9-1-1 Confirms the Breakup We Should’ve *All* Seen Coming
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It’s all over for Buck (Oliver Stark) and Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) on 9-1-1 and in a way, there’s nothing surprising about it. In 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 6 “Consequences” Tommy breaks up with Buck after Buck asks him to move in with him. If that sounds like a non sequitur, it kind of is for Buck too, who even has to confirm with Tommy if their conversation is a breakup. But Tommy is very clear about what he wants at that moment, and it’s not Buck.
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The scene reads as Tommy protecting himself, as he tells Buck “I know how this ends” about their relationship, and then makes it clear that “I’m not your last, I’m your first.” But it’s also not the kind of scene that leaves any doubt about where it’s going. In fact, the nail in the coffin of Buck and Tommy’s relationship comes as Tommy says goodbye to Buck and proceeds to call him Buck instead of Evan, which is what he’s been calling him the entire relationship.
Specific words that Tommy used, though, might be read as a hint of where the show is going next. 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 6 “Consequences” also has a somewhat strange scene where Eddie (Ryan Guzman) reaffirms to a priest that he’s straight, a very weird confirmation of something that people always assumed. Even if Eddie is saying it at the moment because he mistakes the priest’s intentions when he approaches him, there’s something to be said about the show reminding us of a fact we already knew.
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Perhaps it is the 9-1-1‘s first clue that Eddie isn’t actually straight. And, if so, that means that Buck and Tommy’s breakup can also be interpreted as a sign of something to come. This is particularly true if we consider Tommy’s words. “I know how this ends,” reads very much like Tommy can see the writing on the wall and he’d rather not get more invested in a relationship he knows can’t last. Even if Buck and Tommy aren’t there yet, and the show might need a while to get there, it could be that Tommy clocked it before anyone else did.
Then there’s the show’s decision to have Tommy also utter the words “I’m not your last, I’m your first.” What Tommy is saying at the moment is that they’re not meant to be together forever, but the way he phrases it implies that he knows Buck will move on. It’s hard to see right now who else Buck could move on with.
Buck and Eddie’s connection is reaffirmed in the last scene of the episode. As Buck mourns a relationship that was important to him and that he didn’t want to see end the way he did, Eddie opens the door to Buck sans pants or mustache and after a Risky Business-type dance party. The two don’t talk about what happened, with Buck or with Eddie. Instead, they sit in silence because their relationship doesn’t always need words. Sometimes, all they need is to sit there with each other.
9-1-1 is available to stream on Hulu.
Watch ‘9-1-1’ on Hulu
For more on 9-1-1, meet the cast’s children in real life in the gallery below.