Welcome to That Weewoo Show: a podcast where Ellen, Bex and Alice watch and discuss every episode of ABC’s TV show, 9-1-1.
In this episode we discuss episode 11 of the sixth season of 9-1-1, titled “In Another Life”.
As Buck’s life hangs in the balance, he dreams of a world where he never became a firefighter, for better and worse.
Content warnings for episode 6.11:
discussion of addiction and drug use, discussion of domestic violence, flashbacks to past traumas, crash injuries, domestic violence, drowning, plane crash, major character injury/at threat, medically induced coma
Discussed in this episode:
- Oliver explains lightning scars (via TikTok)
- Bexism’s edit including the toy firetruck from this episode (via TikTok)
Listen here:
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Our intro music is “Tensions” by Northern Points.
Episode Transcript
Maddie: [00:00:00] 9-1-1. What’s your emergency?
Bex: Welcome back to That Weewoo Show podcast where we watch and discuss episodes of the ABC show, 9-1-1. I’m Bex.
Alice: I’m Alice.
Ellen: And I’m Ellen.
Bex: Thank you to everyone who have been listening to our episodes so far and who have shared those thoughts about those episodes with us on either social media or by commenting on our website, uh, or sending us emails about them.
We always love hearing your thoughts. We also love it when you take time out of your busy day to share our episode links or our social media posts to your friends, your family, your enemies, to help us get this little podcast out into more ears. [00:01:00]
Ellen: Yes, inflict us on your enemies.
Alice: Also your friends, I guess.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: This week we are going to be discussing what is possibly my favorite episode of Season Six. I know we’ve been very down on Season Six, but this is the, in my opinion, the highlight of the season, so I’m very happy to be discussing this episode this week. But before we do that, Alice could you remind us what happened last episode on 9-1-1?
Alice: Uh, yeah. Last week on 9-1-1 Buck was struck by lightning.
Bex: Huh.
Ellen: That’s it?
Bex: Okay. Cool.
Alice: Yep.
Ellen: The only memorable thing about the whole episode.
Alice: Well, probably not, not cool for him. Uh, probably quite warm for him being that it was lightning.
Bex: And rain. Lots of rain too.
Ellen: Yeah, the dry lighting. Yeah. Okay. Okay, so this week is Episode 11. Uh, it is called “In Another [00:02:00] Life” and the summary goes: “As Buck’s life hangs in the balance he dreams of a world where he never became a firefighter for better and worse.” That’s it.
Alice: Yeah
Ellen: Very descriptive.
Alice: Short and sweet. Yep, It’s all short and sweet –
Ellen: Yup …
Alice: this week.
Ellen: So the, uh, triggers for this episode include discussion an of addiction and drug use, discussion of domestic violence, flashbacks to past traumas including all of Buck’s greatest hits, uh, crash injuries, domestic violence. Oh, that one is belonging to Maddie of course. Um, drowning, plane crash, uh, the plane crash rescue and we also have major character injury or slash at threat and a medically induced coma and angst. I feel like that should be in there. There’s quite a bit of, you know, angst in this.
Bex: Yes but although we do tend to do triggers not tags ’cause [00:03:00] although that would actually just-
Ellen: Yeah I gu- I guess they’re different
Bex: suddenly start tagging. Suddenly s- It’s the difference between like major archive warnings and just tags.
Ellen: Maybe we should start making a tag list every each episode. This one has dreams, alternate realities. No.
Bex: School teacher exclamation point Buck.
Ellen: Yeah. Before we start talking about this episode we sh- we did just want to mention, or thank um Pigeon for e- you know educating us about what red flags actually mean. Like we um-
Bex: Yes because apparently, apparently the Aussies missed a massive thematic element of the episode Red Flag because we are Australian and our warning systems are not y’all’s warning systems. So while we were thinking very specific and literal red flags, that’s not what was going on in that episode
Ellen: [00:04:00] Yeah, so red flags are used as for warnings for all sorts of things over there and we like, we just, we don’t do that and i- if we do have warnings for things, we have descriptive signs usually to tell us what the warning is for not just a general red flag around the place but um it’s, it’s a good
Like we would associate it with red flags as in like a warning for a per-… O- o- ver a person or a relationship like you know? That’s what it’s come to mean in, in popular consciousness I guess around the world But um, we didn’t realize that you guys actually use red flags for actual specific like fire and/or wind
Alice: Death warnings yeah
Ellen: And stuff
Alice: Which is interesting because so many people look like they’re going to die in that episode. And then it’s Buck.
Ellen: Yeah, there’s definitely life threatening stuff happening. But I mean we, the only thing that um you did mention in, in the comment that um red flags are used on the beach if you should not go into the [00:05:00] water, and we do do that on our beaches, we do have red flag for um no swimming days
Bex: Yeah but our flags are red and yellow. It’s the li-… Red and yellow lifesavers ’cause I th-
Ellen: No
Bex: I did think about-
Ellen: We do have red and yellow flags all the time but if the surf is too dangerous for people to go in they, they fly a red flag as well In Queensland at least.
Bex: Well see as a Tasmanian we don’t even have lifesaver flags so –
Ellen: People don’t go in the water in Tasmania
Bex: That’s like brand new information
Alice: Do, do you not have surf beaches in Tasmania?
Ellen: Yeah, they have some beaches
Bex: We have s-, like we have some of the best surf-
Ellen: Yeah they have-
Bex: Especially in winter down here
Alice: Ooh don’t tell-
Bex: But we just don’t have lifeguards
Alice: Sydney and the Gold Coast though yeah
Ellen: Antarctic surf down there.
Alice: Yeah, that’s crazy
Ellen: And they go in the water in the middle of winter in the nude right?
Bex: Well not to surf but yes we do. We go, we have the uh the Winter Solstice swim. But yeah we, we don’t have lifeguards or red flags down here
Ellen: When you say “we”, You mean they. Or unless you actually do it. That’s fine No judgment
Bex: Well we as in [00:06:00] the collective Tasmanians. I am not including myself in that because there’s fucking way I’m going in the water nude.
Alice: She’s very patriotic… she’s very patriotic when it comes to the Winter Solstice and that’s it.
Bex: The royal we for the Winter Solstice
Alice: Yeah
Ellen: Anyway ah yeah always nice to hear about um cultural you know differences. Extra layers of meaning you know?
Bex: Yes
Ellen: Uh okay. So “In A Flash” No we’ve done, that was last episode. What’s this one called?
Bex: This one’s “In Another Life”.
Ellen: That’s right.
Bex: Because they couldn’t call it “It’s A Wonderful Life” so they had to use a slightly different title, even though it is literally It’s A Wonderful Life.
Alice: It’s
Bex: One year Just 9-1-1 style. Which I’m fine with They’re doing something slightly different I appreciate it And I thought they did it well.
Ellen: Oh no this was great Like I, I, like we haven’t had this kind of um… We’ve had all sorts of like flashbacks when [00:07:00] people were in peril like thinking about other things-
Bex: Chimney
Ellen: that has happened in their life but But not…
Alice: yeah we had the Chimney one.
Bex: Pretty much, it’s pretty much Chimney is the clo- “Chimney Begins” is the closest that we kinda got to this.
Alice: Yep Um but yeah it’s something different. It’s very memorable.
Ellen: I feel like Eddie’s also had…
Bex: ah
Ellen: Yeah
Bex: Eddie kinda just had flashbacks. At least with Chim’s he had kind of um his real life was bleeding into his memories. Like literally. Like he’s sitting in the hospital waiting room and um he’s literally bleeding from his wounds. Um
Alice: Yeah
Bex: So they had the cro- they had the more the crossover between the two sort of real life and memory. Eddie’s was just kind of just straight memories.
Ellen: Yeah. And this one I thought when, when it sort of, uh… I hadn’t, I didn’t know anything about it. I hadn’t been spoiled for any of this.
Bex: Yay.
Ellen: So I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Bex: I love it when that happens.
Ellen: Yeah. And when reading the summary or whatever here in the [00:08:00] summary, I thought the whole thing was just gonna be… like when we first open, we’re at the murder house and Maddie is there with her mom and they’re talking, and I just thought this was going to be Buck’s dream, like this is what was happening a- and he’s not a firefighter.
But no, this is the present, like so we- we’re getting like, uh, what’s happening in the real world and weaved in with what is happening in Buck’s head. So yeah. Yep. Really interesting way of putting this all together.
Alice: Aw, the first scene, like it, it really just starts off heartbreaking.
Bex: Oh my God. Yes.
Ellen: Yes indeed.
Alice: Because yeah, like Maddie and Margaret are just like chatting about like the house and you know, Jee loves flowers and everything bright and pr- pretty, and they’re having a really nice night. Like it’s really… Because M-
Bex: It’s the night of the accident …
Alice: Maddie and Mar… Yeah, Maddie and her mum haven’t got along like super well, and so it’s really nice to see. And then [00:09:00] there’s a knock at the door, and so Maddie’s gone to get Jee, and so her mum opens the door and just screams out for Maddie. Like we don’t see who’s at the door, um, we just get Margaret yelling. Um- Hmm …. and then yeah, Maddie runs in and it turns and it’s someone in the L- LAFD standing in the doorway.
Bex: It’s someone from the LAFD.
Ellen: A background firefighter?
Alice: Um, it’s sa- it’s someone like official, like they’re in a proper uniform, like they’re not in turnouts or anything. It’s proper like I’m here-
Ellen: Oh, I thought they were in turn outs for some reason.
Bex: No.
Ellen: Okay.
Bex: No, He’s, he’s still in, he’s still in like the, the work shirt because you can see it’s like the T-shirt with the LAFD logo. He’s got the lo-,
Alice: yeah.
Bex: But yeah, n- not on turnouts but not like full dress uniform. But it’s definitely, it’s someone from the department. And Maddie’s face just crumbles.
Alice: Oh, it’s so sad.
Bex: And the worst thing is that she doesn’t know, are they there for Chim or are they there for [00:10:00] Buck?
Alice: Mm.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: So her, uh, her only words are, “Which one?”
Ellen: Oh, oh poor Maddie.
Alice: Ugh, She’s such a pretty crier. Like that’s why they make her cry all the time ’cause she does it so well. That fuck, it just breaks your heart.
Bex: It’s, it’s, yeah. It’s you made me-
Alice: Because she just, it sounds like her voice cracks even.
Bex: You make Madney cry and yes.
Alice: Like it’s, “Which one?” And it’s like, “Oh fuck, Maddie.”
Bex: Yeah, that’s why they put, um, that’s why they put Maddie and why they put Chim through so much trauma in the show because, um, Jen and Kenny can pull it off.
Alice: Yeah.
Ellen: Yes
Bex: Um, so after we hear Maddie ask which one, we cut to Presbyterian where the ambulance has arrived and we are reminded which one it is as they haul Buck out of the ambulance and start racing him into the emergency department
Alice: Yeah, so Ed-, like, as soon as the ambulance stops Eddie, who, like you m- might remember at the end of last episode, um, [00:11:00] Bobby told Eddie to drive.
And so Chim’s the one that’s been doing CPR, and as soon as they get out, like Eddie basically throws Chim off and is like, “Chim I’ll take over,” and starts to do chest compressions while they’re moving the gurney into the hospital.
Bex: And as they’re pushing, um, Buck in and Eddie’s doing compressions, Bobby and Hen are reeling off all of the information that the doctors need to know.
Alice: Um, very thoroughly as well. Um, because obviously like that’s their job, but it’s also Buck and so they have-
Bex: It’s also Buck
Alice: … background as well. Yeah.
Bex: Yeah, but Buck, Bobby’s giving Buck’s full medical history. Like I’m sure if the doctor’s wanted to know when he-
Alice: Literally full medical history, yeah
Bex: … when his vaccinations were done, Bobby would know it off the top of his head.
Alice: Yeah, like he’s had a bit of an upset stomach this week ’cause he ate something at a, like at a dodgy restaurant. Like, um, but yeah, so basically like a-
Bex: He’s got a rash on his lower leg, but it’s fine .It’s just from like he got brushed with poison ivy or something on a call. No. [00:12:00]
Alice: He went for a walk last we… Like he went bush walking last week and got struck, like got hit by poison ivy. Um, but yeah, so Bobby says-
Ellen: Make sure he remembers to put the cream on his hands, okay? They get a bit dry.
Alice: Um, but yeah, so the brief is, um, 30-year-old male struck by lightning, so we also find out that Buck is 30. Um, so yeah, 30-year-old male struck by lightning. Full cardiac arrest. He was down three minutes before they started compressions, which is terrifying.
Ellen: Mm.
Alice: Lightning went through his hands and out his knee.
Bex: Wait, so that … Wait, wait, does that mean-
Alice: Yep, so getting him down from the ladder-
Bex: It took them three-
Alice: … was three minutes
Bex: … minutes t- oh my God.
Alice: Yep.
Bex: It did not seem like three minutes.
Alice: Yep, and the fact that Bobby, like was counting. Phew. Um, so yes-
Bex: Not as closely as Eddie was counting, but sure.
Alice: No. We’ll get to that. Um, but yeah, so he was down three minutes before they started compressions. Um, then Hen says lightning went through his hands and out his knee right down his midline, which means that there could be some damage to [00:13:00] mega, major organs.
Bex: Ooh, that means Buck might have the cool like Lichtenstein burns.
Alice: Oh, I wish they gave him the like… Oh.
Bex: Wouldn’t that be cool?
Ellen: The what?
Bex: Um, when you get struck by-
Alice: You haven’t seen the lightning scars?
Bex: Yeah, when you get struck by lightning people tend to have, they call them Lichtenschteins, and it’s basically just, you know when you see lightening strike and it kind of fans out into lots of different little tiny threads?
People have those-
Ellen: Yeah
Bex: … kind of scars on their body where the lighting went in and when it came, comes out.
Ellen: Oh.
Bex: Look ’em up, they’re amazing. Um-
Alice: They’re so cool. Like I don’t want to be struck by lightning, but at the same time I’m like, “Ugh, those are cool.” But yeah, there’s a lot of fan art of Buck with the scars down.
Um, I don’t know if they actually did it
Bex: I haven’t seen any fan art with him with those burns but I would love to ’cause it’s-
Alice: Hang on, I’m-
Bex: It’s amazing …
Alice: sending it through.
Bex: [00:14:00] Funnily enough while they’re doing all of the handover to the nurses, Chim is still obsessed with the, the life pack and shocking Buck even though I’m pretty sure at the end of the last episode we re- we figured out that they should not be shocking him because you know he got shocked by lightning.
Alice: No, no They got a pulse back. They, they do yell that he got a pulse back. Um, so he got back into V tach and so they-
Bex: Okay
Alice: … shock him. Yeah.
Bex: All right. So they get him in, they get his full history, they push him. Uh, the doctors and the nurses take over. They take the gurney, they start wheeling him away. They t- tell the 118 that they’re going to do their best, and Eddie just yells at them, “Do more.”
Ellen: Aw.
Alice: Yep.
Ellen: And then they all, they all hug each other because, you know, they don’t know what else to do. They’ve got nothing left to do except wait so they all sta- they all just start hugging each other. It’s really sweet in a sad [00:15:00] way.
Bex: Yeah, ‘Cause they’re all close to tears. Like Bobby’s hugging Hen, but I’m pretty sure that’s more for his benefit than it is for Hen’s benefit.
Ellen: Yeah
Bex: So that was the cold open. We then after the title card, uh, we cut to Buck, um, who is lying in a hospital bed looking fine.
Alice: Yeah
Bex: Miraculous recovery
Alice: Absolutely fine
Ellen: Yeah, he wakes up, there’s a doctor standing next to him And Buck asks him what happened. And the doctor says “You fell off a ladder and hit your head. Nothing too serious No broken bones But maybe next time you decide to go up a ladder You should have someone there to spot you.” and Buck has this like flashback.
Bex: Yeah it’s really interesting because as he’s… as the doctor’s sort of scolding him for not climbing with The ladder without a spotter um Buck is remembering climbing the aerial ladder on the fire truck [00:16:00] and that Eddie was there spotting him Eddie put the safety rope on him.
Ellen: Yeah including the cowboy…
Alice: yeah we get the flashback to the yeah Off you go cowboy whatever it was
Bex: “All right Cowboy Go get ’em.”
Ellen: Yes
Bex: So he tells the doctor, “I did have some one spotting me,” and the doc’s going, “Well, that’s still a pretty bone headed move.” And Buck kind of just blinks and goes, “Oh wow, do you usually talk to your patients that way?”
And this watch through, I’m watching the way Buck is reacting going, “Holy shit. Is he flirting with his doctor?” Because you just, you just watch the way that he’s reacting.
Ellen: I mean, yeah . He’s just always like that though, so-
Alice: I think Oliver just… Yeah
Ellen: Yeah, that’s just him being normal. But yes.
Bex: But haven’t we discussed that like, um, Buck’s normal is like [00:17:00] baseline fl- Like Buck’s baseline is flirting?
Ellen: You know, he’s just naturally a flirty kind of guy I guess. But anyway, he, um … That’s funny. So then Maddie appears magically.
Bex: It is kinda funny until you discover and until Buck discovers who the doctor is.
Ellen: Yeah, well, Maddie i- like appears and um-
Bex: Just spawns into existence.
Ellen: Yeah, and she … Well, there’s a lot of that going on in this episode for good reason because it’s, like, Buck’s inventing everything but, um-
Bex: Yep
Ellen: Maddie’s sort of like, “He talks to everyone like that even his little brother.” And Buck’s like, “What?” And then she calls him Daniel. “Daniel why are you looking at his chart? You’re gonna second guess the other doctors instructions?” and, and Buck’s sort of like gradually twigging onto the fact and so are we that this is Daniel and in this reality, uh, he’s alive.[00:18:00]
Yeah something – And I’m looking at him going how much older is supposed to be than Buck? Because he looks-
Bex: 10 years
Ellen: Okay, that I can believe.
Bex: I think.
Ellen: Because I was looking at him going he looks like he’s in his 40s.Like he’s, he- Like Buck’s only 30 years old. I don’t know, he just looked older than I expected him to look.
Bex: He died at, Daniel died at eight.
Ellen: And that was after
Bex: So-
Ellen: … Buck was born, so-
Bex: So let’s say seven year age difference?
Ellen: Okay,
Alice: I mean. Yeah so he’d be 37, 38.
Bex: I do agree Aaron does quite a bit older though.
Alice: This where we find out he’s the same age as Oliver and we’re like whoops. Sorry.
Bex: Oh, no Um, but again like this is, this is Buck’s-
Ellen: Well you know working in a hospital ages you, you know.
Alice: Having Buck as a younger brother really ages you.
Bex: Aaron’s like my age so he’s like mid 40s.
Ellen: [00:19:00] Okay that makes more sense.
Bex: So…. Uh, so yes, Buck is now reeling because even though he remembers like climbing the ladder and Eddie being there and all of that jazz suddenly he’s in a hospital room and his older brother is alive and a doctor. And so he’s very confused. He has no idea what’s going on.
Ellen: And, and Maddie is totally nonplused about the whole thing. She’s like… She’s asking Daniel like, “His scans look good? Like, he d- like are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Because Buck’s like, “What is going on here? I’m just so confused about this whole thing.”
Maddie’s like, “Yeah, he’s fine.” Uh, Daniel goes, “He’s fine. He’s just being dramatic.” It’s like that is such an older brother thing to say. Um . “Go away, Maddie. We’ve got this.” And Maddie’s like, “Okay, fine. Well if you need anything Evan, [00:20:00] just call me. Uh, otherwise I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” and Buck’s like, “What’s tomorrow?”
And uh, Maddie says that they’re having family dinner tomorrow.
Bex: And Buck’s line when they walk away is like, “Okay, but whose family?”
Alice: Yes .
Bex: Because suppose his, his, because the Buckley, the Buckleys don’t do family dinner.
Alice: Yeah, like whose family are we going to today?
Bex: Not in his reality anyway.
Alice: Don’t understand.
Ellen: He’s very confused.
Alice: Um, I really like how this episode’s directed too because it’s, it’s direct- like it’s filmed very slightly skewed the whole time.
Bex: Oh yeah, I love the cinematography in this episode, especially as Buck starts to realize more and more how fucked up things are. The camera work goes crazy every time-
Alice: Yep, it’s really well done.
Bex: …we’re in a coma dream everything’s off kilter. The light saturation is weird. The um, the angles that they choose, the way they frame things are just wrong. And then you cut back to [00:21:00] reality where we’ve got the normal camera angles, the normal, um, wide shots and midshots and everything is, is fine. So it’s really jarring going backwards and forwards which is what it’s supposed to be because Buck is confused as hell, so we also need to be as confused as hell.
Alice: That’s it.
Ellen: So this is where we talk about like, um, this show in general having like, just being sometimes annoyingly dense and then other times you have these pure brilliance-
Bex: Yes
Ellen: … come through.
Alice: Yes exactly.
Ellen: And this one of those moments where actually they do know what they’re doing.
Bex: It’s why we can’t quit this show because we’ll get absolutely ridiculous episodes pulling our hair out and then we’ll get brilliant sequences and amazing episodes wh- where we can s- the full potential of the writers room and the camera operators and the directors come into fruition and we’re like ah shit, why can’t you do this every week?
Maybe that’s why we get [00:22:00] so mad when the episodes are shit because we know what they’re capable of
Ellen: Yeah.
Alice: Yeah, exactly. Um, so one of this, this episode actually had two directors. One of them directed “Jinx” which is cool. Um –
Ellen: Mm-hmm
Alice: … the other one did a couple of various episodes and the writer was Lindsay Beaulieu um, who has done a lot of them.
Bex: I wonder if the director’s split like if Jann did maybe the coma dream sequences and Joaquim did the real life sequences? And so that’s –
Ellen: Oh, maybe
Bex: … why you get such different um looks to each one cause it’s different directors.
Ellen: Yes style, I think the style of each one is different, yeah.
Alice: Yeah, right. That’s what I wondering too. Yeah.
Ellen: Yep. Yeah interesting. Yeah So even like… even the cuts between the scenes in the dream are quite abrupt and weird and later I think uh Buck even says like… someone says, “What are we doing here?” Or whatever and Buck’s like, “I don’t know.” [00:23:00] Like how did we get here? I don’t know. . So yeah It’s that very-
Bex: But that’s fair enough. When you’re in dreams you don’t usually travel.
Ellen: Dr- Dreams are like that yeah. Yeah
Bex: You want to be somewhere y- you’re just there.
Ellen: Yep.
Bex: Um and the there that they are is Buck’s loft apartment. So a lot of things change but where he lives is not one of them. The décor has changed though.
Alice: Yeah.
Bex: Because Margaret decorated his apartment for him, we discover. But also I guessed the, the fact that Buck is not a firefighter means he probably spends more time in the loft so therefore it feels its decorated differently, because he actually spends time there.
Ellen: Hmm Oh yeah
Alice: But yeah so Buck is not a fire fighter In this Buck is a teacher.
Ellen: Aw yeah When he gets home There’s like cards and flowers and stuff all over the table [00:24:00] and …
Alice: Um yeah Margaret’s like “oh your kids sent you these,” and he’s like “What!?”
Bex: Panicks in sperm donor, like How many times have I done this?
Alice: But yeah, no not his, not his, um, like biological children, his students. Uh, which Daniel jokes that he has the same maturity level that they do so
Ellen: I guess that’s the same.
Bex: So we’re thinking like elementary school, sort of primary school right? He’s like a little kid teacher
Alice: That was my, yeah, that’s what I was thinking
Bex: Yeah
Ellen: Yeah M- his mom’s like really fussing over him and like you know worried about him and stuff And he’s like, “Oh y- you didn’t have to travel all the way here.” And so then we find out that they actually live in LA So apparently people have been dropping food off all day so they’ve got plenty of food.
He g- he’s like, “I’m not a firefighter?” Once he, once he works out that he’s a teacher he’s like, “I’m not a firefighter?” And Philip’s like, “No. [00:25:00] Why would you say that? Are you sure he’s okay?”
Alice: Margaret’s like panicking. She’s just like “Why would you be … What, what are you doing?”
Bex: So the men folk being Daniel and their dad, um, retire to the living room because there’s a football game on so apparently they’re all gonna sit and watch the game.
Uh, Buck’s kind of poking around this apartment like he’s never seen it before because he hasn’t Um, but he notices on the sideboard that there is a giant model of a Ferris wheel that bears a striking resemblance to the one down on the Santa Monica Pier.
Ellen: Oh, this is where-
Bex: But he d- …
Ellen: things started to get interesting. I’m like, Oh, we’re gonna have little-
Bex: Yeah, because he kind of-
Ellen: easter eggs through the whole thing.
Bex: He, he realizes that the Ferris wheel is sort of out of place ’cause Margaret’s like, “I don’t know where that came from. I didn’t buy it for you, but, you know, if you love it, then I love it too.” But as Buck is staring at it, he starts getting flashes of his memory of the [00:26:00] tsunami, of being on the pier, of being underwater, and of I think, look, we get the sound of someone yelling, and I feel like it’s Christopher.
Alice: I think it’s, yeah, I think it’s Christopher yelling.
Bex: He’s calling for Buck.
Alice: Like we got at, like the teaser at the end of the tsunami episode.
Bex: Yeah. But then his dad calls him to the living room, “Come on, you’re gonna come,” which miss the game. So he goes and sits on the couch because this version of Evan Buckley has a couch.
Ellen: He has a couch.
Bex: And he has a coach that’s big enough for him, and his dad, and his brother to sit and drink beer and watch the game together. And this, he is absolutely loving it. This is perfect.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: He’s got his dad, he’s got his brother.
Ellen: It’s quite sweet in like a bittersweet kinda way.
Bex: He’s got the family that he’s always wanted.
Ellen: Yeah, so we kind of suddenly cut to the family dinner, [00:27:00] family lunch.
Alice: Yeah, it’s a really interesting cut. Like they don’t … Like 9-1-1 can be a bit flaky with times when its, like times as it is, but this is very specifically like they sort of go to like halfway through the scene. So like Buck gets comfy on the couch and then he’s walking into,
Bex: boom,
Alice: the murder house. Like Maddie and … Yep, um, Maddie’s house.
Bex: Maddie’s house.
Ellen: Maddie’s house, yes.
Alice: Yeah, there’s no like knocking on the door. There’s a, it’s literally just like he’s comfy on the couch and then he’s halfway into the house. And there’s, like the, the house is differently decorated. So Philip and Margaret are there, um, and there’s artwork above the couch that- looks like, um, Big Bear. So the place that-
Ellen: Yeah, it’s like specifically the snowy scene that, um- Yeah … where Maddie was when Buck went-
Alice: That when Doug [00:28:00] took three days to drive thir- three hours. Yeah.
Bex: Yes. Uh, and Buck notices the artwork and he questions like, “Has that always been there?”
And Maddie’s like, “Yeah, it’s always been there, b- I mean you’d know if you ever came to visit me.” which makes me sort of question like where are they having family dinners if he’s never been to Maddie’s house before? Or maybe this is just, this is Buck’s weird subconscious throwing weird things up so I’m not gonna focus on it too much.
Alice: Yeah, no. None- Um … none of it makes like … He, you just don’t look at too closely because it’s not supposed to be… Yeah.
Ellen: It reminded me actually of, um, you know tha- like okay relate everything back to Supernatural but that episode where … uh, the, the alternate reality where Sam and Dean don’t actually speak to each other.
Like it, Dean’s like, “You know we’re, you know we’re doing stuff together,” and, and Sam’s like, “When have we ever done anything together?” Like we, we don’t do that anymore.
Alice: Yeah. And, and when, um, Dean calls Sam a bitch and Sam’s like, “Why would you [00:29:00] call me a bitch for?”
Ellen: Yeah well what’d you do f-… Why would you say that? Fun times. I don’t even remember when what what season that was in or anything.
Bex: I was gonna say you’re thinking like alternate universe. I’m like, “Like which one?” ‘Cause there are so many episodes where there’s an alternate universe.
Ellen: The one where um-
Bex: Where he and Sam don’t talk to each other.
Ellen: Yeah. The one where his mom didn’t die? No.
Alice: Yeah, the one … It’s the djinn dream I’m pretty sure. Um-
Bex: Okay. Uh-
Alice: Where he’s married to Carmen or dating Carmen
Ellen: Yeah, that’s right.
Bex: Yeah, yeah, yeah
Alice: And Jess is, Jess and, um, Sam are engaged.
Bex: Yep.
Alice: Yeah. It’s early.
Bex: Okay.
Ellen: Early. Yeah, really early. Okay. Yeah, he asks Maddie if, um, if he’s, if they’ve, you know, redecorated and she’s like, “No. is that a hint? Like, [00:30:00] do you want me to redecorate?” And then-
Bex: It’s so sad because we s- Maddie’s reverted back to Maddie Kendall. You know, this scared little frightened bunny rabbit that just takes everything personally. Like you can’t just say something to her, she’s parsing everything for hidden meaning.
For good reason. Um, but it’s, it’s just so sad having seen sort of who Maddie Buckley becomes to go back and see Maddie Kendall again.
Alice: Yeah, mm.
Bex: Um, so, um, Buck decides to drop the topic of redecorating and/or the decorations or the decor and asks where Jee is. And Maddie’s like, “Is, is that a nickname?” And then Jee appears in the kitchen and says hi. Um, and Buck is horrified because it’s not like little baby Jee-Yun that he was expecting it’s a
Ellen: Is like a [00:31:00] 12-year-old. And, and I – I think she- I looked at her and went oh that’s Maddie and Brian. That’s like Jennifer and Brian’s daughter right because she looks spitting image of her father. Like and just-
Bex: That’s Jen and Brian’s daughter. It is.
Alice: I reckon she looks like baby Jen. Like because Jen’s been around for like- She looks so much like baby Jennifer.
Bex: She’s the genetics are very strong in Autumn. She very much takes after her parents. So she’s nine around this time when they were shooting I worked out. But definitely much much older than Jee-Yun.
Ellen: Yes.
Alice: I also had no idea that Autumn’s middle name was James until I was reading Wikipedia earlier. Um yes it’s Autumn James Hallisay and Autumn obviously is the name of my dog and James was the name of one of her sons and so I’m like aw we have th- We have the same naming taste basically JLH and I are besties uh,
Bex: apparently.
Alice: Yep we have the same um yeah. Same naming tastes so
Ellen: [00:32:00] Yeah so Buck is just like he has no idea what’s going on now. He’s like you’re not Jee
Bex: You are not my niece. What the hell is going on? Nobody else thinks anything is wrong with this. They’re all greeting G, or Genevieve, as apparently her name is
Ellen: Yes
Alice: Yeah, Philip’s like “Princess Genevieve! Or are we going by G now?” And Maddie’s like “No we’re not.”
Bex: We are not. Um Genevieve has been with her dad getting dressed, and while Buck is still trying to come to terms with the fact that his niece Is not his niece, her dad comes into the room and is like “Well, well, well, look who decided to finally show up.” And Buck turns like the villain from a horror movie has just appeared behind him to find Doug standing behind him.
Ellen: Ewww.
Alice: Yep Very alive, Very creepy looking Doug. [00:33:00]
Bex: So yes, to answer your question from last week, yes we are getting Doug back this week.
Ellen: Yeah. I figured that might happen.
Bex: Unfortunately.
Ellen: Uh, he’s not in it for very long, just, just enough to annoy everybody.
Alice: He was probably just around with the new baby and they were like, “Oh hey, you should do another episode.”
Ellen: At least it’s easy to get him back on. Easy to get i-
Alice: Yeah
Ellen: … get in touch with him.
Alice: They, they have connections.
Ellen: Yep. Yeah. Uh, so we at this point go back to the, the real world where Mom, Dad, and, uh, Maddie are at the hospital, and they find Bobby and Chim outside the room. And, you know, Bobby reassures them that he’s alive, he’s in critical condition. He’s in a coma and he’s got
He’s, like, intubated. Like, yeah, he looks … It’s really, it’s really sad to see him like that.
Bex: Yep.
Ellen: But he’s breathing [00:34:00] with the help of a ventilator, so.
Bex: Bobby takes, um, Phil and Margaret to go and talk to Buck’s doctor that has just sort of walked, uh, into the hallway behind them. But Maddie lingers, um, to talk to Chim who looks absolutely devastated, and he tells her that he was supposed to be the one to go up the ladder.
Um- Aw … but Buck went up instead. And he really-
Ellen: Poor Chim
Bex: … needs Buck to wake up because I don’t think Chim would ever forgive himself-
Alice: Yeah
Bex: … if Buck died.
Ellen: Mm. You can hear, like, the, the tension in his voice and everything. He’s, like, barely holding onto anything.
Bex: Yeah. But so we go from Maddie and Chim together to Maddie and Doug together at family lunch, where Doug is being an absolute douchebag. Um-
Ellen: Oh, yeah …
Bex: but I, I do love that Doug is being, [00:35:00] like, this arrogant asshole and Daniel is calling him on every single thing.
Ellen: Yeah, Da- Daniel really doesn’t like him
Bex: And they have… And I don’t think Doug likes Daniel either, but they’re going backwards and forwards with each other. It’s, it’s great.
Ellen: Yep.
Bex: Um, but the more that Daniel and Doug are bickering, the, the more scared and more nervous that Maddie is looking, and Buck clocks that so he tries to interrupt and compliments the pot roast.
And the way that she lights up when he says that it, that she’d really outdid herself is like, it’s so sad. Um, and then the rest of the table- Mm …are like, “Yeah, Maddie, it was great. It was fabulous.” And Doug’s like, “Yeah, I think it was a little salty.” And all of the compliments just immediately fly away from Maddie, and all that she can focus on is that it was a little bit salty.
Mm. She has to um… She [00:36:00] apologizes and rushes off to the kitchen to make coffee, and Doug doesn’t notice a thing. Um, he gathers everybody to go into the living room to play cards, um, except Buck. Buck watches Maddie and He watches her go into the kitchen, he watches her try to pull herself together, and he remembers all the things that he missed, um, back in the real world, and all the times th- and the time that Maddie finally broke down and told him what Doug had been doing.
And then finally he remembers Big Bear, and he’s like, ” I remember. I missed the signs last time. I’m not letting you go through this again.”
Ellen: Like, h- he says, “What are you doing with Doug? He’s not a good guy,” and Maddie’s like, “What are you talking about? Everything’s fine.” So yeah, she’s denying everything, and she basically runs away.
Bex: Yeah. Buck pulls up her sleeve and sh- reveals the bruises on her arm, and she’s like, “I hit it on a gurney.” He’s like, “Yeah, when did gurneys have fingers?” ‘Cause it’s [00:37:00] very clearly-
Alice: Yep
Bex: … a ha- an, uh, a handprint on her arm. Um, he tries to tell her that, um, she’s stronger than she thinks. Um, she doesn’t think that she’s strong enough to leave, but she is and he can help her, and he’s just … She’s out. She’s like, “I’m gonna go get an aspirin because this conversation’s giving me a headache. I can’t deal with this right now.”
Ellen: Yeah, and then Daniel comes into the kitchen and he’s, he’s, like, complaining about Doug as well. He’s like, “Oh, if I have to listen to him for another minute,” like he obviously doesn’t like him. But – Um, but when Buck says to him, like, “Have you noticed anything weird lately, like any issues?” And Daniel’s like, “Um, no, I, I, I try to butt out. You might wanna try it.” It’s like, you just were complaining about him. You obviously don’t like him either. But he’s not willing to say anything, you know?
Bex: Mm. Not willing to rock the boat.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: Buck doesn’t want [00:38:00] to butt out of it. He’s, um, he says that he, he can’t stick around for this. Um, it starts to f- he’s starting to feel like he’s living in a nightmare. Um, and Daniel asks him was life like a dream before, which gets the wheels turning in Buck’s head, and, like, the, the one complaint I s- have about this episode is that we get from, um The, the leaps of logic that Buck makes are massive leaps that we don’t really get enough to support as the audience
Ellen: Yeah. Yeah. Good point
Bex: Because he goes from here to like “Oh I’m in a coma this is a coma dream.” Like how … where did you… How? Where… how did you get there? You needed to get there otherwise the rest of the episode wouldn’t happen and you are correct, you’re in a coma dream. But how did you get there? So –
Alice: It’s quite weird I think he just sort of like guessed with the flashr… I dunno He… Just don’t look at it too close.
Bex: No I know. I mean [00:39:00] like I said he needs to have that leap of logic. Um I think it’s just because I love this conc- concept of this episode so much I wanted more. Like I wanted them to go deeper. I wanted them to do more and I don’t get more but that’s… That’s a me problem. That’s not a them problem, that’s a me problem. This is a like 45 minute network weekly procedural. I’m not gonna get more. That’s fine
So Buck makes the leap of logic that he is in a coma and this entire thing is a dream and he’s asking um Daniel like as a medical prac- practitioner does he know if you do dream when you’re in comas. Um and when Daniel says, “Well I don’t know I’ve never been in a coma,” Buck then realizes that he knows somebody who was in a coma and he could probably ask them. So he gets Daniel to take him somewhere and that somewhere happens to be Chimney’s apartment
Ellen: [00:40:00] Yep Uh he bangs on the door
Bex: Which is all fine and good except
Ellen: Chim doesn’t know who he is
Alice: Chimney has no idea who he is
Ellen: Buck is like- Like Chim- … “Uh, Chim when you were in your coma after the car accident do you remember if you had any dreams?” And Chim was just like, “Um who are you?”
Bex: Could you imagine If like a stranger –
Alice: Yeah. Who the fuck are you?
Bex: … Is knocking on your door and then number, and then they’re immediately asking you really personal questions about a traumatic life experience that you have no idea how they know about.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: No wonder Chim’s like go away you crazy person.
Ellen: Yep.
Bex: I love that the, um, the proof, like the one piece of proof that Buck has to prove that he knows Chim and that their friends is he’s like “I know why they call you Chimney.”
Ellen: Yes. Yes!
Bex: And that’s enough to get Chim to open the door and let him back in but they cut before-
Ellen: Tell us!
Bex: we hear the explanation.
Alice: We don’t find out But yeah apparently Buck knows what it is. [00:41:00]
Ellen: Like come on we’re your friends too. We’re the only ones who don’t know. Ah. Uh, okay so we cut to, um, Buck sort of ex- he’s explained everything to Chim. He’s like, “The last thing I remember, we were at a fire, it was raining. I went up the ladder and then I got… There was a giant flash.” And Chim’s like, “Sounds like you were struck by lightning.” Like, duh.
Alice: Um, yeah while “Thunder” plays in the-
Bex: Yeah. Not q- not quite as on the nose as some of the other music drops but yeah, a nice little subtle touch, um, for that one.
Ellen: Yeah, so this is where Buck walks over to Chim’s coffee table where there is a firetruck, a ladder truck in fact, with the ladder kind of extended I think. And it’s lying on its side- But it’s- And he-
Bex: Yeah …
Ellen: and the camera is also-
Alice: Oh my God this is so cool
Ellen: …on an [00:42:00] angle. So as he picks it up it, like turns and yeah, it’s, it’s an odd kind of angle.
Alice: It cor- Like yeah, the camera like corrects itself as he’s correcting the ladder truck and it’s such a cool shot. Um, and every time I think about this episode, that’s the shot that I think about, is the toy ladder truck getting moved.
Um, and yeah one of my friends did an edit to “Bones” by Imagine Dragons, and that’s like a big part of it. And so every time I see this episode I get that song in my head, and um, it’s just, it’s really cool. It’s just such a cool shot.
Ellen: You’re gonna give us a link to this, um, edit right?
Alice: Yes, I will link it.
Bex: Yep.
Ellen: Excellent. Okay.
Bex: I love it also ’cause the ladder truck there’s so many, like layers of meaning to it because it could just be because, like the ladder is up and he’s saying like, “The last thing I remember I was climbing the ladder,” but it’s also the firetruck is on its side [00:43:00] which sort of signifying-
Alice: Him being, him being crushed by the ladder
Bex: …the accident in the second season where he got crushed by the fi- ladder truck.
Yeah Um, so while he’s playing with the, the, the toy firetruck, um, Chim goes, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” And Buck’s like, “Yeah, I don’t know how wonderful it is. It’s kind of crappy.” And he’s like, “No, no, no. No. It’s a movie called It’s A Wonderful Life.” Um, the implication being that Buck is now living out the story of him with, of It’s A Wonderful Life which in Chim’s mind therefore makes him Clarence.
And uh, the Supernatural brain rot kicked in at this point. I’m like, “No… Cas is Clarence.”
Ellen: Yeah. Isn’t i-… But Clarence in It’s A Wonderful life is an angel, right?
Bex: He was an angel. Yeah. That’s why Meg-
Ellen: Yeah. Okay
Bex: … started calling Cas Clarence. So that’s
Ellen: why he’s ca- called Clarence. Yeah, okay.
Bex: Yeah. But
Ellen: anyway.
Bex: But I’m just thinking like every single fic that I’ve ever [00:44:00] read has, that has Meg as a character is always calling him Clarence so it just in my head the brain rot has set in and completely removed that, like bored into that part of my brain that Clarence is Cas. Like no one else can be Clarence.
Ellen: Mm-hmm. I’m wi- I’m with you.
Bex: Uh, but the, um, Chim’s point is that in the movie, um, George Bailey has to learn a lesson before he can go back to his real world. Um, so Buck’s like, “Okay cool, so what do I have to learn?”
Ellen: It’s interesting, uh, ’cause I think in some, uh, oh, I guess in the djinn- in the djinn dream one he does, Dean does remember his other life but in some like of this kind of, flashed into an alt- alternate reality he could have had like, he could have just been totally on board with this new life and had these, and these little fire trucks and stuff could have given him the flashes and start rememb-
Bex: Confused the fuck out of him?
Ellen: Like and [00:45:00] start remembering the other life but they didn’t –
Bex: Yeah
Ellen: … they didn’t go down that route. That would’ve been cool but, um, I’m, I’m just-
Bex: It would’ve been very cool
Ellen: … writing my own fic here in my head.
Bex: Um. No, no, no. I’m totally on board. It would’ve been very cool if they’d gone the route of Buck wakes up in the hospital and he is, has no idea that this world isn’t real and he starts seeing these little moments and starts getting flashes and he has no idea what they mean until he puts them together.
But no, they’ve gone down the route of he knows from the start that something is wrong, that this is not real. Yep. But he’s choosing to play along until he met Doug again And at that point he’s gone, “Okay I can’t do this anymore. I need to fix it.”
Ellen: He’s like okay th- this was starting out real great. Yep. and now apparently there are things that are wrong here.
Bex: Which is, which is where um we get to with Chim because Chim is, um asks him like “how long have you been walking around in this coma dream?” And Buck’s like,” I don’t know maybe two [00:46:00] days.” Chim’s like wha-, “You’ve been walking around an alternate universe for two days and you’re only now starting to ask questions?”
And Buck’s like, “Well yeah. It was kind of nice at first, until this thing my sister.” Um and he thinks “Okay well maybe that’s what I need to fix. Maybe if I fix what’s going on with my sister’s marriage then I’ll be able to get back to the real world.”
Alice: Yeah This interaction is so funny,
Bex: It is.
Alice: Because Chim’s like “Oh is your sister’s marriage a problem in your real life?” and he’s like, “No, he’s dead now.” But
Ellen: Actually she’s with you.
Alice: And Chim’s like, “What?!”
Bex: “Wait, I’m married to your sister?” and Buck’s like, “No, you’re not married. Although you really should be ’cause like you got a kid and you got a house, I mean, what else are you waiting for?”
Alice: Yeah so Dream Buck who like was in a coma and didn’t quite know what was going on is now like, “Yeah, why the fuck haven’t you proposed to my sister, Chimney?” and Dream Chimney, who’s never met his [00:47:00] sister is like, “WTF is going on right now?”
Bex: This is neither the time nor the Chim. Just move on, we can deal with this later. Chim’s like, “Yeah, I… I can’t help you.” And Buck’s like, “Yeah, this is a waste of time. I should have just gone to Cap. Cap will know what to do.”
Ellen: He’s like, he literally says “This is not helping.” It’s like, fine. Fuck you then.
Bex: But Chim’s like, “Ah, well I’ve got some really bad news for you. Bobby’s dead.”
Ellen: Aw.
Bex: And Buck does not react well to this. Like to the extreme in that he suddenly forgets how to breathe. He’s struggling to breathe. Um, but then we flash back to real life and discover that it’s not the news of Bobby’s death that’s causing him to struggle to breathe, it’s because in real life something’s gone on with the ventilator and real Buck is-
Ellen: [00:48:00] Can’t breathe
Bex: struggling to breathe.
Ellen: And Chim’s there watching him.
Bex: I mean you could argue that the news of hearing that Bobby had died had like triggered his real body to start to struggle to breathe, but I think it’s the other way around. I will, I’m open to arguments either way.
Ellen: Yeah, I mean it could have i-, you know, made him hyperventilate and that.
Alice: Well, Chim says later that it’s, he’s in respiratory failure.
Bex: But is he in respiratory failure and Dream Buck just so happens to also-
Alice: Oh, it’s a pulmonary con- No. It’s a pulmonary cont- contu- contusion. Hang on.
Ellen: Contusion?
Alice: Yeah, that.
Ellen: Isn’t, doesn’t that just mean like a, a blood clot or a bruise or whatever?
Alice: Which is … Yeah, so basically it’s like a bruise on the lung tissue caused by trauma.
Bex: Yep.
Ellen: Okay, so there was something physical actually stopping him from breathing.
Alice: So yeah, his lu- lungs are injured and s- Yeah …
Bex: so it was real life Buck [00:49:00] influencing coma Buck, not coma Buck reacting and influencing his body.
Alice: Yeah.
Bex: Okay.
Alice: Um, so yeah, it also says bleeding and fluid around the lungs caused by an injury. So yeah, basically like his lungs physically can’t work properly.
Bex: Yep. It’s, it’s fun- funny that in the coma, Buck is, in the coma dream Buck is like struggling to breathe and he sort of falls over and lay- and is laying on the floor struggling and, and gasping. And Chim’s just standing over him yelling for him to calm down and try to breathe. Um-
Ellen: Yeah …
Bex: or coma Buck, Coma Chim is just sort of standing there like, “Just calm down. Take a deep breath.” Um, in real life, Chim who has been sitting by his bedside immediately gets up and runs for help So
Ellen: yeah, I don’t know what this says about-
Bex: Coma Chim is fucking useless
Ellen: Yeah, what does it say a- about what Buck thinks of-
Bex: About what Buck thinks about Chim?
Ellen: Yeah, and becau- And also after this, um, Hen comes in as well, and they’re both just sitting there like, “Uh,” went like, uh, are you guys not paramedics [00:50:00] in this alternate reality? Like, you don’t want to help at all?
Bex: I think… I feel like you can explain that by going, Buck doesn’t know paramedic shit, so he wouldn’t know how to re- how to think about helping him.
Ellen: How to help himself.
Alice: Yeah, he could barely even do CPR. Let’s be real.
Bex: Like, they’d just … He, his extent would be, you know, they’d be sitting and sort of putting Band-Aids on his forehead and wrapping ace bandages and, you know –
Ellen: Maybe
Bex: … maybe hanging a, an IV bag, but he wouldn’t kno- They wouldn’t, he wouldn’t know how to get them to do whatever he needed t- to be done to help him, so they’re just useless in his dream.
But yet it is incredibly funny that they’re, they are so bad. So they’re s- They are just unhelpful.
Ellen: Yep.
Bex: Um, so interestingly we’re not going to go back to either the Coma Buck or, um, hospital Buck, both of whom are struggling to breathe, one of whom is getting incredible amounts of help, the other one is just getting mocked.
Um, we’re gonna go [00:51:00] to the Bathena residence very quickly, um, where Athena and May are packing lunches for everyone in the hospital.
Ellen: Yeah, this was strange scene to include. I’m, I’m guessing this is just Athena’s like we have to include Athena kind of scene, you know? ‘Cause she-
Alice: Yeah, it’s a obli- o- obligatory, um, Athena appearance.
Bex: Yeah, and then she gets her scene in the hospital later on. That’s, um, yeah so but-
Alice: Yeah, that’s not much though.
Ellen: No. But they also need to um-
Alice: Not enough screen time.
Ellen: Oh sorry, I was just I, I was thinking that they mention something about Wendell here, but I, they do mention him but-
Bex: Yes
Ellen: … not, not about what’s going on with the thing, so anyway May is gonna take everybody dinner at the hospital. Um, and she just asks Athena how Bobby’s doing and Athena says he’s not doing that well. So she’s gonna go and make him feel better
Bex: Pretty much
Ellen: That’s all.
Alice: Yeah
Bex: Yeah. That’s, that’s the, that’s the gist of [00:52:00] the scene, that Bobby is taking Buck’s injury incredibly hard. Um, and coming on the back of Wendell’s death, um, Bobby’s not doing so well. And Athena is pretty much saying that Buck has to be all right if only for Bobby’s sake.
Ellen: Yeah. It’s like I don’t think that’s how that works, Athena, but okay. Nice sentiment.
Alice: Sure. Yeah.
Ellen: He ha- he has to be all right.
Bex: But that makes like… But th- that does make sense when you go to like when she comes to the hospital room and she’s like, “Buck, you have to wake up not because I want you to wake up, because if you don’t wake up my husband is gonna be distraught and I do not want my husband to be distraught.”
Ellen: And, and I can’t handle that.
Bex: So for my sake –
Alice: Literally. Athena’s speech is basically, “Buck, I don’t like you and you don’t like me.”
Ellen: Aw.
Alice: “But unfortunately we both love the same man and you’ve gotta deal with it.”
Bex: So wake the fuck up.
Alice: Wake the fuck up.
Bex: Uh, but before we get there, uh, we’re gonna go back to the hospital where, uh, [00:53:00] helpful Chimney, real life Chimney who knows what to do, um, has alerted the nurses and the doctors, who I’m sure were already alerted because all of Buck’s alarms were going off, but they all come racing in, um, to help Buck.
Alice: No, they were ignoring the alarms. It’s really Chim that’s…
Ellen: He’s keeping an eye on everything.
Bex: Um, in, in the coma dream, um, Chim has also decided to run for help. He’s ran across the hall and grabbed Hen and brought her in.
Alice: Yeah.
Bex: And Hen’s sole contribution is to just stare at Buck, um, who is-
Ellen: I love this scene
Bex: still gasping for breath. And asks Chim why he didn’t call 9-1-1.
Alice: Um, apparently Buck wouldn’t let him even though he can’t breathe and isn’t talking, but sure.
Ellen: Well they are 9-1-1. Buck’s probably like “Why aren’t you helping me?” And they’re like, “We don’t know what to do.”
Bex: You don’t know what to do so we don’t know what to do.
Ellen: [00:54:00] Yeah. Chim’s like, “Maybe he’s having a panic attack.” Uh, oh hang on that was, that was in the real world. No, hang on.
Bex: No, no that was coma. That was Coma Chim.
Ellen: Okay. We’re, we’re switching back and forth here it’s a bit confusing.
Bex: We’re switching back and forth so fast um, it makes sense when you’re watching and it doesn’t make so much sense when you’re just reading the notes.
Um, long story short; the doctors in the real world manage to um, to stabilize Buck’s breathing um which then means in the coma world, Buck is suddenly fine. Like he suddenly just sits up and he’s like “Huh, I can breathe. Cool.”
Alice: Yep, I’m good now.
Bex: So I dunno what happened? It was like my lungs suddenly stopped working but you know I feel better now.
Ellen: Yeah Ch- um Hen and Chim are like wha- what ha- what happened? Hen’s like “well he’s pulling our [00:55:00] leg, he’s fine.” Buck’s like, “No, no, no,” anyway he feels better.
Alice: And Hen’s like why are talking to this random guy that’s in your apartment dying?
Bex: “Because he knows why I’m called Chimney.”
Alice: Yeah.
Ellen: I love, I love that Chim is like we don’t, I think this happens late slightly later but um he like Chim’s onboard with all of this.
Like he’s told the story, he knows stuff that he shouldn’t know so Chim’s like “yes This is an alternate reality. We are in a dream!” And Hen’s –
Bex: But that’s totally-
Ellen: … like “what the fuck are you talking about?”
Bex: That’s totally onboard for Chim. Like Chim is the one who believes in the crows. Who believe in jinxes.
Alice: Yup
Ellen: it’s very on brand.
Bex: Yeah. Who believes in-
Alice: The cursed bracelets.
Bex: Yes Yes. He’s what have, you tell him something slightly weird he’s gonna believe it With only at the slight- at the slightest provocation. Um, Hen is the skeptic so this is, this is very much on brand for them [00:56:00] Um, back in the real world, uh, they’ve stabilized Buck.
Chim is out in the hallway talking to Albert. Bobby has taken up the vigil, um, and he’s broken out the rosary beads, and he’s praying over Buck.
Ellen: Uh, Maddie has taken their parents home. I guess it must be early in the morning or late at night or something.
Bex: Who knows?
Alice: Bit of both, yeah. Um, apparently they were worried that they’d have to sedate Margaret to get her out, which is like it’s inter- ’cause they have such a complicated relationship, Buck and Margaret. But, like, Margaret’s already lost a kid in the hospital, and she, like last time Buck was in the hospital it’s a point of contention that they didn’t go visit.
Ellen: Mm.
Alice: And so now seeing-
Bex: Well, I mean we-
Alice: … Buck in the bed, it’s like oof, that’d be hard.
Bex: Like we- we’ve had a conversation where Margaret has said, like, she doesn’t like hospitals. Probably because she spent [00:57:00] so much time with them with Daniel. So for-
Alice: Yep
Bex: … her to be at the hospital i- in this episode, um, an- for this accident, it’s sort of that’s how serious it is. And so yeah, you can imagine that she’s dragged herself to the hospital to see her son who is hooked up to machines, then all of sudden h- he’s not breathing again. Uh-
Alice: I just assume that she went with Maddie, and then, yeah, didn’t wanna leave when she got there
Ellen: She, in the first place she went because Maddie was going? Yeah.
Alice: Yeah. But yeah, anyway, so Albert says that it must be really hard for, like, their parents seeing Buck like that, and Chim immediately is just like, “Yeah, your kid almost dying is probably easier to handle when you’re thousands of miles away.”
Like, immediately throws it back to the fact that Chim almost died and his dad did nothing. Hmm.
Bex: I mean, it’s also, you could, it could be a b- against the Buckleys and against his own dad. [00:58:00] ‘Cause like you said-
Alice: Yeah, true
Bex: … The Buckley’s have never th- This is not the first time Buck has been in hospital. Um, he’s had several close calls, and we’ve never seen the Buckleys before now. Um-
Alice: Yeah
Bex: … so it could be about them, but it could v- also very much be about him and his dad. Um, which is how Albert takes it.
Alice: It is, yeah So yeah, Albert says that they’re trying and so is Dad. And Chim says that people always tell him that he’ll understand his parents better once you become a parent but he’s a parent now and understands them even less ’cause there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for Jee-Yun to see her happy.
Ellen: Mm.
Alice: But meanwhile Eddie and Hen arrive with empty coffee cups. Apparently they ran out of milk and everything else. Um-
Bex: They ran out of coffee as well.
Alice: Because as my pet peeve will tell you, coffee cups never have anything in them. Like just put a fucking weight in the bottom of them please for the love of God. Uh-
Bex: The way [00:59:00] Ryan is swinging that tray around there is absolutely, there’s nothing in those cups.
Alice: Like he’s basically like throwing it up and down li- and catching it again. Like it- There’s nothing in … Oh my God, it does my head in.
Ellen: I’m, I’m shocked that I didn’t even notice.
Alice: You made the paper bags that are made of vinyl so that they don’t like make a noi-
Bex: Oh, as soon as I saw the cof-
Alice: It’s just a pet peeve for me. Like it’s-
Bex: As soon as I saw Ryan-
Alice: Every time I see a coffee cup, you know
Bex: …with the coffee cups I’m immediately focused in on it just so I can see because I know it’s gonna set Alice off.
Alice: Oh. I ju- I was watching something the other day.
Ellen: I should remember that.
Alice: I don’t remember what it was the other day I was watching. Um, but they were like, I think it might have been Ted Lasso. It was.
Bex: Oh yes. Ted Lasso. Ted’s, Ted’s also really bad with the coffees.
Alice: And they, like they have coffee all the time and there’s never anything in them. But at one stage i- at the s- I think it’s the start of season two, all the players are given coffee machines.
Bex: Yes.
Alice: And they’re all just picking up the boxes-
Bex: Yes
Alice: …and like throwing them around. And I’m like, “There’s clearly nothing in them.” Like, they’re not even pretending to strain. They’re like h- pick it up over their head. I’m like, I understand [01:00:00] that they’re like, they’re athletes but they’re also soccer players.
Like they’re not working on their upper body strength to be able to pick up a coffee machine box one handed above their head.
Bex: I mean-
Alice: Like that’s- …
Bex: the machines are light-
Alice: That’s not how it works
Bex: …but they’re not that light.
Alice: They’re not that light. Like there’s no weight in those boxes at all. They were just empty boxes. Like the handles weren’t even like coming fully out of the boxes when they were picking them up. I was like, oh my fucking God this is the coffee cup but even worse because it’s a coffee machine.
Bex: That’s the next iteration.
Alice: Ah, just like, like they do paper bags that are made of vinyl so that they don’t make a sound, and they’re very realistic. Like they do really great. Props people if you’re listening, please just can’t you just put some sort of silent weight in the bottom of the fucking coffee mugs so they at least-
Bex: No
Alice: …have something in them.
Bex: But then again we bring it back to actors learn how to act with coffee cups and we bring it back to Jensen who is really good at coffee cup acting.
Because he can have an empty coffee cup and you will still [01:01:00] buy that there is liquid in it.
Alice: Um, yeah, 9-1-1 actors apparently never handled a coffee mug, a coffee cup in their life, outside the show because they do not understand that they’re supposed to actually have liquid in them. Um, but yeah, so they arrive with empty coffee cups. Eddie says that they ran out of oat milk and everything else.
Um, and Hen tries to tell Chim to go home. So yeah basically it’s not gonna do Buck any good to end up in the bed next to him you need to pace yourself And Chim’s like “Yeah okay who’s going to tell him that?” And they cut to Bobby who’s still counting his rosary
Bex: Yep which then cuts to coma dream where their um Chim is explain Coma Chim is explaining to Coma Hen that Buck was asking about Bobby and that’s what brought on the quote unquote panic attack Um and so Buck, now fully recovered because they managed to stabilize his breathing, asks what happened to Bobby, and [01:02:00] assuming that it was an accident on the job. And Hen says “No. It was the alcohol.” Which Buck can’t believe He’s like “No, no, no. That’s not possible, he’s in recovery.”
And Hen’s like, “Maybe he was, but there was this plane crash.” And Buck’s like “Oh shit!” He knows exactly what she’s talking about Um and he names the fl… he names the plane crash. He’s like “oh its You mean flight LB46?” Hen’s like “How the fuck do you know that it was called LB46?” And Chim’s like “I told you!”
Alice: Chim looks so smug. Yeah Told ya!
Bex: He knows stuff
Alice: um and again this scene’s also really well directed. It’s very like the whole time it’s very skewy like it’s never quite right.
Bex: Yes
Ellen: Yeah, it’s unsettling, isn’t it, the way they’ve-
Bex: It, it’s very unsettling. It’s, like, almost on the edge of being of nauseating. Like, you just want the camera to [01:03:00] stand, stay still for one second-
Ellen: Yeah
Bex: so you can focus. It’s like,
Ellen: stop moving around. Yeah.
Bex: Thankfully they cut back and f- back and forth between the real world and the coma world, otherwise I don’t know that I could get through, uh, like, 45 minutes-
Alice: You might, might get a bit queasy
Bex: … of the camera being like, ooh. Yeah, yeah. Buck sort of explains to Chim and Hen what happened in sort of h- in his world, what he knows.
He’s like, “He, like, we had the plane crash. He didn’t show up for work. You went to check on him. I went with you.” And Hen’s like, “Uh, no, we did no such thing. I did no such thing. Captain Nash kept to himself. We didn’t know that he was suffering until it’s too late. Why am I talking to this person?” she says turning to Chim.
Chim’s like, “See? The crazy, it just sucks you in.”
Ellen: So good.
Bex: So Buck’s slowly starting to figure out that him not being at the 118 is like some weird [01:04:00] butterfly effect. Um, and it l him not being there has those ripples that have made changes because he’s saying like, “No, but I c- we- I was there and like h- on the day of the crash like he kind of lost it.”
And Hen’s like, “What do you mean lost it?” And we get a flash of, um, back in season one when –
Alice: Oh my God, we’re back to baby Buck …
Bex: I like th- Bu- I like Buck’s-
Ellen: Mm-hmm, yeah
Bex: … like, “Well I made him mad and he kinda shoved me.” I’m like, yeah, Buck tell them the whole story where you went through Bobby’s locker and you got out his little book of pentinence and you went through all the names and then you asked him what it was.
Yeah. That’s why he got mad. Not just oh, – It’s funny thinking about
Alice: Season One Bobby because yeah, he like he had the little book that he was really secretive about and he didn’t want to talk to them about it.
Bex: Mm-hmm.
Alice: Um, and yet Buck weaseled his way in. Yeah, so like they were surprised that Captain Nash shoved [01:05:00] him, um, and Hen says, “Yeah, if I’d seen that I would have known something was wrong.” And this is where Buck’s like, ” Oh yeah, my not being at the, uh, 118 is what pushed him over the edge.” It’s like, hmm, sometimes you being at the 118 pushed him over the edge too.
Bex: Is what pushed him.
Alice: Um, uh, but yeah, Hen’s like, “Oh maybe it was just some random butterfly effect and the entire world doesn’t revolve around you,” and it’s just like well, um-
Bex: Meanwhile,
Ellen: Well actually this one actually does.
Bex: Actually it does. And he c-… The brain is ticking and he’s like, “Okay, so what else has happened at the 118 since I got there?”
And he’s … And so we- we’ve gone through Bobby. Okay cool. Eddie. Eddie came to the 118 after th- after I was there. Um, let’s s- let’s see what happens with Eddie. So he’s like Ed- “so tell me about Eddie.” Um Chim is immediately like, “Oh you mean angry guy.”
And it’s like hey well you’d be angry too if you lost your kid. I mean-
Ellen: Mm …
Bex: then Buck’s like “Wait. He lost [01:06:00] Christopher?” They’re completely rolling with the idea t- with n- the knowledge that Buck knows Eddie’s kids name.
Alice: Yeah.
Bex: Like they’re not, that’s not even, they’re not even batting an eye at that at this point. Um, and apparently his grandparents took him back to Texas.
There was a big custody battle, um, they claimed that Eddie was unfit and Eddie was struggling tried to bring Chris to the firehouse, but the new captain said no so he lost Chris. And Buck’s like oh shit.
Ellen: I thought they were gonna say that, um, that he lost him in the tsunami.
Alice: Yeah right?
Ellen: Just because Buck didn’t rescue him. But no.
Bex: Well If he never met Buck, then Buck would never have taken Chris to the sun To the p- to the pier so he never would have been in the tsunami.
Ellen: Yeah but that’s just another way that Buck has changed things around places St-
Alice: It’s Buck’s fault
Ellen: But no the the actual reason is because Buck was the one who introduced Carla to [01:07:00] Eddie So that Chris could, you know, they could, he could still work and Chris could still go to school and all that stuff so
Bex: Yeah Which is a really nice segue because as Buck realizes that he never introduced Eddie to Carla, we see Carla In the real world who is at the hospital with Christopher, because Christopher has insisted that he come down. He needs to see Buck.
Um, and Eddie is like, “Uh, they don’t let kids in the ICU. I don’t know if we can get you in.” so Carla concocts a plan And she she just ba- there’s, there’s a nurse coming down the hallway with some equipment, and Carla just bails her up. She’s like, ” I’m in home healthcare but I’m really looking to get into hospital work. Um, you kn- how… I wonder if you knew of any job openings?”
And, and just starts talking this poor woman’s ear [01:08:00] off, pulling her attention fully onto Carla so that Eddie can usher Christopher around the corner probably like he muttering at him like-
Ellen: He, he and Chris are like-
Bex: “Go faster, go faster, go faster.”
Ellen: Yeah, he and Chris are sneaking basically. They’re scuttling across as fast as they can which isn’t terribly fast. Uh, but they are. uh- No. Oh They make it in though
Bex: But yeah, they get Chris into, they get into the ICU um, where it’s Hen’s turn to sit with Buck. Um, and she’s really surprised to see Christopher in there ’cause you know kids aren’t supposed to be in the ICU. And Eddie’s like, “Well, I, I couldn’t tell him no.”
Alice: Yeah, you try telling this kid no.
Bex: And so they ex- they explain to Chris what all the machines are that Buck is hooked up to. Um-
Alice: So Eddie explains it really badly, and Hen’s just like, “No,” f like, “Fuck you, Eddie.” Like this kid has been in and out of hospital his entire life. Like, um, so yeah, like e- ’cause Chris asks if he’s sleeping, and Eddie’s like, “Oh yeah, something [01:09:00] like that. He’s resting so the machines can do all the work, um, and make him feel better.”
And Chris is like, “Well, what are all the tubes?” So Hen straight up says, “That’s part of the ECMO machine. It takes his blood and puts extra oxygen in it and then the blood goes back into his body.” It’s like, yeah cool. Yeah. Like Chris isn’t an idiot. He’s been in and out of hospitals. He’s had surgery. Like explain it to him properly, Eddie.
Bex: He’s been in hospital with a variety of members of the 118 including-
Alice: That too, yeah
Bex: … his own father several times .
Alice: Yes. Exactly, like he knows what blood is. He’s seen blood before. Explain it properly. It’s, he’s not a, like it’s not like he’s four.
Bex: Yes.
Alice: Um, and yeah, then Chris asks, “Can he hear me?” And Hen’s like, “I bet he can.” Um…
Bex: And so Chris starts talking to him.
Alice: Ugh, and Eddie’s crying. I’m crying. I’m sure Ellen was crying.
Ellen: Yeah. Was all over these scenes.
Bex: Like they literally, they do a, a very deliberate shot of, uh, Eddie in the background wiping [01:10:00] tears that are rolling down his cheeks, um, as Chris tells Buck that he knows that he’s sick but he’s gonna be okay. The machines are making him better, but wherever he is you have to come back. “Wherever you are right now, you have to come back.”
Ellen: Aw.
Bex: And then we cut to Coma Buck who’s returned to the hospital telling Chim and Hen that he doesn’t know why, but he just feels like he has to come back to the hospital. I’m like, oh my God, he heard Ch- he heard Chris.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: Very good. Like he may not have heard him, but he, he, the message got through.
Ellen: The message got through. So he’s come back. Yeah. He’s come back to the hospital. Yeah. Bless. Mm. And Chim’s like, ” Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense.” It’s like Chim, you’re so on board with this whole thing. Um, Buck says he has this weird feeling like he’s running out of time, because [01:11:00] his, they, they basically work out that his body is, you know, dying, I guess.
So he needs to get on and work out what the thing is that he needs to fix so he can get back to his body.
Bex: Yeah, Chim puts the sort of the first seed of the whole episode into Buck’s head, which is cool. He’s like, “Okay, first of all, this is It’s a Wonderful Life, so you’ve gotta fix something.” And he says, um, “If you’re in a coma, then all of this is in your head.”
Ellen: Yep.
Bex: So if you can’t breathe in here, it’s because you can’t breathe out there. If you feel like you’re running out of time because his body is actually running out of time.
Alice: Yep
Ellen: Uh-oh.
Bex: Dun, dun, dun! Uh, but before we figure out what’s going on with that, we’ve got a go to commercial and when we come back we’re gonna have a little father daughter stepfather stepdaughter bonding time. Um
Ellen: That’s cute this scene. [01:12:00]
Bex: I- This scene is so cute. Um, they’ve managed to kick Bobby out of the hospital to get some fresh air um And May is pretty much force feeding him one of the sandwiches that she’s got in the cooler that she and Athena were packing.
To the point where she’s being so insistent that Bobby says to her “You are really starting to remind me of someone.” And May looks like she’s been it’s like the worst insult. He could have called her a slur and she would have taken that better I think at that moment. And then we’ve got the, the classic line where, um, May is telling Bobby that, um, Buck being in the hospital must be really hard on him because Mum brought two kids into the marriage, Bobby brought one.
Alice: Yeah, I love this part.
Ellen: Like you’ve been saying all along .
Alice: Yep.
Bex: Yes . But [01:13:00] Bobby just laughs and goes, “Yeah, I guess so.” So he’s finally claiming Buck as his.
Alice: Yep.
Ellen: Mm. But she says that, “You’re always talking about how stubborn Buck is. He never knows when to leave well enough alone, so he’s gonna be okay. And-“
Bex: Yeah
Ellen: “and you’re gonna be okay. I love you,” and Bobby’s like, ” Oh, oh, I love you too, May.” They have a cuddle. It’s very cute.
Bex: Yeah. It’s very sweet. Uh, back inside the doctors are telling the Buckley parents that they think Buck is ready to come off oxygen. Um, so they’re going to lower his sedation, unho- hook him from the ventilator, and then see what happens.
Ellen: Yeah, see what happens seems like-
Alice: It’s, it’s – …
Ellen: like-
Alice: It just feels like, “Okay, we’re gonna turn it off and on again.”
Ellen: Yeah. We’re like, “We don’t, we don’t know-“
Bex: Although it’s literally that .
Ellen: “… if he’s gonna be okay, but we’ll just try it.”
Alice: So h- and look, and also [01:14:00] because time is being so weird, it literally feels like they’ve put him on ECMO and then like, “Okay, it’s been about two hours. Let’s try again.”
Ellen: Yeah, a few hours later, yeah. Just like,
Alice: yeah, it’s like, uh, what?
Ellen: Like, we think he can probably breathe. Maybe.
Alice: Yeah. Might, might be right.
Ellen: And also the, like Margaret is saying to the doctor, like, “What happens if he can’t breathe on his own?” And the doctor’s like, “Well…”
Bex: Eh, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Ellen: Yeah, let’s, let’s not worry about that right now. It’s like, sss, okay. Chim and Hen are, have been, okay, in the coma world they’re in the hospital. They’re looking for something, but they don’t know what it is they’re looking for, so they come back and they’re like, “Did you find anything?” “No, but I don’t know what we’re looking for.”
And Buck doesn’t, hasn’t found anything. But then Hen points out-
Bex: He hasn’t found himself either, I think is the other thing that they might be looking for. Like he’s trying to find-
Ellen: Yeah …
Bex: his body. Um.
Ellen: They’re trying to find … Well, Chim says they’re trying to find [01:15:00] something that doesn’t belong there, and then Hen says, “You mean like that?”, and she points to an airplane, a model aeroplane that is on the top of the little desk there. Um, and Buck looks it, picks it up. And he doesn’t know why it’s there. But Hen says “Maybe it’s a clue. What if it represents something?”
Bex: So Buck flashes back to the plane crash back in season one, um, specifically the part where Bobby was… Bobby stayed on the plane to help the woman that was trapped, um, ordered the rest of the 118 to evacuate, but Buck came back.
Alice: Yeah, Buck came back.
Bex: He said like, “I’m a terrible listener, you know that about me.” Um, so he realizes that the plane cra- the plane in this instance it’s not about the plane, it’s a connection to Bobby, and he looks up just in time to see Bobby kind of skedaddling [01:16:00] across the emergency department.
Ellen: Oh, Bobby, like, scuttles out of there like a fucking cryptid. It, I was looking and going- “What was that?” And then, and then he follows him and I’m like, “Is that Bobby?” And then it is Bobby. I’m like, what the fuck?
Bex: It’s crackhead. It’s my favorite iteration. It’s Crackhead Bobby. He’s so much fun.
Alice: It’s so much fun. Like Peter had so much fun with this.
Ellen: It’s just weird. This is the part where it was like, okay, we’re going down into the uncanny valley now. I don’t know what’s happening anymore. But yes.
Bex: So Buck sees Bobby and runs after him, like his whole, like, all six limbs flailing in every direction run. Yeah. Um, sort of around corners, down hallways. Uh, Bobby sees him and sprints away. Um, the hallways are stretching into infinity, so no matter how much Buck runs, he’s never gonna get to the end of them. Um, he finally turns a corner.
Ellen: Ugh, it’s weird.
Bex: He follows Bu- he follows Bobby around a corner, [01:17:00] but suddenly the corner is just, it’s a dead end and there’s no one there. But there are doors to the medical supply room, and one of the doors is open, and there is, like, a clattering sound, like somebody’s obviously in the medical supply room. So Buck goes in, um, and finds Bobby, uh, rummaging through all of the pill bottles.
Alice: All of the pill bottles, and there’s so many pill bottles.
Bex: There’s so many. Like they’re all unlabeled. They’re just-
Alice: And none of them are labeled. Yeah.
Bex: Yeah. ‘
Alice: Cause, like, Buck clearly doesn’t know what pills are bad, like.
Bex: Buck has no knowledge about pills, so he’s just got like a general pill bottle an…
They’re plain white and they’re just lining the shelves. Yep. And Bobby’s just going through them like it’s a candy store. His, he little looks up, he goes, “Oh hey kid, fancy seeing you here.”
Ellen: And, and this is where it gets, starts getting weird because Buck’s like, “I thought you were dead. What are you doing here?” and Bobby’s like, “I don’t know. It’s your dream. I’m just living in it. Living my best [01:18:00] afterlife.” It’s like, so he’s a ghost? What?
Bex: Yep.
Ellen: And he picks up the pill bottles and he shakes it and he goes, “Hey, what do you think these do?” And then he just eats some of them.
Bex: So Buck starts going on like this existential crisis like you know it, it’s not heaven but you know I don’t really believe in hell so I probably can’t be in hell Like a- am I in purgatory? And like what am I doing in purgatory? Uh do I have to do something before I’m allowed to leave or like am I just waiting?
Meanwhile Bobby’s just working his way through all the pills. Like pouring them into little um those cups that they give you, downing them like Um
Ellen: He’s having a great time with it
Alice: He’s having a great time yeah
Bex: He, he is having a great time. But eventually he tells Buck that he has to relax, Um pulls out a like a bottle of what I guess is supposed to be whiskey and takes a shot of that you know t- to wash down all the pills, Um and tells Buck to remember that none of [01:19:00] this is real which is good news. Um but the bad news is that it can be real enough to keep him here if he lets it. Um at this point he opens this uh big cupboard to reveal more pill s- in bottles and jars on shelves and then moves all of the bottles out of the way to reveal that behind the shelves there’s a window looking into Buck’s hospital room.
Ellen: Mm.
Bex: So Buck has found himself finally
Alice: Yeah
Bex: Um and Bobby’s like “Oh hey look you’re alive. Oh and there’s me. Ooh I busted out the rosary beads. Must be serious.”
Ellen: Buck is having a full on existential crisis right now. He’s like “How am I there and here?” Yeah And Bobby reveals that this is your deep dark subconscious.
Bex: Athena then walks in and Bobby’s like, “Hang on, we’ll get back to your deep dark subconscious in a minute. That’s my wife? [01:20:00] God-
Alice: God damn …
Bex: damn.
Ellen: God damn. Some things did work out for me didn’t they?” I mean he could have said s- a lot of worse things than that but he didn’t thank goodness.
Bex: He could have. It was just, it was just funny.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: So then they get back on topic and like Buck’s going, “So do you know what’s happening to me sort of in there,” in, in the hospital bed in real life.
And Bobby’s like, “Well, de- depends on how you look at it. You could be dying or you could be fighting. It’s kind of up to you. Which way are you leaning?” Um, Buck’s like, “You know I, I, I don’t know. It was, it was pretty good at first but then there was the Doug thing and, and now I don’t know.” He goes “Well, it was, first there was the Doug thing and then there was the you thing.”
And Bobby’s like, ” Well you can’t fix the me thing. I don’t think you can even bring me back from the dead even in here. You can probably fix the Doug thing though.” And Buck asks would that work.
Ellen: Yeah, you just have to [01:21:00] introduce Maddie to Chimney.
Bex: Yep and let nature take its course.
Ellen: And, and he asked if it would work and he’s like, “I don’t know. I’m not bound by the laws of physics and logic in here.” So-
Bex: Interestingly it’s like I’m not bound by laws of physics. I know what you know.
Ellen: Yeah so does Buck think in his su- subconscious he just sees Bobby as like this pill guzzling weirdo?
Alice: Yeah, as an addict. Like is that all that Bobby –
Bex: That’s-
Alice: …is to him?
Bex: But-
Ellen: Very strange …
Bex: it’s, I don’t know. His, he does-
Ellen: Maybe he thinks that’s what he is in this reality because he actually, he, he gave into it and he ended up yeah anyway I don’t know.
Bex: Maybe. Maybe this is, this is what Bobby would have become if Buck hadn’t been there to um, to help him. So Buck is now okay what am I gonna do? Do I stay? Do I go? Do I fix things? And he tells Bobby um, his whole life his parents never saw him, “but here in this life [01:22:00] they finally see me the way I always wanted to be. I matter in this universe.” And Bobby’s like, “Mm, if what matters to you the most is how people see you then you haven’t learned a damn thing.”
Ellen: Thank you subconscious.
Bex: Thank you Buck’s deep dark subconscious.
Ellen: Yes.
Bex: So then Buck-
Ellen: He’s not here. He’s s- he’s deep in the dark night of the soul right now. He’s … He needs to fight his way out
Bex: Pretty much
Ellen: But mmm
Bex: But does he wanna fight?-
Ellen: In the meantime …
Bex: is the question. Yeah.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: Uh, s- in the real world, um, Athena relieves Bobby of his duties at Buck’s bedside. And when Bobby leaves she goes up to Buck and she says, “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I know that you never give up. Don’t start now. That man has lost two children. He cannot survive losing you, so wake up damn it.”
Alice: Yep. [01:23:00]
Bex: And then we, and then we cut to coma Buck, and it’s so interesting that like Christopher talking to him, he just gets this amorphous feeling like I have this sense that I need to come back.
Athena talking to him ordering him to wake up comes through like she’s on the hospital intercom. Like everybody in the hospital in his coma dream can hear her telling him to wake up, and he’s like shouting at the ceiling like, “I’m trying.”
Alice: Trying to work it out. Leave me alone.
Ellen: Bobby’s like, Bobby goes, ” Maybe you should just give up.”
Alice: Yeah. Just give up.
Ellen: “You were clinically dead for three minutes. Things aren’t looking great.” And Buck’s like, “How come you’re such a jerk in this reality?”
Bex: And Bobby’s like, “Because you need to learn you can’t fix everything.” And Buck’s getting frustrated. He’s like, “Well, you know what? I fixed you.” Bobby’s like, “Oh really? How?” [01:24:00] “Because I joined the 118, and I made you mad, and I made you cry, and I made you laugh, and I drove you crazy. But I think you spent so much trying to make su- trying to make sure that I didn’t get myself killed that it made you remember what it is to live.”
And we get a montage of all of the moments that sort of correspond with this. Um-
Ellen: Aw, so sweet
Bex: … between Buck and Bobby. Um, and at this point Coldplay kicks in. Which,- Ah …
Alice: you know is yeah.
Bex: We’re talking about Buck fixing things and so we get “Fix You” by Coldplay.
Ellen: He’s gonna fix himself now. In, in a minute.
Bex: He has to fix himself.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: Yeah. Um, so Bobby listens to Buck’s little speech and he goes, “So basically you were Buck.”
Alice: Yes.
Bex: Which I think is the first time they’ve ever-
Alice: I was Buck
Bex: … referred to Buck being Buck as a good thing in this show. [01:25:00] Normally Buck being Buck is a bad thing. Mm.
Alice: I see– I feel like Athena did the, you were being Buck once as a good thing
Bex: You never tell with Athena
Alice: Yeah.
Bex: She’s… Especially when it comes to Buck. But basically, Buck was being Buck and being Buck was enough. He was, he was Buck-nough. Um-
Alice: Buck-nough. Oh my God.
Bex: Uh, so actually Bobby says, “And so being Buck is enough?” And Buck’s like, “Yeah, I think it is.” Bobby’s like, “Cool. Sounds like someone just figured out the answers for themselves. Go.” And Buck runs.
Alice: Yep. Uh, it’s funny ’cause I do the same thing with my dogs. I’m like, “Wait, wait, go,” and then they run. Go. And so, yep.
Bex: Um, and as he’s running his subconscious does everything that it can [01:26:00] to stop him. It throws Chim at him and says like, “Hey, I just met your sister, you know. I think if we work we can get her away from that douchebag of a husband.” Um, and Buck’s like, “Cool, yeah. Maybe later.”
Turns a corner, Christopher is there, and he’s like, he stops for Chris. Like he didn’t stop for Chim, he stops for Chris. Yes. And Chris is like, um, “Can you help me find my dad?” And Buck’s like, “Uh, no. Gotta go. You’re not real.”
Ellen: Aw.
Bex: And then as he turns to run he’s like, “I’m, I’m always gonna feel guilty for that one.”
Alice: Yeah.
Bex: Um, and then his subconscious throws his parents at him and specifically his parents begging him to stay. Like ” We know that we haven’t always been the best for you but we will spend the rest of our lives making it up to you.”
Ellen: Yeah this is an interesting one for his subconscious to come up with to be honest like
Bex: [01:27:00] Mm
Ellen: He’s pretending that his parents are apologizing to him basically
Alice: Yeah.
Ellen: But i- it gets him to go Like he, he forgives them basically And you know gives them a hug and tells them that he doesn’t belong here and runs off Um But then Daniel is the la- stops him and is like “You’re not leaving are you?”
Bex: He’s just about to get to that medical supply room where he knows that he can get to his body and Daniel walks out and shuts the door and starts basically guilting Buck into staying because if Buck leaves then Daniel dies again
Ellen: Yeah I feel like –
Bex: Or Daniel Yeah
Ellen: … This is like uh a common thing in a lot of these alternate reality episodes where if, if you go back to the real world then this person won’t be here anymore It’s like aw That’s hard but
Bex: Like yeah this person that you’ve conjured in [01:28:00] your imagination somehow knows that they are not they don’t exist in the other realities
Alice: They don’t exist yeah
Bex: And they guilt trip you into allowing them to continue to exist um
Alice: In fact I’m sure there was Um I’m sure there was an episode of Supernatural where they go back and Ellen’s there
Ellen: Well there’s the one where their dad comes back and th- and then the with the pearl thing that brings him back but they when they go back to the real world he’s gone
Alice: Yeah but he doesn’t fight to stay
Ellen: Yeah but they still have a an angsty moment.
Alice: Which is the one where… Um which is the one where Ellen and Bobby are married?
Ellen: Oh Yeah
Bex: Yeah
Ellen: Yeah I don’t remember This there’s just… I I haven’t rewatched it for a while now
Bex: They all blur in together at some point Yep
Alice: Oh it’s “My Heart Will Go On” with the Titanic not sinking
Bex: That’s right
Ellen: Oh
Alice: yeah
Bex: Balthazar
Alice: Yep [01:29:00]
Bex: Um so Daniel is pleading his case, Buck is firm. He’s like “I know that it’s harder I know that Th-” Like “this is hard. Don’t make it harder. I love you but you are not real and none of this is.”
Daniel tries to get him to stay. He’s like “The real world sucks, but that’s the beauty of in here. You can have anything you want in here. Like the family that you never had.” And interestingly Buck then says, “But I do have a family and one that needs me.” Which is really Interesting line in this season which is so much about emphasizing biological family
Alice: I honestly cannot tell –
Bex: And Buck is saying-
Alice: if they’re trying to be like, ” Oh yeah, no I need my real mom and dad,” like they need me or if I, like if it’s Bobby that needs me. Um-
Bex: I took that as Bobby. I took that as the 118 as my family
Alice: I also took it as Bobby, but it was, yeah.
Ellen: I was too busy having a Supernatural brain rot where Dean [01:30:00] goes, “I have a family.” I’m like, “Oh, yes you do.” So much s- Supernatural brain rot in this episode
Bex: So it’s like I, I … oh my God, it’s bad. Um, so he’s saying, “I have a family and they need to get back to me,” and Daniel’s like, “Do you? ‘Cause they’re about to kill y- They’re about to let you die. They’re gonna pull the plug on you.”
Ellen: Oh.
Bex: “They don’t care about you.”
Alice: Yeah, because that’s it and because then they move back, then they move to Maddie, Margaret, and Philip and that’s why I was like are they talking about his actual parents or are they talking about the 118? Oh, yeah.
Bex: I mean, they could be both. Buck could be talking about the 118, But Daniel is, doesn’t know about the 118, so he assumes he’s talking about the real life Buckleys. Um-
Alice: Yeah, I don’t know. I, I really don’t know what they’re, like which one they’re meaning there.
Bex: I feel like possibly given the whole tone of season six they meant the Buckleys, but me in my heart with my like little queer found family emphasis, I’m thinking the 118. And that’s the interpretation I’m gonna [01:31:00] keep.
Alice: Yeah, absolutely.
Ellen: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Bex: Um, interestingly, in this, this scene, um, in the background, and it’s a little Easter egg ’cause the camera at n- at no time focuses on this or makes a point of showing it clearly. There’s a giant whiteboard with the quote, “Remember no man is a failure who has friends”, written on it.
Ellen: Oh!
Bex: … which is what Clarence tells George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life.
Ellen: Oh.
Alice: Ah. There was another scene as well. I don’t remember when it was, but it was a while ago, um, that I meant to write down and then couldn’t remember. When he’s talking to someone, I can’t remember who he’s talking to at the time, um, but they’re walking through the hospital and in the background is just a whole bunch of women giving birth.
Ellen: Really?
Alice: Like there are so many pregnant women giving birth. There is like so many of them and I was like, “What the fuck?” And I was gonna write it down and I totally forgot which part it is, but there’s just-
Ellen: Oh
Alice: … like room upon room of w- pregnant women. And I’m like, “This is fucking weird.”
Bex: Is that a callback to “Full [01:32:00] Moon”?
Alice: I, yeah I don’t know if it’s a callback to Full Moon. I don’t know if it’s like,… ‘Cause obviously he’s just been a sperm donor. Um, but there were so many pregnant women and I was like, “What is happening right now?” Um, who is he talking to?
Bex: That would have been an interesting call for background actors.
Alice: Yeah. Yeah. Like that’s all that’s… Like they clearly are walking through the maternity suite at the time, but there’s just so many.
It’s when, um, it’s when Bobby and Buck are walking through the hospital and Athena’s just been on the loudspeaker and he’s like, “Yeah, I’m trying. I’m just trying to work out what to fix.” And there’s just like there’s two pregnant women in a bed, there’s another pregnant woman on a, um, on a bouncy ball.
There’s just pregnant women everywhere. Like The fact that there’s two on one bed as well, I was like, okay this isn’t like a normal birthing suite. They go, there’s a woman in a wheelchair that’s pregnant. Um, and it’s just not like touched on. It’s just a whole bunch of pregnant women in the [01:33:00] background and I’m like, “What the fuck?”
Ellen: How, how weird. I’m gonna have to watch this episode again now and actually pay attention-
Alice: Oh there’s so much in the background that yeah
Ellen: …to every little detail. Oh amazing. Anyway, this scene is really um oh act-, like diabolical is … So they t- they’re taking the ventilator off to see if he can breathe on his own.
Bex: Buck is denying that what he and Daniel are watching is his family giving up on him pulling the plug letting him die and Daniel then just like really starts to twist the knife. He’s like th- “They don’t care about you. They never did. Why would they? You’re not good enough. You never have been. The only reason you were ever born was for spare parts and they were defective.”
Ellen: So as soon as Daniel has finished saying that the spare parts were defective, um, Daniel actually turns into Buck. So we got evil Buck and like the real Buck. [01:34:00] Um and the other Buck who’s lying in the bed so-
Bex: Just to hammer in-
Ellen: There’s lot of Bucks here
Bex: …just to hammer in that everything that’s happening in Buck’s coma dream is just his subconscious. It’s just him talking to himself.
Ellen: Yep.
Bex: That’s it’s what he really thinks deep down which we kind of knew.
Ellen: Aw poor Buck.
Bex: Uh so in the hospital room like the real hospital room they’ve pulled the plug. Um the ventilator has stopped breathing for Buck and they’re just waiting for him to take a breath and it’s taking awhile and his oxygen levels are dropping. And the doctor s-
Alice: Which is generally what happens when you’re not breathing but you know.
Bex: Yeah and the doctors sort of telling uh Margaret and Phillip that they’re going give him a couple more seconds but if he doesn’t breathe on his own they’re gonna have to put him back on the ventilator. So back in the coma dream Buck is staring at himself [01:35:00] and sort of twigged and sort of realizes like he, he literally has just been talking to himself the whole time.
None of this was real despite the fact that everyone has been telling him this it’s … He’s finally realized none of this is real. But that knowledge has power because he knows it’s a dream which means that he knows that he can manipulate his environment.
Ellen: Yeah, and, and his other, his alter ego, um, evil self says there’s, “There’s no way. It’s impossible. You’re stuck here with me.” And- And I’m like,-
Bex: I love this
Ellen: … I would happily be stuck there with you.
Alice: With two of them?
Ellen: Mm. Hmm.
Bex: Not with Evil Buck.
Ellen: Well, it might be fun. Might be fun. Evil Buck is, is quite creepy but, you know, I’m sure there’s fics about this. Um.
Bex: Um, Buck’s fighting him. He’s like, “No, it’s not impossible. There is not a locked room anywhere that with the right tools and enough time you can’t break into, and I know that [01:36:00] because I’m a firefighter,” and as he says that there’s this little swooshing noise and a fire ax materializes in his hand.
Ellen: He summoned an ax.
Bex: He summoned –
Alice: He did summon an ax …
Ellen: Hooray!
Bex: And Evil Buck is starting to panic. He’s like, “There’s nothing for you in that room. No one in there needs you.” And finally, finally Buck has figured out what he needed to learn. He’s like, “I’m not going back for them. I’m going back there for me.” Doesn’t care what anybody else thinks.
Ellen: Yay.
Bex: He’s just going for him. Yes. And as he says that he swings the ax at the window, he shatters the glass, and in the real world he takes a breath.
Ellen: Hooray! And everyone standing around also takes a breath because they’ve been holding-
Bex: Yes
Ellen: … a breath that they didn’t know they were holding.
Bex: Oh my God. Mm. God, I hate that line now. It’s …
Ellen: I know. Whenever I actually [01:37:00] see it in an actual story I’m like, “Oh.”
Bex: Yeah, it’s been ruined. Hmm. It’s the … It’s one of those glass breaking moments from How I Met Your Mother.
Ellen: All right, so fast-forward a little while, I think, because he, he seems remarkably well in a sense for-
Bex: Oh yeah, he’s incredibly chipper
Ellen: … for, for just coming out of a coma. But yeah, so we’re, I’m guessing we’re fast-forwarding a little while. Uh, he’s sitting up in bed and he’s got food. Um, he says he’s, he’s … He, the first thing he’s gonna do when he gets out is order pizza, so he’s done with hospital food, so obviously he’s been awake for a while because he’s over it already.
I don’t think he’d been eating anything in the dream even though they had family lunch. Maybe he did eat something in the dream. Maybe
Bex: But then, like every-
Alice: He had a beer?
Bex: … when we, when we flash forward to, like, everyone coming in to visit, um, it’s like this is the first time they’ve seen him. So has he been awake for long enough that he’s sick of hospital food and they’ve not let anyone [01:38:00] come in to see him?
Alice: Maybe he just really doesn’t like hospital food.
Bex: Maybe. Um-
Ellen: Well, he has spent a long time in hospitals before.
Bex: Very true. Um, the doctor does not approve of the pizzas. Um, she’s sort of scolding him that says that he’s going to need to give his heart and lungs a chance to heal, and it may be a few weeks of no strenuous activity. Um, but-
Ellen: Eating pizza is not strenuous activity.
Bex: No. No, but I’m thinking that the, the diet, like the grease and the oil, probably not the best.
Ellen: Mm-hmm.
Bex: Um, so when he hears that he’s no strenuous activity, no heavy lifting, Buck turns to Maddie and goes, “Uh, do you wanna tell her or should I?” And says, and Maddie’s like, “Okay, you tell her.”
And he’s like, “I’m not really the, like take it easy kinda guy.” Um, and Maddie’s like, “Yes, she has been warned.” [01:39:00] And when Buck gives her a look she’s like, “I didn’t say anything.” So Bobby dobbed him in, right? That’s the other, that’s the only other person that could have-
Ellen: Yeah …
Bex: either Bobby or Eddie has said he’s not gonna take it easy, and I feel like considering we got the laundry list of Buck’s medical history at the beginning of the episode, then it was probably Bobby who has been monitoring Buck throughout this whole thing.
Ellen: I’m surprised Bobby isn’t in there r-right at the moment. He’s probably been there like all of the time.
Alice: Yeah.
Ellen: But anyway, yes. Uh, but there are some visitors, the doctor says.
Bex: Some visitors. Yes.
Ellen: And everyone comes in and they’re all cheering because apparently they haven’t seen him. And he’s like, “Yay!” And even Chris is there too.
Bex: Yeah
Ellen: It’s very sweet
Bex: Um, Chim goes in for a hug and Buck pretends like he’s in excruciating pain and Chim’s hurting him.
+Um, Chim’s like, “Oh my God I’m so sorry,” And [01:40:00] Buck’s thinking it’s the g-… Like it’s the best joke ever. Um Chris goes to give him a hug and he acts like normally and accepts the hug. And I thought it was so sweet because you can see that as Gavin leans down Ryan is there just like to catch him and then to help – Yeah
him stand back up again after the hug is finished
Ellen: Aw.
Bex: Like Gavin is Ryan’s kid. It’s so cute.
Alice: Um, and then yeah, we, we go like… Oh, he says that like, “Do I have some stuff to tell you guys.” Um, but then they cut to Buck just playing cards with Bobby. Um, I don’t know if he’s ever played cards before, but in his dream he played card, well his parents were playing cards so apparently he plays cards now.
Ellen: Well there’s not a lot else to do in hospital.
Alice: Yeah, that’s it. Um, he’s telling Bobby about his like coma dream and Bobby’s like, “Oh, a school teacher. Um, what subject?” And Buck’s like, “I dunno, I never [01:41:00] made it inside the classroom,” which kind of tracks.
Bex: Aw. Bobby thinks that it makes sense that Buck was a schoolteacher because, um, Buck helps people, serves the greater good, like firefighter in real life, teacher in his dream.
Um, brings up his parents. I’m guessing his parents must be teachers. I don’t know that we’d ever learned that before.
Ellen: Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t remember hearing that before, but…
Bex: No. Buck says in his dream his parents were really different, and they were happy and proud of him, and it, it felt good to have them care.
And Bobby’s like, “Well, they, they cared out here too. They were pretty worried about you. We all were.” Buck’s like, “Yeah, you broke out the rosary beads and everything。” And Bobby just stops, goes, “How did you know that?”
Alice: Mm.
Bex: Buck’s like, “Uh, I don’t know. Just do. Just did.”
Alice: Yep. Just [01:42:00] did. But yeah, it’s interesting how like when Bobby’s like, “How was I different?”
Ellen: Oh, yeah. He, he avoids that one.
Bex: Buck does not-
Alice: Yeah … Buck just skirts around. Um, so he says that like, ’cause, uh, ’cause Bobby says it sounds like crazy trip, and Buck’s like, “Yeah, it was crazy. Everyone was pretty different except Hen who was exactly the same.” And so yes- But Chim- And then Buck asks how was I different
Ellen: Chim was pretty much exactly the same.
Alice: Pre- Chim was pretty much exactly the same too. So- Yeah … sure. Um, but yeah. Like, Buck’s just like, “Ah, no, you were, you were still Bobby. Uh, it helped me figure some things out. Um-“
Bex: You were dead and I imag- You died of an overdose, so I imagined you as like a strung out addict that was popping pills the entire time. Yeah. Yeah. Um,
Ellen: yeah, just a little different.
Alice: So yeah, Bobby’s like, “Oh, I find it hard to believe you voluntarily left a world where you could fix everything.” And Buck’s like, “uh, yeah, not everything. Um, It’s, it’s better here And [01:43:00] then Bobby gets gin. I have no idea how to play Gin.
I didn’t know you actually had to say “Gin” whenever Gin happened. I don’t know what Gin is
Bex: Well they must have played cards before because Buck says “Every time” like- Yeah … Bob- Bobby wins every time.
Ellen: Yeah. I think it’s sort of like, um Rummy or, and those games where you have to get combinations of cards and you put them down to score points and stuff.
Bex: Um, official rules. You aim to form sets –
Ellen: I think it’s really complicated so-
Bex: … and runs
Alice: Sure.
Bex: Yeah. Like you basically you’re trying to make sets, so getting pairs and three of a kind and just like, um, consecutive cards in the same suit sort of thing.
Ellen: Yep.
Bex: Yeah. I dunno. But anyway, Bar- apparently Bobby’s really good at it and he wins every time. Um, Buck also looks really cute in this scene ’cause he’s got like gray sweats on and he’s sort of sitting [01:44:00] all sort of cross-legged and curled up on the bed sideways so he doesn’t have a lot of room as he’s just– He looks very small and very cozy.
Ellen: Yeah, he looks young.
Bex: Mm-hmm. Very young, yes. Ugh, random Chim drama just plunked in the middle so that they can tie off this storyline.
Alice: Yeah, I did not recognize the woman. Like uh, apparently it’s his stepmother, but I did not know who it was that like went over to him, because I think it’s the first time we’ve actually heard her speak.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: She was in the last episode.
Alice: I know, but did she have lines? Like wasn’t she just sorta sitting there awkwardly?
Bex: Yes.
Ellen: Yeah, she did say.
Bex: No, she did say something. Yeah, th- she, she um, she butted in after the whole Buck announcing that he was gonna be a sperm donor and, um, Margaret was trying to tell Chim’s dad to back off, like you know, “What business is this of yours? It’s Buckley family business.”
And the stepmother goes, “Well he did kind of announce it everybody.” She didn’t have a lot of lines, but she had, she did have lines enough [01:45:00] that she probably got SAG points.
Alice: Sh- she did have a line, yep. Yeah. . Um. Um, but yeah now there’s like a full conversation and I was just like, “Who the, what the fuck is happening?”
Bex: And a name. We finally get a name. I s- Yeah … I don’t think we get Chim’s dad’s name, but at least we’ve got his stepmothers name. Um, so apparently people have been dropping off a lot of food at the murder house. For Buck or for Chim or for Maddie or for the Buckleys, I don’t know, but they got a lot of food, and Chim’s decided that he’s not going to cook, he’s just gonna reheat all the like casseroles that people have dropped off.
Um, but reheating food is harder than cooking it from scratch apparently
Ellen: Yeah, I’m not sure peo-… why people are bringing food to them.
Alice: Yeah. I guess ’cause Maddie and her parents are there.
Bex: That’s what I’m thinking.
Alice: Like I don’t think it’s for Chim, I think it’s for-
Bex: I think it’s for Maddie and-
Alice: But also how many friends does Buck have? Like is Athena just cooking a lot?
Bex: He doesn’t.
Ellen: He’s got, he’s got friends that aren’t like his work mates.
Alice: [01:46:00] I’m gonna say- Like that’s what I mean. Like is Eddie cooking and just bringing food over? Is like Athena just cooking a lot and bringing it all over? Like it’s-
Bex: I’m gonna say –
Alice: this is weird
Bex: … it’s the other members of the 118 or the other members of the LAFD as well who have heard about Buck and get their wives to cook up some meals to bring over.
Alice: It’s just strange how they’re like, “Oh, people have been dropping stuff off.” It’s like, “Who?” What people?
Bex: Like who? What people?
Alice: What people are these? Um, like he didn’t even say, ” Oh yeah, the like the, the 118 have been dropping stuff off.” It’s just like, oh yeah, like-
Bex: People
Alice: I would buy that. But I’m like, “What people?”
Bex: But unfortunately-
Alice: How many of these meals are dosed?
Bex: Buck like Bobby doesn’t have friends outside the 118.
Alice: Well, I mean he has um … Yep, Kameron and her husband.
Ellen: Connor.
Alice: Connor, thank you. I kept thinking Carter and I was like it’s not Carter.
Bex: Yeah, but he’s, he hasn’t seen-
Ellen: Close
Bex: um, Connor until Connor wanted his baby juice and [01:47:00] so he got that.
Alice: Yeah exactly.
Bex: And then they’ve dipped again. So that’s not really a friend.
Alice: Baby juice? It’s baby batter. Jeez, get it right.
Ellen: Baby batter. That’s gross.
Bex: Baby what? Baby batter?
Ellen: Baby batter.
Alice: Baby batter. Yeah. She made babies with it.
Bex: Um, s- anyway.
Alice: Baby batter
Bex: Yes, so Chim is reheating , and his stepmother is like, “Well, it, it, it smells delicious.” And when Chim apologizes for everything taking so long she says, “It’s okay because I think your dad’s been enjoying spending time with Jee-Yun.” Um, and then she apologises on behalf of her husband. And Chim’s like, “You don’t have to, It’s not your… You don’t need to apologize. He’s the one that needs to apologise.”
Ellen: Mm-hmm
Bex: Um, I don’t know if her husband knows that she’s doing this Because I have a feeling he’d be really upset if he found out-
Alice: Oh, right?
Bex: …that his wife is making apologies and explanations for his behavior to his son.
Alice: Yeah literally just oh yeah His business in [01:48:00] Like… His business failed in America. Does Chim know that?
Ellen: Well Yeah, because that’s why he went home.
Alice: I just assumed Yeah i dont remember
Ellen: Anyway she-
Bex: I don’t know that Chim-
Ellen: Yeah, she makes some excuses And- Yeah … and he’s feels like he’s a failure because all of this happened. And Chim was like “Well I didn’t know that.”
Bex: Yep.
Ellen: And then she s- she tells him that “he’s not mean man but he’s a proud man and I think you might have that in common,” saying that you’re being too proud to let him back into your life.
And it’s like piss off. Um anyway
Alice: Yeah I don’t like the Like i, I don’t feel that Chimney needs to let his father in just ’cause he had a kid. But sure Because then he’ll talk Like he’ll be like “Oh my god Jee I love you so much Now I’m going back to Korea for 20 years.”
Ellen: Mm Like I’m on board with him giving him a second chance but like I feel like the [01:49:00] apology or the explanation should be coming from his father not
Bex: Yes
Ellen: just a conversation with his stepmom
Bex: Yes Uh but apparently because This is nine one one and we only want trauma and drama um for short periods of time then we need to get back to the actual storyline um Chim accepts this apology on behalf of his dad, and invites his dad to stay for a few more days
Ellen: Yep
Bex: Because they haven’t seen a lot of his dad and his stepmother because, you know, whole really inconvenient thing of his brother-in-law getting struck by lightning and nearly dying… well actually dying for three minutes and 17 seconds, um and being in the hospital most of the time. Um So they pay
Alice: It’s rude of him. Honestly Buck could choose better timing next time
Bex: Yeah
Ellen: Just screwed everything up
Not
Bex: when they’ve got guests?
Alice: Yeah
Bex: So he’s like “Yeah, you guys should stay a little bit longer.” And his Father’s like [01:50:00] “oh well I don’t want to overstay our welcome,” and Chim’s like “You’re not. I just invited you. Like you are welcome.”
Ellen: You make it sound like he’s gritted teeth like “You can stay. You’re welcome.”
Bex: I don’t know. I feel like that should have been how it should have been said
Alice: Yeah
Bex: That you know Chim is trying but it’s killing him to try. But instead now he’s very much “You should stay, I want you to stay.” So we got the Hans squared away so now were going to continue mending fences with The Buckleys, who have helped Buck back home to the loft apartment And its really sweet because Phillip is walking behind Buck, and he has his hands out ready to catch Buck in case he falls. It’s kind of sweet [01:51:00] And once again Buck walks into his apartment to find that table covered in cards and flowers, gift baskets
Ellen: Yes. Its not his kids this time. Well, Of a sort There’s get well wishes from the firefighters basically. There’s a lot more at the firehouse. Maybe other friends have brought stuff to the firehouse?
Bex: He doesn’t have any other friends. We just established this. But the important part of this scene is that Margaret’s like “Let’s get you set up on the couch.” And Buck’s like, “Yeah, about that…”
Margaret goes into the living room and she’s like, “You don’t have a couch. Why don’t you have a couch?”
Alice: Question of the season.
Bex: “Are you planning on getting a couch?” And Buck says, “Um, eventually. It’s a long story, very complicated. I’m good with the [01:52:00] chair for now.” And she’s like, “No, you need a couch. I am going to buy a couch for you.”
It’s a little bit self serving because she says “I’m gonna get you a sofa bed. So people can stay, like, us. We’re gonna stay and we’re gonna sleep on your couch.” So she bustles off to get a measuring tape so they can measure the living room to work out what kind of couch to buy Buck.
And Maddie’s like, “You do realize she is now going to redecorate your entire apartment?”
And Buck’s like, “You know what? I don’t mind.” He’s actually really pleased. He’s left this dream world where his parents cared about him, and he’s back in the real world, and his parents still care about him.
In like the dream world his mother redecorated his apartment And here she is doing it in the real world.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: So [01:53:00] that was really sweet.
Ellen: So he’s finally worked out that… Like it took him getting struck by lightning to work out that he doesn’t need his parents approval for everything. And –
Bex: He doesn’t need anyone’s approval for anything
Ellen: Yeah He can just be his own person and that’s enough
Bex: That’s It is enough and he’s getting a couch.
Alice: And he’s getting a couch from his mother which is kind of weird but sure
Bex: From his mother Yeah exactly Which is when we started When we bring up Couch Theory its like oh and his mom bought him a couch. Okay
Ellen: That’s a whole other psychological, um archetype thing, right?
Bex: I mean, no, it actually does really fit into couch theory the fact that Margaret buys him a couch.
Alice: Yeah. Like sh- sets him up with something and then doesn’t work out.
Bex: Yep.
Alice: Um, yeah, so a lot of trivia for this episode which I want to get into before we go into like our thoughts.[01:54:00]
Bex: Yup.
Ellen: Mm-hmm.
Alice: So we already spoke about how uh Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brian’s daughter is actually playing their daughter which is really cool.
Ellen: Hmm. Yeah.
Alice: But also this episode is the last appearance of May until next season.
Ellen: Oh, okay.
Bex: This is when Corinne is in college, right? So she s-
Alice: Yeah
Bex: … steps away from filming so she can graduate?
Alice: She- Um, yep, so she just vanishes ’cause like there’s no like canon reason why she … I mean she, I guess she’s at college but she’s like turned up again and then just vanishes. So yes, she vanishes until the like eighth episode of next season and then vanishes again. Um- It was also the last appearance by Albert ever.
Ellen: Aw.
Bex: Aw.
Alice: And also the last time we see Carla.
Ellen: Oh really?
Bex: No.
Alice: [01:55:00] Yeah. Um, and I’m pretty c-… Like It was a flashback too so.
Bex: Yeah. No, we got Carla in this episode.
Ellen: No, she’s in, she’s at the hospital. Yeah. She brings Christopher.
Alice: Is she at the hospital? Oh, she does th-. There you go.
Bex: Yeah, she does that whole thing where she’s distracting the nurse so that they can sneak-
Alice: Yeah …
Bex: their un-sneaky Christopher in.
Alice: Well they appearen- Apparently they, um, she snuck too hard and actually got a job because she vanishes like for most of the show.
Ellen: Did she? Yeah.
Bex: It’s not, it’s, uh, unfortunately Coco falls kind of in the same category as um Rockmond in that um we, we love the character, we don’t like the actor and we’re, we’re n- We’re not sad that the actor is not coming back even if we’re sad that, that the character’s not coming back.
Alice: Yeah. Mm. Hadn’t seen too much about her so that’s interesting.
Bex: Uh, she um, I think it was around the time when everyone was starting to push Buddie really hard and she had some thoughts-
Alice: Oh no …
Bex: about men loving [01:56:00] men-
Alice: Oh no
Bex: … and women loving women. Yeah.
Alice: So yeah, so she’s gone. Um-
Bex: Yeah.
Ellen: That’s disappointing
Alice: Yikes
Bex: Um, so I also have trivia
Alice: Especially being on a show with like a queer couple but sure.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: Um, so one thing that I felt was really missing from this episode every time I’ve watched it was the fact that we don’t see Eddie in the coma dream. Like we get mentioned, like that he’s angry and that he lost Christopher.
Ellen: Yeah. And he left.
Bex: And it would seem like part of the- Part of like Buck’s going well, “I have to fix everything in order to get back to my real world,” would be, “I’m gonna go and fix what happened with Eddie.”
Ellen: Mm-hmm.
Bex: But that never happens. Um, it might have happened in a script though or something might have happened but we will never know because Ryan Guzman broke his fricking nose and was unavailable for shooting. So they had to cut [01:57:00] and rewrite –
Ellen: Oh God
Bex: … a whole heap of the story to pull Ryan out.
Ellen: Oh, Ryan.
Bex: And we only found this out this year-
Alice: Wow!
Bex: Thanks to Oliver at a meet and greet. Somebody asked him something either about this episode and he said that, “Yeah, Ryan broke his nose three days before filming, so they had to rewrite everything.”
Ellen: Oh my god.
Alice: Wow. I love that we only found that out this year too.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: Well this is the first year that they’ve been doing conventions- Yeah …and people have been asking them these kinds of questions. So you know thank God for conventions for getting like little snippets into behind the scenes and little trivia things.
Ellen: Yeah. Well I guess we wouldn’t have known nearly as much about what went on with Supernatural if we hadn’t been having conventions for all these years.
Alice: No, absolutely.
Bex: Yes.
Ellen: Okay. Well that’s good to know ’cause it was, he was like a very, uh-
Bex: Conspicuous absence?
Ellen: Yeah. Missing. Yeah. Definitely missing from the, uh, story, [01:58:00] considering how much like Ch- Chim and Hen were in it.
Bex: Yes.
Alice: Yeah. Very cool trivia from this, um, this episode. But yeah bye Albert nice knowing you.
Ellen: Bye A- Bye Albe- Oh I’m sad Albert’s not there anymore.
Alice: Yeah.
Ellen: And he was so, he was kind of sad in this episode too.
Bex: We had that like two, one scene in the hospital?
Alice: Yeah.
Ellen: Yep.
Bex: Yep. Yeah. Like he didn’t even make it in the coma dream. He was just in sort of s-… Oh I think he, I think they snuck him in in the back when everyone came in to visit Buck right at the very end but it was like a blink and you’ll miss him kind of appearance.
Ellen: Yeah.
Alice: Yeah.
Bex: But so yeah they didn’t really use John to his full potential in this episode.
Ellen: Mm-hmm. Any more trivia or is that all of it?
Alice: Um-
Bex: That’s all the trivia I had.
Alice: … I think that’s it, yeah.
Ellen: Okay.
Alice: Um, cool. So yeah, episode thoughts. I think we [01:59:00] all really like this episode.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: Yes.
Ellen: Yeah, I thought it was brilliant.
Bex: Like I said, highlight of the season for me.
Alice: Yeah. It’s definitely, like, the thing, like, I was very underwhelmed when I first watched this season. I’d heard about the lightning strike, and so I was expecting a lot, like after the gunshot, like e- after Eddie’s snipering. Um, I was expecting a lot and I was very underwhelmed by the strike itself, but then this episode was really good.
Ellen: Yeah, I found it really interesting that, um, we, we got all these little snips of, um, you know, Buck’s life and then him realizing that if he hadn’t been in the 118 all of these things would have turned out differently and, you know. There’s layers to this episode, like.
Alice: Yeah.
Bex: That’s what I love about it. It’s so n- it’s … You can just watch it superficially. You can just enjoy the pretty pictures, try not to barf when their camera is sort of going sideways [02:00:00] and up and down and in and out- … and the colors are all weird. Yeah. Um, but you can just enjoy it, but then you can also keep watching it again and again.
You pick up things that you didn’t see the first time. You can start to peel back the layers, get into the nuance. Um, I love TV like that.
Ellen: Yeah. And this is, like, the kind of episode that, um, like I know we’re very biased with this, but this is what the episodes that the fic writers really love ’cause there’s so many, like, just tiny little references and things that you can just spin up whole other stories out of, you know.
Alice: Yeah, like school teacher Buck is all of a sudden the thing.
Ellen: Yeah.
Bex: I mean, you could write the whole what would have happened if Buck had tried to find Eddie in his coma dream. Like-
Alice: Yep. Yeah
Bex: … what would that have looked like? That’s available. You could write what if he decides to stay in the coma dream, what would have happened?
Alice: Yep.
Ellen: Yeah. Lots of the like … So many possibilities
Bex: So many possibilities. It’s [02:01:00] great.
Ellen: No, but I really liked the, um, as you said before, the cinematography, like that being so different between what was happening in the dream and, and the real world. They really did need that to be really different because, I mean, the same people are in both sides, so you had to be able to identify what was going on.
Bex: Especially when, especially when you get to the hospital.
Ellen: Yes.
Bex: And like which, which version of the hospital are we in? Oh, this is the slightly off-kilter really saturated one. Okay, this is the coma dream.
Ellen: But it was even at th-
Bex: Or no, this one’s really …
Ellen: That the lighting even changed when like between, like when he was in his apartment with his mo- his dad and his brother, and everything was all rosy and bright and happy.
And then he went to Maddie’s house and it, it just suddenly started to get darker. Like the actual lighting- Yes … got darker and it was like, oh-
Bex: Yeah …
Ellen: something’s going on here. Yeah, it was very, very cool.
Bex: Yes. Very, very clever. [02:02:00] Like I said, we know that the show is, can be this clever and can be this good, and that’s why it makes us mad when it’s not.
Alice: Yep. But yeah, it also would have been very interesting if this episode was done when they were like in the Eddie Got Shot phase of story runners.
Ellen: Yeah. You think there would’ve been more Eddie in it?
Alice: I think there would’ve been more Buddie for sure.
Ellen: Well, they couldn’t because Ryan hadn’t-
Bex: Maybe if Ryan didn’t break hi- Ryan didn’t freaking nose.
Alice: Again, maybe if Ryan doesn’t break his nose.
Bex: I mean, I don’t think you can blame the, um, the lack of Buddie on the showrunner because it was literally, unless Ryan intentionally broke his nose in order to-
Alice: Maybe
Bex: … avoid any such storylines.
Alice: Whoa, wouldn’t that be a scandal?
Bex: We’re not saying, we’re not implying, we’re not accusing. I am joking. This is a joke.
Ellen: Yeah, who knows what [02:03:00] the original script looked like
Alice: Right?
Ellen: Wouldn’t that be an interesting to, uh, artifact to turn up if someone ever –
Bex: Mm
Ellen: … got their hands on that one.
Bex: Maybe we can pin Tim down o- while we’ve tied him to a chair and asking him everything – … we can ask him about. By the way –
Ellen: Yeah, tell us what was-
Bex: What was the-
Ellen: what it might have looked like.
Bex: Well,I know you weren’t on, I know you weren’t showrunner for this season, but, um, surely you must know what it was gonna be. Somebody must have talked to you about it at some point.
Ellen: Hm.
Alice: Surely. Maybe.
Bex: Maybe.
Ellen: All right. Any other thoughts?
Bex: It’s all downhill from here?
Ellen: Oh, don’t say that..
Well, what have we got to look forward to next week?
Bex: Enjoy this while it lasts.
Ellen: Tell me about next week.
Bex: Oh, God. Next week Bobby is determined to solve the murder of his AA sponsor. Despite the [02:04:00] case being closed, Bobby is determined to bring his killer to justice. Um, meanwhile, Buck struggles with posttraumatic stress after, you know, dying clinically and being in a medically induced coma for a while.
Ellen: Aw, poor Buck.
Bex: Um, that’s, that’s it. Apparently all, all that’s gonna happen next week is Bobby’s going off the deep end and Buck is struggling. We have for our triggers, um, coerced action, discussion of near death experiences and actual death experiences, uh, drug use, flashbacks to addiction support group meetings, specifically the depiction of an AA sign.
Uh, flashbacks to relapses of characters with addiction. Um, Hollywood evil rehab facility, illegal disposal of a body by burning, minor POC character de- character death, i.e. the Wendell storyline. Um, [02:05:00] needles and IV overdose.
Alice: Mm-hmm. Such a fun episode. Yay.
Ellen: I assume most of those triggers are relating to the same thing.
Alice: Yeah, it’s all Wendall.
Bex: Uh, well, uh, the-
Ellen: It’s all Wendall?
Bex: the-
Ellen: Except for Buck having his near d- near death experiences.
Bex: Uh, near death experiences is gonna be Buck.
Alice: Yeah.
Ellen: Yep. Okay.
Alice: Maybe we’ll just do this episode again next week.
Ellen: Well I want to watch it again.
Alice: It’s good
Ellen: Um, I just … I need to have a look at the um little details again
Alice: Mm. See if you can spot all the pregnant women?
Ellen: Yeah. All right uh please let us know what you thought of this episode too. I know that there’s gotta be people out there who are dying to tell us about what they thought of this one. Uh
Alice: Can’t wait to see Pigeon’s thoughts.
Ellen: Yeah. L- Please leave us a comment [02:06:00] on the website ThatWeeWooShow.com or you can leave us comments on Spotify or on YouTube or wherever you listen to us.
Thank you for listening this week and we will talk to you next time about Episode 12 which is called “Recovery”. See you then.
Bex: Bye!
Alice: Bye!
Ellen: 9-1-1 is a fictional show but many of the situations portrayed happen in the real world too. If any of the topics we discussed in this episode have affected you, please know you’re not alone. You can call or text numbers in your country for help. Just google crisis support in your location to find out the number.
If you enjoy our podcast you can help us out by leaving us a review on Spotify or your preferred listening app and by sharing our social media posts. Find out more at thatweewooshow.com.
[outtake]
Bex: Welcome back to That Weewoo Show, a podcast where we watch and discuss episodes [02:07:00] of the ABC show, 9-1-1 I’m Bex
Alice: I’m Alice
Ellen: And I’m Ellen
Bex: We-
Ellen: Great start.
Bex: forgot who we are this week
Alice: That was the worst intro, has everyone forgotten who they are?
Bex: We don’t even know who we are this week.
Alice: Do we want to try that again or is Ellen just gonna mash that together in post?
Ellen: Nah, I’ll put it together, it’ll be right.
Bex: You’re gonna put that together? Excellent
Alice: Okay cool. I feel like we should do it again just to have this part in the bloopers Like… Okay
Ellen: I’ll put this part in the bloopers anyway.
Alice: Excellent.
Bex: Like th-… Okay. Um, right
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