#oh god i didn't think i'd be writing meta posts rip

[leothil]

Okay I'm thinking some more thoughts about Christopher and the use of the red umbrella on Buck's balcony, because I think it''s more connected to parenthood rather than danger, as I first thought.

As many have noted, in S6 we first saw the umbrella in the background in 6x04 (Animal Instincts) when Connor comes over to apologize for blindsiding Buck with the request to be his and Kameron's sperm donor.

It's very conspicuous in the background of this shot, almost like a divider between Buck and Connor. The scene continues with Connor talking about feeling like a total failure for letting down the woman he loves, and how he'd assumed the fault was with her. Interestingly, the umbrella is never in sight during the last scene of the episode where Buck tells Connor and Kameron that he will be their sperm donor. At least to me that makes it seem like it points more to the concept of family and fatherhood that Buck and Connor are discussing; the tone of the conversation is very much about longing for a family and feeling desperate that your own faults is what's holding you back from having one.

The next time we see the umbrella is actually in 6x08 (What's Your Fantasy?) when Buck is watching Jee-Yun.

It's only kind of visible in the background during the first part of the babysitting montage, but it's still noticeable, because you don't see it at all while Maddie and Chimney are in the apartment, even though similar shots are used where it very well could've been seen. But it makes sense that it wouldn't be as prominent with Jee-Yun - while Buck loves her, he's very clear on his role as her uncle. So it's more about Buck flexing his parenting muscles rather than actually acting in the role of a parent.

The next time the red umbrella makes an appearance is in 6x09 (Red Flag) when Buck reveals that Kameron is pregnant.

For the duration of the group call you can see the umbrella flapping in the wind behind Buck. Chimney wonders if they should congratulate him, Eddie says that would feel weird, and Buck (a bit later) says he's happy for them and that he'd been worrying about setting them up for more disappointment in case it didn't work. Very much the same train of thought as Connor in 6x05!

In 6x11 (In Another Life) the umbrella flashes by again, both in the coma dream and in the real world. Here it's very much in the background, though, and I think it's just as part of the set rather than having any symbolic role; it's never in focus or prominently visible in the background like in these other cases.

Now, in 6x12 (Recovery) it's harder to argue that they're not playing with some kind of symbolism with the umbrella!

We spend quite a bit of the first half of the episode in Buck's apartment, but the only time the umbrella is visible is when Connor comes over - not with Maddie there, not with Hen there. And once again the conversation between Connor and Buck touches on parenthood. Connor seems to hint at being a little bit spooked about becoming a father (understandable): "You hope for something for so long and when it finally happens it doesn't quite feel real."

And finally, today (yesterday for you living in UTC-negative time zones) it was there again in 6x13 (Mixed Feelings).

In this precious I-have-read-about-this-in-1000-fanfics scene Buck and Chris are baking cookies for Chris' class. The umbrella is visible during the whole scene, hanging out behind Christopher's head. It's very hard to not see this as a parenting scene: Buck and Chris are hanging out without Eddie, at Buck's house, and doing something for school. Buck even kindly rebuffs Chris' question about having cookies for dinner.

Does this mean anything? Who knows! But it's fascinating to be able to find similar themes connecting the scenes where the red umbrella is featured! If I were to guess, I'd say parenthood is the connective thread between all these different scenes, and specifically parenthood in connection to Buck. We've already seen him trying to figure out his own life more during this season, and the sperm donor storyline definitely seems to nudge him towards thinking about his own role as dad and guardian. The very domestic scenes with Eddie and Christopher have only served to underline this, in my opinion!

I am still very suspicious about this shot of Chris at the end of 6x07 (Cursed) though. Very suspicious.