9-1-1 season 8, episode 11 aired Thursday, March 20 on ABC and posed the question fans have long been asking: Is Buck in love with Eddie? Picking up after Eddie leaves for Texas, “Holy Mother of God” sees Buck struggle to accept his best friend’s departure. He opts to stay with Maddie and Chimney, unwilling to confront what living in Eddie’s house means. Buck attempts to find friends outside of Eddie, even asking a skeptical Ravi to hang out at the bar.
After a run-in with Tommy, Buck and his ex fall back into bed together, marking the first night in his new home. To Buck’s surprise, Tommy admits he wants to give their relationship another shot now that “the competition’s out of the way.” He appears confused by the implication, insisting that Eddie is straight (which Tommy doesn’t seem to believe). Despite denying having feelings for his best friend, Maddie doesn’t find Tommy’s assessment off base, noting that Buck being in love with Eddie “wouldn’t be that crazy.”
ScreenRant interviews Oliver Stark about having co-star Aisha Hinds as a director, his character’s reunion with Tommy, and whether there’s more to explore regarding Buck’s feelings for Eddie in 9-1-1 season 8.
The 9-1-1 Cast Wanted To Ensure Aisha Hinds Felt Comfortable In The Director’s Chair
“She brings such warmth to every single day as an actress and that same warmth and sensibility carried through to her work as a director.”
How was having Aisha Hinds as the director for 8×11?
Oliver Stark: It was so lovely. I think as a whole cast, we were very intent on making sure that she felt comfortable with us as well. I think we were aware that there’s a possibility, her stepping into that role, she might feel uneasy. “Can I direct my peers? Will they take direction from me?”
So I think we were all very keen to make sure she knew from the jump that we were on board, that she was in that director’s chair, that captain’s chair, and I was excited for her to be doing that. She brings such warmth to every single day as an actress and that same warmth and sensibility carried through to her work as a director. So it was great. I have supreme trust in her, and I really enjoyed the whole experience. I hope she does more.
Stark Was Surprised That 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11 Addressed Buddie “So Head On”
“I just always trust that Tim knows what he’s doing and the writers that he has around him.”
Did you know that Tommy was coming back ahead of time?
Oliver Stark: I just found out as we go. The nature of shooting the show is that we don’t always get a lot of intel ahead of time. It’s just part of the way the show has learned to function at its best. So yeah, no, I didn’t have much prior warning that the script came out and that was the story.
So yeah, no, as I say, not really involved so much in the overall arc of the show. I think our job as the actors on the show is to just turn up on the day and play scenes with as much truth and authenticity as possible. So no prior knowledge, but of course, we’re just happy to play the scenes as they come.
This is the first time the show explicitly addresses that Buck may have feelings for Eddie. Were you surprised when you read that in the script?
Oliver Stark: Yeah, I was surprised that we faced that so head on. I don’t have any insight into the writers’ room. I just turn up on set each day and say the words that are written for me. I just always trust that Tim knows what he’s doing and the writers that he has around him. He’s never steered us wrong before. So I’m always just excited to read his words and trust that it goes in the right direction. I was surprised at first, but as I say, I kind of walk with blind faith wherever he will lead me on the show.
Buck Realized He Wasn’t Interacting With Tommy For The Right Reasons
“He probably has gone some way to shutting that door regardless of what he would want.”
Tommy was ready to get back together with Buck when he realized that Eddie left. He called Eddie his competition. Is it safe to say that’s part of the reason why he broke up with Buck in the first place?
Oliver Stark: Yeah, I think that’s what the scene is saying, that Tommy has always viewed Eddie as a form of competition, rightly or wrongly, and, obviously, we have Buck questioning that as well. “Is that what he was thinking the whole time we were together?” So yeah, I think that’s the idea there that Tommy’s always, or at least at some point in the relationship, started to feel like that was an element.
Buck was struggling when Tommy broke up with him a few episodes back. Has his feelings for Tommy changed at all, or is that a relationship he still wants to pursue?
Oliver Stark: I don’t know. I don’t think so. To be honest with you, I don’t know where it’s going to go, so I just try and take in each scene as it comes and try and interpret each scene as I read it in what feels like is an honest way. And I think in that episode, Buck even realizes, “Maybe I’m not interacting with Tommy here for the right reasons.”
And then obviously he’s kind of a d*ck to Tommy in the way that he handles that conversation, and it’s obviously because he’s so taken aback, but he’s kind of rude in what he says to Tommy. So I think for the most part, he probably has gone some way to shutting that door regardless of what he would want.
Stark Explains 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 11’s Much-Discussed Line
“Me and Tim went back and forth a little bit on how intentional that choice of wording was.”
Buck does say, “I don’t have to want to sleep with everyone I have feelings for.” What did he mean by that?
Oliver Stark: To be honest, me and Tim went back and forth a little bit on how intentional that choice of wording was and how mean Buck is. Because the line is, “I don’t have to sleep with everyone I have feelings for, and I don’t have to have feelings for everyone I sleep with.”
And I think we kind of found a middle ground where there is some conscious thought into what he’s saying there, but it’s not meant to cut him too deep. It’s just coming from a place of being defensive because he’s had this thing leveled at him of saying that Eddie is competition, and it just caught Buck off guard a little bit. And I think that his defense to that is to try and knock Tommy off guard at the same time.
Tommy doesn’t seem to believe that Eddie is straight. Given that Tommy was engaged to Abby and didn’t come out until later in life, do you think he could have some insight there?
Oliver Stark: I guess he’s speaking from experience there, right? As you say, Tommy was closeted for a long time. Obviously, he was engaged to Abby and came out later in life as did Buck. So yeah, I think Tommy, in his answer, is insinuating something on Eddie, but I don’t think it’s from a place of knowledge.
I don’t think he knows that about Eddie as much as he’s just interpreting what he has seen of the relationship and making his own judgment on what he sees. But yeah, I think he’s speaking from a place of lived experience that one can come out later in life, but that doesn’t mean that he’s right or wrong.
Maddie asks Buck if he’s in love with Eddie, which he denies. Is there more to explore there regarding his feelings?
Oliver Stark: Obviously, Eddie is away at the moment. He’s in Texas and Buck is obviously, as he attests to in that scene, missing him a lot as one would. To be honest with you, we are actually with Eddie a lot over the next few episodes, and we’ve got some really lovely Buck and Eddie conversations via FaceTime coming up in the next few episodes.
But then we have some really big emergency-focused episodes, so personal feelings and conversations kind of get put on the back burner a little bit. We’re just coming out of those episodes now, so I don’t really have too much intel on whether or not that will continue to play through the rest of the season.
Buck Has Received “Huge Value” From His Relationship With Christopher
“But just because something is hard does not mean that it’s not the right thing.”
The episode ends with Buck unpacking his things and officially moving into Eddie’s house. What did that symbolize for him?
Oliver Stark: Just that he’s made peace with it. I think he says earlier in the episode that he doesn’t want to unpack there because it means that Eddie and Chris are really gone. And then I think after that conversation with Maddie, he realizes the kind of gravitas of that situation, and that they are gone, and that he has to find a way to function without them, and he can’t continue to stay at his sister’s or to live out of boxes. It’s time to step into his own path and start to live his real life.
I adored the Buck and Ravi scenes in this episode. Are we going to see more of them in the future?
Oliver Stark: I hope so. As I say, we kind of got to a place in the season where a lot of the personal stuff has taken a backseat, so there hasn’t been much more of it. Actually, no, that’s not true. Yes. Yes is your answer. There you go.
In a previous interview, you said Buck probably didn’t reach out to Christopher because he didn’t want to overstep. Do you think it’s been hard for him to keep his distance?
Oliver Stark: Yes, I would think so. We know Buck to be a loving, caring individual and obviously has placed huge value and received huge value from the relationship that he shares with Christopher. So yes, I absolutely think that would’ve been something that’s hard for him. But just because something is hard does not mean that it’s not the right thing. So I still stand by the reasoning behind it. But yeah, I could see that being hard for a character like Buck.
