“I am free.”
With those three words, Evan “Buck” Buckley (Oliver Stark) accepted a first date invitation from former 118 member Tommy Kinard (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) following their surprising, incredibly steamy kiss in 9-1-1‘s historic 100th episode. But in the eyes of fans who’ve been begging the show to explore Buck’s sexuality for the past seven years, the statement simultaneously signified a deeper moment of self-acceptance and cathartic liberation.
The past seven seasons, we’ve watched Buck ceaselessly soul-search as he cycled through a string of romantic relationships that ultimately left him unfulfilled. When we first met the compelling character, he was a womanizing, seemingly straight, self-diagnosed sex addict. Then fellow 118 firefighter Eddie Diaz (Ryan Guzman) joined the team in Season 2, and everything changed.
A significant portion of 9-1-1‘s fandom started shipping a friends-to-lovers storyline between the besties. With impassioned Buddie aspirations out in the world, subtle signs from the show started to suggest Buck wasn’t straight. From his sister Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) saying he had a “boy crush” on Eddie and talking about setting him up with her co-worker Josh (Bryan Safi) to a memorable interaction between Buck and 9-1-1: Lone Star‘s TK, and that time a stranger assumed Buck was Christopher’s second dad and he didn’t correct her, there were *checks list* so many teases. As the crumbs piled up and the seasons passed, however, fans started to fear the show was leading them on with no real intentions of making Buck canonically queer.
That’s why this kiss meant the world to so many people.
Though Stark says he only found out about the game-changing storyline shortly before shooting “Buck, Bothered and Bewildered,” even he admits the monumental moment felt as though it was years in the making. And by timing the long-awaited character development to such a special episode, it felt as though the storyline transcended a typical act of fan service. Though the buildup was, at times, excruciating, the thoughtful presentation of Buck’s explicitly queer storyline felt like an intimate, intentional show of respect for 9-1-1‘s viewers, characters, and the love stories that lie ahead.
At long last, 9-1-1 did the thing! And even the most diehard Buddie stans couldn’t resist celebrating the bold, beautiful, overwhelmingly emotional shift in Buck’s personal journey.
Some hopeful fans still believe that 9-1-1‘s latest development could be moving the show one step closer to a Buddie endgame. And honestly? It seems more possible now than ever before. But it’s also crucial to remember that the importance of Buck’s imminent vulnerability and journey of self-discovery in no way hinges on whether or not the friends take their relationship to the next level.
For all the reasons outlined, 9-1-1‘s milestone 100th episode was undeniably massive for fans, for on-screen representation, for Season 7 showrunner Tim Minear, for network television, and for ABC — which, as a reminder, picked up the veteran series in 2023 after it was canceled by Fox and smartly gave it the marketing and attention of a first-season show. What truly elevated the “Buck, Bothered and Bewildered” bliss to an entirely new heights, however, was Oliver Stark’s genuine investment in the story.
Not only was the actor incredibly vocal about his acceptance of Buck’s new trajectory and his love of the character in interviews, but he repeatedly thanked and validated viewers for picking up on supporting evidence in past seasons and never abandoning the conversation.
“If you look back, and I don’t know if it was even intentional from anybody in the moment, I think that the thread is there throughout. So coming to this moment now is really exciting and deserved and earned,” Stark told TVLine. “I’ve probably believed for a long time that we should end up in this place. I withdrew myself a lot from social media because you would see these things [about Buck] and I would agree… but I couldn’t agree, right? It was such a fine line, because if things didn’t happen, then I’d have been quote-unquote queerbaiting. So thank you [to those fans] for sticking with the story, and I hope there’s an element of it that feels right. I also hope you continue to stay on board and enjoy the story as we tell it.”
In another satisfying twist, seven seasons deep, I’m more on board with 9-1-1 than ever before.
New episodes of 9-1-1 premiere Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu.
