- Buck and Eddie try to overcome their growing estrangement at work in this week’s EW exclusive first look. 9-1-1.
- The best friends have been at odds ever since they disagreed on how Buck should raise 4-year-old Theo.
- New episodes of 9-1-1 airs Thursdays on ABC.
The boys fight again and all bets are off… or are they?
In Weekly Entertainment exclusive Thursday preview 9-1-1 episode, titled “Imposter Syndrome,” Buck (Oliver Stark) and Eddie’s (Ryan Guzman) friendship continues to unravel following their argument over Buck’s 4-year-old son, Theo. The quarrel extends into working hours, making the situation awkward for everyone in 118.
“Hey… I didn’t see you there,” Buck said after Eddie waited an uncomfortably long time to be noticed in the station kitchen, holding a cup of coffee. “Well, I’m here,” Eddie replies, to which Buck replies, “I know that now.”
Another brutally long silence ensues between them before Buck asks what Eddie was doing heading into the kitchen. “I just need a refill,” he says as Buck grabs the coffee maker and fills his ex-best friend’s mug.
“Are you going to put something in it?” Buck asks shyly, and Eddie confirms that he’s “just going to drink it black today.” Having nothing more to say, they exchange an “Okay then” before going their separate ways.
As the painful exchange unfolds, it is revealed that all members of the 118 are glued to the duo’s usually icy back-and-forth as close as possible, unable to look away.
“How long are we going to let this last?” » asks an exasperated Harry (Elijah M. Cooper) of Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Chimney (Kenneth Choi). The newbie is obviously very worried, but this isn’t Hen and Chim’s first rodeo.
“You don’t want to get involved in this,” Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody) warns Harry, and Chimney agrees. “Yeah, we should definitely let them find out for themselves.”
That’s not to say that 118s can’t find entertainment in the never-ending saga that is Buddie. Just as Chim tells Henry to mind his own business, he slips Hen a wad of cash.
Christopher Willard/Disney
“You bet on how long they’ll keep fighting, right?” » asks a completely shaken Harry, to which Hen quickly confirms: “Yes, 20 dollars a box. Make your choice before time runs out!”
Even though there is clearly a chill in the air between the two best friends, fans of 9-1-1 are likely to err on the side of Hen and Chimney – aware that Buck and Eddie often have their differences, but still recognize how much they love and care for each other in the end.
“They argue because they both often believe they’re right,” Stark previously told EW when it came to disagreeing. He added that in Theo’s case — in which Eddie thinks Buck is being too lenient toward the rambunctious 4-year-old, while Buck thinks Theo, whose parents just died in a car accident, is entitled to some laxity — neither is really “wrong.”
“It’s just not black and white,” he explained. “There are difficult, confusing, difficult situations that they are trying to navigate right now, and there is no right answer.”
Last week’s episode, “Streets of Fire,” saw Eddie’s frustrations boil over when he enters the home of a distraught Buck. When Buck tells him that he and Theo are planning to create their own erupting volcano, Eddie, himself the father of his son Christopher, pulls his friend aside to suggest that he establish more ground rules.
Buck disagrees, saying Theo — who is his biological son after donating his sperm — has been through enough negativity and trauma and deserves to have fun. Plus, building a homemade volcano can help a small child understand what just happened in Los Angeles (the series follows its emergency three-episode opening in which a volcano hit the city.)
“I think (Buck) acts with the best intentions and is at least to some extent doing what he thinks is right. He’s just trying to understand, and he just wants everyone to be happy,” Stark told EW.
Christopher Willard/Disney
Eddie pushes back, noting his experience as a father. But when he admits he’s made his own mistakes, Buck jumps at the chance to agree. “Yeah, I know, because I’ve been there for most of them.” The two men realize that the argument is not going to be resolved and they separate.
“I think you can only bite your tongue for so long, especially when you’re invested in the situation and you care about the outcome,” Stark explained of Eddie’s mindset. He added that with Buck, there is “ego” involved.
“Buck has been there on a lot of different levels for Eddie, helping Christopher and playing a role there. So to have Eddie question his methods, I think will be like a blow. Because he’s shown up for Eddie so many times in the past,” he said.
9-1-1 airs on ABC Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
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