a first date. Veronica is not impressed and thinks the story is sexist. Buck tries to pivot the conversation in a more positive direction, but Veronica is content to shit on everything he says. Meanwhile, over at the Wilsons’ residence, Karen’s attempting to wrangle Denny and Nia who are arguing over the iPad. Hen takes a break from studying to help up but is interrupted by a knock on the door. Hen goes to answer and finds her mother standing on the doorstep. Toni Wilson (played by the ICONIC Marsha Warfield) has dropped in, unexpectedly (and uninvited) from Las Vegas and Hen isn’t exactly excited to see her. There’s clearly some tension between the two but more on that later. Denny’s excited to see his grandmother but Nia is apprehensive about Toni. Denny tells her that Toni’s his grandmother and hers, too. Nia launches herself at the other woman and embraces her. Hen reminds her mother they’re in the middle of a pandemic and it’s not wise to just show up unannounced. Toni assures her daughter she’s up to date on her vaccinations and asks Hen if she would like to see her papers. Karen, ever the peacekeeper, tells Toni it’s great to see her and asks if she has any luggage. Toni tells her she’s staying at an Airbnb close by until she finds something more permanent. Hen and Karen both look confused and ask her how long she’s staying. Toni tells her she’s moving back to Los Angeles permanently. Back over at the first date from hell, Buck asks Veonica if she wants to share a dessert. She tells him he’s being presumptive, so he tells the server to bring them two desserts instead. Buck makes a joke about needing to do extra cardio after the dessert and Veronica accuses him of body-shaming her. Buck returns home after the date and tells Albert to remind him to delete the dating app on his phone. Buck goes to take the trash out and sees Veronica come out of her apartment to do the same thing. Buck then goes back into his apartment and tells Albert they have to move.   

The next day, Athena drops Harry off at Michael’s. Athena admires the renovations Michael’s made to his apartment. He has an impressive view of the apartment building across the street. Athena notices a telescope set up next to the window. Michael explains that he spies on his neighbors across the way. One particular neighbor has really drawn his interest due to the excessive amount of trash he’s constantly taking out to the dumpster. Athena tells Michael that he may be spying a little too much. Michael tells her that Harry doesn’t require his attention as much right now due to being homeschooled and David is back to doing surgeries again. Athena asks Michael about his work. Michael tells her things are at a standstill right now due to the pandemic. He then tells Athena he made a list back when he found out he had a tumor the previous year. He says that when he found out the tumor was shrinking and he was getting better, he made a new list of things he wanted to do and places he wanted to see. Then Covid happened and his plans were put on the backburner. Now he sits back and watches the world from a distance.

Next, Maddie gets a call from a man reporting someone is going around slashing people in his neighborhood. When the 118 arrive, they find out the person in question is actually not a person. They’re a turkey. The neighborhood turkey has gone berserk. Buck and Hen both vent to the others about their respective issues. Buck tells Eddie about the First Date from Hell while Hen complains to Bobby and Chimney about her mother. Buck and Eddie lure the turkey into captivity, and it is taken away by Animal Control. Meanwhile, Michael is back to spying on his neighbors a la Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. He zeroes in on trash guy and notices the man has blood on his hands. He gets a call from May who suggests she can come over to his place for dinner but Michael brushes her off in favor of doing some more snooping. We see that May is with her mother. She tells Athena that she believes her dad is on to them and asks what they are going to do now. Athena tells her Plan B. May asks her what is Plan B. Athena responds by saying Plan B is not a what – it’s a who.

We get another emergency involving two neighbors. Joe (played by Michael James Lazar) has just erected a pirate-themed playset for his kids. His neighbor Don (played by George Wyner) complains to him about the playset being too close to his property line. Joe tries to take Don’s griping in stride and suggests that Don’s grandkids came come over and play whenever they visit. Don tells Joe that his grandchildren are in college. Don tells Joe to move the playset which is completely ridiculous because the playset is huge. Don then notices something falling from the sky. Joe notices it, too, and tries to get him and Don out of the way. Don runs head-first into the playset and knocks himself to the ground. A huge military Humvee crashes through the playset, landing on Don. Joe calls 9-1-1 and the 118 responds. Chimney and Hen, both donning face masks, check on Don and see that his legs are pinned underneath the Humvee. Buck drives the firetruck over and uses the ladder to hoist the Humvee up just enough so that Chimney and Hen can extract Don from underneath. As Don is loaded into the ambulance, he tells Joe that the playset saved his life. Joe assures him he will rebuild the playset, and Don tells him to make sure when he does, it’s three feet away from the property line.  

Over at Chimney and Maddie’s, Buck is helping the couple make gift baskets. He tells Maddie he’s hiding out at their place waiting for Albert to give him the okay to come home. Maddie tells him to stop hiding from Veronica and talk to her like an adult. He tells her he will. We learn the gift baskets are for Maddie and Chimney’s neighbors. The baskets contain sleep masks, ear plugs, and time-release melatonin – all things to help their neighbors cope with a new baby on the floor. Meanwhile, over at the Wilsons, Athena is over for dinner. Toni is regaling the sergeant, Hen, and Karen with casino stories. Bobby brings dinner over to Michael’s. They talk about Michael’s new hobby. Bobby heads over to the telescope and looks through it. He sees the same man Michael was watching earlier. The one who is constantly taking out trash. Back at the Wilsons, Hen overhears Toni talking to Karen, but she only picks up some of the conversation they are having. Hen gets upset and thinks that her mother believes she’s too old to be in medical school. Back at Michael’s apartment, David gets home and sees Michael and Bobby both spying on the man in the building across the street. They see the man arguing with a woman. David thinks they are being ridiculous, but Michael is convinced something shady is going on. He tells David that he keeps seeing all types of people go into the man’s apartment and go out covered in bruises. Bobby suggests that all the trash the guy keeps taking out of his apartment is evidence he’s trying to dispose of. Michael says he wishes there was a way to see what was inside of the guys’ trash bags. David tells him he could check the dumpster. Bobby tells Michael to be the lookout while he and David go across the street to check inside the dumpster.

We then see Bobby and David run across the street towards the dumpster next to the man’s apartment building. The two, donning surgical gloves, start going through the trash while Michael keeps a lookout. Michael sees the man leaving his apartment, again, and calls Bobby’s cell. Bobby goes to take his phone out his pocket and ends up dropping it into the dumpster. Bobby’s phone goes to voicemail, so Michael tries calling David. David’s phone is sitting on the kitchen table. Bobby finally recovers his phone and sees a missed call from Michael. He tells David they need to call off the search.  The two head back to Michael’s apartment to find Michael gone. When David goes to look through the telescope, he sees Michael inside the guy’s apartment. Michael checks around the man’s apartment and sees surgical equipment lying around and bloody sponges in the sink. He hears a noise coming from one of the bedrooms and goes to investigate. Inside, he sees a woman lying in what looks like a dentist’s chair. Michael calls 9-1-1 but before he can communicate what’s going on, someone hits him over the head.

When Michael comes to, he sees David. Athena is also there, and she is pissed. Michael asks them where the woman is. David tells him there was no woman inside the apartment when he arrived. Michael assures him there was a woman there and she wasn’t in good shape. Athena tells him the police are checking all the cameras out on the street. Michael describes what the woman looks like to Athena. Michael and David head back to the apartment. Bobby tells them nothing was found on the security camera. Michael then recalls seeing the woman’s clothes and shoes, but he didn’t see a purse. Then it dawns on him that no one saw the woman leave the building because she lives in the building. Bobby calls Athena and the LAFD return to the apartment building across the street. They start knocking on doors until they arrive at the woman’s apartment. They go inside and find the woman unconscious. David checks her vitals and runs a line. Athena calls Michael and tells him they found her.

We head back over to the Hen and Karen’s, where the former is very noisily putting away dishes. When Karen asks her what’s going on, Hen opens up about being angry at Toni. Karen believes there’s something Toni isn’t telling them about her sudden arrival in Los Angeles, but Hen is too upset to even entertain what she is saying. We learn that Toni wasn’t exactly supportive of Hen and Karen’s marriage. Hen tells Karen that Toni doesn’t believe her. Karen suggests that with Hen’s father gone, perhaps Toni is trying to make up for lost time. Hen says that she was finally starting to feel like they were mending their relationship but now she isn’t so sure. The next day, Athena goes to Michael’s apartment and sits down with him and David to discuss the latest developments in their caper. Turns out the man in the apartment across from Michael’s was running an illegal clinic. Botox, fillers, and chemical peels. Athena tells Michael and David the man was captured in San Diego. She notices a blueprint and Michael tells her he’s back at work helping David’s grandmother convert her garage into a suite. Back at the Wilsons’ house, Karen tells Hen that her and the kids saw Toni asleep in her car while they were at the park. Hen goes and finds her mother. She gets into the passenger seat and asks her mother why she didn’t tell her she was living in her car. Toni tells Hen she lost her job at the casino and got evicted. She feels shame that she’s 64 years old and broke and was worried Hen would judge her. Hen finds that funny considering Toni is usually the one judging her choices. Toni confesses that she’s always been a little bit jealous of Hen. She tells Hen that she’s watched her build something so beautiful and she just doesn’t want her to lose it. She doesn’t want Hen to end up like her. The two of them come to an understanding of each other and are able to move forward. Hen tells Toni she’s happy she’s her mother.

We get a montage at the end of the episode. We see Mother’s Plague back at making music. Maddie and Chimney hand out gift baskets to their neighbors. Michael works on his blueprints. Joe rebuilds the playset while Don makes sure he’s not getting too close to his property. Hen brings Toni home and Denny and Nia are so happy to see her. Denny asks if grandma is going to live with them and Karen says yes. Buck tries breaking the ice with Veronica. He brings her chocolate cheesecake and welcomes her to the neighborhood. Veronica thanks him and tells him she’s so happy. She says she owes her happiness to him because now she’s hooking up with Albert.

Observations

Actress Krista Allen plays Meegan, lead singer of Mother Plague, in the opening scene of the episode. Krista Allen was also in The Final Destination where she plays a mom who gets killed when a rock goes through her eye. Meegan is bleeding from her eyes after smoking synthetic weed laced with rat poison.

This is the first time we’ve seen Buck go on a date since Season 3.

Speaking of Buck, this is my least favorite hair for Buck. His hair is slicked back, shellacked – very Eddie Munster.

Michael is president of the HOA in his apartment building.

Harry is homeschooled due to Covid/pandemic.

Michael and Bobby team up again in this episode. The first time we see them team up is during the bank heist episode.

Toni, Hen’s mother, is played by actress Marsha Warfield. Marsha is a real-life lesbian.

Hen’s reaction to Toni showing up out of the blue reminds me of how truly uncertain times were during the height of the pandemic. I remember any time one of my family members would stop by to bring me things, my anxiety would be through the roof wondering if they would inadvertently bring Covid to my doorstep. How far we’ve come since those terrifying times.

After everything Michael’s been through, I’m honestly surprised he didn’t go to the hospital to get checked out after getting knocked out.

Is Albert Buck 1.0?

What a fun episode! The emergencies were entertaining, and no one got seriously hurt or died. I enjoyed meeting Toni Wilson, and I love the dynamic she brings to the show. Thankfully, we will get to see her again. I love that we got to explore Hen’s trauma. I’m happy she got some closure regarding her relationship with her mother. The scenes involving Michael, Bobby, and David are fun. I do enjoy Michael and Bobby’s friendship, and I wish we got more of it in the series. I really wish that Michael and Bobby could’ve returned for Bobby’s funeral or just in general. I know some things went down behind the scenes with Rockmond Dunbar but enough time has passed. If Isaiah Washington can return to Grey’s Anatomy, surely, we can get him back, even if it’s only for an episode. Buck has the C-plot of this episode but it’s entertaining as well. I really felt bad for him during his date with Veronica. I feel like Buck 1.0 would’ve made things a lot worse. If I had to give this episode a score, I would give it an 8 out of 10. It’s definitely in my Top 25 episodes of the series. Well, friends, that’s it for today’s reaction! I hope you continue to enjoy 911: Flashback. See you next time! Until next time …

[callmebrycelee]

Can I say something controversial? I don't think the Bob like behavior is a symptom of BT fandom getting bigger. (Or only a symptom of getting bigger). I've been in fandoms much bigger then this that have behaved better. I think it's because our boys are broken up and since Tommy isn't a main it feels like there future is more uncertain. People behave better when things are going there way it's just human nature. I'm not worried about the fandom getting bigger.. I'm worried about what will happen if BT doesn't show hints(at the very least) of getting back together. I worry that we are going to see more BTs lashing out like the BOBs do.

This This This This This This This This

*kissing you, respectly, on the forehead*

I was literally just talking about this to a couple of moots last night.

As soon as bucktommy are back together, it'll be as if a few people finally ate a fucking snickers and they'll calm down, which is great for them and their moots but I don't like that Dr Jekyll/Mr. Hyde toxicity. So no, I'm not waiting for them to apologize or even show shame.

I'm worried about that as well, Annie. If Tommy isn't I'm the first episode, get ready for immense fallout and "I fucking knew it!"s

Nevermind the fact we have 17 other fucking episodes to see him.

[callmebrycelee]

bucktommy hiatus event ↳ week 5: parallel(s)

[callmebrycelee]

first off, i apologize if this ask is annoying, you dont have to answer it if you don't like

i know you didn't ask anyone and this is the Opinions website, and i'm Not here to change anyone's opinions, but as a mexican person who grew up In mexico's culture (i swear this is relevant), i feel like it's important for me to say Something

not liking E's character is valid as fuck. However, villifying him for his (real) macho attitudes is Not where it's at ! mexican culture is still deeply deeply conservative, i grew up with an honest to god terrible dad but Also my Normal male relatives, friends, etc., most of them have E's macho behaviors if not worse, and that's normal here

seeing that in a show is important, but more important to me is seeing him struggle with those beliefs and the fucked up dynamics, and coming to terms with the fact that they are not Useful for Anyone

anyway i am again so sorry for this wall of text and for giving an opinion no one asked for (especially not you), i stand with the rights of haters to hate and just wanted to hopefully give you a different perspective to come at it from :)

respectfully, my opinion on E has nothing to do with his race. it's about his behaviour, and I would be saying the exact same thing if E was of any other ethnicity, or if this behaviour was coming from any other character on the show (and I have)

I understand the connotations, and I understand the prejudices, but we're talking about a character who, only a few seasons ago, claimed that he was going to therapy in order to become a better man for himself, because even he could see that he was struggling with his emotional and mental health. RG has proclaimed multiple times that he wants E to be an example of men - specifically men of colour - walking away from toxic masculinity.

however, the character and the show have failed in that respect.

in season eight, E is more aggressive than usual. he is the textbook definition and representation of an abuser, in particular his behaviour towards Buck. he gets physical, he throws verbal insults and taunts, he belittles. even before Bobby's death, E walks over Buck's own feelings in order to prioritise his own. and after, he dismisses Buck's grief in order to highlight his own.

E has been down this road before, numerous times, on this show, and it has never, ever stuck for more than a season at most. season 3 gave us his fight club era, season 5 had him call Bobby a murderer for refusing to give him back his job. and now season 8 has had him dismiss, belittle, and physically threaten his so-called "best friend".

if this is the representation you want, that's your opinion. personally, I don't see the value in normalising rage and aggression as an inherent trait in men, which is what E's storyline and characterisation does. he can't ever change because he "is what he is" (a man), and it's "part of his culture".

rage is not normal. aggression is not normal. toxic masculinity is not normal. just because something is culturally accepted and perpetuated does not mean that it's the norm, it just means people stopped trying to fight it. (people have the same mindset in Australia too, that this rage and violence in men is "normal", so I can speak on this part with firsthand experience, though without the cultural connection, as I'm very obviously not Mexican.)

my point is: they've been down this road with E before, and they've chickened out of it every single time. I am bored. I'm bored of the aggression, I'm bored of the macho performance, I'm bored of the spitefulness and bitterness that RG brings to the role. E is a boring character. his only notable traits are his rage and his fatherhood. so I stand by what I said: either write him getting better - for real this time - or write him off.

[callmebrycelee]

It CoUld mEaN nOtHinG

[callmebrycelee]

[callmebrycelee]

the cutest cutie patooties to ever exist

(hasan’s insta story 06/25)

[callmebrycelee]

It CoUld mEaN nOtHinG