Evan Buckley Finally Came Out as a Queer Character in “9-1-1” Season 7 Episode 4

After years of fan speculation and queerbaiting allegations, it has finally happened. The creative team behind the live-action 9-1-1 series finally allowed Evan “Buck” Buckley to come out as a queer character in season 7 episode 4 ‘Buck, Bothered and Bewildered’ (the show’s 100th episode).

If you are part of online fandom culture, you would know that the ship named Buddie is respectably huge. It was formed by 9-1-1 viewers wanting firefighters Buck (Oliver Stark) and Edmundo “Eddie” Díaz (Ryan Guzman) to be a romantic couple. And I don’t blame the fans. Whether certain viewers want to admit it or not, the relationship dynamic between Buck and Eddie could easily be explained away if looked at through a “romantic” lens.

Now, before some of you come at me with the “Why can’t two men be close friends in media without it being turned into something sexual!”, all I will say is that I have consumed a whole bunch of media, including media that features close platonic friendships between men. However, the way 9-1-1 was handling Buck and Eddie’s relationship felt different from that, especially when “queerbaiting” for viewership and fandom engagement is an actual thing that happens.

Anyway, all of that isn’t the point of this post. The point is that what certain fans had been speculating for years (and getting into online spats over) finally got confirmed in season 7 episode 4 of 9-1-1. Buck is indeed a queer character and I appreciate that the writers made the revelation foolproof. Nothing was left to subtext. Buck indeed kissed Tommy.

‘Buck, Bothered and Bewildered’ dealt with Buck feeling jealous due to Eddie and Tommy’s friendship. He couldn’t understand how Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) could grow so close to Eddie after knowing him for only a couple of weeks. Even Eddie’s son Christopher liked Tommy. While the episode initially tried to misdirect the audience by making it seem Buck was jealous because he didn’t want to grow apart from Eddie, as the episode progressed, it became clear that something else was also bothering Buck. He wanted to get to know Tommy and, in a sense, Eddie was interfering with that.

The closing moments of the episode had Tommy pay Buck a visit and Buck came clean about his immature behavior. Yes, he was jealous of Tommy and Eddie, but he was also jealous about not being able to spend time with Tommy. Buck’s feelings encouraged Tommy to kiss Buck and the two agreed to go out on a date.

As someone who had no idea the kiss was about to happen, I was side-eyeing my TV screen during that particular scene. The last thing I wanted in 2024 was 9-1-1 finding yet another way to queerbait the audience when it comes to Buck’s sexuality by adding Tommy to the mix.

Fortunately, the writers didn’t hold back and allowed the scene to play out naturally. Kudos to the 9-1-1 writing team for pushing the needle for queer representation in media by delivering such a story through a character that doesn’t fit the traditional mold associated with queer characters on the small screen. I have to give extra points because Buck (who has been with women) was able to begin a romance with another dude without falling into the tired trope of cheating bisexuals.

Here’s the scene!

@thegeekiary Evan “Buck” Buckley Finally Comes Out as a Queer Character by Crushing on Tommy in 911 Season 7 Episode 4… #buck #Oliverstark #911 #911season7 #queer #queertiktok #lgbt #evanbuckbuckley #evenbuckley #tommykinard #louferrignojr ♬ original sound – The Geekiary

Now, where does all of this leave Buddie?

I mean, you can ship away if you want. No one can take that away from you. But as far as my opinion goes, I think the 9-1-1 creative team is going to keep Eddie as a straight character who just happens to have a very close bond with Buck. I mean, in a sense, a male straight character sharing such a bond with a queer male character without it turning into a sad story of unrequited love is a good thing.

With Buck having kissed Tommy (who does share similarities with Eddie) and what Stark shared during a recent interview, I’m looking forward to seeing how the writers will continue to handle Buck coming into his true sexuality and how it might change some of his current relationships down the line.

What did you think of Buck coming out as a queer character?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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