#i don't think the ratings staying super low the rest of the season will get the show canceled | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lovecolibri · 1 year

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SaL anon here friend, hoping that the concert was as spectacular as it looked, even more so in person (if not your outfit definitely was 👍🏽)!! Sorry about not sending an ask earlier, I got sick...again. Anyway I let's talk about 6x11 for a bit because I have a LOT of feeling about it but mostly I'm confused. Nothing about this episode made sense, from the concept itself to its ultimate outcome.

Let's start with concept, which was Buck does "Its a Wonderful Life". So firstly, as I believe you pointed out, Buck isn't exactly comparable to a suicidal business owner. In fact Buck is happier than he's been for awhile, so why this style? His "what if" about Daniel happened last episode after 2 seasons of nothing, he's secure at the firehouse, so what exactly is he questioning? But okay, whatever, this has been on his mind for 2 years (with no indication it was). Buck learns he's happy but others are sad, so he goes back. So ignoring the insult to both Bobby and especially Eddie that their current situation depends entirely on Buck and there weren't other people in their lives that also were looking out for them, how is this progress? First there's the fact that Buck's returning FOR other's to be happy, this is what he does and its not good for him!! Second, the fact that this version of himself isn't particularly appealing to present Buck so he isn't really giving anything up either, so how is this a choice? Finally, Buck himself knows its all in his head!! Its not a given that things will go this way, its just his imagination, logically why put any weight on this at all. The only conflict at the end was does Buck want to live or die and he's not suicidal so its not an actual choice. There is no drama to this and it falls absolutely flat.

So let's say the point is to reconcile him and his parents and understand that it was Daniel's death that made them act the way they did. So are we saying Buck's feelings as a result of that don't matter? Hell, why even have a 2 episode setup in S4 if we're going to magic this issue away with a coma dream (trying to hold back about Chim having a setup with his dad involving similar screentime just for those issues to be waved away as the tertiary plot of someone else's episode)? Wouldn't an actual conversation be more meaningful? The best theory I've seen is that Buck recognizes the significance of his found family while acknowledging he can allow his relationship with his bio family to heal. Great, except the way the episode concluded with the Buckley's being the primary focus doesn't send that message at all. It makes no damn sense!!

And look, as sexy as evil!Buck is, why is he even there. The evil other half trope is to use your insecurities to have you make the "wrong" choice. So how exactly does it work that evil!Buck tries to convince real!Buck that he should stay because "no one needs him", we have half the firefam gone in his dream which immediately negates this idea, AND have Buck say he's going for himself which would hit better if I could figure out when the fuck in the episode he decided this. I mean if its simple I want to live scenario did we need a whole coma dream to get here, Eddie did it over a shortened version of "Carry You". If its to hit the way Eddie's conversation with Ramon hit last season, where the hell is the half season buildup for Buck to realize this?? Sure magic coma dream is fun concept but it fucking needs to make sense and this doesn't!!

Anyway this is way too long and you likely won't have a chance to answer it before next episode but i thought i'd put it out there. Also if your wondering why its one big ask Tumblr stopped letting me post on anon from my phone so I finally made an account (in case you're wondering why someone with a weirdly science specific account is following you).

Hello my friend! The concert was phenomenal! It was like when you run into that super complementary drunk girl in the bar bathroom who tells you your outfit is amazing and you're a beautiful soul, but like, a whole stadium of that. SO many people were dressed up in costume and everyone was just vibing and having a great time. I got a friendship bracelet from a girl who was like, 8. It was a great time even before the show, and then the whole show was just breathtaking! Worth every (considerable) penny. 10/10 would do it again.

I'm sorry you got sick again! 😭 that's no fun! But I definitely wouldn't have gotten to your ask before today anyway since I spent all day yesterday driving and didn't get home until after midnight. But yes, let's talk about 6x11 because "confused" is exactly the right word and how I was feeling and it was soooo frustrating because it kept pulling me out of the episode and then consequently, because of the confusion and messy writing, the emotional beats just didn't land right. And I hate that because Buck learning that he is enough as he is, is SUCH an important theme for him and something I've been wanting for him for a WHILE and I hate that the episode as a whole just...didn't work, and didn't give the firefam care and concern it should have because it prioritized a storyline no one even asked for or wanted and that hasn't come up in like, 2 seasons. (We're supposed to get more firefam care and concern tonight but like, I'm not holding my breath, especially with it being the "fun" part of an otherwise heavy episode.)

"There is no drama to this and it falls absolutely flat" is SUCH a good way to describe this whole thing! Like, right off the bat, Buck knows it's not real so that takes 99.9% of the drama out of the "scary" revelations. No version of an ideal world for Buck includes Bobby being dead, Maddie being trapped with Doug (and unlikely to escape with a child involved and a family that thinks things are fine), and Eddie losing Chris, so there's no question he would even WANT to stay, especially with his parents suddenly being everything he ever wanted anyways! And as you said as well, Buck isn't struggling with his place at work, or his place with the firefam, or even, apparently, with his decision to donate sperm and have a bio child out there in the world that he's just totally cool walking away from! So...what IS he questioning? If they wanted to do an episode about him not feeling like enough why not do it after, say, he tries to donate and it doesn't work, or the family history is a deal breaker, or he decides he can't do this and his old "friend" lashes out at him? OR right after he feels like Bobby doesn't see him as captain material? Put THIS storyline in 6a and it makes far more sense than it does here when Buck is in a really good place! And this was the first of the mixed messages with Buck saying the words he's going back for himself because he's enough as he is, while the whole episode said something entirely different which was that without Buck, no one else would have been happy or even survived, so he's just going back to a world where the people he loves are safe and happy, which is....not really choosing HIMSELF so much as choosing a world were the people he loves are happy.

Which leads to your next point and the next mixed message which was his parents being suddenly the perfect parents in both the coma and real world, while also trying to say that Bobby was his parent and the firefam the ideal family he's always wanted, that are just waiting for him to come back to him. And by trying to do both, the did neither. The firefam got sidelined for the Buckley parents, and the Buckley parents were too busy having to be perfect to actually own up to their mistakes and give their kids a chance to be angry and talk about how they felt! It became a "they're trying so we just need to let it go". Same with Chim and his dad! And all that undercut Buck's choice as well, AND it was his parents only caring about him when he was hurt, all over again! I said in the tags of another post if they had even just dropped hints the past two seasons that Buck was still doing therapy with his parents, and had a good Buck/Maddie convo about how he understands his parents better now and therapy has really helped them communicate better and they understand now how hurt he was by their actions, this would have made more sense, AND given CHIM'S storyline with his dad some time to breathe. Hoping we get more of that but...I doubt it. Again, things that are apparently happening in people's heads but never making it to screen don't count as growth and telling a good story! And it absolutely undermined the WHOLE story of Bobby being a dad for Buck, when he wasn't even in the room for Buck waking up or the one to take Buck home with him when he was released from the hospital, and it undercuts Buck having the family he already wants to NOT see ALL of the firefam taking turns at his bedside to talk to him about what he means to them. (DID WE EVEN GET A BUCKAROO?!)

That conversation at the end between Buck and his mind could have been SOOOO good, because it's something that NEEDED to happen, but the writing was so all over the place all episode and all season that it just didn't land or make sense! Like you said, there's nothing to entice him to stay in the dream world that he already knows is fake and that doesn't have all the people he loves in it, and Buck hasn't been reckless or passively suicidal in ages so it felt like he was fighting so hard for just...no reason. And don't get me started on this being his subconscious and the kind of message that sends about what he thinks about people because while I think it was an oversight by the writers room and not purposeful, surely someone should have caught it? They literally get paid to do this for a living, and NO ONE said anything about that OR about the way the writing contradicted itself the whole damn episode?

I'm just....really disappointed that an episode that COULD have been about the power of found family and the firefam's love for their Buckaroo just for being himself, and about Buck's acceptance of his messy life leading him to the right place and right people and that he doesn't NEED to reconcile with his parents to live a happy life, he can just let that hurt go with some grace and understanding but not a thing he wants or needs to carry for them any longer, turned into...this mess. And the acting was SO GOOD too! Oliver and Peter were just ON IT all episode, and Maddie was making everyone cry, and the brief moments of the rest of the firefam were loaded with the emotion that should have carried the whole episode, but the writing just took the legs right out from under every firefam and Buck focused scene and kept all of it from carrying the weight it should have. And the camera work?! The props?! The flashbacks?! Top tier work! So so good! Literally could have been one of the best episodes ever, but it was just SO let down by the contradictory writing and trying to push this Buckley parents resolution after dropping the plot entirely with no mention for 2 seasons and then pretending that their behavior was normal. And actually having Maddie, Buck, and Chim ALL point out that it WASN'T normal and then just...never following up on that and making it out like THEY are the ones in the wrong! I just...😤😤😤😤😤

ANYWAY

Here's hoping for some good firefam food this week. I wish I could care more about this Wendall storyline but considering we knew he existed for all of 2 minutes before he was killed off I just...don't. 🤷🏻‍♀️

#my sweet nonnie friends #sleeping at last anon #911 #911 spoilers #firefam #evan buckley #this is a buckley parents hate space #the writing was just SOOOOOO messy! when the set up was RIGHT THERE to emphasize the firefam #i don't think the ratings staying super low the rest of the season will get the show canceled #they're not bad enough for that when fox doesn't have a lot else going on #but it could be interesting and lead to some changes which i can only root for #but i feel bad because the cast and crew don't deserve this #and the writers room is trying their best but when the one in charge is the one forcing these opposing stories?#there's not a lot they can do but try their best to make it work #and by golly they put in the WORK in 6x11 but there's only so far that can go #kr go work on a soap opera and leave our weewoo fam alone forever challenge

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