Buck & Eddie’s Blatant Queerbaiting Takes Away From An Otherwise Heartwarming Conclusion

9-1-1 season 8 was a whirlwind all around, but episode 18 was a mostly praiseworthy final showing. The aftermath of Bobby’s death in 9-1-1 season 8, episode 15 is still very much unfolding, but the immediate effects of Peter Krause’s exit have been palpable. While Athena Grant-Nash (Angela Bassett) and Howard “Chimney” Han (Kenneth Choi) have been at the center of the procedural since the main character's shocking death, the rest of LAFD Station 118 — like Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark), Henrietta “Hen” Wilson (Aisha Hinds), and Ravi Panikkar (Anirudh Pisharody) — have gone through mourning more subtly.

Ahead of the already-confirmed 9-1-1 season 9, there were many pressing mysteries that “Seismic Shifts” needed to contend with. Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) has been on the sidelines for the latter half of the season — understandable given he moved across the country just after the midseason premiere — but the former LA firefighter had a dilemma at the end of season 8, episode 17: reclaim his spot with the 118 or return to El Paso. Similarly, Hen was slated to be Bobby’s successor as station 118’s fire captain, but she couldn’t decide if her sense of duty outweighed her true feelings.

The 118 Begins On The Brink Of Collapse

In Between Episodes, Pivotal Decisions Were Made

Before bringing any sense of closure, however, 9-1-1's season 8 finale makes everything worse before it could possibly get better. The silver lining that Brian Thompson’s Gerrard wouldn’t replace Bobby in 9-1-1 permanently was a small comfort, but the relief of “Seismic Shifts” being Gerrard’s last day is quickly bulldozed by enough upsetting reveals to give me whiplash. Though “Don’t Drink the Water” presented Eddie with a difficult choice, the former army medic made his decision in between episodes; the 9-1-1 season 8 finale opens on a goodbye party to send Eddie back to El Paso.

Everything about the situation is questionable, especially considering how miserable both Eddie and Christopher (Gavin McHugh) were in Texas. The scene is made more gut-wrenching when the 118 presents Eddie with his turnouts, a gesture typically reserved for retirement. The sentimentality is a reprieve from the tension, but the scene takes a turn when Hen announces that she has refused the captaincy — and Buck, whose principal trait is being a tad too invested — calmly accepts the news. The uncharacteristic reaction only sets the stage for a much bigger bombshell: Buck reveals he requested a transfer to another firehouse.

What bothers me most is Buck’s half-baked reasoning. As he despondently explains to the rest of the team, Buck sees the 118 as “just a number” with Bobby dead, so it makes no difference where he’s at. I refuse to believe that Buck — the same character who spiraled in 9-1-1 season 3 over the hypothetical scenario of the team separating — would abandon the rest of his found family without batting an eye. In a way, I can almost accept it as an extreme manifestation of his unresolved grief, but Buck’s readiness to leave threatens to backpedal his character’s extensive development.

A Thrilling Emergency Brings The Full Team Together Again

The Building Collapse Required All Hands On Deck

Of course, there isn’t enough time to properly digest the turmoil within the 118 before the cliffhanger of 9-1-1 season 8, episode 17 is promoted to a potential mass-casualty event. With Athena just outside, a sudden explosion occurs from a 19-story building. A structural collapse isn’t 9-1-1’s most intense disaster, but it nonetheless puts hundreds of civilians in jeopardy and requires a heavy-duty rescue team. The 118 responds to the call with a plan to divide and conquer, but subsequent explosions leave multiple beloved characters stranded in vulnerable positions.

When Buck and Ravi find themselves high on the volatile high-rise, Eddie appears in his turnouts to lend a hand. Meanwhile, Chimney is trapped with Athena as she’s trying to help Graeme (Sam Roach) and Donnie (Adam Hagenbuch), the two most injured in the initial blast. Help eventually reaches them, only for Graeme to reveal he's been injured the whole time and hiding it, in a not-at-all-subtle callback to Bobby's death. This time, however, Chimney changes the story and saves Graeme's life, thawing Athena's cold shoulder in the process. Athena says Bobby would be proud of him, and they hug.

9-1-1’s special effects are well done if not somewhat distracting. Namely, the bulbous air pockets on a woman’s skull and Donnie’s gushing chest wound admittedly took me out of the story for a moment. Even more out of place is the scene of Eddie sending a zip line for Buck and Ravi to escape, an example of 9-1-1’s compulsion to add flashy action sequences just for the sake of having them. Nevertheless, the final emergency of 9-1-1 season 8 is simple yet effective, and I appreciate its significance within the overarching story, unlike the emergency plane landing or “beenado.”

Buck & Eddie’s Storyline Unceremoniously Fizzles Out

Season 8's Buddie Buildup Resulted In Nothing But Frustration

Without question, the most disappointing part of the 9-1-1 season 8 finale is the absence of a satisfying conclusion to Buck and Eddie’s plot. The only Buck and Eddie moments in the 9-1-1 season 8 finale were during group scenes, with the pair never having a one-on-one conversation despite both planning on making drastic changes in their lives. Eddie may show up to save Buck during the building collapse, but there’s nothing personal about it.

Some will argue there’s no reason for Buck and Eddie’s relationship to become romantic in 9-1-1. I may have agreed (or at least understood) if it weren’t for the blatant pandering sprinkled throughout 9-1-1 season 8. There was nothing platonic about Buck’s ex-boyfriend calling Eddie his “competition” or Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) pointedly saying it wouldn’t be “crazy” if Buck were in love with Eddie, but 9-1-1 essentially set up a friends-to-lovers storyline and then turned its cheek at the last moment. In retrospect, Buck and Eddie’s 9-1-1 season 8 storyline becomes nothing more than false hope.

Buck’s bisexuality in 9-1-1 has been swept under the rug since it was first confirmed in season 7, but the Buddie baiting throughout season 8 only makes it worse. Rather than explicitly allow the character to say he’s bisexual or explore the newfound fluidity of his sexual identity, 9-1-1 ushered him into a doomed relationship with the first man he was attracted to. The slow-burn elements in Buck and Eddie’s relationship could have even been coincidental, but the drama surrendered all plausible deniability when it made an entire plot surrounding Buck’s feelings for Eddie in 9-1-1 season 8.

Chimney Steps Up To Bring 9-1-1’s Found Family Back Together

An Emotional 11th Hour Speech Sets Everything Straight

Nonetheless, not even the Buck and Eddie fumble is enough to distract from Chimney’s big moment in the 9-1-1 season 8 finale. When the dust settles and the 118 returns to the firehouse, a sudden solemnity falls upon the room. Buck is taking off his uniform, Eddie is searching for a new flight to Texas, and Gerrard (who, it's worth mentioning, never actually apologized for his years of racism, sexism, and homophobia) gives the station a heartfelt goodbye. Yet, when everything seemed hopeless, one voice rose above the rest.

Bolstered by his reconciliation with Athena, Chimney steps up and delivers a rousing speech to the 118. In a rare moment of total sincerity, 9-1-1's funniest character delivers a much-needed dose of tough love. Chimney bravely pushes past his own grief to point out how counterintuitive it is for the team to be breaking up now, when they truly need each other most.

“We are his legacy,” he tells the crowd, in reference to Bobby. “We are not going to disrespect him by throwing away what he built right here.”

Aside from finally mending 9-1-1’s found family, Chimney took a step back from his comedic relief role and showed off his serious leadership skills. Now that Hen’s story in 9-1-1 season 8 has confirmed in no uncertain terms that she will not be Bobby’s successor, it’s clear the procedural is setting up Captain Chimney for season 9. I still hate how Bobby had to die for Chimney to be taken seriously, but I’ll admit it’d be poetic for Howard “Bobby died so that I can live” Han to be the 118’s next captain.

9-1-1 Season 8’s Finale Ends On A Bittersweet Note

Season 9 Will Be The Start Of A New Era

From there, 9-1-1 season 8, episode 18 gives every member of the ensemble cast (aside from poor Ravi) individual updates. Despite telling her children otherwise, Athena decided to sell her and Bobby’s dream home. Buck is searching for a new place, but he expresses that nothing feels as right as his last place (Eddie’s house). Hen and Karen (Tracie Thoms) legally adopt Mara, finally closing the chapter on the Wilson family’s adoption drama. Naturally, the most highly anticipated scene closes out the season finale: Maddie gives birth.