#this is a bit in jest obviously but also... not

[ironworked]

There are reasons to be hopeful about Bucktommy's future, like everything about him as a LI, the mere fact that he was back after 8.06, the kind of scenes he got that embedded him more in the show's 'lore' and Buck's life and family, the change in PR/interview answers' mood from both LFJ and OStark, Tommy solving more problems than he creates (very convenient character they've already invested time and money in, no issues that wouldn't be shared by a new LI/actor),... but the most compelling argument, being one that doesn't require having faith in the showrunner's creativity or ability to follow a plot,

is that that helicopter remains uncrashed!

Season 8 (that's eight seasons of calls and emergencies) promoted a 3-parter premiere event, a 2-parter for Maddie's kidnapping, the 2-parter Contagion event, and the MCE for the finale, making a total of about 8/18 episodes dedicated to An Event. That's a lot of mostly expensive episodes, but if you look at the ratings maybe they do pay for themselves so to speak.

So, a helicopter crash. It's versatile from a technical standpoint because you can do it many different ways, more or less expensive. In the narrative, depending on how big or small you go it can work as a Big Emergency or a smaller event. And from an emotional lens, it can be done to introduce Tommy again, or when Buck is dating someone else, or when Buck and Tommy are starting to date again, or when they're already a couple...

There's no way Minear hasn't though of it, when the man was so high off the helicopter coolness factor that the network had to talk him out of airing a 4-minute helicopter chase set to Ride of the Valkyries ("it was my favorite thing, I watched it a million times").

That very episode (which re-introduced Tommy as a pilot) said 'anyone can die', which certainly upped the stakes for this kind of story, making it even more enticing. It would hit harder after 8.15, wouldn't it?

And they could crash a helicopter, yes. But crashing this helicopter is simply too juicy to avoid, surely! Right?

🚁💥

As always it'll depend on the TMs (Tim Minear & The Mold) ¯_ (ツ)_/¯