9-1-1 ripped off the bandaid regarding Buck’s (Oliver Stark) feelings for Eddie (Ryan Guzman). Instead of slow exploration, it blew everything open in Season 8, Episode 11, “Holy Mother of God,” forcing Buck to confront this truth he might not have been aware of. “I was a little shocked by how head-on [showrunner] Tim [Minear] wanted to confront it,” Stark admitted to TV Insider, echoing similar sentiments he shared with Today when previewing the second half of Season 8, which kicked off on March 6. “I was actually surprised by the extent to which it’s going to be explored,” he said. However, after playing the character for eight seasons, Stark has learned to trust showrunner Minear’s vision. “I don’t really have too many opinions on it outside of I trust where his writing goes, so if Tim thinks it’s best to confront it head-on, then I think it’s best to do the same thing,” he said. Stark added:
“I’ve learned over the years to pretty much have blind faith in where he wants to take it. I was a little shocked at first, but I was I was excited to get to play those scenes out. Obviously I always love Buck and Maddie scenes. So I was really excited to get into them.”
Does Buck Really Have Feelings for Eddie?
Image via ABC
Interestingly, the exploration of Buck’s feelings for Eddie did not originate from the character. It was first an observation made by his ex-boyfriend, Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr). And even when he brought it up with his sister Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), she seemed to agree. However, Buck denied that he had feelings for Eddie. “He’s telling his truth in the moment, for sure. I don’t think he’s trying to lie and hide anything from [Maddie],” Stark said. He added that Buck has “never even considered this before. He’s telling his truth, for sure in that moment. This is something that’s been brought to him from Tommy and something that he was not, as I say, having any kind of prior thoughts about.” Minear left everything open to interpretation. Is Buck in denial, or is he telling the truth? Minear said:
“You can either believe Buck or you don’t have to. It’s up to you.”
Minear promises the show will explore Buck and Eddie as the season progresses, but “not right away, certainly.” The upcoming episodes feature something different. “[They have] more action, emergency-focused storylines, so there’s not really too much time that we spend in the coming episodes to focus on, the personal ins and outs. We don’t really delve into it. I don’t know if, as we move further down in sort of the season, that’s something that Tim will want to kind of dive into or not. But I can say that that currently we haven’t really dipped our toes back into that,” Stark revealed. Viewers might have to wait a good while before any answers are offered.
