Itās so interesting to me that Buck and Eddieās respective romantic relationships across the show parallel each other. Funnily enough almost all of these similarly type of relationships overlap in the canon timeline or occur consecutively to one another.
We can categorise their most prominent relationships as the following:
The Wound Relationship: The introductory relationship that establishes their core insecurities and continues to haunt them through out the series.
Abby establishes Bucks issues surrounding attachment and rejection as his first relationship that isnāt based purely around sex and hookup culture. He is literally ghosted by her and his lack of security is evident since. It brings up his childhood trauma of not being chosen (which repeats through his future relationships).
Meanwhile Shannon establishes Eddieās cyclical instinct of escape. He can only perform being in a relationship with a woman for so long before he has to flee the country, starts having panic attacks or decides to have an affair with his dead wifeās doppelgƤnger. He sabotages his relationships subconsciously because he is gayyyyyy and they are not what he truly desires. Eddieās desires sand capacity for choice are blocked by societal expectations (also a wound that is a result of his upbringing!).
The Could Have Been Relationship. The relationships that on paper could have / should have worked (Taylor and Ana). Both Buck and Eddie fuck up their relationships by resorting to old habits: Buck 1.0 cheating on Taylor with Lucy (although Taylor was also being messy boots but whatever) and Eddie using Christopher as a shield against his own lack of romantic feelings. Eddie focus on the familial unit over the actual romantic relationships demonstrates a dissociation from his true desires. He performs the nuclear family! I can tell why he was a dancer as a kid not an actor because...he is not doing a great job!
The Nothingburger Relationship. The relationships the show threw together because it was a woman nearby so why not (obvi Natalia and Marisol, although I will note that Marisol functions more closely to a reinforcement of the Could Have Been, which to me further signifies Eddieās explicit gay coding).
The Haunted Relationship. This is a relationship that adds salt to the wound and is arguably the most telling in how both of the characters have been circling the same core insecurity and romantic blocks. Tommy is a ghost of Bucks relationship with Abby; having been Abbyās past fiancĆ©. Eddieās is obviously Kim, who acts as ghost of Eddieās relationship to Shannonā¦like literally as a her doppelgƤngerā¦.
Both of these Haunted Relationships have set Buck and Eddie on interesting paths of avoidance. Buck is currently in denial of the consciousness he has gained regarding his want for Eddie post his Haunted Relationship. Eddie has chosen to disengage from romance entirely (in a kind of ironic way to avoid choosing anything at all).
Let me explain...
Buck desires finality and security. We see him chase this again and again, specifically through moving in with his partners (which has failed every time). When he pursues this with Tommy it is a rejected advancement both in part because of the Abby of it all and because of Tommy's wariness of Eddie. The parrallels between Abby and Eddie are insane in Season 8, revealing a prospective conclusion and healing of the Wound Relationships impact. Because Eddie leaves BUT he comes back!
However, Buck is still is in a place of stasisā¦because the person he wants finality with (WHO HE SAID HE IS ATTRACTED TO BUT HAS WITHHELD HIMSELF FROM PURSUING SEXUALLY) he canāt get with. Because Eddieās "straight"!!! And Buck will not be rejected again. So he has chosen to repress that desire even though typically he is a character ruled by impulsiveness and going after what he wants. He has chanhed because he believes that being too much is the cause of his wound of rejection. So he does not pursue Eddie or even ever allow himself to dissect how much Eddie leaving impacted him to a full extent (although we know how much it impacted him and he does allude to this post his parents divorce). But Buck isnāt too much for Eddie!! In fact I think if he was to confess to Eddie, Eddie would work out his feelings!!!
I love RGās interview that calls Eddie naive!!! BECUASE EDDIE IS NAIVE!!! Eddie is in denial!!!! Eddie doesnāt like to choose joy, or actually make any decisions for himself. He looks for guidance from religion, his family etc. He runs away from any relationship. Eddie continuously feels like a failure both as a husband and as a father. This stems from his failed marriage. Eddieās relationships with women fail because they are a performance! It makes sense that he is lured into Kim's psychologiacl saw trap because she is literally an actress! She actively wants to engage in a performance of Eddieās trauma!!! Thatās what makes her soooo exploitative and evillllllll.
So Eddie takes himself out of the perfromance after this ghost encounter. He refuses to engage in looking for a woman at the bar, he most obviously rigs the Firefighter auction. Of course part of this is beacuse he doesn't want to hurt Christopher, however, we know he is using Chris to deflect from relationships (cough cough chastity belt). We see glimpses of truth: the Priest essentially calling him a liar, or even what appears to be Zane (the guy in the couple Buck hooked up with) considering him to be a third. The entire town in Mothers Boy being homophobic to him!! He is being clocked!!! His facade is failing, but he cannot bare to reinforce his straightness with a woman. He has been single for 2 whole seasons!!! Eddie continues to run away from the root cause of his Wound Relationship and after the Haunted Relationship almost blew up his entire life he is in ultimate flight mode when it comes to love.
Ultimately, Buck and Eddie have both been in their longest breaks between relationships. The show is in a rut! Because we KNOW their core wounds and the show has reinforced said wounds with their latest Hunted Relationships. Where do we go from here??? Well we can either finally let them heal and get together orā¦restart the cycle again.
But how many more Could Have Been (or Nothingburger) Relationships can we go through??? I mean I had to skip MULTIPLE of Mr Firehoses relationships (sorry Buck Iām not shaming you) just for conciseness.
We know there is nothing option that can work out as well as Buddie canon. TIM HAS SAID HE CANNOT ESCAPE IT!!! So the show needs to face it or keep eating its own tailā¦.
I do think Theo is an interesting development for Buck who feels very alone. We know a lot of his insecurities stem from being surrounded by families and him being single AND childless. So Theo does act as a buffer between Buck and his storyline fixating on romance. Tim has literally called Theo a sort of substitute for a love interest. You can easily spend the entirety of next season avoiding talking about Bucks relationship status due to the Theo plot without it feeling suspicious. EDDIE HOWEVERā¦..yeah the show has to acknowledge his relationship statusā¦..idk how they are going to do thatā¦ā¦ā¦..like he is gayyyyyyā¦ā¦..you canāt play in our faces anymore Tim AND YOU KNOW THAT.....so yeah I'm most curious where Eddie's arc goes next. Because I can predict Buck's, its him becoming a father. That's easy to identify. I don't know what is going on with my darling Eddie bear. We will see.
Also coparenting one kd together is sus. Coparenting TWO that is just gay.
Anyways that is my way too long (but somehow barely in depth) analysis of how Buck and Eddie's romances through out the show parallel. Hopefully the next canon relationship we can dissect will be the one they have TOGETHER!
#buddiecanonseason10baby!
I want to add to this my perspective of eddie and his probable upcoming storyline.
Itās very clear to me that Eddieās romantic focus next season will be surrounding the fact that he has not, in fact, done any more than entertain the idea of dating again in over two years, going on three. He has not been romantically involved with anyone since the Kim thing happened and he and Marisol ended. He spends all of season 8 single, which narratively makes sense because his focus lies elsewhere: his son. He doesnāt have time nor does he feel like he deserves to indulge in romantics because of his family struggles. Narratively, this makes sense. The expectation is then that, when this is resolved, Eddie will be open to the world of romance once again.
This does not happen.
Eddie, despite seemingly being in a good place and having the capacity for romance again, chooses not to put himself back out there. We learn as the season goes on that things directly linked to his faith. He is facing internal struggles regarding his Catholicism, and has been for a long time. He wants to believe that the things he was raised upon are good, and that they have a rightful place in his heart. This is hard to believe when youāve been dealt a life like Eddieās. Every aspect of his life feels like a direct contradiction of what heās been raised on. That is why his abuela tells him that heās looking in the wrong place. She knows and understands that Eddie has struggles with his faith and why without needing the details. She doesnāt expect him to come around, though she is happy when he does.
From abuelaās words, we expect that Eddie will then go on a search for what is the right place. That heāll begin a new chapter of his life.
Once again, this does not happen.
Eddie, despite clearly knowing and everyone around him knowing that he isnāt dealing with whatever it is that heās struggling with inside, refuses to work through that. He avoids Zaneās eyes when heās considered as a third. He gives Ravi a pointed look when heās asked why heās so bad at dating. The only person we see him really be honest about any of his internal feelings these last two seasons has been Hen and Karen.
I find this extremely crucial to the storytelling of Eddie. Yes, it narratively makes sense that he, hen, and Karen are all closer now because hen and Eddie are now partners. It also makes sense narratively because, as much as I adore Buck, he cannot relate to the internal struggles that Eddie is facing. Buck is white, and though Episcopalian, not overtly religious, therefore those internal struggles are not there. Hen, on the other hand, is not white. She is a black woman, who is also a lesbian. She would know and understand what Eddie is going through from that perspective because queer poc are far more disenfranchised than white queer folk. With that, Eddie feels safe and understood in a way that other people donāt have the ability to relate to him because they are not queer poc. They donāt understand the cultural struggles of what heās feeling and going through because theyāre either white or not queer.
Eddie doesnāt have to say anything for hen to know that something is bothering him. She subtly nods to an idea that Eddie is still visibly struggling to cope withā the idea of his relationship with Buck being more than what it is. She consistently paints this picture for Eddie, through careful word choice that allows him to find the idea on his own, that he and Buck are not just friends. After New Mexico, she is the one that Eddie opens up to. Sheās the one who asks Eddie how HE is doing in regard to Buckās dependency. TWICE. And Eddie, both times, is slightly dejected because he feels in part responsible for everything. He feels as though he is the reason this is happening.
Thatās why I think in the new season, with Buck now being a single father like himself, heās going to throw himself into that as well. Heās going to put himself in the same spot that Buck did with him 8 years ago. Heās going to continue using children (both his AND Buckās) to fill a narrative that he does not need anything more. That he is happy and content because he has Christopher and Theo and Buck.
Theo and Buck. An extension of his family that, if the narrative continues with hen approaching Eddie to ask his feelings regarding Buck, she will also approach him about. Hen will force Eddie to confront the family dynamic that he and Buck have created between themselves and their kids. It will force Eddie to self-reflect and look inward, dissecting why this version of a family heās been so easily navigating since he moved to la, but any version of that where itās Eddie with woman instead he consistently, subconsciously, purposefully messed it up.
Eddie will have to confront why heās unable to build a family with a woman, but heās so easily able to do so with a man.
āEddie will have to confront why heās unable to build a family with a woman, but heās so easily able to do so with a man.ā
Iām going to be thinking about that for a while!!!
Yes itās definitely interesting to analyse Eddieās sexuality journey compared to Buck, especially as a poc character.
Because Buck has a pretty chill coming out. I think thatās fair for me to say. It is a realisation and a discovery, rather than unpacking of a deep depression.
From what we get on screen he seems to accept himself quite quickly. We do see him wanting approval from Bobby but itās a pretty short moment and it comes with little tension due to us knowing Bobby is Captain Ally (bring back Michealbobby bestieism).
The dramatic tension of Buck coming out is due to his relationship with Eddie. Buck struggles to come out to Eddie even though he knows Eddie is not homophobic because BUCK AND EDDIE DO NOT HAVE A NORMAL FRIENDSHIP.
Buck is subconsciously aware of this!! We know he was jealous of Tommy and Eddieās friendship and he sure as hell wasnāt jealous of Eddieā¦
Coming out to Eddie adds dimension and a queer reality to the homoerotic subtext! One could argue itās a commentary on queer men and straight men being friends but in this instance that isnāt the case. Because Eddie is deliberately queer coded within the show.
We all know the rumours regarding the s7 storyline originally being about Eddie coming out instead of Buckā¦.
There is a reason imo why that plot changed. On one hand I can hope that it was because they knew it was more realistic considering their characters that Buck would come out first. On the other hand they chose the more palatable character.
And actually you could argue those two lines of reasoning coexist.
Buck is a more privileged character.
I truly believe ABC chose to test it out with Buck because he is more palatable as the shows token white man. Also I can imagine if the show got resounding backlash they could have diverted from the storyline due to Buck being bisexual without flat out having to commit to really prominent lasting representation. Like even know they feasibly could go on to give Buck a girlfriend for his endgame and he still would be a bisexual character. If there wasnāt the Eddie of it all I could be fine with Buck ending up with anybody! However, I do think itās disappointing the show has never actually used the word bisexualā¦I canāt help but think the ambiguity is on purpose. If the show ends with the word bisexual never being used I will be mad.
With Eddieās storyline there is a lot more stereotypes to break and repression to work through which requires a queer plotline that spends valuable screen time unpacking that. (I think there is an argument that Buck coming out is nice because it occurs without internalised homophobia/biphobia, however, you can do that and still explore it more in depth than the show bothered to).
Comparably, Eddie is clearly a gay man. The show has to unpack the facade of his previous relationships (including a full ass marriage) to go forward with his sexuality journey. This objectively more complex to navigate than Bucks previous relationship where he genuinely had romantic feelings for his past girlfriends.
Eddie is also a man of colour.
Itās really interesting you noted Eddieās friendship with Karen and Hen, especially as queer characters of colour! I absolutely want to see more of that, and the idea of raising a family as a queer couple as well!!! Especially with what you said about Eddieās ability to exist within a queer familial unit opposed to a heterosexual nuclear family despite his attempts to conform to catholic ideal of manhood, marriage, and fatherhood.
And I just live for Eddieās interactions with Henren and hope that it is purposeful for Eddieās queer storyline.
Also itās noteworthy to me that we know Hens mom wasnāt always accepting!!! Because I feel like an important part of Eddieās coming out would be his familyās reaction.
We havenāt seen much outright homophobia depicted on the show, specifically in reaction to a character coming out. We donāt really know the Buckley parents opinion his sexuality at all beyond their surprise (which is played for comedy) in There Goes the Groom. Iām assuming they were a little awkward but not overtly homophobic. I assume they are accepting in cold and polite way (which is sadly their default with Buck anyways).
So I think it would be interesting to see how Eddieās culture and family and religion all intersect. Because whilst I have issues with Bucks coming out, I overall think itās fine. However Eddieās potential queer storyline is objectively more complex* which is fine! Everyoneās journey is different. But the show has to take this into consideration which requires more explicit and deliberate storytelling.
*Iām not at all insinuating that a gay person coming out is more complex than a bisexual person coming out. This is me specifically examining Buck and Eddieās sexuality journeys within a storytelling framework for network television. Putting it simply I think Eddie really struggles with his sexuality and repression whilst Buck had an easier journey to acceptance (at least of his bisexuality, that boy had plenty of other insecurities to chew on).
