#but also connected to Bucks feeling for Eddie continuing to develop in parallel to that journey

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Something something about Buck unravelling caution tape at a scene which an married gay man and his father. Something about it being a warning that buck is unravelling and something something about that unravelling having something to do with a father figure and acceptance - or the worry about acceptance.

[matan4il]

Buddie 408 meta

In the first call of the ep, Buck and Eddie were paired up as partners and with the jumper call, we see them having parallel conversations about the problems that dating has introduced into their lives. That’s on top of the parallel dating timelines that I mentioned in my 407 meta and continues in this ep. Basically, no matter where the show takes them, it also links them together, even through the small things. Always.

* * *

During Ana and Eddie’s ‘big date’, we learn that he spends his time solving math problems, which… what kind of a date even is that? And the flirting in the scene doesn’t quite work for me personally, because not only do we not know Ana as a character, we also don’t know them as a couple. ALL we’ve had so far is flirting, but where are the bits where they connect, where you can see how they fit as people in real situations? When a show is invested in a Love Interest, it gives us those scenes. Not just heavy handed flirting. Same goes for Ana meeting Chris at the end of the ep, we don’t know what she’s like with him, only that he loves her because she used to be his teacher, which is a very lazy way of establishing their bond. And the most meaningful scene in the ep? Didn’t involve Ana or Chris with her. She’s still not being invested in. So yeah, she’s around, but she still doesn’t feel like she’s meant to be long term.

I found it jarring (in a good way!) that right after his date, not only does Eddie come home to Buck (let’s not talk about how Buck walks into the scene a bit like a revealed love interest would, for example like Athena’s walk into the restaurant revealing her as Bobby’s date in ep 110) and it then plays as such a domestic scene (given the bit of teasing with “you’re late!”, and how Buck is shown to be so great with Chris, as well as being there for Eddie), the fact that this happens right after the almost completely contentless date is a contrast that emphasizes just how much more meaningful this relationship is. It also served as a reminder that while Eddie hesitated in re-introducing Chris to his own mother, while Eddie was now unsure and uncomfortable telling his son about the woman he’s dating, when he met Buck, there was no hesitation. Just like Eddie instinctively knew he and Buck would have each other’s back, he knew he could trust Buck when introducing him to his son. Again, the comparison screams how meaningful the Buddie bond is and has been since day one! This is not how you sell a new Love Interest to the audience. Or get shippers to stop shipping.

And I couldn’t help but notice that Eddie’s date gives us a scene of both Buck and Eddie returning home. Eddie is completely comfortable and happy when he returns to his house, because he’s in his element, seeing Buck and Chris (other than the moment when he doesn’t feel comfortable telling Chris about Ana). Buck in comparison is highly uncomfortable returning to his loft, due to Veronica being there and his sense of Albert’s betrayal. This continues the theme of showing that really, Buck’s home is with the Diaz boys.

* * *

In contrast with Ana, Taylor has been back for only one ep and already has been shown more as a character on her own, getting a mini redemption arc, as well as having a more developed and multi-faceted history with the guy she’s been brought back for. Taylor will clearly continue to show up, and I think a friendship between her and Buck could be interesting. At the end of the day, I can’t ignore that the biggest thing she said to show she does know Buck isn’t what she spewed in a moment of anger. It’s that he already has meaningful relationships - with the 118. Which of course includes, as this ep highlights, Eddie and Chris. Who knows? Maybe at some point, she’ll get to say something about this to Buck.

* * *

Speaking of friendships, I love so many of the platonic ones on this show. Athena and Hen’s just rules, Bobby and Michael’s is so freaking pure, and now I’m also adoring Buck and Albert’s. I LOVE that Al chose friendship over romance. That we got the show saying good friendships matter more. I love that Buck got to see his friend putting him first. I wanna take a sec to applaud this! (that Al and Buck are roommates as well and still less domestic and each other’s partner than Buck and Eddie are is just a bonus)

* * *

The date scene’s only meaty part is establishing the problem Eddie has: he’s not comfortable yet with telling his son about Ana. Normally, him resolving that would have been the climax of his story arc in this ep. Instead, his coming to terms with having to tell his son about his dating is played semi-comically, against the backdrop of the guy whose jumping from the roof the team is betting on. His scene of talking about it to Chris isn't the climax either, since it isn’t the one where Chris gets to open up and share his feelings, allowing emotional progress. Instead, that climax scene happens between Buck and Chris. And why would Eddie’s dating dilemma climax happen with a scene between his son and his best friend? Showing us how deeply they’re tied together? That’s not how these stories usually unfold... (another symbol of that is that dating stories with an interrupted kiss are usually resolved by seeing the couple getting to kiss after all before the end of that storyline, but Eddie and Ana don’t get that)

Not to mention that when Buck talks to Chris, he already knew about Christopher’s outburst, meaning he was updated about this right away, despite this being the night of his weird double date (not for example the next day), and Eddie had to have told him before he told Ana. Buck is SO Eddie’s real partner. I also found it interesting that what Chris confesses is his fear of more people he loves leaving. But who is he scared will leave? Eddie dating doesn’t mean he’s going anywhere. And Chris can’t be that afraid of losing at some point this new person that he doesn’t even yet know if he’ll like. So who might drift away if Eddie starts dating? It’s “Dad’s friend”, whose house is the place Chris chose to run away to. The guy whose reassurance - that he will always be in Christopher’s life - is what calms down this confessed fear.

And if that doesn’t say everything about how central Buck is to Chris as more than just his dad’s friend, consider the fact that Chris’ fear of being abandoned parallels Buck’s as he had expressed it to Maddie in 316. This scene might have used the word ‘friends’ for Buck and Chris, but in every other way, it presented them as a family (and by extension, Eddie too). And this is a show that repeatedly points out how real family matters more than anything else, in whatever form it may come. That it’s a bond that cannot be broken. And that’s what these three have.

Thank you endlessly to my amazing friend @bicepsie​​ for making her incredible gifs for this meta post! xoxox Also, if you like my takes on Buddie, you can find more of my meta and fics for them here. Thank you in advance for any like, comment and of course reblog, they all help so much! As we go into this break in eps, I’ll still be here, making content and answering questions for anyone interested. Have a pleasant hiatus everyone and be well! xoxoxox 

[littlespoonevan]

Soooo what are your thoughts about 5x07?

(i'm guessing you meant 5x06 but if not, i'm about to word vomit about it anyway lol sorry <3)

in short, i really liked it!!! i was worried about how they'd handle the riot given what we saw in 5x03 but i actually found the inmate's (mitchell?? guys i watched at 6am i don't remember askdjfh) motive and storyline very compelling! i also loved getting to return to hen's med school storyline and that little hint at ravi's backstory. i'm v intrigued on both accounts!!

i always knew the hostage situation wasn't gonna be quite as whump-y or hurt/comfort-y as we were headcanoning it to be so i still liked that and i think it set up a lot of very interesting things for the rest of 5a.

i think if i could compare eddie's arc (and buck's by extension) to anything right now it would be s3. in 3x06 buck and eddie had just made up after the lawsuit but the actual fallout and resolution didn't properly come about until the appropriately titled episode 9, "Fallout".

That was when we got to see eddie in therapy, that was when we had buck and eddie actually talk about their issues and saw buck's guilt over not being there. and i think i'm expecting something similar this time around. eddie's arc right now is like a series of trip switches and false starts. we're thrown off first by the fact his panic attacks are seemingly being caused by ana and the idea of a future with her. then we have a series of emergencies that parallel his own trauma that we never see him react to (almost falling out of the helicopter, the best friends call in 4x04, the hostage situation and the buried alive thing coming next week)

and it's easy to feel frustrated at his lack of reaction - i definitely have at times - but i think it's happened so frequently now that it can't be anything other than deliberate. 911 definitely has moments where it glosses over trauma but i don't think it lacks that much self-awareness. so i'm expecting this to continue to build over the next episode or two before we finally see him crack in some way

to broaden it out to buddie, i definitely feel like something is building between them also because there’s so much Not Talking about the shooting and the continued physical distance between them feels extremely pointed. (this is a great post about it). again, i feel like we have to get some kind of fallout/aftermath between them in regards to how the shooting impacted their relationship. like, i need buck to bring up the fact that eddie almost died in front of him and that was a reality he had to face even if only for a few hours

the interesting thing about this (and something i noticed someone else pointing out too) is that i have no idea what’s going through buck’s head right now. with the exception of 5x05 buck hasn’t really had an arc this season so far. the first 3 eps were him heavily involved in eddie’s storyline and ep 4 and 5 revolved around his role in chimney and maddie’s lives. none of this was about him but instead how he was connected to the other characters.

so if i could have my ideal ep 9 scenario it would be a cold open scene of one of buck’s therapy sessions (since we’ve never really seen any). i think if they were to do something like stiles’ counselling session in s2 of teen wolf it could work extremely well. like intercut what he’s talking about with little flashbacks of things that have been going on. it would be a great way to include some exposition tbh and give us insight into his head prior to seeing some kind of resolution between him and eddie

my other ideal would be intercut scenes of buck and eddie in respective therapy sessions that follow the same thread of thought for both of them. but i’ll be surprised if we see eddie agree to therapy/acknowledge he’s not okay before to the midseason finale (this is assuming 5x10 is a christmas ep)

ultimately i think 5x07 was great in terms of character and plot development despite being a somewhat stand alone ep and i feel like it’s definitely set up an interesting dynamic for the rest of 5a

my only gripe (which i knew would happen when they switched the eps) was that there was no follow-up to buck revealing he knew where maddie is but i get that might’ve been out of place in an ep like this

[lemotmo]

911 4x14 - thoughts and rambles

Okay, I just watched the finale of 911 after I managed NOT to get spoiled all day long. I’m still proud of that fact by the way. I wanted to peek at spoilers so badly, but because work was so exceptionally busy I made it work. And I’m so happy that I had no idea what was coming.

I’m not one to write episode reviews or anything like that, but I feel the need to write down some of my rambling thoughts, because this episode really blew me away in many ways. It was like a good fanfic come to life. I have to admit that, when I opened Tumblr, I was a little surprised that, in between the positivity, there was still quite some negativity about this episode. All while I’m sitting here, still crying over that great ending with ‘Skyscraper’. So, let me get these random thoughts out.

Be warned! Spoilers and thoughts on the overall storylines from the episode, different characters and of course relationships between characters after the cut. Mainly Buddie positive relationship thoughts though, because this episode filled me with the Buddie-feels. 😊

1. The episode as a whole felt a little rushed. The sniper storyline wasn't well-developed at all. I think that probably has to do with the fact that they had to shorten the season because of—well, you all know why. Let’s not spoil my happy mood here.

2. Eddie and Buck and all the blood—man, that entire sequence of events with Buck rescuing Eddie was just *chef’s kiss*. And the way he was in shock and shaking when he was talking to Taylor. Such good acting by Oliver! Also, did Taylor call Chris ‘his son’? I mean—what? Even outsiders can see it now. The Buckley-Diaz family vibes are real.

3. Question: How is it that Athena seems to be the only capable police officer that actually does any work on this show? She seems able to do everything: patrolling, investigating, finding evidence without any problem or help, walking into a fire and shooting people… You name it and Athena Grant-Nash will do it. And other police officers just let her as well. Is there no hierarchy in this fictional police force? I love Athena to bits, but this was a bit too much for me, if I’m honest.

4. Maddie! Yes, she’s getting help. Thank God. Listen, I’ve been there, right after child-birth. There was no fluffy pink cloud for me either. Just a lot of greyness. I started talking to someone when I felt it was getting to be too much and it really helped. So hopefully, she’ll get through this eventually. I’m hoping that they won’t brush over it in S5. I want to see her progress.

5. Bathena. Man, those two. Such a strong couple. One of the greatest fictional couples out there. I’ve always liked Bobby. Hell, I started watching 911 because Peter Krause was in it and I used to be obsessed with ‘sports night’ way back when in the nineties. 😊 I just loved how Athena showed up and rescued her man in a direct parallel on how he showed up when she got attacked and he was ready to kill someone to save her. Couple’s goals, I’m telling you.

6. Nia was back! That is all! I loved that so much!

7. Albert wanting to be a firefighter felt a little strange to me, but okay. Good for him I suppose. I admit that I don’t really care about him that much. He’s not a character that really speaks to me.

8. Buck and Christopher. Pffff—THAT scene where Buck broke down and Chris consoled him that Eddie would be fine. I mean, yeah—they really pushed the whole ‘Buck is Chris’ dad’ storyline. And then Eddie went and actually made it official. What can I say? I cried— hard.

9. Carla’s little talk with Buck. So many parallels to last week’s talk with Eddie. I mean, the first thing Buck thinks about is Eddie when he is asked how he’s doing. I’m a firm believer that Carla knows there is something unexplored there, right under the surface. If those dumb boys would just figure it out already.

10. That brings me to all the Buddie. Oh man, this episode soothed my aching Buddie-heart so much. It was like reading a good solid Buddie fic. It was all there, the terror and heartbreak, the fear to lose the other, the ‘you’re not expendable’, the ‘I made you his legal guardian’… all of it.

In the end Buck and Taylor happened (I’m not really surprised there as it was a season finale and 911 likes to end that with happiness for everyone) and Eddie and Ana still seem to be together. At least Buck and Taylor acted like a couple and kissed. Eddie and Ana have this weird dynamic going on. A kiss on the cheek? Really?

I will say this: I didn’t mind Buck and Taylor getting together. Like— at all. It -weirdly enough- didn’t even phase me.

Mostly because I was reeling so hard from the infinitely much more powerful emotional connection that Buck and Eddie displayed. Buck saved Eddie, but in the middle of it Eddie was worried about Buck. Buck was not fine after he delivered Eddie to the hospital. He seemed broken. And then Taylor kissed him and ran off. She later told him ‘You didn’t chase me’ (or something like that) and I’m like— no, he didn’t, because right then Ana called him and he knew this would be about Eddie and Eddie will always be more important. He didn’t run after Taylor. He ran towards Eddie. There's something poetic about that. And then Ana stepped aside, and Eddie looked at him with the biggest most soft heart eyes that I’ve ever seen. He’s never looked like that at Ana. In the last scene, when he told Buck about the guardianship he looked so sure of himself. Then he basically told Buck everything he’s ever wanted and needed to hear. Buck told Taylor earlier that he never felt like he was enough. Well, Buck— Eddie just gave you his entire world (his son). You are more than enough for him.

As a single mother I can attest that it’s very important to think about what you want for your child if anything ever happens to you. You don’t take the decision of guardianship lightly. I’ve been there. I was Eddie. It’s hard to make the right choice. For him to make that choice—to make Buck, his best friend, the legal guardian of his child? That’s incredible.

Combine that with Carla’s question last episode about following his own heart and not Christopher’s. It seems to me that Eddie has seen the light and he’s started to partially follow his heart. He’s still not completely there yet, but if this narrative continues, I can see him breaking up with Ana next season, because he realises that following his heart means following Buck, not Ana. And of course, by then Buck will still be with Taylor and there might be pining. I’m all for that.

There were so many parallels between Buck/Taylor + Eddie/Ana and Buddie. Not to mention the clear parallel between Bathena’s storyline and Buddie’s storyline.

I just— I feel really good about this when it comes to romantic Buddie. Listen, I have nothing against platonic best friends Buddie and if that is your jam, you do you! But, for me, the narrative is clearly pushing us towards a romance. I’m getting some really good slow burn vibes here. So far it feels as if Buddie is still right on track with no signs of slowing down. Now, I don’t have a crystal ball or anything like that so I don’t know what the future will bring and showrunners can always change their minds if they really want to, but –in my humble opinion- there is no reversing this kind of emotional connection. If the showrunners really wanted to stop the ambiguity between Buddie, they could have easily done that in this episode. All they had to do was feature more Buck/Taylor and Eddie/Ana to strengthen their connection towards season 5. Instead they focused on the bond between Buck and Eddie and intertwined them even more in each other's lives. So yeah, personally I feel like this is clear: There is only one way to proceed with the storyline and that is forward.

I’m actually really excited for season 5! A lot more than I thought I was going to be two episodes ago. And now there's Tim with his cryptic little quotes about Buck and Eddie. Another thing to obsess about! YAY! 😊 It's a great feeling to start the hiatus like that.