After 100 Episodes, "9-1-1" Finally Delivered On A Huge Buck Moment, And Everyone Is Super Emotional

BuzzFeed
·9 min read
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🚨 There are MASSIVE spoilers ahead for 9-1-1 Season 7, Episode 4! 🚨

Last night, 9-1-1 celebrated its monumental 100th episode. While any show that makes it that many episodes, especially today, is huge, for 9-1-1, the episode will be remembered by fans for a long time.

Angela Bassett in police uniform as character Athena Grant on the TV show "9-1-1"

Written by Andrew Meyers and Bradley Michael Margues and directed by Chad Lowe, the episode titled "Buck, Bothered and Bewildered" was teased as a massive one for fan-favorite character Evan "Buck" Buckley (Oliver Stark), and it did not disappoint.

Eddie and Buck walking in uniform in 9-1-1
ABC

For Buck's storyline, he spent the majority of the episode jealous of Eddie (Ryan Guzman) and Tommy's (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) new friendship. Literally, Buck arriving at a pick-up basketball game and getting extremely competitive was hilarious, and the jealousy was off the charts.

Buck, Eddie, and Tommy playing basketball
ABC

Eventually, Tommy comes to Buck's apartment to "clear the air" after noticing he was coming between Eddie and Buck. Tommy explained how he was also jealous of the 118 and how they are a family.

Tommy telling Buck that he loves how the 118 helps each other and he wanted to be part of that, with Buck assuring him that he is
ABC

Then, after Buck explains how he's wanted to get to know Tommy, and might've been a little hurt that he ended up becoming close with Eddie, Tommy leans in for a kiss.

Buck telling Tommy that trying to get his attention has been exhausting, and then Tommy kissing him

It was the cutest moment, and I legit YELPED when it happened. Look at them. They even plan a date afterward. I cannot.

ABC

After the episode aired, Oliver Stark took to his Instagram to share this photo with the caption: "Finding my light! Thank you all for loving Buck as much as I do… 100 episodes in it's been an honour and a privilege. ❤️"

View this photo on Instagram

And quickly, fans began to flock to the comments to tell him how important this representation is to them:

Several social media comments praising Oliver's portrayal of a bisexual character, expressing personal connection and gratitude
Oliver Stark / Instagram / Via instagram.com

Buck kissing Tommy comes after fans for years have been shipping Buck and Eddie. With every episode of 9-1-1 that would air, fans were convinced that Buck was part of the LGBTQ+ community, but it never happened, until now.

Tommy asking Buck if he's free on Saturday

Speaking about Buck's big moment, Oliver told Entertainment Weekly that it all "came together" while they were filming episodes two and three of this season. He said Tim pitched him the idea. With Oliver adding, "I do think it's been a long time coming."

Oliver continued, saying,

Oliver continued, saying, "I do feel like there have been moments in the show that have led up to this for a long time. For a long, long time, in fact. I think it's been seasons and seasons in the making, so it's really nice to see it officially come to fruition. I think the crumbs have been there."

ABC

Oliver said, looking back on his time playing Buck, he doesn't think he originally consciously played Buck as bisexual, but there were moments — like with the tapeworm guy in Season 1 — that now he says were "hints."

Buck looking at a man sitting on the bathroom floor in Season 1

He also explained that he went into Season 7 willing to explore this journey for Buck and he wanted "to start leaning more heavily into that."

Fox

Speaking to TVLine about fans who have always seen Buck as a bisexual character, Oliver said, "You were right." He added, "I honestly believe that. And I've probably believed for a long time that we should end up in this place."

Chris Willard / Disney / ABC / Getty Images
Chris Willard / Disney / ABC / Getty Images

He continued, saying, "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."

He continued, saying,

He continued, saying, "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."

Variety / Getty Images

Buck's kiss with Tommy feels like a big win for LGBTQ+ media and characters, especially when it comes to characters fans have rallied behind as LGBTQ+, even if they aren't canon. According to GLAAD, the 2022–2023 TV season saw "a decrease of 22 [LGBTQ+] characters [on TV] and 1.3 percent" from the previous year.

Many fans also pointed to Supernatural after this episode of 9-1-1. For years, fans shipped Castiel and Dean on the series, but the show never made it fully canon until Castiel told Dean he loved him...and then he died...in the final season.

So, as you can imagine, X, formerly Twitter, erupted with both longtime fans of 9-1-1 and even people who don't watch the show, celebrating Buck's kiss with Tommy and him becoming an official, canon, bisexual character. So, here are some of the best tweets:

If you love what you read, give your favorite tweets a like and the users a follow to make your timeline a more fun place to be.

1.

@RAREBUCKLEY / Fox / ABC / Via Twitter: @RAREBUCKLEY

2.

@sezsskywalkers / Fox / ABC / Via Twitter: @sezsskywalkers

3.

@hawkeyeofthe118 / Via Twitter: @hawkeyeofthe118

4.

@evanbuckleygifs / Fox / ABC / Via Twitter: @evanbuckleygifs

5.

@CharCubed / Via Twitter: @CharCubed

6.

@buckactuaIly / Via Twitter: @buckactuaIly

7.

@disastergaydiaz / ABC / Via Twitter: @disastergaydiaz

8.

@bobbyathena / ABC / Via Twitter: @bobbyathena

9.

@118BUCKS / Via Twitter: @118BUCKS

10.

@josiestaIisman / Fox / ABC / Via Twitter: @josiestaIisman

11.

@twsoIdier / Fox / Via Twitter: @twsoIdier

12.

@hvnterbvck / Via Twitter: @hvnterbvck

13.

@mothdean / NBC / Via Twitter: @mothdean

14.

@tmdrcke / Via Twitter: @tmdrcke

15.

@dadstielkline / Via Twitter: @dadstielkline

16.

@118BUCKS / Via Twitter: @118BUCKS

17.

@boycrushbuckley / Spotify / Via Twitter: @boycrushbuckley

18.

@aristotlediaz / Via Twitter: @aristotlediaz

19.

@THEFlREHOSE / Via Twitter: @THEFlREHOSE

20.

@jedimellark / Via Twitter: @jedimellark

21.

@AFT3RGLOWBUCK / Via Twitter: @AFT3RGLOWBUCK

22.

@4buddie / Via Twitter: @4buddie

23.

@ivyioves / Via Twitter: @ivyioves

24.

@Whip216 / ABC / Via Twitter: @Whip216

25. And finally:

@lesbianakins / Fox / ABC / Via Twitter: @lesbianakins

What did you think of Buck's big kiss moment? Are you excited for the next episode? Tell us everything in the comments below!

9-1-1 airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.