9x05 opens with Eddie, Buck, and Christopher breaking in Buck’s new place. It’s barren right now as he’s just moved in, but he’s cooking dinner for Eddie and Chris anyways. While they eat Chris brings up Dia de Los Muertos and how he wants to celebrate this year. Cue him and Buck gong down a deep dive on how they want to plan, including wanting to bring Tia Pepa into the conversation.
Meanwhile, Eddie who isn’t even sure he fully believes in God, definitely doesn’t believe in the universe so he’s predictably skeptical, but would clearly do anything for Chris (and Buck) agrees to go along with their plans.
Through the episode in between calls we get little glimpses of Buck and Christopher’s plans. (Decorating sugar skulls, making plans to make their passed love ones favorite foods, gathering photos, ordering flowers, etc.) All of that is hinted at in the background of Eddie, catching glimpses of Shannon.
He keeps seeing her everywhere. Thinks he might be going crazy, even Buck or Chris point it out. Eventually he goes to Pepa, who absolutely believes in ghosts, and she says maybe Shannon’s trying to tell him something.
At some point the day arrives and they’re at the parade/event/location for the released still and he finally catches Shannon. She touches him and he feels pinpricks on his skin, but nothing solid. They get to have a real talk, about how shes been watching over them, and how proud she is the life Eddie has built. Eddie tells her how he loves her and misses her, and Shannon tells him that she loves him too, but also, “I think we both idealized the love we had when we were teenagers. We loved each other Eddie, but we were never in love.” At some point she tells him “you have to stop holding into the love you think we had, and focus on the love you really have now.” He’s confused at first, but then she starts walking away. He tries to chase her again but stops when he sees who she’s walking toward: Buck and Chris.
They’re at the ofrenda they’ve been planing for weeks. They’re placing everything when we get a close up of Shannon placing a kiss to Christopher’s temple. He feels it, and reaches up to touch where he felt it. Then she places her hand in Buck’s shoulder and tells him (although he can’t hear it) “thank you for taking care of them for me, Buck” and gives his shoulder a squeeze. He reaches up to feel it as well but he doesn’t see anything.
We then see Shannon turn to Eddie, she gives him a wave and vanishes, leaving Buck and Chris clearly visible behind her. Cue THAT look on Eddie’s face as he realizes what’s right in front of him, followed be a whispered, “oh.” During our focus on Eddie’s face, Pepa has joined Buck and Chris at the ofrenda.
Eddie snaps out of how gaze when Buck and Chris summon him over to the ofrenda. It’s covered in photos of all their loved ones: Shannon, Eddie’s Abuelo, Pepa’s first husband (Paco?), Bobby, and even Daniel. They’re are marigolds, the foods, they prepared, candles and the sugar skulls they made. Chris asks Eddie, “What do you think, Dad? Do you think mom will like it?” Buck adds softly, “And Bobby?”
Cue glimpses of their loved ones walking around them, admiring the ofrenda and them. Paco staring lovingly at Pepa, Abuelo peeping over Buck’s shoulder and Shannon over Chris’s (she tells him, “it’s beautiful, baby”, a kid that looks just like the photo of Daniel on the bike from Maddie’s baby box zooms by, gently swiping Eddie’s leg as we see the plate on the back of his bike with his name on it. “I think they’ll love it,” Eddie tells them, wrapping his arms around both of their shoulders.
We get a little montage of them celebrating and jointing the parade. Buck and Chris are walking together as they talk about everyone’s decorations briefly, while Eddie walks a little behind with Pepa. Eddie is just staring at them with the biggest heart eyes and Pepa says, “Did you figure it out? What Shannon was trying to tell you?” Eddie looks at her and she smirks lovingly. Instead of replying he just asks, “How long have you known?” She tells him, “Since he stepped off the elevator with you.” Later she says, “Now that you know? What are you going to do about it?” Eddie tells her, “I don’t know yet. I don’t want to lose him.” She shakes her head and squeeze his arm when she says, “Eddito, you could never lose him. He loves you both way too much to ever leave.”
NOW WAIT, why didn’t we see Bobby’s ghost in the ofrenda scene? WELP, it’s the final minute of the show and the parade fades out as the screen pulls up to a dark government facility. And we pan down the hall so mysterious door that opens as a nurse walks into the room to check on a patient. We can’t really see them until the camera pans right above them and it’s Bobby, asleep. At least until the last second we see him gasp awake.
