Eight seasons in, Buck and Eddie have become a cornerstone of 9-1-1. Since Eddie joined the 118, what started as a slight competition between two of the youngest and hottest firefighters morphed into something different as the characters evolved and developed a deep friendship. This friendship has been interpreted in different ways, with some viewers reading the characters as love interests who don’t know they’re each other’s soulmates yet. In Season 8, Buck begins dating a guy for the first time, which makes the Buddie vision clearer. As viewers hope and push for Eddie also to discover his attraction to men, series stars Oliver Stark and Ryan Guzman opened up about their thoughts on the pairing.
“Yeah. Me and Oliver are well-aware of the fandom and where everybody else sees the characters going, and I’ve seen this as people are going to see what they want to see and they want to believe what they want to believe. I’m not here to say that’s right or wrong. I’m very indifferent to it. I love the love, and I’ve always said that,” Guzman told TV Guide when asked if he considers Eddie and Buck’s connection to mean something more than friends. He reiterates sentiments he’s expressed before and echoes Stark, who told TV Line:
“Listen, people are going to interpret characters, and they should, however they want to. I have no doubt that some people will interpret him saying that he’s straight as him hiding his true self. I don’t know where the story’s going to go.”
‘9-1-1’ Has the Opportunity to Tell a Rare Story, Poses Ryan Guzman.
Friendships between men are rare on TV as competitions of different natures arise. With Eddie and Buck, they have moved past that stage and act as anchors to each other’s lives. Guzman posed that seeing a non-romantic relationship between heterosexual and bisexual male characters is quite powerful. “For me, I thought it was a beautiful indication, a beautiful opportunity, especially when Buck comes out as bisexual, to showcase to the world a heterosexual man and a bisexual man living or hanging around each other and being best friends, brothers, without anything changing, without any kind of awkwardness or weirdness,” the actor said.
But ultimately, some themes in media arise, whether intended or not. Some viewers might see them as romantic prospects, while others might not. Stark thinks that’s the beauty of it. “Maybe that is the case. I think the whole point of making any kind of entertainment is for the audience to interpret it however they want to. So he’s saying, as clear as he can, in that scene, “I’m straight.” But it’s open for interpretation, as any form of art should be,” he said.
For now, Buck and Eddie remain great friends who help each other through some of the most challenging situations where someone would need someone close. Whether that changes remains anyone’s guess.
