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Eric & Buddy: Why They Should Have Been | Part 2

One thing they make a point to establish is the friendship between the two. They do things like play basketball even though Eric is not very good, but it doesn’t matter whether they play a full game or not because they are happy to be in each others’ company. Buddy is happy to watch Eric play and doesn’t critique him when he fails. At the end of every montage sequence event, regardless of what they do, it ends in a jump high-five, showing that their relationship has a strong encouraging foundation. The two boost each other up and make the commitment to make the most of their time together, looking for positives wherever they can. *also note the reds present in this scene as well, both have them on this time. red for the lover boys!

Contrastingly, whenever Eric plays b-ball on the show with the rest of the gang, or with Donna, it is always a competition. One where he feels the need to perform and compete well. Yet, when he plays with Buddy, he is free to be as terrible, sloppy or embarrassingly bad as he wants and he won’t be teased about his character or abilities. Obviously, Eric mostly enjoys playing friendly competitions with his pals on his make-shift court, but with Buddy, the dynamic of play is entirely different.

The same goes for their academics. It was established previously at the start of the episode that chemistry is not Buddy’s strong suit, but the two work through that together as exhibited here where they seemingly successfully carry out a scientific observation and conduct a thorough experiment that explodes in red (hint, hint). They bring out the best results in one another, serving as a contrast to Eric’s relationship with school relative to his other friends who depend on him for class assignment help. Where they have a lazy attitude about their scholarly duties, Buddy and Eric make an effort together despite any initial difficulties. Also, this is one of many instances where the two boys are in very close proximity of each other (I’m talking shoulders and arms touching). Body language is another thing to pay attention to throughout the viewing as there are many times where they are seen standing close to each other, in the background or otherwise as they engage in light conversation, where typically there is a bit of distance wherever there is banter among the gang. The closing of the distance dramatizes as the episode goes on until we have the infamous kiss scene that was the source of much controversy for the 90s/ early 2000s audience.

What forever struck me about the kiss scene was that Eric notices Buddy go in for it, and there is the slightest beat that passes before Eric breaks himself apart from the entanglement. Clearly he is experiencing a kind of shock, but for the briefest of hesitating moments, he allows himself to be kissed and I always felt that beat was intentional. That infinitesimally small second of time opens up for the possibility of a world in which Eric seeks out to kiss and be kissed by other men, and possibly people of other genders.

What I love most about the potential for this pairing is this right here:

As ever, while Buddy is unknowingly misinterpreting Eric’s words at the time as he discusses his confusion of how to be around Donna, he is patient. Buddy is accepting of where Eric is at now in his exploration and understanding of his sexuality and is willing to meet him where he is and help guide him to where he wants to go because he too knows what kinds of emotions Eric is implying to. One thing many of those in the queer community are wary of is the “straight person looking to experiment” who will ultimately leave once they confirm that they are indeed straight while the other party is cemented in their feelings for the person who used them as a one-time joy ride to satiate their curiosity. Buddy nevertheless makes the emotional leap for Eric in a demonstration of bravery.

But what I also love about this is the setting. The car is yet another trope seen in teen romance films as the site of the first kiss at the end of the first date. While Eric was definitely immediately transfixed with Buddy’s Pontiac, the bird operates for a larger metaphor. A car has one job: to take you from Point A to Point B. It’s a vehicle that is about the destination, yes, but also the journey in getting there. It’s about traversing new waters, discovering new places and for Eric Forman, it is learning these newer possibilities for himself. It is re-examining his identity and where he lies on the spectrum of sexuality. After the kiss happens, Eric very adamantly repeats that he is not gay--and perhaps he’s right. Maybe he isn’t gay, but maybe he isn’t straight either. It’s the bisexual conundrum baby! While Eric tries to make it a point to Buddy that their time spent together has been strictly as friends, not all that convincingly I might add, his eyes tell a different story. He’s surprised by the recent developments, discovering that Buddy is definitively gay, but also having to contend with what that kiss means to him moving forward. He looks visibly shocked and disarmed and unsure. Nothing has been resolved for him even though his words tell otherwise. What I appreciate is that, Eric upon being kissed by Buddy, while he has a dramatic reaction at first, once Buddy apologizes, Eric quickly diffuses the situation, saying very gently “it’s okay,” hinting that he was not disgusted by what happened. Mostly, I was grateful that he didn’t subject Buddy to a homophobic outburst. Given the time, Eric could’ve certainly handled the event much worse. But it’s the “okay” that haunts me, and promises so much.

What gives me quite the chuckle but also many a running thoughts is that right after his night with Buddy, the first thing Eric does when he recoups with the gang is kiss Donna urgently. But when he breaks away, you can tell it wasn’t a kiss of enjoyment. He was trying to compensate for the kiss that happened with Buddy and I still think that if your reaction to being kissed by an attractive guy as a hetero dude is to kiss a girl to “erase” that other kiss because you don’t like the implications of it...maybe you aren’t as hetero as you think (just my opinion). Because if you are sure you are straight, then it wouldn’t bother you to the point you feel the need to replace/ undo the mark of it. The other alternative is that you’re super homophobic and grossed out by what happened so you’re trying to get rid of the memory of the event on your lips entirely. But the show has established that the latter is not the case. However, that doesn’t mean that Eric wouldn’t be dealing with internalized homophobia as I’m sure the story line was supposed to have tackled. But this reeks of that to me, so all signs point to Eric panicking about perhaps not being the straight guy he thought he was, and possibly being the only non-hetero person in his group.

What also caught me by surprise was this little gem:

Eric ensures not to tell his friends the events that transpired between Buddy and him, I’m sure for his own sense of security as well as that of Buddy’s. But here, we see a classic example of the straights thinking they are entitled to people’s personal information regarding their sexual identities. Hyde and Donna ask Eric to substantiate a speculation going around about Buddy’s sexual orientation. Eric’s instinctual reaction is to respect Buddy’s identity and his ‘coming out’ as something that should be controlled by Buddy, as that is his information to share with whom he pleases, as he pleases, when he pleases. The fact that Eric understands this as his friends are treating talk of Buddy’s supposed gayness as juicy gossip and are making a meal of it is highly significant. In the same way that Buddy was respectful of where Eric was in his sexual journey, Eric shows respect for Buddy as a person and preserves his autonomy over his private life details. Eric does accidentally spill the beans of what occurred, but quickly tries to cover it up before pathetically escaping in a gif I have captioned as such:

Eric is confirmed chaotic bi and Buddy is soft gay. I said what I said!

By the end of the episode, viewers are left with this closing interaction between the two boys. The first in which Eric feels the need to ask Buddy one question: the why (another trope and I love to see it.) Important to note that Eric stutters this out, usually a sign of nervousness. If so, why? What does Eric stand to lose in knowing why Buddy is attracted to him? It’s easy to say absolutely nothing but the truth is he does stand something to lose, but also something to gain. For starters, hearing Buddy uphold his attraction for Eric and realizing that what he sees in Eric is not different from what Donna sees in him complicates what our protagonist necessitates out of a partner. Is it the double x chromosome that matters or is it the traits that the person possesses? Then, if the latter is what surmounts, then should the traits be restricted according to gender if all he seeks is mutual companionship based on compassion, loyalty, and understanding? If all the things Eric wants in his dream romance are things Buddy can provide, then why limit that for himself? Essentially, our main lead loses the binary construction of the world he’s been taught to view things in. Nothing is black and white anymore. He has more room for play in this gray area that’s opening up for him and it is in that expanse that Eric must find himself. The question here is posed definitely to inquire about Buddy’s desire, but at the end of it, we are left wondering about Eric’s desires. What does he desire? If the query for Buddy is “why me?” then the investigation for Eric is, “why not him?” What Forman stands to gain is insight into his own person, and the values that he gets to decide for himself. To look into Buddy is to potentially look into him.

There we have it, the “why me?” moment. Eric looks to find out what Buddy finds special in him and when he gets the answer, Buddy reveals that it is “probably for the same reasons that Donna likes you,” reinforcing the love triangle. But furthermore Buddy says this:

Again, the internal details about Eric are what come first when Buddy lists his reasons. Intelligence, and the fact that Eric wears his heart on his sleeve. Coming in third, is the physical descriptor that arrives vaguely, “nice looking.” I’m sure there are specifics about the main character’s appearance that Buddy is attracted to, but he doesn’t need to list them (although that would also be sweet as body image is something Eric very subtly struggles with on the show). It is impactful that Eric hears that Buddy likewise finds who he is as a person, endearing.

Eric tries to reject the romanticized version of him that Buddy sees by replying that he is none of the things Buddy describes. It leads audiences to believe that given the time, the two could work through the insecurities they have about themselves together, and be pillars for the other.

Despite everything we are, intriguingly, left with this:

The episode ends with Buddy decidedly backing off from actively pursuing Eric (for now), yet he isn’t shy about his feelings for him either. Leaving the ball in Eric’s court. Buddy has put himself out there and though he is discouraged about his prospects with Eric, 1x11 also doesn’t resolve the obvious inner conflict faced by Eric with regards to how he feels about the kiss. With them as friends, echoing the episode’s title “Eric’s Buddy” (a play on words that not only establishes them as friends but places Buddy in the possessive, making the statement to read as Buddy belongs to Eric or, Buddy is his! Folks, this shit ain’t straight!) and presumably as lab partners continuing onward, there is an abundance of opportunity for their relationship to evolve. Eric would have to deal with the knowledge for the foreseeable future that his good pal, Buddy Morgan likes him as more than a friend. He may grow to like him too. But he likes Donna. He’s liked Donna since the beginning and believes fervently that they are supposed to be together. But what if that idea gets ruptured? What if what he thought was true, is not? What if Buddy has to fight for Eric in return and Eric actually lets himself be the conquest of another man that he might care for affectionately in turn? What if through the chase, Eric embraces his kind, sensitive demeanor; the fact that he isn’t the strong male archetype but that he has a lot to offer anyways. There’s so many ‘what ifs.’ The chances of it all are so exciting and daring.

And what if they made it in the end? I believe they could have. I believe they should.