With 911 season 9 returning to ABC in October, we’re already seeing some tidbits come out about what to expect for the characters on the show. One storyline that has been teased involves Evan “Buck” Buckley and his colleague and friend, Eddie Diaz. However, is Buck actually involved in the storyline?
In an Entertainment Weekly preview, fans got to find out what to expect when the series returns. We saw some commentary about how the team will be faring after the loss of their Captain, Bobby Nash, and how Howie “Chimney” Han will step into the role of acting captain in the wake of this huge loss.
There was also a brief mention of a plot line involving Eddie Diaz, and how it will be centered around Dia de Los Muertos. Eddie’s character has seen plenty of loss in his life, such as when he lost his estranged wife, Shannon, back in season 2, and most recently, Bobby.
He was deeply affected by Bobby’s death, since he got the call while he was still living in Texas with his son, Christopher. In the aftermath, he lashed out at his best friend, Buck, getting into his face in a tense scene that left plenty of people disturbed.
Even though Eddie admitted to being a jerk later, it wasn’t much of an apology, but knowing Buck, he will likely move on from the fight. However, could we see the aftermath of the fight in an upcoming episode?
While it is more likely that the show will not go further into what happened, there could be tension between the two that could be resolved in a future episode. Whether this is the storyline that is upcoming for Eddie, it hasn’t actually been confirmed.
In the actual quote from showrunner Tim Minear, he did bring up Buck briefly when discussing superstitions and how normally, Buck is the one to believe in ghosts and the paranormal while Eddie is usually the skeptic between the two. He said, “Buck is quick to believe things, but Eddie might be quick to believe things now, too. I know he always sort of poo-pooed those things, and kind of walked away from his faith, but I think there may be a spiritual awakening in Eddie's future.”
However, this wasn’t an actual confirmation that Buck is involved with Eddie’s plot. Could he have a role to play, such as giving Eddie a hard time as most friends do when they suddenly do something they didn’t do before? Knowing Buck, he does love to tease his friends, so this might be how he plays a role in this.
Since the episode will involve a spiritual aspect for Eddie, we could see him coming to terms with either his unresolved feelings over Shannon, or even his recent loss of Bobby. He could either try to handle this himself or turn to his friends, something we haven’t really seen him do recently. He has received advice about moving back home, or how to step up to be the parent his son needs, but advice on healing within himself has not been something he has gotten from the people closest to him since his first bout with therapy in season 5.
While he got some advice from a priest in Season 8, episode 6, there's more deep down that Eddie needs to focus on in order to move forward from another huge loss in his life.
With Bobby now gone, Eddie could be trying to figure things out in the wake of losing someone who often guided him. How he does this might be something we see in the upcoming Halloween episode. So while there is a possibility that he will actually turn to his best friend for guidance, this is something we will have to wait to see once the episode airs, likely around Halloween.
Even with no official confirmation on how involved Eddie’s friends will be with this particular arc, there is plenty to look forward to with all of the characters for Season 9.
911 Season 9 premieres Thursday, Oct. 9 at 8/7c on ABC. You can find previous episodes on Hulu.