901 Meta
(that became a bit of an everything meta rather than a colour and costume meta!)
Ok so this is way way later than I intended - spending half of Friday, Saturday and most of Sunday with a migraine put paid to all my plans - so I’m sure a lot of this has already been discussed at length by others but I’ve not had a chance to go through my tl so I’m making this monster post to get it all out of my brain!! Thoughts on 901 and a costume meta all rolled into one - all under the cut to save your dash!
Going to start with the biggest and overall thing of the episode - the fact that all the calls the 118 attended play on the theme of being thought dead but turning out to be alive after all and how all of the calls relate to aspects of Bobbys death - in order - but all with positive outcomes. So the whale swallowing trip is a play on the lab being a confined space that Bobby traps himself in, the kids on the bus are all at risk of multiple organ failure - just like the effects of the CCHF, and necrosis lady could be said to be a representation of Bobby after being brought out of the lab - only she is alive even if she’s not in good shape.
So all of them live, and while I would dearly love for it to mean that Alobby is a thing that’s happening, in reality I think its meant to imply that Bobby’s legacy lives on in every call the 118 attend - that the people they save can be saved because Bobby sacrificed himself - its the ultimate parallel to the story of Christ and is appropriate because they are using the story of Jonah in this opening arc - which is meant to be a parallel to the story of Christ within the bible itself - its some really clever layering from the 911 writers and a really interesting way to continue the story of Bobby - especially with the 118 being slightly at odds with one another - which is something we see with the disciples of Christ in the aftermath of his death and resurrection.
So on with the key things I want to talk about, starting with the whale scenes! Firstly the Jonah and the whale aspect played out perfectly as another piece of religious imagery being used by the show which is making me even more excited for the Halloween episode and how the show uses the Jonah and the gourd part of the story of Jonah - which to me is the key part of the Jonah story.
Looking at the Jonah and the whale part a little more and how the show used it - the board room interactions and Tripp not wanting to actually do his job - is a play on Jonah not wanting to go to preach to the people of Nineveh! While we don’t get the giant storm at this point in time - that leads Jonah to have himself thrown into the sea off the ship he’s on, we know we’re getting a geomagnetic storm later on and the show has never used biblical references in the chronology of the bible - it doesn’t need to all the key elements of the particular part of the bible are present in one form or another. Jonah - or Tripp in this case is then swallowed by the whale until being spat back out. The show is then using Tripps use of social media as a metaphor for Jonah preaching to the people of Nineveh - his press conference in the next episode also plays into this aspect of the story.
It’s worth noting that Tripp was paddling off ‘Angels Gate’ - something which I find highly amusing and important - there is a historic lighthouse at Angels gate - that has guarded the port of LA since 1913 .
The reason I find this amusing is that I have spent literal years talking about how the concept of guiding lights are important in the Buddie arc - especially for Eddie. Both the names Lucy and Lena mean light or lighted tower while Marisol means sun (that big light in the sky 😂) which can also be seen as a form of guiding light. All these characters could be said to be guiding Eddie towards something (and with Shannon meaning winding river and her ghost flowing through everything in Eddie’s story) and with all three of them serving as a replacement to Buck or Eddie in some form - Lena - Bucks replacement at the 118, Lucy - Eddie’s replacement at the 118 (but also the way she is used in the build up to her and Buck kissing, she’s also directing Eddie towards Buck - hence the way he is lit in that bar scene)and Marisol - whom Eddie only starts dating because Buck has started dating Natalia and off the back of Buck and Eddie going on what are effectively dates and growing closer than ever in the aftermath of Buck’s death and rebirth via lightning and so she could be viewed as a replacement for Buck in Eddies life. So this is
Eddie diving off the bridge unprompted has my head spinning - because what a metaphor that works on multiple levels! On one level it’s foreshadowing that Eddie is going to take a leap - that Eddie is gonna take a leap of faith, of love and or of - he’s going to be the one to choose to do it - unprompted. There’s also the fact that it’s yet another water themed thing connected to buddie - water acting as a bonding agent between them - it’s transformational - the tsunami, the well, the lightning strike (pouring rain) - all connected by water - by being IN water , and all leading to big developments in Buck and Eddie’s dynamic - Buck stepping into parenthood with Chris, Eddie changing his will after the well, the lightning strike bringing them closer together (before network changes meant changes to the season arcs that split them a bit!). Them being in water is the key - when we see one of them on the water it’s not usually a good thing (think boating lake and Kim!) so the fact Eddie is diving into water here implies big developments are coming for buddie.
Water is a symbol of transformation and renewal as well as rebirth - telling us that this is what we’ll be seeing for Eddie this season! To also have Eddie’s behaviour in his scene then paralleled with Bucks later in the episode is a really interesting choice for the show to make - one they didn’t have to if it wasn’t relevant later (especially because I maintain that Eddie has pulled far more risky moved than Buck has over the past 8 seasons an is therefore more of a risk taker than Buck is something I do not have the time to go into in this meta that is already way to long!). Choosing to parallel Eddie with Buck whilst at the same time separating them on the job very much feels like a set up for Eddie to be going on some sort of parallel journey across the season to one Buck has already traversed - which plays very nicely into the way they seem to be using key moments from Bucks arc across the seasons to bring Buddie together - its one of the reasons the use of Tommy is so interesting (but again I don't have the time to go into detail on that here but I do have a meta I'm working on about Tommys costuming in relation to Buck and Eddie and into the wider purpose he served in the past couple of seasons so watch this space for that!)
The other part of the ocean and the whale - which Tripp calls a fish is a low key play on the saying “plenty more fish in the sea” - especially because trip is a ‘big fish’ in the business world - or in space if you will (playing on the universe theme) plus there is also the fact that Eddie rescues Tripp from drowning - helps bring him back to life - that can be read two ways as a metaphor and both are great and do also work in tandem with each other - so Tripp can be read as Eddie - being brought back to life after being swallowed by a whale - the whale being a metaphor for comphet - that Hen is also part of helping resuscitate Tripp the implication would be that Hen will be the one to help Eddie come back from the dead - metaphorically speaking (which I also think is part of why the Halloween episode is Eddie centric - it’s about the idea of Eddie being brought back to life or coming back from the dead - allowing current Eddie to 'die' and Eddie to be reborn as his truest self)
Or it can be seen as Tripp is a representation of Buck - Buck who needs saving - that Eddie will be the one to bring him back from the dead etc - Buck was the only one to not have seen the whale documentary- and as whales are a metaphor for love - Buck has no frame of reference and cannot see the whale coming until he’s been swallowed by it - the implication being that he’s not going to see the fact he’s in love with Eddie until Eddie literally saves him (from himself - so Eddie first love confession seems to be the implication) - this version suggests the rest of the firefam will be aware of Eddie’s feelings for Buck (and Bucks for Eddie - baby monitor inadvertent declaration thats overheard foreshadowing mayhaps) before Buck is (except Ravi who is also out of the whale documentary loop - which tracks with him being a physical representation/ manifestation of Bucks abandonment issues so he also wouldn't know even if he's more clued in that Buck is) - that Eddie will confide in or tell Hen and or Chim before he tells Buck.
On the subject of Ravi - the way they were seated in the truck - with buck in the middle, but Ravi perched up behind the captains chair and separated from the other three - opposite Eddie - very intentional placement - he sits separate from the rest of the firefam but also because he’s a representation of bucks fear of abandonment placing him near Eddie continues the theme we saw playing out after Bobbys death - Ravi hugging Eddie multiple times and being placed near him - is about buck clinging to Eddie - the biggest constant in his life (along with Maddie) during periods of massive turmoil. (My full and updated meta on this will happen soon - just need to finish fleshing out the bones - along with all the other meta I've got in my drafts!!)
The other part of Eddie leaping off the bridge into the water to rescue Tripp is connected into the radio messages between dispatch and the 118. It’s incredibly loud (and hilarious to me) that the rescue helicopter is too far away to be of assistance. I am always going to be here for the show making digs at bt and this was an especially good one - and revealing too - Eddies choice to dive in becomes a metaphor for him not being prepared to sit around and wait/watch as someone else swoops in and upsets the status quo (even if he doesn't yet fully know why he's doing it) - his diving act then becomes him actively putting a stop to Tommy potentially being present and involved in a rescue of someone which, as I put above, is a stand in for Buck (and for himself - who we know Tommy was essentially pursuing before Buck) - not only is it another nail in whatever space remains free in the bt coffin at this point, but it’s also a nod towards the water theming around buddie. It’s pointing out that water is the right path - for both of them - not being up in the air. While air a symbol of freedom and change - both things we saw Buck experience through his relationship with Tommy, air is also ephemeral - nothing exists only up in the air permanently - one always needs to come down eventually - either to earth or water - where things can and do exist permanently.
Then we have the actual whale itself - humpback whales specifically serve as a metaphor for deep emotions, spiritual guidance, and healing, symbolising the ability to navigate life's challenges and connect with our inner selves - something especially pertinent when the show literally has someone trapped inside a whale - suggesting that Buck and Eddie (and also Hen and Chim) need to look inwards where they are trapped and free themselves (Hen's is yet to become obvious but Chim's is obviously around becoming captain of the 118 or not).
Whales more generally represents the power of communication as they use complex songs to communicate with one another across the vast depths of the ocean. They also represent the need for emotional release - their breaching behaviours are indicative of this concept. Metaphorically, it suggests a journey of self-discovery, a connection to deeper wisdom, and the importance of expressing our authentic selves.
Other things I loved about this scene were Eddie stepping out of paramedic mode and back into heavy rescue mode. We see Eddie standing next to Buck while Ravi stands with Hen - they're on opposite sides of Chim - take Ravi out of the equation for a moment and its more like our previous character placing - paramedics together and heavy rescue together!
The fact that Eddie diving into this rescue parallels/reverse parallels with the Spider-Man jump rescue in season 2. There are lots of elements that are similar in both scenes - Chim being the one to figure out a way to solve the problem - calling Tommy in Doheney (??) park or turning the rig into whale song in this call. We have Eddie doing a risky move without his captains say so in both (and before anyone says anything about Eddie not being someone who acts first thinks later in the Doheney park call S2 he literally says he doesn’t know what came over him - he just did it and prayed a lot - literal definition of act first think later) and both involve water as a key part of the call. Where the differences lie are in the fact Eddie jumps and climbs upwards in the s2 call while he dives down into the water in this one. Where Tommy came to help in s2, here he gets stood down because the 118 have got it sorted.
All of this is about showing us that old habits really do die hard - there’s a low key relevance to this though - it’s about showing us that Eddie is still stuck in this same mode we’ve seen him in since day 1 - a man of action who does things without communicating or asking and deals with the fall out later - a man who is still making choices for others without discussing things - both professionally and personally. It’s clearly going to be a key thing that Eddie will be exploring this season - and because it’s so heavily connected here to the whale emergency my feeling is that Eddie confronting at least a part of it will form part of the Halloween episode - as it ties it all into the Jonah story with the giant pumpkin we know we’re getting.
Then we have Eddie and Chim’s conversation at Eddie’s house. There are several things at play here to discuss. Firstly - Eddie’s art and the few things we got to see of that.
Let’s start with the easier bits - Texas is still by the door. Now I have two thoughts on this piece - firstly is that it’s about keeping the fact Eddie is from Texas in the audiences mind - that it’s a general piece of art to show Eddie’s background/origins. And normally I would roll with that, but the fact it’s only existed on Eddie’s wall in more recent seasons, and has gone back up in the same location when other art has moved around (more on that in a sec) tells me it’s serving the same purpose as before - telling us that Texas is still relevant - that Eddie’s family is still relevant - it remains to be seen if that’s in connection with Abuela being back or if it’s to do with Helena and Ramon.
Then we have the moving art - the two pieces that were on the wall that buck wanted to knock down - the black and white man throwing football and man with megaphone on a penny farthing prints - now located on the same wall as the Texas piece - on the other side of the front window - where we’ve not had art before! It was clearly relevant to have them behind Eddie for this scene - especially megaphone man - almost as if I don't know - the universe is screaming at you - both Chim and Eddie in this case!
And then we have the new art - which we can barely see (I’m sure we’ll get to see it in upcoming episodes though because I would like to see which version it actually is!) of the stereotypical image of an indigenous American man who has been depicted with the Ziggy stardust/ Aladdin sane lightning bolt across the face.
There are several things that are super interesting about the use of this particular ,piece of artwork in Eddie’s house and specifically on that wall. Firstly it’s a nod to indigenous people and Eddie being of Mexican descent. Secondly it’s about the meaning of the actual painting - created by Greg Deal, an indigenous American - his statement about the piece’s meaning talks about it being about First Nations people existing in a modern world and not just a historical curio and it’s also asking the viewer to think about the representation of indigenous people in popular culture and how the stereotyping that we tend too see of native Americans is a relic that no longer exists. This is perhaps hinting towards Eddie needing or wanting to view himself in a more modern way and not remain confined to the old and stereotypical way he was brought up in by his parents - it’s about Eddie reframing himself as a modern Mexican man and not one steeped in machismo (as Ryan himself has talked about) and traditional ways of being. It’s about him forging his own path one that perhaps sits outside of the expectations and stereotyping that he has grown up with and undertake influence of. Its the set department and the show making a statement that season 9 Eddie is not the traditional Mexican American that he has always been expected to be or viewed as - that he will come into his own and forge his own identity in a way that intersects traditional latino values with modern thinking and ways of being.
Then there is the Aladdin sane lightning bolt element of the art - and its use in the painting - it’s not just about recognisable pop culture imagery, it’s also about Ziggy stardust and what he represented both to David Bowie, but also more widely. Aladdin sane was Bowies seminal album receiving critical and public acclaim making him into a global superstar, it’s an album that’s subsequently been called ‘Ziggy goes to America’. There are multiple meanings behind the iconic look and title. It was a commentary on the American government’s propaganda encouraging young men to sign up to the military (this was the height of the Vietnam war) which Bowie found insane as he was part of the post WWII generation. Then there was the fact his brother had been recently diagnosed with schizophrenia and Bowie himself was struggling with the mental toll of being famous and worrying about also having a split personality. The album and its cover art are about metamorphosis and transformation and is also about the death of that era and personality David Bowie created - the death of Ziggy stardust. What does all this mean in relation to Eddie? Well the implications are clear - Eddie is about to go through a period of transformation and the death of Ziggy stardust implies that Eddie’s old self will die so that the newly transformed Eddie can rise in his place - it does suggest that some of Eddies struggles will connect into his mental health and some of that may connect into his time in the military, but there are also very strong queer narratives connected to Ziggy stardust and Aladdin sane and its not unreasonable to connect the dots here and suppose that Eddies potential mental health struggles will be about reframing who he was and has been with a queer identity. Putting this picture on the wall Buck wanted to knock down just further plays into this idea and implies that it’s Buck who will help knock down Eddie’s walls (or that he already has) so that he may undergo this metamorphosis.
I have a whole meta in progress about buddie and furniture (because its not just the couch that’s important) which I will get finished at some point, but for now - the fact Eddie sits on his couch but Chim sits in the armchair is pretty revealing. As it stands the only people who have sat on Eddie’s couch are Eddie, Chris, Buck, Shannon, Abuela, Ana and Kim. Of those only Eddie Chris and Buck have sat on it multiple times, they’re also the only 3 to sit on the couch with one another, and all three have fallen asleep on said couch (Buck more than once)!
Ana never sat on it on her own and the time we saw her in it she was split from Eddie by Chris joining them. Kim sitting on it as Eddie told her she looked like Shannon was meant to parallel the one time we saw Shannon sitting on it when she was asking about Christopher’s new school. All of this very much frames the couch as a family couch - specifically the buckley-diaz family. It’s almost as if Eddie is inadvertently testing wives/girlfriends out to see if they fit only to find they don’t - buck however does - although we’ve yet to have all 3 of buck Eddie and Chris on the couch together at the same time - which will be symbolic when we do because it will fully solidify them as a family unit - so I don’t think we’ll see it until buddie are either canon or all but canon. So chimney sitting in an armchair set at right angles to the couch is indicative of friendship in the same way sitting on the table with someone on the couch is about parenting - Bobby to Eddie, Eddie to Chris.
Finally - let’s get into the costumes and colour theory!!!
Buck being the only one with his dress uniform jacket open and not buttoned up - I’ve spoken before about how they will put one character in a slightly different uniform to differentiate them from the rest of the team when they are the one who is going through it in some way.
This is the version of that for dress uniform - Buck is the one going through it in this scene as he struggles with Eddie getting on so well with Hen and feeling left out because of it and is therefore not as put together as everyone else.
It’s also worth noting that we’re getting a continuation of Eddie Hen and Karen scenes from last season - continuing to build their friendship and putting Eddie into a place where he has people to confide in and seek advice from separate from Buck - the fact they’ve gone the HenRen route can simply bee seen as the only viable choice because Chim is married to Maddie and is therefore too close to Buck to work as a confidant/friend, but in going this route, they’ve also provided Eddie with a healthy relationship to view - which is especially important in light of Eddie’s more recent relationship struggles - that it also happens to be a queer relationship also helps with setting up a queer arc for Eddie - ultimately he wants the happy family life with kids and the white picket fence - that he’s being put in scenes with a couple who have that and who are Queer is a smart move if you want to open his eyes to the possibility of him finding what he’s looking for in a queer relationship of his own.
There’s also the fact that Karen is wearing the white dress with the orangey red patterning on it - especially with it being followed by the Tripp scene where he is on a yellow and orangey red boat with a rusty orange t-shirt - it seems to me that orange/red are going to be colours of the season - which is a continuation of the orange tones from last season - and is particularly fun as a colour theme when you consider orange is a colour associated with joy, optimism, and emotional strength.
It is also a colour associated with adventure and escaping inhibitions allowing you to take risks, and it can also be associated with intuition and gut instincts and being your true self. It is also a colour associated with insecurity and stagnation or self destructive behaviours it is therefore a colour connected to transformation. If orange is a colour theme for this season then it bodes well for Eddies journey - hopefully we’ll see him wearing it in the next few episodes, but as Tripp is meant to be a vehicle for both Eddie and Bucks respective journeys in these few episodes, we can connect the orange (and yellow) he is wearing and put their meaning onto Buck and Eddie - which has me all kinds of excited - especially as the yellow in this situation is a life vest - yellow being a colour of communication, optimism, and fear or caution (hence the life vest being yellow) and the missing half of buddies yellow and blue colour theory!
On Eddie front we have the grey cut off tee - it’s a yellowish grey, but still grey - the thing with this scene is that its not really about Eddie as such - the visuals of the scene are about Eddie, but the actual content of it is not about Eddie - that’s why the grey for him works really well here - especially a grey with yellowish undertones to it. Grey is a neutral colour that avoids attention and is considered calming and sensible. the yellow undertones make this grey a warm toned grey rather than cool toned which gives it more positive connotations. the thing that I love most about this grey tee is the way that it connects Eddie to his new art - the indigenous man in the picture (shoshone Pete) - playing on the idea of Eddie being neutral and traditional - avoiding attention and playing it safe and compromising on who he is. Im expecting to see him in more reds as the season progresses to connect into the lightning bolt and the idea that Eddie is fulfilling that aspect of the art as I described above!
Finally we have Buck in baby Bobby's nursery in a Midnight rodeo white tee, a zip front jersey collared jacket which could be green or just a greenish black I'm not 100% sure as the lighting is so dark and blue that all the colours are thrown off.
The Rodeo tee is interesting to me - for starters its white - which doesn't bode well for Buck - then there is the concept of rodeo and midnight rodeo at that - Now I'm fully aware that they are a brand that focuses on western style in a contemporary way, but this is also a costume for a show that makes sure to utilise every narrative opportunity it has. Therefore I do believe we're meant to read into the term 'Midnight rodeo' - a slang term commonly used to describe sex, or there is rodeo on its own, a rodeo being a test of skill and endurance most commonly associated with bareback riding a bull or a wild horse and trying to stay astride the animal for as long as possible. Rodeo is a symbol of courage, grit, determination and a willingness to keep going when circumstances get tough.
The phrases ‘it’s not my first rodeo ‘ or ‘last rodeo’ are also in common parlance and may play a part here. Both are based on the idea of having experience in something with the second also implying that it’s the final time doing something.
Put all this together and we have some very interesting possibilities for Buck this season. the white implies that its not going to necessarily go all that well for him overall and the use of rodeo is very much centering things around sex and Buck - and as we know he's going to be getting back into the dating game and that it seems likely that we'll see Buck reverting to something akin to his buck 1.0 days I think its fair to see this tee as foreshadowing for Bucks arc, in much the same way the Ziggindigenous art on Eddies wall seems to be foreshadowing for him.
So the implications are that Buck is going to get back out there and try dating again (exploring his sexuality now he is aware of it) - something he has prior experience in - only to fall back into bad habits of not actually dating but instead hooking up and using sex as a coping mechanism (as a grief response and as a way of actually looking at his actual feelings) - which will likely lead to some issues for him and test him in various ways, but will ultimately lead him to where he is meant to be - that his ability and willingness to keep going when things get tough will get him through his struggles and bring him to his last rodeo (cough Eddie cough).
It feels very much like the show is telling us that they are revisiting aspects of Buck's arc across the seasons (something which we've seen them doing for a while) as a way of getting him to where they need him to be - that we're cycling back around to the beginnings of Buck in order for him to grow into himself more fully - which is why Buck 1.0 being revisited is important - because it lead Buck to Abby - who he has described as transformational for him - he's still going through a transformation and the Buck 1.0 reversion is actually getting Buck of that hamster wheel he's been stuck on ever since he and Abby said goodbye at the airport (Tommy was also a part of being stuck on the hamster wheel - Buck just did exactly what he has done in all his previous relationships to this point - just found himself in a monogamous relationship and then stuck it our regardless of if it was right for him or if he actually wanted to be in it - he always deluded himself that he did - because it was better than the alternative and he got regular sex out of it) and its no coincidence that Eddie appeared at that very moment an Buck went into major jealousy acting out mode and we've literally just had another mini version of that in this episode! We'll see how it all ends up playing out but I'm personally very excited by the possibilities of where this is going and how it very much seems to be setting up Buck to actually look properly at what he wants out of a relationship (and then realising he has it with Eddie!)
Phew this was so very long and if you've stuck with me to the end of this mega meta then I am serving you refreshments and cake and cookies. 🍪🧁
Thank you for taking the tine to read my ramblings and as always I love hearing your thoughts on things and on what I've written. Hopefully things in rl will calm down a bit and I'll not be ill again, so I can get all the mentioned metas completed and work on some other projects I have in the pipeline (like the podfic I need to edit before the end of the month and the art I've been working on for forever!)
tagging a few people below, but if you'd like to be added to the tag list please let me know for next time 💜💜💜
@lover-of-mine @satvojihusana @spotsandsocks @fruityfirehose @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @super-powerful-queen-slayyna @chaosandwolves @saveahorserideaneddie @leothil @icebergeddie @buddieroommatesera