“Give me a call if you ever get lonely

I’ll be like one of your girls or your homies”

This week, Han, Cil, and Rachel head back to the clurb (unwillingly, in Eddie’s case) to break down Season 9 Episode 7 of 9-1-1, "Secrets."

Hen pushes herself past the point of reason trying to solve her own mystery illness, Chimney is forced into an impossible leadership position, and Ravi continues to be the funniest man alive. Meanwhile, Buck goes on two dates — one with a man, one with a woman — only to discover they’re married, want him as a third, and ultimately help him realize something much bigger about what he actually wants.

And Eddie Diaz? Eddie Diaz is exhausted.

We focus on how the club sequence functions as a pressure cooker: a space designed to produce desire, where Eddie’s disinterest in women becomes impossible to ignore and Buck’s attention keeps circling back to him anyway. Through blocking, reaction shots, and repeated visual callbacks, the episode frames their dynamic as intimate, loaded, and unresolved — less about jealousy and more about proximity, comfort, and habit.

From chastity belts (literal and metaphorical), to wingmen who keep getting stolen, to the Comp-Het tango Buck and Eddie cannot stop dancing, this episode gives us some of the clearest text and subtext we’ve seen all season.

Then we unleash Queer Eddiemaxxing, where we trace Eddie’s long-standing pattern of performance, abstinence, and denial — and how this episode finally flips the script. From there, we head straight into Buddiemaxxing (lol), the delayed gratification of Buddie, and the “right in front of you” storytelling that continues to define the season.

This episode positions Buck and Eddie as each other’s emotional constant, even when they’re supposedly looking elsewhere.

“Say what you want, and I’ll keep it a secret

You get the key to my heart, and I need it”

Episode title inspired by “One of Your Girls” by Troye Sivan.

📔 Articles & References

🫂 Buddie Power Dynamics – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!

📰 ‘9-1-1’s Oliver Stark On “Awkward” Time Filming Buck’s Bi Love Triangle With Real Married Couple, “Charged Moments” For Buddie Shippers, Deadline

📰 9-1-1 Midseason Premiere: Oliver Stark Breaks Down Buck’s ‘Self-Discovery’ After Returning to the Dating Scene (Exclusive), People

📰 9-1-1’s Ryan Guzman Worried Eddie Might Be Killed Off — But Now He’s Hoping for a Season 9 Romance (Exclusive), Us Weekly

📰 ‘9-1-1’ star Ryan Guzman reflects on Eddie’s journey leading up to Season 9 in exclusive interview, YardBarker

📰 Oliver Stark Teases What’s Next on 9-1-1 After That Shocking Midseason Premiere Twist...

As lovers of good television and queer stories, Heated Rivalry has bewitched us body and soul, so we’re taking a field trip with our bestie Niki to the gay boy aquarium (and hopefully you’re joining us)!

We’re applying our thoughtful media analysis from our usual format — where we yap about the show 9-1-1 — to the best book to screen adaptation we’ve ever seen!

This week Han, Cil, Rachel, and Niki dive into the production, music, parallels, and changes from the book by Rachel Reid that make this an absolutely captivating episode of TV, championed by writer and director, Jacob Tierney.

We share our first impressions and review of Episode 1 “Rookies” with plenty of flowers for the acting powerhouses of Connor Storrie as Ilya Rozanov and Hudson Williams as Shane Hollander.

Then cool off in the penalty box where we defend Yuna Hollander’s honor against the internet’s media illiteracy, you don’t need to read the book to know that she’s a MOAT (Mother of All Time).

Party like it’s 2008, grab your iPod nano, and listen to our many thoughts on the first episode of Heated Rivalry!

📔 Articles & References

🫂 Exploring Similarities Between Shane Hollander & Eddie Diaz – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!

💦🐤 Our Reaction to Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams Read Thirst Tweets – Patreon Exclusive!

📰 Heated Rivalry Cast & Crew Press, thoroughly compiled by _mika60_ on Twitter 🫶🏼

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Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!

Support us on Patreon or Ko-Fi for perks and extra content like access to our exclusive Discord, Fire Fam Chats, New 9-1-1 Episode Livestreams, and more!

The Buddie System is a Nerdvergent Media production.

Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:00:27) Welcome to the AQUEERium

(00:01:36) Starting Lineup - Co-Host Introductions

(00:07:59) Post-Game Highlights - Episode Recap

(00:17:56) Line Change - Reaction & Episode Review

(00:32:32) Chirp of the Week - Loving Roasts

(00:38:01) Man in the Crease - Production Appreciation

(00:46:39) Mirror Watch

(00:54:08) Blocking in the Locker Room Scene

(01:00:11) Needle Drop

(01:02:25) Hat Trick - Three-Peats of the...

It’s fine, it’s cool, Eddie can tell a priest “I’m straight,” but we know the truth.

This week Han, Cil, and Rachel take a thorough look at Eddie Diaz’s dating history with our rainbow glasses to spot the complex layers of queer coding!

Eddie famously says, “I hate being forced to date, feels like I have to perform,” in Season 6 Episode 14 of 9-1-1, “Performance Anxiety.” Buck and Hen are not the only people who raised their eyebrows at that statement, and luckily for you we do have time to unpack all that!

If you look up compulsory heterosexuality (comp-het) in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of Eddie Diaz trying to pick up women at a golf course. This episode may sound like an Eddie Diaz roast, but we’re just reporting the news. This just in, Eddie cannot get it up (romantically) for women, and we’ve connected all the dots from his dating history in this episode to show you why.

Think of it as a heterosexual post-mortem on why his relationships with Shannon, Ana, Marisol, and Kim failed spectacularly.

You can kiss the clone of your dead ex-wife

Date a former nun, let her catch you cheating

You can say that you choose this life

Break a new heart, another comp-het victim

Well, good luck, Eddie!

Episode title inspired by “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan

📔 Articles & References

🫂 What If Eddie Had Dated Tommy? – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!

📰 Ryan Guzman Reacts to the '9-1-1' Season 7 Finale's Biggest Twists, Collider

📰 ‘9-1-1’ star Ryan Guzman reflects on Eddie’s journey leading up to Season 9 in exclusive interview, YardBarker

🎞️ Take a Chance on Me, edit bu hedwiglitz on Twitter

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:

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Facebook

Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!

Support us on Patreon or Ko-Fi for perks and extra content like access to our exclusive Discord, Fire Fam Chats, New 9-1-1 Episode Livestreams, and more!

The Buddie System is a Nerdvergent Media production.

Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:01:37) Queer Coding, Demisexuality, and CompHet

(00:04:27)...

Buck and Eddie keep it 100 on the land, the sea, and the sky!

This week Han, Cil, and Rachel dive into Taylor Swift’s latest album and dig into the lyrics of each song to explain why they’re all about Buddie, actually (romantic).

Join us on our journey through the album as we get pulled into the fire and take a look at how:

1. Buck saves Eddie’s heart from the fate of Ophelia
2. Buck would cry his eyes violet if Eddie ever left him
3. Opalite is THE Buddie song of all time
4. Eddie father figures his own parents
5. Eldest Daughter is Eddie’s love letter to Buck
6. Buddie need to ruin the friendship
7. Actually Romantic is Eddie talking to Tommy
8. Buck’s Wi$h LiSt is right in front of him
9. Buck and Eddie will both be insufferable once they’re together
10. The 118 are a cancelled family who sticks together
11. Eddie can call Buck “Evan” if he wants
12. Buck embodies the title track perfectly

Now you know the life of a Buddie-girl, babe (and we wouldn’t have it any other way)!

Episode title inspired by “The Life of a Showgirl” by Taylor Swift

🎬 TLOAS Edits We Love! 😍

🎞️ the fate of evan buckley [Fate of Ophelia edit] by evcnly, TikTok

🎞️ this banger [Fate of Ophelia edit] by avryshwthorne, TikTok

🎞️ tell me for real do you think it’s forever? [Elizabeth Taylor edit] by runninglikeabuckley, TikTok

🎞️ everything always leads back to each other 🥹🥹 [Opalite edit] by thenfirecat, TikTok

🎞️ I protect the family 👪 [Father Figure edit] by mvddiebuddies, TikTok

🎞️ doomed found family trope i love you [Bobby Nash Father Figure edit] by swirlpoem, TikTok

🎞️ my song!!! [Eldest Daughter edit] by secretgardensinmymind13, TikTok

🎞️ Eldest Daughter edit by shadowssvxd, TikTok

🎞️ they did, in fact, never break that...

This week, Han, Cil, and Rachel are revisiting our Plot Device episode with an addendum focused entirely around Tommy’s return in Season 8 Episode 11 of 9-1-1, “Holy Mother of God.”

In our original special (listen here!) we discussed how Tommy’s role is to showcase Buck's journey of self-discovery and his coming to terms with his bisexuality. Well, we’re back in the building again, with Tommy existing solely to point out Buck’s glaringly obvious feelings for his best friend, and to scoff at the idea of Eddie being straight.

We look at 8x11 through Tommy’s gay judgemental microscope and break down Buck’s internal existential crisis now that the idea of less than platonic feelings for Eddie has been thrown in his face.

Once more with feeling, and this time with gratitude, we explore why Tommy is the ultimate plot device for Buck and Buddie!

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:

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Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!

Support us on Patreon or Ko-Fi for perks and extra content like access to our exclusive Discord, Fire Fam Chats, New 9-1-1 Episode Livestreams, and more!

The Buddie System is a Nerdvergent Media production.

Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:03:58) What is a Plot Device Refresher

(00:07:22) The Bar Betrayal

(00:18:50) “I Don’t Live There Anymore”

(00:23:55) Taking the Plot Device to Eddie’s House

(00:35:23) Now That the Competition’s Out of the Way

(00:41:29) I Don’t Have to Sleep with Everyone I Have Feelings For

(00:48:42) Buck’s Very Bad Defense

(00:56:37) It Had to Be Tommy

(01:02:01) Buck’s Spiraling Escalates

(01:08:30) Buck Doth Protest Too Much to Maddie

(01:13:19) Buck Doesn’t Have Time to Unpack All That

(01:26:14) thanK you Tommy

(01:30:35) Take a Buddie With You!

“Here's to my future

Here's to my yesterday

Here's to change”

This week Han, Cil, and Rachel check our privacy settings as we tackle Season 4 Episode 3 of 9-1-1, “Future Tense.” Eddie outs himself as a technophobe in the face of HILDY, Buck reveals his “new girlfriend” is actually just a new interest in taking care of his mental health, and Hen has to find a new level of zen to deal with her insensitive lab partner. Meanwhile, Maddie is spiraling over Buck going to therapy.

We discuss how Maddie’s trauma and current pregnancy is coloring her reaction to Buck in therapy opening up the Buckley parent can of worms!

Did someone order a Slow Burn section with a heaping serving of married and co-parenting behavior? Order’s up, we explore some delicious morsels of Buddie text and subtext in this episode! We also add yet another Bathena - Buddie parallel to our ever-growing collection.

Maddie’s a hopeless crash collision

'Cause she’s a hostage to her pride

And by her own volition

She’s been a saint, she’s been the truth, she’s been the lie

Episode title inspired by “Yesterday” by Imagine Dragons

📔 Articles & References

🫂 How Do the 118 Handle Therapy? – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!

📰 9-1-1’s Oliver Stark Teases Buck’s ‘Hidden Feelings’: ‘He’s Unveiling His True Self’ (Exclusive), Us Weekly

📺 Buck Comforts Maddie As She Regrets Missing Some Of Her Daughter's Life | Season 5 Ep. 15 | 9-1-1, FOX on YouTube

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:

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Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!

Support us on Patreon or Ko-Fi for perks and extra content like access to our exclusive Discord, Fire Fam Chats, New 9-1-1 Episode Livestreams, and more!

The Buddie System is a Nerdvergent Media production.

Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:00:52) Welcome to Dispatch

(00:03:55) General Thoughts

(00:09:48) Jaws of Life - Deep Dive

(00:13:25) Needle Drop - Music Analysis

(00:17:17) Parallels & Foreshadowing

(00:20:56) Flashover - Themes

(00:29:30) What’s Cookin’? - Character Arcs

(00:31:36) Bobby & Athena

(00:37:55) Hen

(00:51:28) Maddie

(01:13:13) Maddie Spills About Buck in Therapy

(01:27:22)...

“Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?

Can I handle the seasons of my life?”

This week Han, Cil, and Rachel do their best Stevie Nick’s impression as the Hollywood sign comes tumbling down, down, down in Season 4 Episode 2 of 9-1-1, “Alone Together.”

Buck and Chimney get in some extra brother-in-law bonding time (because living together wasn’t enough). Bobby shows up on his white horse… er medivac, to bring Athena back to solid ground.

We explore Chimney and Athena’s opening arcs and how they continue to parallel as they both push through their fears while doing what they do best, helping people, saving lives, the family business.

Don’t miss out on our Slow Burn section where we dive into what feelings Buck might be hiding (in therapy) and what the sleeping arrangements during quarantine could have plausibly been (we’re looking at you Eddie).

“And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills

Well, the landslide will bring it down”

Episode title inspired by “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac

📔 Articles & References

🫂 Was Season 4 the Start of Buck’s Queer Arc? – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!

📰 9-1-1’s Oliver Stark Teases Buck’s ‘Hidden Feelings’: ‘He’s Unveiling His True Self’ (Exclusive), Us Weekly

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:

TikTok

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!

Support us on Patreon or Ko-Fi for perks and extra content like access to our exclusive Discord, Fire Fam Chats, New 9-1-1 Episode Livestreams, and more!

The Buddie System is a Nerdvergent Media production.

Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters

(00:00:00) Intro

(00:00:49) Welcome Dispatch

(00:02:00) General Thoughts

(00:06:55) Jaws of Life - Deep Dive

(00:09:40) Needle Drop - Music Analysis

(00:12:01) Buckapedia Corner - Han’s Version!

(00:15:34) Parallels & Callbacks

(00:21:39) Flashover - Themes

(00:27:16) Who’s Cookin’? - Character Arcs

(00:27:36) Chimney

(00:39:08) Athena

(00:46:43) May

(00:53:09) Hen & Karen

(00:55:15) Michael & David

(00:59:34) Buck

(01:10:01) Eddie

(01:12:23) Slow Burn - Bi Buck & Buddie Watch

(01:28:40) Outro & Take a Buddie With You!

“When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move”

Keep your feet on solid ground as Han, Cil, and Rachel slide right into Season 4 Episode 1 of 9-1-1, “The New Abnormal.”

We dive into how the real world changes at that time affected filming and the story including some overarching and recurring themes, then roll right into character analysis.

Athena and Chimney are paralleling each other and we discuss how the people they’re saving help teach them the lesson of pushing through their fears.

Buck and May are also paralleling each other: Buck is worried about Bobby and May is worried about Athena. We explore how the bus explosion marks the beginning of Buck’s season-long arc of being “the guy who stood there and couldn’t do anything.”

Going up? The parallels between Buddie and established couples sure are! We start the season off right, talking about how Buck and Eddie not only have each other’s backs, but are a stabilizing force for each other especially on shaky ground.

“Don't it make you feel bad

When you're trying to find your way home?

You don't know which way to go”

Episode title inspired by “When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin

📔 Articles & References

📰 Peter Krause Says His ‘9-1-1’ Character Has ‘Migrated Toward’ Parenthood’s Adam Braverman (Exclusive), Us Weekly

📰 ‘9-1-1’ Showrunner on Athena’s Literal Cliffhanger, Maddie and Chimney’s COVID Pregnancy Problems, The Wrap

📰 ‘9-1-1’ Promotes John Kim to Series Regular for Season 4 (EXCLUSIVE), Variety

📰 ‘9-1-1’ Season 4 Consultant Has a ‘Scary’ Similarity to Angela Bassett’s LAPD Sergeant, The Wrap

📰 9-1-1 Boss Explains How Coronavirus Will Be Incorporated Into Season 4, TV Line

📰 Ryan Murphy’s ‘9-1-1’, ‘Lone Star’, ‘Impeachment: ACS’ & ‘Pose’ Set Tentative Production Start Dates, Deadline

📰 Fox Sets January Drama Series Return, Pairs ‘9-1-1’ & ‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ On Monday, Moves ‘Prodigal Son’ To Tuesday, Deadline

📰 The song that never ends: Why Earth, Wind & Fire's 'September' sustains, NPR

📰 9-1-1 Boss: ‘There’s More to Buck’s COVID Crush Than Meets the Eye’, TV Line

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:

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