If there is anything 9-1-1 is good at — and it’s good at a lot — it’s great relationship building. From the unexpected romance of Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) and Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) to the best friendship of Henrietta “Hen” Wilson (Aisha Hinds) and Howard “Chimney” Han (Kenneth Choi), and many others, 9-1-1 has done an excellent job creating powerful and enjoyable relationships that fans have fallen in love with. One of the things television show fans love to do most is “ship” two characters, whether they’re together or not, and when it comes to 9-1-1, there is no relationship fans enjoy “shipping” more than Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) and Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark).
Evan “Buck” Buckley has been with 9-1-1 since the show’s premiere, though he is now a very different character than he was when the show began. Eddie Diaz joined 9-1-1 in Season 2, Episode 1, “Under Pressure,” and while Buck was initially unsure about Eddie, their relationship has grown into a very close one. Affectionately referred to by fans as “Buddie,” the relationship between Eddie and Buck may have started as colleagues and moved to friendship, but fans are hopeful that one day — perhaps even in Season 8 — the relationship will progress to one of romantic love. In the 100th episode of 9-1-1 — Season 7, Episode 4, “Buck, Bothered and Bewildered” — Oliver Stark’s Buck discovered he was bisexual and shared his first kiss with a man, another firefighter named Tommy Kinard (Lou Ferrigno, Jr.). Though there was some backlash from the episode, most fans appreciated the character being able to find more of himself and look forward to seeing how it might progress in the upcoming season — with or without Eddie.
5. Buck and Eddie Throw a Bachelor Party
Despite Chimney’s many objections, Buck is insistent that Chim needs a bachelor party before marrying Maddie in 9-1-1’s Season 7, Episode 6, “There Goes the Groom,” so Buck plans a karaoke party and invites Hen, Karen (Traci Thoms), Ravi, Eddie, and even Tommy. Unfortunately, Chimney never shows up, and eventually, everyone else departs, leaving Eddie and Buck behind with a room full of alcohol and appetizers. When a group of women stumbles into the wrong room, Buck and Eddie decide to have the bachelor party of their dreams.
Later in the evening, Eddie and Buck decide to rent an Uber and take it to the hotel where Chimney is supposed to be. When they don’t find him in the main room, they assume he’s asleep in the bedroom and opts to leave him alone, though their party continues. If they weren’t as drunk as they were, they might have noticed that all their noise didn’t wake Chimney up, but instead, they party into the night and wake up very hungover and still in their Miami Vice-inspired suits, though they still can’t agree on which one of them is Crockett and which one is Tubbs. The episode is a fun look at the antics that Buck and Eddie can get up to, though fans do wish that Tim Minear would release the scene where Buck and Eddie sing karaoke together.
4. Eddie Gets Shot
The series of events that lead to Eddie getting shot in Season 4, Episode 13, “Suspicion,” are complicated and unexpected. A woman falls through her balcony. Her son calls 9-1-1. When the 118 arrives, they learn her son, Charlie (Christian Ganiere), is immunocompromised and can’t go to the hospital with her, so Eddie stays. Charlie spills a cup, so Eddie opens a cabinet to get paper towels. After Charlie’s mother returns and Eddie goes home, he discovers that Charlie’s mother might actually be making him sick with the eye drops Eddie spotted in their cabinet. Before Eddie can do anything, Charlie calls Eddie to tell him that his mother is sick because Charlie wanted to see what would happen if she took the eye drops she had been putting in his food for years.
Eddie, Buck, Chimney, and Station 133, who they call in for support, arrive at Charlie’s home in time to save his mother. As they get ready to leave, having loaded Charlie and his mother into separate ambulances, a shot pierces through Eddie’s shoulder, spraying blood all over Buck’s face. The remainder of “Suspicion” moves in slow motion as Eddie hits the ground and Buck is pulled behind a truck by another firefighter. It isn’t until the beginning of Season 4, Episode 14, “Survivors,” that Buck is able to get to Eddie, hauling him under the firetruck and then into the truck’s cab. Buck is desperate to keep Eddie with him until they get to the hospital, and Eddie’s only question is to ask Buck if he’s hurt. It’s one of the most iconic moments in “Buddie” history, setting the stage for the future of their relationship.
3. Buck Gets Hit By Lightning
After spending most of Season 6, Episode 10, “In a Flash,” dealing with a dry thunderstorm, the 118 is finally doused in rain when they arrive at a large apartment building fire. After first telling Chimney that it’s his turn, Buck makes his way up the ladder, rope wrapped around his waist. In a split second, everything changes. The lightning comes so quickly that the team takes a second to realize that Buck has been hit. Eddie is thrown off the ladder truck, but he’s still somehow the first one to start back up the ladder to get to Buck, who is now hanging from the rope around his waist off the end of the ladder.
Eddie yelling for Buck and racing up the ladder is a powerful juxtaposition with Buck yelling for Eddie and crawling under the truck to get to him in Season 4, Episode 14, “Survivors.” Eddie is also the one who lowers Buck down to the gurney, just as Buck hauled Eddie into the cab of the truck. When they finally get Buck to the hospital, and the doctors promise to do everything they can, Eddie tells them to “do more.” Though Buck seems to express his feelings more loudly, it’s clear from Eddie’s reaction to Buck’s injury that he cares for Buck just as much as Buck cares for him.
2. Buck Thinks He’s Lost Eddie
In each of 9-1-1’s “Begins” episodes, audiences get a look at how each of the main characters got to where they are in the show’s present time. Some, like Season 3, Episode 15, “Eddie Begins,” switch between the past and the present, ensuring that viewers see how the character’s past and present intertwine. In “Eddie Begins,” Eddie heads down into a hole the team has dug nearly 40 feet in the ground to rescue a little boy stuck in a well. He cuts his line so he can have more time to get to the boy, and though he manages to get the boy to Chimney, his cut line is ultimately his downfall.
Just when the team is about to send a line back down to Eddie, the tunnel collapses, burying Eddie. He’s left in an air pocket and has to dig himself out, which is tough enough for viewers to watch, but what is happening up top is truly gut-wrenching. When Buck discovers that the tunnel has collapsed, he dives for the mud and begins trying to dig with his hands. It’s raining, Buck is yelling Eddie’s name, and he finally has to be pulled back by Bobby, the two men collapsing to the ground as Buck continues to yell for Eddie. The moment is almost painful, and fans feel just as distraught as Buck seems- and as elated when Eddie eventually gets himself out of the tunnel.
- Eddie Tells Buck About His Will
Season 4, Episode 14, “Survivors,” is a big finale for several characters, but it is the biggest for Buck and Eddie. Not only does the audience see Buck haul Eddie into the cab of the fire truck, but Buck takes care of Christopher while Eddie is in the hospital. At the end of the episode, when Eddie is finally released from the hospital, Buck tells him that he thinks it might have been better if he had been shot instead of Eddie.
That’s when Eddie spills the beans. After the events of Season 3, Episode 15, “Eddie Begins,” Eddie decided he needed to make sure his son would always be taken care of, so he changed his will. In his will, Buck is listed as Christopher’s legal guardian if Eddie dies. “No one will ever fight for my son as hard as you,” Eddie tells Buck, who has a few questions but otherwise is on board. All he wants to know is why Eddie is finally telling him. “Because, Evan,” Eddie says. “You act like you’re expendable. But you’re not.” It’s clear to fans that Buck and Eddie are family and always will be, no matter what their relationship ends up looking like.
