#that taykay only shows up in episode one on news screens reporting

[outrunningthedark]

My real big problem with BuckTaylor is him wanting to date Taylor in the first place despite knowing what she almost did during the brownies accident, which also happened briefly in Season 2 until he decided to be with Ali because seriously, it just makes him look very stupid in comparison when he can be more than that. The only real acknowledgement to Taykay's behavior from the firefam that I remember of is that during Jonah's investigation via Chim and Hen's silent gesture, the same episode we're seeing her "true nature anyway" so it's redundant and Athena talking about her to Lou which does not go anywhere and she does nothing with it afterwards.

Babying Buck or not, Taykay's writing is riddled with stupid, stupid decisions one after another.

Look, it's really easy for us as viewers to question the choice to bring TayKay back as a real LI and then never truly address her previous behavior, but (IMO) we would have a better understanding if we thought like a show runner.

*LI is going to be temporary, mostly to fill the void left by Maddie (one woman leaves, another is available) and Madney as a couple. What would be faster/easier? Creating a whole new character, or reinserting someone the audience doesn't have to get to know? *LI's career should have some sort of connection to the first responder life so she can fill those gaps in screen time, but not be important enough where her presence or absence affects the overall story. TayKay is a reporter whose segments meant crossing paths with the firefam, but once the narrative shifted she was easily swapped out for another voice (they don't even need to be seen!) who could do the exact same job. *Not atoning for prior actions served two purposes: keep any newer members of the audience (s4 was when the fandom *really* took off, I think) from dwelling on a past version of a character they never knew, and hope that by not having Buck or any of his friends question why he'd get involved with her again, the audience wouldn't think twice about his change of heart. And for the most part, it seemed to work, especially around here. We've seen the gifsets about #charactergrowth after 4x11 when she made her "celebration" at Buck's about solving two cases rather than a promotion. Hook, line, and sinker. (Good thing those edits don't circulate anymore!) *Her work didn't negatively impact the people in Buck's life (this part is important - those of us who always saw TayKay for what she was had no problem criticizing her obsession with solving the husband and wife murder plot or how she tells other people's stories to hide from her own, but none of that hurt anyone directly connected to her bf) until it was time to end the relationship. When her quest for the truth crossed the line for the second time, Buck realized she was never truly going to prioritize their relationship or his trust in her over a chance to make headlines. Does it make sense? Not to people who over-analyze and assume the show runners like to have some grand plan at all times. But remember what Kristen said after 5A - TayKay wasn't even supposed to be in as many scenes as she got that first half despite being a reporter. She was always meant to be a "for now" option, not "forever", and the writing had to reflect that. (Unfortunately, not everyone could see the story for what it was, hence the panic over trying to legitimize her as Buck's future from Buddie fandom and then the BeeTees claiming the show switched things up last minute because they couldn't handle the idea that their fave was made "better" until the show brought all the mains back where they belong.)

#anonymous #tina speaks #i'm not actually insulting taylor in this so not tagging as such #tv: 911 #tv: 9-1-1 #evan buckley

[hmslusitania]

so. i just finished s4 and uuuh. they're 100% gonna break eddie and ana up in s5 right? 'cause like, eddie was fucking shot and almost died, and instead of using that to (finally lbr) solidify the eddieana relationship, they made her and their relationship almost irrelevant. they made buck and buddie the focal point of it all. 'cause they had the time to solidify it, and yet they chose not to. how am i NOT supposed to think that's on purpose, y'know?

I think it was definitely on purpose and from what we know from various behind the scenes blogs and their dedicated work to keeping an eye on things, GW has been around for filming…exactly once and it was back at the very beginning. She’s in the official cast list for 5x01 so it’s my — not entirely unfounded, but certainly optimistic — belief that she’ll be there long enough for Eddie to break up with her and then she’ll simply be gone.

And I know you didn’t ask this and I haven’t had my coffee yet and I’m typing on my phone BUT I think my ideal season opening (like opening opening not the entire episode) would go like this:

We get the cold open, some wild call the 118 and maybe Athena all respond to, and it’s clearly the present day but then—

We get a flashback montage like that lady with the bicycle in the mudslide episode except it’s our folks

We see the month of May, Chimney confiding in Buck about his worries around Maddie’s health

We see the month of June, Eddie breaking up with Ana because she keeps hovering when he’s injured and trying to recover and he wants to just deal with it himself. He clearly has some ptsd going on but this is presumably not addressed

We see the month of July, Athena is notified that in the next couple months her attacker is going to trial

We see the month of August, Maddie is not improving at home, not with Chimney’s help, not with Buck helping take care of Jee when he can

Still in August, we see Eddie re-certify for his job and refuse to have a party about it and maybe this is where he tells Buck he doesn’t want to jinx it like Buck’s homecoming

Now it’s September and Athena’s case is moving to trial and she’s totally fine stop asking about it thanks

And then we’re up to present day and it’d an episode titled Panic for a reason

There’s a 0.00003% chance of this happening? But that’s what I’d do with it if I were writing. It gives us short scenes of Maddie that they could’ve filmed at the end of season 4 (which I saw rumour of them having done, along with Kenny and Oliver and a baby) which could dove tail into what I think they’re going to have to do with Maddie for 5A which is send her to a recovery place and (hopefully) have her communicate with her family via Skype as she heals. It gives us an insight into how Athena is doing with the news of her attacker going to trial which would of course be poorly but she’s putting on a brave face because she’s Athena and she doesn’t know how else to be. It gives us insight into Eddie’s recovery which is not going super smoothly but he’s fine of course he’s fine why wouldn’t he be fine he’s been shot before what else is new yes he did break up with his girlfriend but not because he’s not fine don’t be stupid he’s obviously FINE stop asking please.

And then we’ve got a three episode arc and my money is still very much on the lights going out at the very end of Panic when they’re all in a hospital together because of maybe the medevac helicopter rescue they listed in the summary and maybe this causes Eddie to have A Moment that he mistakes as a health scare but is of course a panic attack and our episode ends with the lights dying and Eddie in the hospital and our team having to leave him there, thereby separating him from the squad like Buck in 3x01 and Athena in 4x01.

I would kill for there to be a scene between just Athena and Eddie where they talk and maybe she recognises how exactly not fine he is and it’s a moment of self-recognition through the other in which she sees Eddie pretending to be fine and realises that she also is doing the same thing.

I would also kill for the inevitable (if it’s not inevitable I will manifest in Timothy’s home and steal all his left socks) breakup scene between Eddie and Ana to include her getting about as much dialogue as she normally gets — roughly zero because I am petty and small minded about it and I don’t like her. And as you very correctly pointed out, they could have used the whole “Eddie gets shot” thing to solidify their relationship and instead they used it to solidify Eddie and Buck’s relationship. Outstanding heterosexuality on display there, really.

Sorry for the ramble, thanks for coming by!

#I would also return timothy’s left socks in exchange for exactly one thing #that taykay only shows up in episode one on news screens reporting #not as an actual presence #and we get it implied but not addressed in episode one #that something went down with her and Buck’s relationship #but we simply don’t know the details until after the blackout arc #and at some point over the summer she got annoyed that all his energies #were focused on his sister and his BFF and not her #or that they could only hang out when he was babysitting either chris or jee #and she ultimatumed him #and it backfired #I will give Timothy his socks back and allow for an awkward exes friendship #in exchange for this #9-1-1 #blackout speculation #911 spoilers #the ghost ship answers questions #anti eddieana #anti bucktaylor #but only in the tags

[outrunningthedark]

ICYMI: I posted a summary of why BT didn’t worry me (and shouldn’t have worried you) during season four // Bonus: scenes from Breaking Point that showed why Buddie’s relationships couldn’t compete with what they have And now I bring you...season 5(A). BUT ONLY HALF. BECAUSE THIS JUST GOT TOO DAMN LONG.  Panic: Gonna preface this section by reminding everyone that prior to season five, Oliver filmed a promo where he said BT were going to be “somewhat official”. What did that tell us? 1) They weren’t actually any more committed to each other since what we saw in the season four finale, once again enforcing their inability to be honest about what they want from each other and from the relationship. 2) Buck was accepting whatever type of “relationship” TayKay would allow because he finally had someone to come home to. 🎵 this is the sound of settling 🎵 BT had one scene in the season five opener. In bed, TV turned on to the latest news about the “navigation app malfunctions” happening around L.A. (the hacker storyline). The reporter is multitasking, listening to the voice on the screen while also researching on her laptop. Right there we see that her career still very much takes priority over her love life. Buck, fed up with how they’re spending their time together, takes TayKay’s laptop. Regardless of how one feels about the redhead, you can imagine how this did not go over well - “Hey, I’m still working.” Buck then says “Working? Or grasping at straws?” and maneuvers her as if he intends to have sex . TayKay asks him “Oh, is this something I should be wasting my night on instead?” and as they kiss, she flips over JUST SO she can grab Buck’s phone, aim it as his face, and unlock it to check an app.  Everyone has their own opinion re: who was “right” and who was “wrong”, but if you ask me? This was a sign that they BOTH fail to respect each other’s boundaries. They push each other’s buttons when they don’t “get their way” because talking things out is not an option, apparently. (Lack of communication is still front and center.) Interestingly, even though we ended season four with TayKay at Eddie’s welcome home party (which gave some folks the impression that she was going to be integrated into the firefam to prove BT was ~serious~), Buck did not once discuss his relationship with any member of the 118. In fact, his focus when not with his gf for that one minute and fifteen seconds was on - guess whooooo - Eddie! If Buck wasn’t fishing for info re: just how serious EddieAna were getting (because Eddie was supposed to attend a christening where he would meet all of her family), he was grilling Eddie on why, exactly, he had to see a cardiologist.  Even while having someone to come home to, Buck’s number one priority remained all things Eddie. No one was surprised.  Desperate Times: This episode is a must-mention for the simple fact that BT was a NON-FACTOR while Buddie was...being Buddie. In the season four post, I talked about how there was a clear divide between BT and Buddie during 4x12 because those two relationships cannot coexist, and this episode is another example of that.  Desperate Measures: Kristen Reidel (co-showrunner/writer) decided to squeeze in an appearance by TayKay during the final minutes after we’d heard nothing of her the week prior and throughout this episode up to that point. Buck arrives home after being stuck at work for days during the blackout. It’s quiet. He walks upstairs, flops onto his empty bed, and turns on tthe end of the tv. Where was TayKay, you ask? She was at work at that very moment, reporting on the blackout. Buck watches her for a minute and says “Hi, honey. I’m home.” This scene did two things: 1) continued the theme of BT failing to balance their professional and personal lives  2) showed how Buck is still very much alone and feeling lonely despite being in a relationship, meaning their current situation isn’t giving him what he really wants (gosh, the idea that Buck is settling is just popping up all over the place, huh?) Home and Away: We’re back to no sighting nor mention of the gf, and the HUGE takeaway here is that there WAS an opportunity to show TayKay caring for Buck in a time of need, but that job was given to  - do I even even have to say it? - Eddie instead  (Similar to 4x14 when she could have comforted him as he broke down, but Buck waited until he was with Chris.) It could have been TayKay bringing Buck ice for his black eye. She could have sat there quietly as he explained his thought process behind keeping Maddie’s secret. Hell, Bob Goodman could have come up with a piece of “good advice” to illustrate that she is beginning to understand her boyfriend better. But none of this happened because it was Eddie who Buck wanted to talk to. It was Eddie who knew what Buck was thinking, and knew what to say to get him to consider a different perspective.  Peer Pressure: Buck is struggling in the aftermath of Chimney’s departure because Chimney still won’t speak to him, and he also feels like the rest of the firefam blames him for making their friend leave. This is the first episode where we see TayKay TRY to be an attentive gf, but she misses the mark by...a lot. TayKay’s only experience she can compare to what Buck’s going through is the time when an old boss would look at her with an angry expression all the time, which led to an uncomfortable feeling whenever they were in the same room. Buck asks how she was able to “make it right” because he assumes there’s a lesson to be learned about smoothing things over. (Why else would she be telling him?)  TayKay then says she did “Nothing. Someone else did. A surgeon. She had gallstones.” Though I can acknowledge her attempt at “relating” to Buck’s inner turmoil, butting heads with an employer is incomparable to fighting with someone who isn’t just a good friend, but a member of your family. TayKay actually says her old boss “was in pain” (physically, ofc), and the fact that she is suggesting sometimes doing “nothing” is the right decision shows that she still (still!) doesn’t understand that Buck is “the guy who likes to fix things”. (Guess who said *that* line? 😏) The scene ends with her reminding Buck that “not everything is about you” which is just...”You’re So Needy”: The Girlfriend Version.  We get another look at TayKay trying to up her game, this time by having breakfast on the table when Buck gets back from work. It’s the life he wants, isn’t it? Someone to come home to, someone setting aside time to be with him. No interruptions. So then...why was he looking like this?

And FOR THE RECORD...we were supposed to see Buck looking anything but happy:

[@theMeganWest the people have questions but the most important one is this: ... ... ... . Did you have to stand on the box in heels again for the Buck/Taylor hug? #911onFOX] [Surprisingly I had to awkwardly squat lower so I didn’t cover his face in the shot. The things we do for this show is sometimes really silly but you’d never know. 😂] ...This should keep everyone occupied while I work on 5x06 through 5x10. Be back soon <3...

#tina speaks #tv: 911 #tv: 9-1-1 #buddie #anti bucktaylor

[outrunningthedark]

please correct me if i'm wrong here, but wasn't the main point of taylor being in s5 the reporter angle? and yet, only one instance of it in 4 eps. and i get that a blackout means no tv news, and there will be more scenes/segments going forward. but it's like, if that was the main point and this is what we've gotten in 4 eps, it just feels like a waste of time, y'know?

I love that you sent me this question because it gave me an excuse to re-read Timothy's remarks after the season four finale about Girlboss and, uh, raise your hand if you had no idea she wasn't supposed to ever be on the show! 🙋‍♀️ "The character was invented for “Dosed” in Season 2. We had a whole story we were going to do about a tech millionaire who gets saved by the firefighters, thinks they’re really cool and wants to become friends with them. At the last minute, I came up with the idea that it was actually a reporter who would sort of weasel her way into the firehouse and do a story on it. That’s how Taylor was born." If you want a valid criticism of Tim from me, it's his "I'm gonna do what I want whenever I want because this is MY show" attitude. His staff came up with one storyline, and he scrapped it AT THE LAST MINUTE in favor of introducing a young, attractive female whom (he hoped) would keep the audience engaged. He then added: "But I’ve always felt like there was an interesting element there that works in the universe of 9-1-1 with the media. It’s something we haven’t really drilled down on, or found the very specific unique way to tell a story using that element." 5x01: TayKay shares the screen with Buck for 1 minute and 15 seconds. The flirting/kissing + her interest in the hacker were split almost evenly, so even though the focus has been on the intimacy, it was not meant to be the takeaway from a storyteller's POV. The second (and final) appearance happens when Maddie gets woken up by a call from Josh and turns on her TV to see her brother's girlfriend doing what she does. The moment lasts roughly thirty seconds. 5x01: 1 minute, 45 seconds of screen time (estimate), only 35 of those seconds were dedicated to something other than her job. 5x03: 45 seconds of TayKay reporting in the background while Buck talks to himself/stares at the ceiling and Michael tries to encourage Harry to get some sleep. Total screen time over two episodes: 2 and a half minutes. Total screen time where we get the "reporter angle": 1 minute and 55 seconds. We juuuust got the word that TayKay is going to be in 5x05, and while she's supposedly not making out with Buck or reporting, I'm currently thinking that the "reporter angle" is going to extend beyond actual news, such as what new tricks she has up her sleeve for obtaining information. And then, of course, her actions should play a part in helping Buck come to terms with the fact that they're not a good match romantically. I know feeling discouraged comes easily to most of us because we're tired of the heteronormativity, but when you examine the whole picture...she's less relevant right now than she was in 4B. There's a reason for it.

#anonymous #tv: 911 #tv: 9-1-1 #anti bucktaylor #buddie