#Kym’s crackpot theories

[stagefoureddiediaz]

I’m putting this out here when I hadn’t really intended to look at either Tay Kay or Ana in any great detail but the 5x06 and 5x07 episode switch has some people going into unnecessary meltdown and I thought this might help a little because what they’re doing with Tay Kay is the same as they did with Ana from a costuming perspective, but it’s manifesting in the opposite direction (and this is in keeping with their respective characters). It does mean my Chris meta is going to be delayed a little, but it should be out tomorrow! You can read my first meta, my Buck meta and my Eddie meta if you haven’t already by clicking on the links!

I’ll get Ana done first as she’s gone and it’ll show what they’re doing with Tay Kay better

Anas suit shopping dress has a busy pattern - same holds true for dresses as it does for shirts - it’s overly formal for the occasion (remember Eddie isn’t in his own clothes and we see Chris dressed down when there at tge hospital so it’s fair to assume Eddie was similarly attired) and the pattern is busy - showing disordered thinking/ discomfort - Ana knows not all is ok with their relationship and we see the verbal manifestation of this when she claims to be ‘just a friend’

In the visit to the firehouse the outfit choice is interesting (especially for someone who’s just made a ton of salad!!) it’s incredibly formal. We’re in a blackout and a heatwave, so a pretty and floaty dress would’ve been perfect in this scenario for some one comfortable in their relationship who wants to make a good impression on her boyfriends work family. What we get in reality is a pair of smart black trousers, which, in the dark, make half of her almost disappear and then the uncomfortable interaction she does have with Eddie makes this an interesting and perfect choice - Eddie is only interested in her presence because it brings Chris. The top is, again, patterned, but we’ve moved away from the tiny patterning to something bigger - things are becoming less confused. (This is the best gif of her outfit I could find and let’s be honest, we’d much rather look at Eddie hug Chris any day 🤣)

The million muffins and messy kitchen scene. This is the most dressed down we’ve ever seen Ana and it’s pretty jarring. Especially when accompanied by all the mess in the kitchen and the multitude of muffins on display (I could go into a whole thing about muffins and euphemisms around the meaning of ‘muffin’ and it not being what Eddie wants, but it’s nsfw 🤣🤣🤣), in theory this should show her as comfortable (at home) when in reality it actually does the opposite, even the casual viewer will pick up that we’ve never seen her dressed down like this. She wears smart outfits that fit with her role as a teacher and she is comfortable in them. The lack of patterning shows Ana knows where this is going. The shade of blue they’ve put her in doesn’t complement either the bright yellow of Chris’s tee, or the green of Eddies (which do complement each other!), yet another indicator that she doesn’t fit.

Little side note that I found interesting - Ana is dressed in the same colour that she was wearing when Eddie argued with her after Chris fell off the skateboard (it an almost identical shade!!) and also the same colour Chris was in also standing in the same location!) when Eddie told him about Ana - mess in kitchen - hers is much bigger - but while Chris was wearing a marl blue (a mix of blue and grey or white) hers is a solid block of colour - Chris said his piece through his actions but it’s not about him (the grey) - Eddie’s relationship should be about himself, not what he thinks is good for his son.

Throwing in a buddifer gif to break up having to look at Ana and Tay Kay!

Now on to Tay Kay - she’s becoming progressively more clothed, this is an indicator of her closing herself off rather than becoming more comfortable being in a relationship- almost like she already has one foot out the door, because what do we do when we’re planning on leaving - we out on more clothes!

None of her clothes speak of comfort, she’s not at ease in her own skin in any of the scenarios we’ve seen her in thus far (with the exceptions of when she’s doing her job (which she even does while in her lingerie) - this is telling in and of itself as it shows where her confidence and priorities lie)

First bedroom scene - she’s in sexy black lingerie- in and of itself not that unlikely - the relationship is still fairly new, she’s still making an effort. But what it does speak of is where her intentions where when she got dressed - she knew she was going to Bucks and ergo sex was an expected outcome (buck obviously thought this to as he tries to initiate it!), however she’s so involved in her work she’s never off the clock even when in bed in her lingerie with her bf. This should be jarring to the audience and plant a seed. If the relationship was good and they were both happy with her working in bed etc she’d have been comfortable - one of Bucks t-shirts, a pair of shorts - she could still look sexy and it would’ve cemented her as a fixture in Bucks life. That we don’t get that is very telling from a costume perspective.

In 5x03 we only see her through a tv screen because she’s at work and I don’t really see the point in commenting on work clothes because generally they’re ‘uniform’ but I think it’s worth noting that they have her in white - like a ghost - absent from the relationship

In 5x05 we get to see her a couple of times, I already spoke about her first outfit so I’m just going to copy and paste it here with a couple of expansions - Interestingly Tay Kay is in pink and with bare arms - she is feminine and comfortable - we are seeing her true self - we are meant to read what she says as truth and subsequently that she doesn’t ‘get’ Buck and his concerns (tellingly her story is actually all about her even though she’s tried to frame it as not being about her). The shade of pink is one associated with, love (either young not fully developed love or the long-standing love of the ages that has mellowed through the passing of time - BT is definitely the former 🤣), children and Barbie - she isn’t mature (when it comes to the give and take of relationships) and is superficial, it makes what she says and her lack of empathy or attempts at understanding Buck and where he’s coming from even more awkward.

5x05 Tay Kay scene 2 is an interesting one for me - the dress is dressy/ casual and a bit flirty, it’s loose fitting, all of which is suggestive of her not being comfortable (but trying to make herself) with being there for someone else, for doing something nice for someone because you’ve realised you’ve done something or said something wrong. I’m not a Tay Kay fan (as anyone who looks back through my timeline can tell!), but this is some character growth for her and more than they managed for Ana! The thing about this dress though is it’s darker tone of colour it’s a dark denimy blue - much like I said above about Ana - this is the perfect moment to put her in something colourful and show the relationship as confident and happy (like we see with Karen and Maddie), instead we get what is a fairly drab colour and one that has a sheen as well. The sheen is interesting as it makes the fabric look synthetic, silks etc have a sheen to them as well, but their sheen has a different look to it. It’s hard to explain the difference unless you’ve spent your life around fabric, but the sheen looks richer and has a better lustre. All synthetic fabrics are made from plastic and they are cheap, it’s why fast fashion uses them so much. What this sheen serves to highlight is all of what I’ve said above - Tay Kay is uncomfortable (but trying), but she’s also superficial and like fast fashion - not meant to be around too long - wear for a short while then get rid of it as you move onto the next thing (an allegory for buck 1.0 and also for Tay Kay if ever there was 🤣 but that’s the whole point - Buck isn’t Buck 1.0 anymore).

The final Tay Kay scene of 5x05 really echoes the first scene we see her in this season - yes we’ve upgraded to a top rather than a bra, but it’s still firmly in the sexy nightwear/lingerie category. The black almost blends her into the background (again she is not the most important thing in the scene - Maddie is).

5x06 we have the scene at the end, and not going to lie - I laughed when I saw what she’s wearing because her outfit (including her hair) fits very much into the film trope of what a female spy would look like - anyone else want to play spot the difference?!!

Accompanied by the script it’s all literally shouting that she’s up to no good - spying and digging for information! It’s her most interesting outfit because it really does say so much about her character and it’s clearly telegraphing where her arc is going - there really hasn’t been that much growth in her personality since dosed - especially since she’s dressed similarly - all in black, they’ve just added in matching her to the film trope of a P.I - in a trench coat

I’m going to be really interested to see what she’s wearing in 5x07 as we know that the episodes have been swapped I wonder if it’s just going to be ‘work Taylor’ or if we’re going to see her out of reporter mode?!!

All of this just serves to show that she’s headed out of the door. Where Ana became more patterned and more dressed down as she became conscious of the problems with her relationship to the point of acceptance that it was over, taylor is the reverse of this - the problems and distance mounts so she doubles down on what’s actually important to her - her career.

Ok I’m done! Here’s hoping I don’t have to dig into Tay Kay for much longer, although I’m not gonna lie, it’s been fun to highlight how much the costuming is doing to add to what the script and direction is doing with showing us her storyline (and how it’s helping Buck grow too, because the difference between s2 Buck and s5 Buck in relationship terms is just vast!!)

Thanks to all the gif makers whose gifs I’ve used, you’re all amazing for making them - im totally useless at that sort of thing 🤣 so I’m forever grateful for the fandoms creativity!

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Here we go with my Eddie costume meta! You can find my first general post here and my second post on Buck here. Chris will be next - possibly tomorrow if I can get it finished!!

I’m including the hospital scene from 4x14 because I think it’s important to have in mind in relation to s5 Eddie. He’s wearing an open necked short sleeved shirt - suggesting he’s comfortable, but also the sling being between him and buck is providing him a shield if his openness, is rebuffed, it’s important that this ‘shield’ isn’t a piece of his personal clothing, but a medical thing, because laying stuff out and making himself vulnerable is something he’s only doing because of a medical event, it’s not something he chose, circumstance chose for him. The dark colour is foreshadowing that what he’s saying will only come to pass in a dark time, but this is contrasted with his skin and the open neckline suggesting that the dark tones can be taken away (as acceptance is acknowledged and buddie becomes a fully formed thing)

Technically uniform (im keeping an eye on when they wear a shirt versus a t-shirt to see if a correlation is developing, but I’ve not had a chance to look in detail yet! I’ll make a post if there is.) as they’re at work in the black out, but Eddie in a singlet shows he’s open and vulnerable when he’s talking to Buck - his outfit reflects what he’s saying - he’s being honest (he even says ‘if I’m being honest’ but the black colour again reflects the internal darkness and churning his mind is going through.

The green Henley he’s wearing in the locker scene and then at home with Chris and Ana. It’s important that it’s a Henley - we see Eddie in them when he’s comfortable and this is no exception- Eddie is comfortable with the decision he’s made. That it’s also a shade commonly called army green is important - he’s preparing himself for battle. in the locker room we see him strapping on a watch like he’s making final preparations and arming himself. (so many layers in it being a watch - time has come, time is running out, wanting more time to find the words, watches having straps and actual armour having straps to affix it to your body!!) Then he goes home and goes into battle (I could go into a whole thing about him having a fridge behind him and that fridge also being between him and Chris around nourishment and protecting what nourishes at the same time as removing a drain on resources, but this is a costume meta so I won’t!) the fact he folds his arms (a self protective gesture) so the watch is on top and visible to Ana is important - time is up. The other interesting thing (which is worth keeping an eye on as the season goes on because it’s holding true to previous seasons and I could probably write a whole post on this alone) is the buttons on the Henley - in the locker room, only one is unbuttoned, whereas when he’s home we now have 2 unbuttoned (and a peek of a black undershirt which could be a hint at comfort in darkness - it’s still hot remember, you don’t wear an undershirt unless you’re seeking the comfort of something close fitting!) and his sleeves pushed up - he means business, but he’s ultimately comfortable with his decision and what it means for himself.

I know we all love Eddie in a dark suit (and he does look mighty fine in it) but the fact that it is all black. Also the tie Ana picks out doesn’t go well with it - it wouldn’t look good if he’d got as far as putting it on - shows she’s wrong for Eddie!

Grey Henley - neutral - Eddie wears a lot of neutral tones - grey, beige etc- and while they are neutral, they are also suggestive of trying to not draw attention to himself this holds true to Eddie’s character - he’s always putting others first, often to the detriment of himself, but it’s also a signal towards - dare I say it - repression - of you wear a lot of neutral tones you’re trying to divert attention elsewhere and not deal with what is going on internally (Chris in bright blue at the end of 5x06 is Eddie’s focus) it’s why the fact Eddie is in beige when he defers to buck (in blue) in the hildy technophobe scene he’s pushing the focus onto buck - inviting him to step forward and take charge of that moment - a subtle push along the road to fatherhood and joint parenting! It’s going to be so interesting to see if his colour ways change and develop as he deals with his repressed feelings.

Balcony scene - green trousers again army green - he knows that the talk he’s going to have with Buck has the potential to become a battle, but it’s not one related to his heart or mind - the battle isn’t about him it’s about someone else! He’s also wearing a black button down shirt - buttoned up - this is not about him not being his true self, but more about not putting his emotions into this conversation because he recognised a it’s not about him, it’s about Buck (and Chimney - oh how I would love to see the scene with Chimney to see if it is the same - a battle but with his emotions kept out of it!!) This conversation is a deep and somewhat dark one - black clothing is about making stuff happen - setting a scenario in an as unobtrusive way as possible (think stage hands changing a set in a theatre production) and that’s exactly what Eddie us doing here - he’s giving Buck advice and support, but doing it in an understated way (unlike Tay Kay in the next episode!) and thus holds true with his character and all the things he’s done to support and guide buck previously!

Overall I’m not expecting huge changes in Eddie’s wardrobe as the season progresses, we might move into slightly deeper tones / colour wise, I fully expect the light neutral buttoned Henleys to stay (wardrobe have definitely made them a signature look for Eddie) and they’re so good at representing his quite and internalised thought processes (Eddie is more subtle v.s Bucks much more outwardly loud, which has been spoken about a lot but holds true in their respective costuming as well!) but they may start pairing them with more colourful shirts - I’m expecting more browns, blues, darker greens and maybe even some purples (very dark purples - almost black) and I’m expecting more buttons to be undone as his comfort levels with who he is and what he wants begin to increase! It will also be worth keeping an eye on sleeve lengths and if they’re rolled/ pushed up - that’s more likely to be an indicator for Eddie than colour changes.

Oh Eddie my beloved, they really did a great job with costuming you, it’s all so subtle and clever. Costume design team, yes it’s a team 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 you’re all doing a brilliant job! Thanks to all the gif makers out there for creating all the gifs so I can show what I’m talking about and thanks for reading this far - hope you’ve found it interesting!

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Happy new episode day everyone! 🎉🎉🎉

I wanted to get this out before the episode goes live and I’m hopin o can get everyone else done this week so I can then do a more general costume post for the episode looking at all the characters rather than individual focus! I’m sorry it’s ended up as an Uber long post! As always thanks to all the gif makers who’s gifs I’ve shamelessly stolen to make my mountain of text look prettier and show my points!

As ever this is a continuation of my costume metas which you can read here, here, here and here.

I’m going to look at Christopher in two separate parts - firstly the suit shopping scene because I have a suit Goldilocks theory (and this is partly because kids only wear suits at certain events - not in more day to day and work scenarios like adults!)

- his old suit that he wore to his mother’s funeral is too small.

- new suit he’s trying in to please his fathers girlfriend is too big and doesn’t fit properly (telling that he’s tried on several).

- the next time we see Chris in a suit I expect it to fit him perfectly (Manifesting at Buddies wedding 🤣)

- These suits are a literal metaphor for where Chris is mentally and emotionally and his costuming is important because he’s a character we don’t really often see away from Eddie or Buck.

I’m not saying the old suit is too small because he doesn’t still love his mom, because he absolutely does and he always will, but she can never come back into the picture. We as humans continue to grow and develop and change even, and especially, when we loose someone close to us (I speak from personal experience here - I lost my mum at 18 - I will always love her and she will always be a part of me, but I know I’m a different person than I would’ve been because she is no longer a physical presence in my life providing support and guidance - I wonder if she’d be able to recognise the me I am now.) Chris may not be cognisant of this yet, because he’s still a child, but to us as the audience the suit is a physical representation of his personal growth as well as his physical growth as a child, the fact it doesn’t fit properly shows us he’s not yet there.

The suit shop suit is also showing us, the audience, Christopher’s opinion on Eddieana as a couple - it doesn’t fit and he is manifestly uncomfortable! The only other time we’ve seen him act out in any way when Eddie told him in s4 that he was dating Ana and this suit is a continuation of that.

- an ill fitting suit and it’s interesting that it’s grey - he won’t be the focus of the scene even though other aspects of the mise en scene initially pull you that way (that it’s supposed to be Chris they’re shopping for, shop assistant and everyone are focused on him - except the camera and sound etc) - an aside to say I love the use of mirrors and both Eddie and Chris being seen in reflection - the representation of not being one’s true self (911 uses this concept really effectively- think Bobby getting back into the dating game in s1 and all the times the mirrors on the fire trucks or mirror reflections have been used!) - they are both trying to make the other happy by projecting what they think the other needs - neithers reflection looks comfortable in that moment even though they’re trying - an indication that they’ve not spoken with each other about it, they’re just following along with a projected image!

On to the rest of Christopher’s outfits!

we have no real idea how he felt about the break up - because we haven’t been shown his reaction, but we can make some assumptions based on his clothing. This season Chris has had some different outfit choices from previous seasons and they reflect what I’ve previously said about Buck being in smart and patterned shirts around Taylor. I should also add that the outfits Chris has worn in previous seasons are really interesting in relation to how his personality is developing into a blend of Eddie, Shannon and Buck (I might do an entire post on this alone when I get some time!!) Chris has had 5 scenes thus far and they all reflect his comfort levels (and also to a subconscious extent his fathers) especially related to Ana and Eddie - hard to get a read on anyone else because he’s not really been around anyone else yet.

Green poisonous creatures tee - aside from the rather obvious poisonous creatures, the shirt is green - not quite the army green of Eddie’s, but it’s in that tonal area - he’s going into battle for his dad - the brighter shade is also interesting because it sits in the spectrum between the subtle shades of Eddie (reflecting his quieter more stoic personality) and the brighter tones of Bucks clothing (again reflective of Bucks more outwardly loud personality) - perhaps, and I might be reading more into this than is there, but it’s something I would’ve done, (and the costume designer will have been involved in season arcing conversations so will know where Buddie is headed at this point - lucky Alyana!!) as a way of showing that Chris’s personality is becoming a blend of both Eddie and Bucks - that Chris is prepared to be a it louder when he needs to be - that Chris is the one that drops the info to the Dr about the shooting holds this theory up and it’s his way of fighting for his dad and getting him both some support and for Eddie to acknowledge he needs some help - that it’s being instigated by chris is an important and wonderful thing because Eddie will always do stuff to make sure his son is ok so for them to signal chris is willing to do the same is just amazing and shows the father son bond and all through a t-shirt, never doubt that designers do thing intentionally (even if it’s to play with the audience’s minds). 😍

When Chris and Ana visit the firehouse we see Chris in a pretty formal outfit for a 10 year old considering it’s also a heatwave (we’ve seen Chris in shirts before, he does wear them fairly frequently. When around Ana he never wore t-shirts in previous seasons which makes the green tee from above the exception and the reason why is obvious!). Again the shirt is slightly over sized, but it’s also patterned - the pink and blue check which from a distance reads as a purply red colour and is pretty busy, this all matches what I’ve said previously about Bucks shirts indicating his discomfort around Taylor - formal = not comfortable - putting up a front or presenting an ideal, and the pattern = disordered thinking and lack of mental comfort. All of this is signalling that Chris is not happy being left with Ana so he’s putting up a front. We know if he’s been with Carla he’d have been much more casually dressed - we’ve seen it in previous series, which is why this outfit was so important and jarring!

I can never never never get enough of this hug btw!!

I can’t find a Gif so you’ll have to take my word for it or go watch the (cringe fest of Ana) scene again. Chris’s yellow shirt is an acid almost neon yellow - it’s super bright - the brightest thing in the whole scene by a long way and it’s meant to draw our eye - it’s as much a signpost for us as it is for Eddie - Chris is the way out of the darkness, he is Eddie’s guiding light, a route out of the mental darkness that has preceded, the blackout (which is a metaphor for most of the main characters internal turbulence at this time) and in some ways ties in with the green shirt from the hospital (I wish I could fully see the design on it to see if it revealed more).

We’ve seen Chris in yellow a couple of times, and they’ve been important.

the tsunami - which cemented his bond with Buck, separate from Eddie.

Also at Mays graduation party - where we saw Buck stepping into a fatherly role (mays message board) and cementing the Buckley-diaz family dynamic (that this is happening at a time when we now know Eddie is changing/ has changed his will makes it even more pertinent!).

The blue tee Chris is wearing bed is super interesting to me - this is one of the few times we’ve seen him in a single colour t-shirt (especially when he’s in pyjamas!). Normally Chris is either wearing multi colour tees (such as the striped ones we’ve seen him in previously), patterned pyjamas, or t-shirts that have logos on them. In fact (off the top of my head) the only instance prior to this I can remember Chris wearing a single colour t-shirt is when Eddie comes home from the hospital (and fun fact it was a mini Henley in army green!). There could be several reasons for this - blue is considered a calming colour and Eddie is seeking the calming comfort of his son, he’s not in need of guidance at this point in time (the universe doesn’t need to scream at the moment for more than one reason) so there is no graphic logo (as an aside we don’t even see the solar system mobile in this scene!) also the fact that it’s what I term a ‘jewel’ shade (which is the colour spectrum they tend to put Buck in fyi,) is designed to re-emphasise the importance of Christopher to Eddie - the importance of family.

I can’t wait to see what Chris is wearing in future episodes, his costumes are always so interesting and I’m expecting a return to graphic tees and colour ways that match both Eddie and Buck at different times! I’m definitely going to have to run a closer look at his outfits since S2 in more detail, especially around when he is and isn’t wearing stripes because I have a theory about 911 characters in stripes, but I need to check it holds up I’ve just not had the time to look at it yet!! And one other thing I need - Eddie in yellow, to support another theory I have (and the yellow from the crossover doesn’t count even though it made him look so pretty 😍)

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Something that’s been playing on my mind for a fair while is the drawing of a fox in Christopher room because, like the space and dinosaur theming, it keeps hanging out in the background of important Christopher scenes, stealing my attention - like what is is foreshadowing or hinting at? HE IS JUST ALWAYS THERE LOOKING AT ME MOCKINGLY!!

Heads up this post got long and a bit random so its below the cut if anyone is interested!

It first appears in 3x04 - Triggers, when Eddie runs into Christopher when he’s having a nightmare - side note; Chris is wearing space themed pjs 

We don’t see it again until 4x02 - Alone Together, Carla is on zoom talking about invisible strings and the Diaz boys fall asleep on Christophers bed. No space themed stuff here, and Chris is in horizontal striped pyjamas, which fit in nicely with my theory about stripes!

Then we have 4x08 - Breaking Point (everyones favourite sleep paralysis daemon!), when Eddie gets back from his math date (and theres construction on sunset!) although we don’t get to see much of it but Chris is in solar system pyjamas

 4x08 - Breaking point, Foxy pops up for the second time and this time we do get to see it more clearly - hanging out with the solar system mobile -  when Christopher has runaway to Bucks.

4x13 - Suspicion, here it is hanging out on the wall while they sort though Christophers toys to donate to Charlie, notice that the mobile has disappeared (well is not is shot at any rate!) and there is no space theming visible.

4x14 - Survivors, Its still there when Buck has to tell Christopher about Eddie getting shot (and guess what - the solar system mobile is back, it’s not in the picture above, but you do see it later on in this scene!)

There are only two incidences where we don’t see space obvious theming when the fox can be seen - the scene with Carla on Zoom and the scene when they’re sorting through toys for Charlie. in every other scene with that fox either the mobile is present hanging out next to it, or Chris is in space themed pyjamas! and we don’t see it when the dinosaur theming is prevalent! 

Buck is the common denominator in all those scenes - the nightmare is about the tsunami which involved Buck, 4x08 Buck is the one who put Chris to bed etc, Eddie calls Buck about Christopher running away and thats where Christopher has run too, and Buck is the one telling Christopher about Eddie being shot.

Anyway it sent me down a rabbit hole (or fox hole if you want to be punny!) because tied in with the fox theming is also that damn little winking gingerbread man air freshener in 5x10 that has become my nemesis!

Lets talk foxes in mythology! In most mythology foxes are wiley, cunning, tricksters, able to outsmart or outwit their competition but they can also be symbols of protection. 

In the Br’er Rabbit stories - the fox was often the antagonist

In Aesops fables - the fox and the grapes - where the term ‘sour grapes’ comes from - it’s a story about a fox who tries to jump up and reach some grapes hanging from a vine which is wound along a tree branch. He tries several times before giving up and saying 

"What a fool I am," he said. "Here I am wearing myself out to get a bunch of sour grapes that are not worth gaping for."

In Moche culture in Peru - the fox was believed to be a warrior who used his mind to fight and never took up arms to fight in a physical battle.

On to the best and most pertinent fox story; that of the Gingerbread man! interestingly enough this story seems to have originated in America it was first published in May 1875 in a magazine called St. Nicholas magazine, but there are similar stories throughout Europe which are similar (usually about a local food item such as pancakes or dumplings!) and predate the gingerbread man.

Originally the story of the gingerbread man was a story about a gingerbread boy who runs away from the woman who made him (and several others along the way) he outruns her before he gets tricked into approaching a fox who eats him and pretends not to hear his cries to stop. 

it makes me think of so many potential hints and links;

Is the woman who made him Shannon? 

Chris ran away - but to Buck, who protected him - saved him from the fox - but maybe the fox is Tay Kay (red hair!!) and she’s going to do something to ‘eat’ Christopher - like try to separate Buck from the Diaz boys in some way?!!

maybe the fox is a representation of a heteronormative lifestyle? We haven’t seen that drawing again yet in s5

is Chris is being eaten up by his fear? Eddie is also being eaten by his fear

Eddie is not listening to Christophers cries - he thinks he is, but he isn’t - much like the fox not listening to the cries of the gingerbread boy

so many little things that can be tied into that fox

You know what else foxes make me think of (and this could be because I’m British idk) fox hunting and the trauma a fox suffers throughout - the time spent being chased to exhaustion and then ripped to shreds by the dogs when its caught - its like a massive metaphor for Eddie - he’s the fox, being chased by various outside forces, to the point of exhaustion (trauma!!) 

the idea of running away, running towards the universe, but being tricked - the 

then there is the spirituality side of foxes ( I copied and paste this off a website, about spirit guide animals!) which if this isn’t written like its about Eddie and whats coming for him, then I don’t know what to say to you!! (it also ties in so well with what I wrote about those daffodils in 5x10 that its kinda scary!!

The fox spirit animal reminds you to maintain your autonomy. Even though you adore your romantic partner, your family, your kids, and close friends, it’s important to have a strong sense of self, and to make sure you always nourish yourself, even when you’re a caregiver.

When you take a plane flight, and the flight attendant goes over the safety precautions for the flight, they always tell you to put on your own oxygen mask first because if you pass out, you can’t help anyone else. This analogy describes the sentiments of the fox spirit animal. It’s vital that you learn to care for yourself. Then, you can be more present in your relationships. This doesn’t mean self-centeredness or narcissism; it means a healthy practice of self-care.

If a fox makes themselves known to you, whether in real life, the media, or art, it can be a sign that it’s time for you to leave the warm den of your comfort zone. Self-protection and nourishment are vitally important, but there is also a time to break out and take some risks. The fox is definitely not a comfort junky!

If other people overstep your boundaries, or those of your loved ones, whether these boundaries are physical, emotional, or financial, the protective fox reminds you have the right to stand your ground and defend your territory.

I love the idea of Eddie being taunted by a fox drawing in Christophers room to leave the warm den of his comfort zone and take some risks!! 😂

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Buck in Maroon t-shirts

ok so I’m trying not to clown here but...

Whilst I was doing some research to answer an ask about Eddie (sorry Nonnie - i’m working on it and will be able to get my answer to you soon!) I noticed something which has distracted me and made me a little more excited about the potential of tomorrows episode.

Apologies in advance for the terrible screenshots (especially the first one)!

We see Buck in maroon 11 times in seasons 2-4 (he doesn’t wear the colour in S1 and hasn’t in S5). Of these 11 times he is wearing a maroon t-shirt 5 times (I’m including the henley from s2e1 because its short sleeved so technically a t-shirt!), the other 6 times are either hoodies, or button up shirts. ifwe ignore the hoodies and proper shirts we’re left with;

S2E1 - Buck comes home to find Maddie is about to leave but he talks to her and convinces her to stay in LA

S2E4 Maddie moves out and into her own apartment

S2E7 Buck decides to move on and moves out of Abbys apartment

S3E3 Post Tsunami Eddie drops off Christopher for Buck to look after

S4E14 Buck has to tell Christopher about Eddie being shot

And then we have tomorrows episode and eye spy with my little eye a maroon t-shirt (it could be a jumper, but the wrinkle at the bottom is saying t-shirt to me!)

anyone want to guess where this is going yet??

Ok so all the times he’s wearing a maroon t-shirt something significant happens in his life - Maddie is about to leave, but chooses not to because he gives her a good reason to stay and build a new life, then the next time she’s moving out of Abbys and into her own apartment - shift 1. Then he makes the decision to move on and moves out of Abbys - shift 2. Post Tsunami, Eddie reaffirms his faith in Buck - ‘theres no on I trust more with my son’ - shift 3 and then finally we have the moment when Buck steps up and has to tell Christopher about his Dad - doing exactly what Eddie wanted and Bucks life shifts again - shift 4.

So I think it’s fair to assume that there is about to be another shift in Bucks life. But, thats not all I spotted...

When he leaves Abbys - he’s wearing a black denim (I think - the light leaves are so low its hard to be 100%) jacket.

Buck only wears a maroon t-shirt with a jacket when he’s about to leave/ move on. I’m saying no more, but I am crossing everything that he’s about to leave Tay Kay, or at the very least come to the decision to leave her!

[stagefoureddiediaz]

So my costume Meta post seems to have been received in a way I never expected, thank you for all the comments etc in the tags, the reboots and the likes, I’m blushing at your kindness ☺️☺️ but also pleased I’ve been able to give you guys some new perspective on costuming and start some discourse through the knowledge I gained when I worked in costume design and my ongoing ADHD hyperfixation on this wee woo show!

With that in mind I thought I’d look at season 5 in a bit more detail and add a few more things you might all find interesting! I’m going to try and do a full look at costuming for each character as and when I can, but Buck is the easiest to write about because they’re really not being subtle with him at all 😂

That being said before I deep dive into buck a couple of asides to give you food for thought -Chris has generally been dressed more formally when around Ana this season, the big exception being the poisonous creatures tee(it’s so much fun to telegraph information through graphic tees and kids wear them most frequently!), who conversely became less formally attired as her relationship with Eddie deteriorated!

Anyway back to Buck;

We’ve seen him in a lot of hoodies since the shooting (including when he was taking care of Chris in 4x13/14). Hoodies represent warmth and comfort - think hugs- they are an allegory for the type of relationship he’s looking for, why he’s trying to find - the comfort and familiarity of family, we never see him in them when he’s with Tay Kay - only with Eddie or when he’s alone and this serves to make the void in his life (empty lonely appartment etc) bigger and more obvious. They’re also a way of self soothing (when you don’t have the above) and I think we’ll continue to see Bucks hoodie collection until the fallout from the shooting and the will and the unacknowledged feelings he has for Eddie are resolved. I’ll be interested to see if the hoodies become less constricting at this point as the ones he’s currently wearing are well fitted, not loose and baggy like truly comfortable hoodies are!

We’ve seen him a lot more ‘buttoned up’ this season - more formal jumpers and shirts which are buttoned up (if you think back to many of the button shirts he wears throughout previous seasons they’re open over a t- shirt making them less formal) showing he’s not fully comfortable, not being his true self and presenting a specific version of himself to the world. That these generally take place as significant moments, there is the scene at Chimney and Maddies when he’s keeping info from Chim, but they’re mostly with Tay Kay-(he’s had on the patterned shirts I spoke of in my last post) we can infer that he’s not his full true comfortable self with her - he’s holding back and remaining ‘buttoned up’ because he doesn’t fully trust her (all things show by his body language as well).

For Buck his uniform is armour - we heard him say it to Bobby in 3x06. That he’s wearing an LAFD hoodie when talking with Tay Kay about the firefam is important - he’s armoured up in what should be a domestic and comfortable moment with his girlfriend, but his walls are up, again, showing a lack of trust in her.

- Interestingly Tay Kay is in pink (more on pink later)and with bare arms - she is feminine and comfortable - we are seeing her true self - we are meant to read what she says as truth. Tellingly the shade of pink is one associated with, love (either young not fully developed love or the long-standing love of the ages that has mellowed through the passing of time - BT is definitely the former 🤣), children and Barbie - she isn’t mature (when it comes to the give and take of relationships) and is superficial, it makes what she says and her lack of empathy or attempts at understanding Buck and where he’s coming from even more awkward.

The other thing to note is the colour choices - all of the tones we’ve seen buck in have been rich colours that are autumnal - russets, mustard/ochre yellows - or dark tones (charcoal grey hoodie I’m looking at you) suggesting that this phase is nearing its end, the exception (and it’s not really the exception because the shade is a rich shade that fits with Bucks colour ways this season) is the pink jumper he’s wearing when Chim hits him. I spoke in the other post about red being a colour of mother’s and buck wearing pink when he’s stepping into a parenting role - it’s similar here. Except this time it is also a colour of love - he’s reflecting both his protective nature and Maddies - he is not the parent in this situation, he’s the sibling/uncle, he is however undertaking a loving role on behalf of a parent - Maddies - protecting Chim and Jee (I’m not going to get into the rights and wrongs of this scene and how both Buck and Chim acted, it’s nuanced and has been hashed out and picked over a million times) from what(or who) she perceives to be a danger.

We see Buck in grey in the two bed scenes - grey is neutral, it represents not drawing attention to yourself, so what Buck is doing in those scenes isn’t as important as what else is - the first - Tay Kay and her lack of presence in the relationship at that moment - she’s not at ease (as denoted by the fancy lingerie - if she was truly comfortable, and at 4+ months, you’d think they would be at that point of comfort, she’d be in one of his t-shirts or proper pjamas) she’s more interested in work and technology (the tech is everywhere - tv, laptop, phone!). In the second, our focus should be on Maddie and what she is saying rather than on Buck.

Just a little aside on Eddie and the Christmas episode and that it looks like he’s going to be wearing brown when he has a conversation with Carla. Brown and earthy tones generally represent steady and dependable. Interestingly there has been some research done that suggests brown is a good colour to wear when you are open to or want to promote communication (the research showed people found those wearing brown more approachable when needing to ask questions/ for help or relay information) Eddie has maybe reached a place where he is more receptive to receiving advice and communicating what he needs or wants! I’m going to look at him and his brown wearing habits when I get round to looking at his costuming because I know he wears it a fair bit😎🤓

I’m sorry - this ended up way way longer than I thought and I have no idea how to put something under a cut when posting via the app 🤦🏻‍♀️ thanks to all the gif makers whose gif have allowed me to better display my points @prettyboyandthekid @evanbuckleydaily and @dailybuddie and also to @yramesoruniverse for double reblogging me ☺️ it encouraged me to get this post out and I’m working on more - Eddie is coming next!!

Updating to add a link to Eddie’s costume meta

[stagefoureddiediaz]

also gonna throw out that the rope theory is still intact as well - Chim on red rope - Eddie gets buried. Buck on red rope - Eddie leaves the 118.

god I hate my brain for spotting this stuff