“I’m done with feeling like I should be fine.”

This week, Han, Cil, and Rachel stage an intervention for 9-1-1 Season 9 Episodes 8 (“War”) and 9 (“Fighting Back”), two episodes that are doing a lot emotionally, narratively, and metaphorically — especially when it comes to grief, disability, and the slow, messy work of holding a found family together. Nothing is wrapped up neatly here, and that’s on purpose.

From Avengers: Age of Ultron energy at dispatch with Maddie to what amounts to forced group therapy at Athena’s house, these episodes cover a surprising amount of ground. We discuss Chimney learning that firing your best friend comes with interventions and consequences, and Harry’s graduation into his 9-1-1 Nepo Era (after a brief existential crisis).

We examine why Hen’s “meltdown” is not out of character (and why some fandom reactions missed the point), how grief is a non-linear process, and how chronic illness becomes a physical metaphor for everything the characters have been carrying since losing Bobby. We also talk about the uneven emotional labor women carry in families and friend groups, disability representation that actually hits, and why the 118 re-assembling outside the firehouse for the first time post-Bobby is so important.

Plus: lore callbacks, Athena Grant stepping fully into her matriarch-in-chief era, and Buck and Eddie acting like divorced coworkers who absolutely did not finish the emotional paperwork.

Buddie remains a major gravitational force in these episodes, not because the show is shouting it, but because it keeps structuring the story around Buck and Eddie anyway. From near-partner dynamics at work to the show’s habit of emotionally separating them while keeping them locked in each other’s eyeline, their relationship stays narratively loud even when it goes unspoken. Call it a forecast or extremely informed clownery, but Buddie is still one of the engines driving the emotional stakes of season nine — and the text keeps putting that directly in front of us.

If these episodes hit harder than expected and you’re still picking emotional shrapnel out of your brain, spent the hour defending Hen with your whole chest, or clocked Buck and Eddie slipping back into their favorite stress response — bickering with feelings attached — this episode is for you. We break down why none of this is accidental, why the feelings are the story, and why the 118 falling apart is actually how it starts putting itself back together. Hit play — we’ll do the processing so you don’t have to do it alone.

“If you’re broken inside, you can’t help but fight

Don’t numb the pain, the fear, the rain — that hurting means it’s working

Oh-whoa, there’s beauty in the hurting”

Episode title inspired by “Beauty in the Hurting” by Jared Benjamin

📔 Articles & References From This Episode 📔

🫂 Buddie Haunted by Kitchens – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!

🐤 Buddie Made It About Themselves, ircnshield on Twitter

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:

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

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The Buddie System is a Nerdvergent Media production.

Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters

(00:00:00) Previously on 9-1-1…

(00:01:06) Welcome to Dispatch 🚨

(00:02:29) 9x08 “War” Review

(00:05:14) 9x09 “Fighting Back” Review

(00:16:42) Hen – Carrying the Weight

(00:27:36) Athena – Holding the 118 Together

(00:33:27) Karen – The Quiet Backbone

(00:37:08) Chimney – Pressure Points

(00:41:12) Maddie – Outsmarting the Algorithm

(00:43:48) Harry – Growing Up Fast

(00:47:24) Buck – Showing Up Anyway

(00:52:23) Eddie – Control Under Pressure

(00:59:03) Buddiemaxxing

(01:10:43) The Narrative Is Side-Eyeing Us – Parallels

(01:21:33) The Buddie Forecast 🔮

(01:27:16) Eddie’s Un-Repression Checklist

(01:38:01) What’s Coming Next & Our 9x10 Theory

(01:48:43) Season 9 Wi$h Li$t

(01:49:46) Buck is a Bad Follow (Affectionate) & Outro

This week, Chimney learns firing your best friend comes with a side of interventions, while Hen learns that naming your mystery illness and a plucky attitude don't cure it.

Harry does his best Humpty Dumpty impression and falls right into an existential crisis that big brother Buck steps in to help Athena fix.

And Buck and Eddie are defaulted back to almost partners at work bickering on and off the clock about the chain of command.

Have you ever watched something that completely rewired your brain chemistry?

A procedural network drama might not be your usual pick, but it's ours.

This is the buddy system, a 911 yap a thon hosted by three friends who have DMed each other enough character dissertations to earn a PhD in media literacy.

I'm Han, coming to you straight from the characters heads.

I'm Syl, bringing you to the observation deck.

And I'm Rachel, connecting the dots with my red string.

With our powers combined, no stone is.

Left unturned and nobody is left behind.

This is our sixth special episode covering season nine.

Today we're talking about season nine, episode.

Eight, titled War, written by Molly Greene and James Leffler and Silas Savard.

Directed by Don Wilkinson and the director of photography is Andrew Mitchell.

And season nine, episode nine, titled Fighting Back, written by Kristin Rydell and Lindsey Beaulio, directed by Tessa Blake and the director of photography is PJ Rush.

Woof, woof.

Anyway, welcome back.

We're gonna start off with our episode reviews.

I bet you're going, hmm, you haven't done one with two episodes at a time.

So strap in.

We're getting back to basics for one episode and one episode only because ABC has won again.

Fucked us.

The Google Calendar.

They have one again or once again.

ABC's at like at ABC5 and the buddy system zero.

At this point, we're keeping tallies.

Now I'm actually gonna start sending them a bill for the amount it takes us to rework the Google Calendar every time the schedule changes.

No, I think.

I think every time we need to change the Google Calendar because.

Not because of us, but because of them.

We need to keep track of it.

Yeah, just like we had to change it again.

Yeah, we'll send them an itemized list.

Be like for emotional.

The only payment damage is the schedule ahead of time going forward.

Please, sir, can we have the schedule anyway?

I don't think they know.

No, they don't know.

Or a 908 review.

What worked well?

Well, if you're a Marvel fan, it was really giving Captain America civil war at first and then it was like.

But actually it's Avengers Age of Ultron.

Absolutely.

Was.

It really was.

Tony Stark looking motherfucker rolled up to dispatch.

With an AI that wanted to take over the.

Yep.

No.

And it was.

It followed the plot.

I was like, yeah, listen, I know you guys are like next door to Marvel headquarters.

Like, come on.

And then on.

On top of that, like the episode titles, like, we had secrets, then war, and then, I mean, fighting back is not anything, but.

I mean, at this point, let's just call it Endgame.

I don't know.

We don't need any more time jumps.

Okay, that too.

At the.

I'm really taking a page out of Marvel's book right now.

Endgame.

Because they kill the patriarch, you know.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Damn.

But anyway, yes, that was fun.

Age of Ultron kind of shit, actually.

Really fun.

It was.

It was so good.

Anyway, other things that worked well, always a hit.

Buck and Eddie bickering old married couple.

What?

No.

And then the whole call with the army vet and Eddie with him on that call was great.

I really liked how they used that call and opportunity to bring in the conflict resolution manager.

Like, they could have done it so many different ways.

Yeah, they needed to bring her in somehow.

But I really like that that was the call that they came up with for this.

I thought that was really interesting to have it.

So, like, Eddie, history focused.

Yeah.

They wove that in really well.

Yeah.

And I also loved how we finally got to see the entire one or almost all of the 118 getting together outside of work, like we've been asking for, but not the way you think.

Oh, my God.

For therapy.

Okay, so, like, what could have worked differently or better?

And on my end, as always, I have no notes because I love nuance.

Yeah.

Especially with 10 storyline.

Same.

Yeah, it was so good.

I loved all of this.

I don't really have any notes.

Yeah, any notes would just be like more of it.

But it's, you know, they have 43 minutes, so.

Yeah.

Yeah, it really felt like an ensemble episode with like, specific AMB character plot focus.

But like, everybody, I think, because they had everybody, like, together in so many scenes.

Like, it felt like everybody got a moment.

And I love when we do an ensemble episode in that fashion.

I think that's where the show is like some of the strongest.

So nothing better.

Good job.

We loved it.

Carry on.

All right, so 909.

What worked well?

All right, so, like, I really love the.

The beginning montage of like, literally everyone helping hen they kind of like, utilize their special skills.

It's so cute.

But I especially love the lighting, how they utilize the lighting, because when we're in the happy, fuzzy family feeling vibes, like, it's very warm lighting, and then it just snap.

It's two months later, it's cold, and she's sitting there by herself.

And it's, like, very similar to the opening scene of 8:17 and don't drink the Water, where.

Yes.

Where we have, like, the family dinner flashback at the firehouse with Buck and Bobby and, well, literally all of the 118 is there.

And then it just does that thing again where it's, like, empty, cold, and it's.

And it's Buck sitting alone at the table.

So I really love that technique that they use.

I love those kind of cuts.

It's so good because it really just like.

Yep.

It brings you in and then we're so there, and then all of a sudden, like, boom, the shoe drops.

And it, like, carries all of that emotional weight with it.

Yeah.

I really loved the passing the torch or the helmet, if you will, for 911Nepho.

No, I said that in jest, but I do.

I do really love, you know, expanding the 118 family to bring Harry into the fold as a probie.

I thought that was great.

It's not anything that we didn't see coming a mile away, but it still is, like, emotionally resonant and, like, really sweet.

And I think it makes us excited.

Or me specifically.

I can speak for all of us.

Right.

It makes us excited to.

For 911 Nepo.

Of course.

I love 911 Nepo.

I love that show.

My favorite show going forward, you know.

Yeah.

I really liked the callbacks and parallels in this episode, so I really enjoyed, you know, like, callbacks to stuff from, like, season two.

Yeah.

Of like, Hen says that she gets shot one time to Taylor Kelly, and then we.

We never hear about it again.

So.

Loved picking back up.

Really loved.

Of, like.

I guess it's more mirroring them parallels, but I guess maybe there's both between Hen and Harry and, like, how they're.

Yeah.

They're both, like, making decisions about their careers and lives, like, based on other people's grief.

And I thought that was so interesting to look at, especially because they're on, like, completely opposite ends of, like, their career journey.

Yeah.

And experience and everything.

But I. I just thought that that was really interesting, like, especially when we watched 8 and 9 back to back right after each other.

It was very strong thematically for me.

Okay.

So what could have worked differently or better?

I think this is like maybe the first episode that we have a little.

Took us nine episodes.

We finally have a critique or a constructive criticism.

I don't know.

Is it constructive criticism if they're not listening to it?

I don't know.

It's criticism with like what, like reasoning behind it.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, I wouldn't even say like it's that harsh of.

No, like criticism is a harsh word for this.

Like, I think it's just kind of like just things that stuck out to us that we were like, I think hand or actually I think all of these are kind of similar.

I think it's all the same thing.

Yeah, basically.

So, like, I'm going to caveat this, this is could be very nitpicky as well.

But some of the dialog to me felt a little clunky specifically for me because I was like.

I remember thinking it as we were watching it the first time, like during the emergency call at the Cluck and Pluck, which again, crazy name, so funny.

But to me it was a little extra, like tell don't show with all of the medical jargon stuff.

But to play devil's advocate to myself, there was a lot of medical jargon.

So like I'm willing to give it a little bit of leeway with that.

But it just seemed kind of not as flowy.

Like it didn't flow as naturally as some of it.

It felt like there was a lot of, A lot of explainer, which like I'm fine with, but a lot of explainer, a lot of medical jargon that felt a little like I can't articulate it either.

It's.

It's weird because I feel like that call was supposed to be like, like a kind of like a book until like what Hen says at the end of the episode where she's like, she comes in and she's like, now people can see that I'm doing better or something like that.

And I was like, but yeah, it's.

It's one of those like just kind of.

I think my only my thought on.

That is like, maybe it was a little intentional because it's like his other half because his other half of like who would just know what he was talking about because he was like waiting for people to pick up on the beats and like follow his lead and keep going.

So the only, the only that I have is like maybe felt off on purpose because like things are off because they're very short staffed.

I don't Know if Robbie had PTO or something.

I know, but they're very short staffed.

And you know the person who like just gets all of the very specific medical shit right away, like he does was not there.

So like, I did like that part where he was kind of like waiting to have that like, you know, mental connection like he does with Hen with Eddie.

But that.

That's not really like their.

Their relations way or partnership.

But so like, I'm again, totally fine if that's the reason.

It just.

It did stick out to me in that way.

So.

Yeah, I felt like.

And I guess this is because it's.

Who wrote this episode?

Like, I just felt like I was watching the Last Alarm a lot.

Like there were a lot of like, we're not doing that.

I'm conditioned.

You're conditioned for a lot of things.

Wow.

I'm very easily influenced.

Okay.

Strange is mush.

Okay.

Yeah.

So I felt like I was pretty much watching the Last Alarm and I just felt like none of the, like.

I know emotional things are happening.

There are emotional scenes happening.

Visually, I can tell, like, I'm supposed to like, I'm supposed to feel things verbally.

I don't know what it is about the writing, but it's not hitting for me.

That was me.

No, I mean, so like mine's kind of just like elaborating.

So like for me specifically, the clunkiness or what.

What Cell's describing came in during hen's monologues or voiceover or not.

Not.

Or like both.

Both monologues.

Voiceover.

Like there wasn't enough, like, nuance or like gut punch for the moments that they were like, it's.

It's still a good episode, but it's like an 8 out of 10 for me instead of every episode before this that we've been like, it's 10 out of 10, no notes.

Yeah.

So I really feel like maybe this could have dealt with another round of edits, you know, just to like really tighten up those.

Yeah.

Because these were like really big emotional.

Emotional that I really felt like.

Should have made me cry and like I got a little misty for like one of the hen things.

But it was strictly because of very much relating to it in a disabled chronic suffering from something kind of way.

Yeah.

Like pulling from your own.

Yeah.

Not so much like the dialogue.

Like I probably would have been ugly crying had the dialogue also hit some.

Of the dialogue and.

And not just the dialogue, but like some of the.

Some parts of the episode feel like they could have been a little tighter.

Like it's like, this was very thematically consistent.

Like, everything kind of like hit the nail on the head in terms of, like, relating to the theme.

But some of.

Some of the nuance was a little lost, I think.

Still enjoyable.

Agreed.

Very enjoyable.

Excellent.

Like, still a great episode of Television.

Yeah.

I still enjoyed myself.

I wasn't there.

There were just moments where I was like.

Like, it's just unfortunately, maybe one of the weaker aspects to a really, really strong season.

Really good season.

It's more noticeable.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I feel bad saying that because it's not bad.

It's very good.

I think the other thing that made.

The voiceover worse for me too, was that they put this needle drop along with it.

That was really heavy lyrically.

And, like, Pen's words were competing with the lyrics being sung in the song.

And it was just.

Just really, really distracting.

Too many layers there and.

Yeah.

And made that hit hit even less so.

Because you couldn't focus on the emotion of the song or the emotion of the words.

And the words also, they were competing, you know, they just didn't feel very hen it felt.

Oh, this was my thought.

And this is going to sound kind of mean.

Some of the.

Some of the moments in this episode that made me go with the emotional beats.

I think it was mostly for hen Stuff felt very like Glee rather than 911.

Like Glee motivational, which was just very, like happy, generic.

Like, we can do this stuff.

Like, I don't know, like, stuff that would belong more in like a Josh kind of.

Who is.

I think I've compared him to Kurt from Glee.

Yeah.

And I don't know if in that aspect, if it's because it's supposed to be a letter from like 16 year old hen.

So it's like teenager.

You can't tell me that she talked like that when she was 18.

No, but I. I understand.

I understand what you're saying about the Glee thing because it feels like the way an adult would write a teenager, and that takes you out of it a little bit.

That's.

I think.

Yeah.

Oh, well.

Yeah, because that's what Glee is.

It's adults writing teenagers.

Yes.

Yes.

Thank you for connecting.

Why that actually means something.

At least I was able to connect something tonight.

It's not the Internet.

For sure.

Okay.

And then just really quickly, how both episodes work together.

I mean, they were very, like, connected.

Like you said, Rachel.

They're very connected.

I love that.

What it did was really.

It got us out of the firehouse.

I think, a little bit.

Oh, yeah.

And it took us to quoting Jennifer Love Hewitt here.

The heart of.

Of the season.

You know, we.

We get to see them outside of the.

Outside of the firehouse.

We get to see them all come together for hen.

Yeah.

So yeah, this is how the episode really worked well.

The two episodes really worked well together.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It was like that break apart but then come back together even if it was short lived and then kind of seeing the fallout from that.

I guess I think it did a really good job these two episodes together of like re establishing and deepening the 118 found family.

Like post Bobbi because I feel like that was one of the things that like we needed to do on ABC period, was really dig deeper into the found family aspect.

And especially like after, you know, killing off the center of the found family, they really had a lot of work to do.

But they started it with, you know, the hospital scene at the end of the season eight.

So I think that this did a good amount of legwork like re establishing that because like Athena's like the matriarch now.

That's like, I'm keeping this family together.

I'm running this like the navy.

Like she really is.

She brought in some conflict resolution.

Yeah.

Percent like.

Yeah.

She's like, this family isn't breaking up on my watch.

I appreciate that.

Yeah.

Good episodes.

Yeah.

And now we're like actually halfway through the season.

Yeah.

Feels crazy.

Which seems weird.

Yeah.

Because it's like there's so much that happens.

I feel like we should be further so fast, but not as far.

I don't know how to explain.

Yes.

However you feel.

Yes.

I get it.

Shall we transition to some character moments?

We shall.

Let's start with Hen.

Yeah.

Our girl of the moment.

Kind of.

Oh, girl, nobody understands you like we do.

So true.

Yeah.

I have some things to say about the hen storyline.

Just kind of like I did in the last one too.

So sorry to keep being that person that shows up and goes, you don't know what you're talking about, but I'm gonna do it again.

Because her reasoning has been kind of controversial.

Well, yeah.

A lot of fandom response has still elaborated on calling hen's behavior out of character when in fact it's not.

My favorite moment for her in these two episodes is when is the moment everyone hates when she's like at the table and like having her grief fueled meltdown.

Like, well, I was so busy worrying about all of you.

Why, like, were any of you worrying about me?

How's hen?

Did you even wonder how I was doing.

No, I didn't think so.

And everyone's like, this makes no sense.

And I remember when we were reacting to it, I was confused because I thought that she was like accusing them of like not asking how she was via her illness, her mystery illness.

And I was like, girl, you were.

Keeping it a secret because it's like, well, you purposely head it, like, how would they know?

But then once she hit the part of the, you know, dialogue where it was about the grief, I was like, oh, it's finally here.

We had been waiting to have the meltdown and I think a lot of people are not taking to account something really important that I think is so nuanced and they did so well on this.

And that's portraying like the uneven amount of emotional labor that women do in any relationship.

Like, or, or group.

Whether it's.

It's a one on one relationship or like a friend group or a family.

Women tend to take the brunt of the emotional labor.

Like, they're always the ones who are, are worrying about people who are like, going out of their way to like, make sure their emotions aren't inconvenient for what other people are going through.

They want to be there for them.

And like, it's, it's very much something that like, kind of comes from a beautiful place, but also the patriarchy.

So I think it's a little rooted in misogyny that people are saying that this is out of character or that it's crazy for her to say this to them.

I still don't think it justifies her actions or makes her right, but like, it completely makes them make sense for it already made sense for her character and just how she operates so internally, but it being fueled by the grief too, and worrying about how her being sick and figuring out if like she was dying would affect the group, like, that makes so much sense.

It makes so much sense.

So I don't know people who are like, this is out of character.

Doesn't make any sense.

It's crazy to me.

It is because, like, I also, I.

What I also said at some point on Twitter, I was like, she's also the mom friend.

Yes, she's the mom slash sister friend.

You know what I mean?

Yes.

She's like the older one.

She's.

She's the eldest daughter mom.

Eldest daughter big.

The one.

She is carrying a lot of that.

Yeah, the one that, that takes on the pain and, and for you, for the people that she cares about.

So she's going to be hiding these, these things she's going to.

She's.

She's not.

She's not putting herself first.

She's putting everyone else first.

Else's feelings first.

Yep.

And how they've been grieving and being there for them instead of her, instead of herself.

Yep.

And I think it was very apparent when we saw how she was dealing with her grief.

She wasn't crashing out.

She wasn't doing any of that.

She was like, I'm going to internalize this.

I'm very stoic because I need.

Need to be there for everyone else.

And that's the thing is, like, grief is not linear, and people deal with it differently, but it will catch up to you if you don't deal with it.

And it will just catch you at.

At moments, even if you have.

Even if you think you've dealt with it.

Like, it.

It just ebbs and flows naturally.

Just like, progress is not linear.

Neither is grief.

I. I also think, too, that, like, we've had little pockets here and there of, like, two characters kind of talking to each other about Bobby, but not so much in, like, a big family kind of, like, sit down.

Yeah.

Kind of way.

So I think this was really needed because we had a little bit of, like, Eddie and Chimney, a little bit of, like.

Well, the kitchen scene with Eddie, you know, just, like.

Just, like, really still kind of separated in that way where, like, people were talking about it, but not, like, as a full group.

So I think gathering everybody together to have this kind of, like, blow up, but all of them being present was very necessary because now it's, like, it brings everybody back on the same page.

So I think that was, like, the right kind of move.

Yeah.

And that we did it and we.

We dealt with, you know, bringing up the grief, like in Athena's home, I think was very poignant, too.

Yeah.

And then I have a bonus moment because I. I love what we're doing with hen right now.

I think it's great, nuanced storytelling.

Interesting.

So I just think, like, the disability rep is really great to have.

I thought that, like, you know, I don't have an autoimmune disease, but I have fibromyalgia, which, like, is kind of adjacent.

It's chronic pain, but it has a lot of the same kind of debilitating things, and it does, like, come and go.

So, like, the realness of not being able to, like, do normal things that people take for granted and, like, feeling just, like, this loss of agency from, like, not being able to take care of yourself and just do normal things.

Especially when you're such an independent person, like Hen.

And I'm the same way.

And I hate asking for help, not being able to get out of bed, like, physically and emotionally.

Like, that's so relatable.

The physical takes the toll on the emotional side as well.

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

And then it's like with the chronic thing, it's like the emotional thing is, is part or like a huge part of the battle.

You know what I mean?

It's like if you're so exhausted that it's physically, it's taking out of you emotionally, it makes it even harder to, like, do the things you need to do to get yourself better physically.

And then just, you know, the whole, like, healing with chronic conditions is never linear.

It's always up and down.

You're always gonna have some better times, but then you're always going to have worse times again.

Like, you're sometimes maybe you'll be able to not use mobility aids and sometimes you will not be able to.

To do anything without them.

So I just thought like, having the disability rep and having her inexperienced for so many years, you know, paramedic almost doctor.

Have to call 911 and be like, literally say, I'm disabled.

I can't do it.

Like, I, I thought that, that, that was poignant.

I just was like, oh, my God, this is a great representation for me.

I really loved it.

Yeah.

And it's going to be really interesting to see, like, how they deal with that going forward because kind of like grief and autoimmune illness or chronic pain or anything like, that is not something that goes away, but it comes and it goes.

So.

So I think it's like a very physical metaphor for grief.

Right.

And that's not even bringing into the conversation, like grieving, like the life that you had and change it.

We're not going to get it.

Yeah.

It is actually kind of a good metaphor because it's like when you get the chronic pain or chronic condition under control, it is just that, like, you're in maintenance mode.

But then when you have those moments where it gets really bad again, it's called a flare up.

So, yeah, that is actually really a good metaphor for that.

So kind of speaking about Hen's like, you know, ups and downs, dealing with her illness, my highlight for her was that she was.

It's a real show of her resilience and some of that two steps forward, one step back sort of thing, but want to keep moving forward.

That Hen got herself to go to Harry's.

Yeah.

Graduation from the Fire Academy.

So that way the whole family could be there together and welcome a new member into the 118.

And that's, like, something that they really needed to experience together and, like, looking forward, growing, looking to the future.

And I think that really just.

It speaks to Hen's resilience.

Yeah.

Even when she was, you know, taken down a peg, she'll.

She'll.

She'll always get back up and keep fighting.

I mean, that's what the title of the episode was.

Always back to haunt us again.

Oh, Supernatural.

You're always around, you're always here, always the ghost of our past.

My highlight for Han was when she was reading her old diary and she found that note.

And I really love the fact that we did get a really good use of a callback all the way down to season two, episode six.

Episode six, Dose.

Yeah.

With Hen being the one being someone who.

Who got shot at such a young age and using that to, like, empower her.

So, like, I. I really enjoyed that moment.

Yeah.

I thought that was great.

I love when we get a callback to a lore drop that was, like, literally never talked about again.

And, like, we've.

I think we've been very curious about it, but it just seems like it really.

When you.

When you bring stuff like that back from a character's very, very, like, distant past, it really helps, like, flesh them out even further.

Yeah.

Which is impressive with, you know, a character that we've known for nine years.

Yeah.

But it's just like.

Like that.

That extra facet that kind of get, like, gets, like, filled in in our mental picture of them.

And just as an aside, I'm.

I hate when I hear people say that.

I don't know if I said this last week.

I feel like I said this last week already.

But, like, I hate when people are like, oh, the show doesn't know its own continuity.

And I'm like, this is something from season two, episode six.

And it's like, just a line that's being said to Taylor Kelly, of all people.

So.

So I.

The show does a good job of knowing its own lore.

It does a much better job than any.

Any network recurring drama that.

That I can fucking think of.

Like, yeah, yeah, it really does.

I mean, like, tell me one that's better again.

A network renewed season by season drama, 18 to 22 episodes.

18 to 22 episodes.

Like, that's what I'm talking about.

They do a lot better than people give credit for.

Like, because it's hard to do.

It's hard to keep Track of and be consistent with that.

And they do such a good job with it.

Yeah.

Unless they listen to us.

I think it's harder to keep track of it if you listen to us.

Like it's 43 minute episodes versus.

Versus.

You're right.

You're right.

We're a little cuckoo bananas.

If you put it on two times speed.

Maybe.

Maybe for the rewatches that don't have a lot of buddy.

Yeah.

Shall we move on to Athena?

My moments for Athena in these episodes is just her being like the matriarch of the year every year.

The mother of mothers, if you will.

Mother of the year.

Because she has always just been like running shit and such a good mom, but now she really is running shit because she is the head of the found family.

Even though she's not at the 118, she's still the head of the family and they defer to her.

So it's like when she invites you to dinner, you go, oh yeah, you.

Don'T, you don't say no to Athena.

She's like, she's like, you're.

Why don't you come to dinner?

And that's not actually a request.

That.

Exactly.

That's an order.

But she shows up and is like, where is he?

And you point because people were like snitches.

And I was like, like, you're gonna say no to Athena?

Especially when she can clearly look up.

Especially when she can clearly look up and just like see him there on his laptop.

Yeah.

Like she's, she's there, she's handling shit.

She's making sure the family stays together because she's like, you know, this is, it's Bobby's family, but it's also her family.

And like, you know, after her wake up call, she's like, I'm making sure this shit stays together.

And that.

Yeah.

You know, like Bobby's sacrifice doesn't mean that like the family that he built.

Breaks up, falls apart.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Mine is kind of the same.

Kind of the same thing in terms of like, she really went up there, she told chimney, you gotta fix this.

And staging a whole intervention.

She really was scheming.

She's scheming.

She's like, I'm gonna bring all the friends together.

All the friends and family together.

I'm going to get the, the therapist.

I'm.

We're going to fix this.

Smart move.

Now.

And it really is a testament to the fact that she is now the, the matriarch of this family.

She really is like, she's like I. I can't see this family that Bobby built fall.

Fall apart.

Yeah.

And like, and think about it because she was so disconnected at the beginning of the season, like, yeah, it's.

It's great growth to see how like she's improving and she's like, I'm going to be there.

I'm gonna be there for my kids.

I'm gonna be there for this family, the extended family.

So fun to see her do it in like, to handle situations that normally like would have fallen to Bobby and see how she handles it so much more directly in such a way because it's like she also is looking at the situation and remembering the like whole Buck thing from season three with the fucking lawsuit.

And she's like, I can't do this again.

Like, I'm not dealing with another emotionally constipated who won't communicate because he cares too much about his employee captain.

I'm not doing this shit.

Yep.

Again.

Yeah.

It's kind of like Athena's doing the matchmaking thing that Bobby does, but.

But different.

Platonic.

Yes.

The matchmaking thing that.

I kind of hope she would also take a.

Take an eye.

I mean, take a look at certain two idiots over there.

But she's probably one problem at a time.

Yeah.

She's not privy to it.

But I mean, but who knows?

She might be.

She might be, I don't know, scared of her.

It's so funny.

It's.

I don't even know that.

It's like he's.

It's.

It's like it's a healthy.

It's a healthy respect with the built in here that anyone who knows and respects Thena the way she should be like, has that, like Bobby had that, that little like inherent like, it's like.

A. I don't want to disappoint mom.

Yeah.

I also don't want to make her angry at me because that's scary.

I feel like nothing could feel worse in the world than having Athena Grant be disappointed in me.

That stare down.

Oh, Buck's been on the other end of that a few times.

My highlight for Athena is the conversation that she has with Harry in the car as they're trying to get Harry to like get back on the ladder, I guess.

Where.

Back on the.

Well, yeah.

Yeah.

Where she was like.

It's the non pep pep talk with the.

I want you to quit.

Because that's what he always told her.

And the whole.

It's so sweet.

Yeah.

And the whole concept of her telling him to set things aside when you Put the uniform on.

Like, you have to compartmentalize but like in a healthy way.

The whole setting things aside when you're putting on the uniform, like a, like a healthy compartmentalization because you have to put the fear away in order to do the job, in order to help people.

Right.

Which is such a great kind of connective tissue.

But in like slightly reversal of her kind of speech in episode two of the show in Let Go, where she was like, you know, you have to, when you take off the uniform at the end of the day, you put all of the weight of the things that you saw on the job away.

And it's that kind of compartmentalization.

So she's talking about it the other way.

But like, you have to, you have to put the fear away in order to help people.

And I really loved that, like full spectrum of, you know, when you put the uniform on, you have to think about it this way.

When you take the uniform off, then you can think about things that way.

And, and like that's such a, it's such a great parallel for Harry and Buck specifically.

And yeah, I, I just really love that.

Wow, what terrible continuity.

I think how hard all the Athena emotional beats hit for me is what really juxtaposed that the hen ones didn't, because the Athena ones were so good.

They had me tearing up.

Yeah, just like the concept of that whole talk, especially with the I want you to quit.

It was just like, oh, but, oh.

It was so good.

It was so good.

Moving on to Karen.

My favorite moment for Karen in any moment that any, in any episode that this happens is a Karen and Athena scene because we don't get a lot of them, like them alone.

It was so good.

And it's so good because like those two just like the most kick ass characters together, but also Angela Bassett and Tracy.

Tom's just like master classes.

It's always going to be 10 out of 10.

But just like the conversation was just so like, like heartbreaking.

And it felt like a very like outside looking in for me from like looking at the other point of view of like what it's like to be the loved one of someone who you know is dealing with the chronic condition and how frustrating it can be to like, want to be there for them, but it's like you can't do it for them.

Yeah.

Yeah.

You can't do it.

Yeah, that's a great way to put it.

You can't do it for them.

I need, now I really need an Athena, Karen and Maddie scene because these Are powerhouses.

Right.

Like, these are.

Yeah, Yeah.

I need that, you know?

And Aisha.

And Aisha.

I need.

I need all.

I need the women in.

In one scene.

They just need winite to complain about the men in their lives.

Why have we not had karaoke with Maddie and Karen?

I don't understand.

The women need a night out.

Actually, they do.

Wait, I'm putting that on the wish list right now.

And somehow.

And somehow Eddie shows up to clean out with them.

Yes.

Oh, he'd enjoy that.

He would.

Absolutely.

He would.

Okay.

All right.

My.

My highlight for Karen was after that talk, she decided to.

To get hen a physical therapist and chief motivational officer named Adam.

And we love Adam.

We do.

We've known Adam for five minutes.

Five minutes, and something did happen.

Yeah, man.

And I love how she dipped right after.

Yep.

That was amazing, though.

Bravo.

That was a master class.

Like, shouldn't we talk about this?

Yeah.

Later.

Bye.

She's like, oh, it must have slipped my mind.

Knew exactly what she was.

Yeah.

Incredible.

Incredible.

Yeah.

I guess that kind of, like, rolls into my highlight, which is less of a moment, more of, like, a concept, because it's like Karen's just unyielding support of hen all the time, like, is so beautiful to see.

And, like, I really loved.

This is kind of gonna be a parallel again, too.

But I really loved how Karen was.

We.

We saw a lot of, like, between these two episodes, actually.

A lot of, like, stepping into it with someone.

Right.

That.

That was something that they said in the.

Like in the show in episode eight with Eddie and Alex, the conflict resolution person, like, going into the grocery store.

And we know that has a lot of meaning because that's what Bobby said to a buck.

But Karen tries to do that with hen, and it just kind of reminded me a lot of how hen was trying to be in it with Karen when they were going through the IVF treatments and that failed, and Karen was so despondent and depressed.

And it's like when.

When the shoe is on the other foot and hen is feeling so much, and Karen's just, like, right there with her doing.

Doing the same thing.

And I just think their relationship is beautiful in that way.

Like, it's true partnership.

I know we've said that many times before, but just like, the way Karen was showing up for hen in the.

Way that hen needed Chimney, my dude.

My favorite moment for chimney was when he showed up after firing his best friend, and his way of doing that was extended.

An olive branch in the form of an olive basket.

A gift basket full of olives.

You are so cute, Chimney.

So cute.

Didn't they do the same thing for her birthday?

And.

Yeah, because she was like, chimney always apologizes with food.

I love that about him.

Yeah.

Just tickled me.

It was really a basket.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I want my friends to apologize to me with gift basket.

Yeah.

And I mean, I loved.

I loved that whole scene too.

Like, especially when they were, like, actually communicating, but that even when they, like, started digging at each other and trying to hurt each other on purpose, I was just like, this is so good.

Like, it's such good writing.

Yeah.

And good acting.

Kenny Choi, that.

Oh, my God, anytime he cries makes me want to cry.

Yeah.

Yeah.

My highlight was Chimney's.

Chimney's reaction to realizing, like, he's putting two, two and two together.

As soon as he.

As soon as he gets to Athena's house for that intervention dinner that he did not know was an intervention until he got there and saw Buck, Eddie and a therapist up in there.

And he was like, huh, what are you two doing here?

This is an intervention.

Yeah.

He was just like, I didn't know this was a party.

Oh, my God, he was so funny.

He's so fun.

He's like.

And all that we're missing is hen.

And she shows up.

Ding dong.

Oh, my God.

That was funny.

Watching him put the pieces together.

I just got like.

When you were saying all that, I got like a visceral, like, from snl, the Californians, like, what are you doing here?

I don't know if you know that.

No, I don't.

Oh, my God.

It's stupid funny.

It's just.

Anyways, I think about that skid more than I should.

Yeah.

I don't know.

His delivery to Bucket Eddie about like, what.

What are you.

What brings you to here?

Or something like that.

So funny is because, like, the way that he treats.

Treats Eddie by himself versus how he treats Eddie when he is with Buck is completely different.

Oh, yeah.

It's like when you're with Buck, he's lumped in.

It's like when you're Eddie by yourself.

You're a completely valid person for me to treat with respect.

When it's Buck and Eddie all one word.

And it's very apparent.

901.

It's.

He's like, you are now the.

The.

The dumb and the dumb and dumber.

Because it's the unit of them.

Yeah.

Because they cancel out each other's.

One of the moments for Chimney that I really enjoyed was the call at the cluck and Pluck.

First of all, I really love seeing our characters be competent at their jobs.

That brings me so much joy.

And I love when they are smart and chimney.

Putting together like the pieces again just like, oh, wait, whatever, it's this or this.

And then brings out like the fleur, the thermal imaging as.

As a tool, which is really cool.

But it was also kind of like when he was like, hen would have loved this just like, to show that she's still so on his mind and.

And he was really looking for that person to share that, like, mental connection with.

Like we saw in 905, the guy with the grave, where they were just like, they knew exactly what each other was thinking in terms of like, diagnostic and all that stuff.

And like, how she's kind of like missing like, like, like a limb for him.

Yeah.

And he was looking towards Eddie to complete.

Yeah.

The thought.

Yeah.

Because he was like, well, Hen did the wonder twin thing with you.

Like, obviously this will be a one.

A one to one.

It doesn't work that way.

But he tried.

I feel like we need a special on.

On The Chimney Hen vs Buddy Mind Meld situation that's not like.

Yeah.

Working out.

And I'm sure that they'd love their partners back.

Yeah.

Ready for Maddie.

Oh, Maddie.

I loved this season.

Slay the monster.

Oh, my God.

She kill someone every season.

Now that body count, even though Sarah didn't have a body.

No.

So it doesn't count.

I mean, she did have a physical form when she took her out.

True.

I kind of thought it was a little bit of redemption for the slay the monster because I think we've had like, some issues with that.

But just the way that Maddie trapped AI Sarah in a zip drive like a little genie, itty bitty living space, and then like smashed it.

I thought that was a much more satisfying version.

The slay the monster that was also a lot less morally gray.

I'm sorry.

I just love that we're getting Marvel and Disney or that we can make Marvel and Disney references.

Right.

She beat Ultron.

She did.

She really did.

She did.

With empathy.

That makes her a superhero.

Yeah.

Very like Scarlet Witch of her in that way.

You know, because we also got all of that, like, flowy.

And my highlight is just how literally from the drop, she's just like, trust no AI.

Like, she's.

That's just so relatable because same.

Because, like, I don't know, she's probably also seen all the 80s movies that are like, this is why you should not do this stuff.

Hollywood chimney.

Yes.

And it's running through her head just like in horror.

And she just, her, her face during the entire thing is just so funny because she just does not trust it and she shouldn't.

Well, especially because it stole her voice.

Again, freaky as hell.

That would be terrifying.

But just like thematically, poor Maddie, she keeps getting her voice like taken.

It's like, okay, Ariel.

Right.

So I mean she's a redhead now, so like she, she, she took it back.

She took back her power again by smashing the, the thing like Ariel.

Yes.

Yeah.

Wow.

But instead of a shell, it's a USB drive.

Yeah.

My highlight for Maddie was during the Helping Hen montage where she was showing hen how to do trills.

Yeah.

Which is.

Which I love that it's, it's a good connection to disconnected it when she lost her voice.

So.

Yeah.

So that's.

It was cute.

Can't wait for a Maddie at home storyline.

This is for this season.

Yeah.

I need Maddie at home with the children.

So Harry, my highlight for him was the banter that he has with his new friend Norris.

So she's like, knees up, Grant.

He's like, eyes up Norris.

That she's like nepo, baby.

It's like show about.

And then when he comes back, he, he's, he's like, did you miss me?

And she's like, yeah, miss like beating you.

I don't know.

It's just cute.

And I hope that we bring her on as a Barbie.

Thank you.

I want to see her recurring.

I think that would be great.

Especially as like a touchstone or like someone to connect with for Harry who's like going through the same things.

Also she's like two apples tall and.

I think that she's so tiny.

My highlight for Harry is kind of like his realization setting in about like the dangers of the job.

Not just in how it affects him, but how things could affect the people he loves around him.

How him getting hurt doesn't just affect himself, but his mom and his sister and let's be real, the rest of the 118.

And I just think that's like a beautiful point of growth and like a moment of maturing, especially for such a young person or young character because he's, he's 18.

So like, you know, teenagers, their world revolves around them.

They're not like self centered necessarily, but it's just like the world revolves around them or, or it's a lot smaller.

And I felt like this moment, this was like his moment of like, oh, his world is, is growing Expanding to be less, like, heliocentric in a way where he's, like, taking other people and they' experiences into pers.

It's a perspective shift.

Yeah, I really liked that.

My highlight for Harry was when he finally graduated and was told that he's joining the 118.

Like, a true Nepo baby.

Where else?

Love that.

Well, yeah, there was no other way to do it logistically.

And what would be the.

Yeah, so, yeah, glad we've got.

We finally have a Nepo baby in the station.

Like, a real Nepo baby.

Also, do you think any.

Any of the stations would have been, like, terrified because they didn't want to be on the other end of the Wrath of Athena?

Yeah, I'm certain that chimney put in the request for him, and everyone was like, yeah.

Like, the Chief was like, I'm not giving him to anyone else.

Like, absolutely not.

I also wonder if, like, people like, some of the cadets.

Oh, no, wait.

I know they couldn't pick, but I'm sure, like, some of the cadets are like, I don't really think I want to be at the one.

Yeah, exactly.

The reputation precedes them.

Like someone died.

And weird shit just keeps happening to them.

Yeah.

They're at the center of every major, like, it's cursed event in September and October each year.

Also, I would like to point out real quick that, like, we kept saying, yeah, he'll probably graduate at the end of the season.

This was a lot faster than we anticipated, so that's gonna be really interesting.

I expected it to be mid season.

Okay.

I just went with you guys because you guys were telling me, now it's the end.

I'm like, whatever.

You can just.

Well, I mean, s always right.

So we should listen to her.

Sounds hard to listen to her if she doesn't say anything.

Well, you know me.

I'm just on the observation deck.

I just collect my evidence and keep it to my self.

It's a good thing we have a podcast for you to keep your thoughts to yourself.

Like, I pat myself on the back.

I'm like, good job.

You got it right.

Okay, moving on to book.

I've never seen so much jello.

And I have two points to this.

First of all, beautiful presentation.

Second of all, ew, it looks awful.

I need someone to take the kitchen away from him asap.

Clear, flavorless.

I'm assuming jello.

Raw blocks of tofu.

And I love tofu, man, but no, and also the texture of jello with tofu makes me me want a gag.

That's the worst part because it's like you can see through it and then you see the tofu and it's weird texture and then there's little slices of.

Carrots and then it's the center of this jello bunt cake.

Whatever.

Or just whole ass turnips.

Just whole turnips.

I, I was, I was wondering if Eddie would eat it, but then again, I think he's choosing Joy and he would not torture himself.

That jello did not look joyful.

Joyful, no.

And I love Buck so much.

I think it was so sweet and so cute that he was taking on the role of like really nutritionist dietitian.

And as someone who is vegan for health reasons, because it makes me feel better, it makes my body feel better.

I know there's lots of ways that you can eat anti inflammatory things, things with lots of nutrients that still taste delicious.

It's called you just.

That did not look like them correctly.

And you flavor them correctly.

Like I also the equivalent of just sticking and then I'll be done.

The equivalent of sticking just like a raw block of tofu in that is like sticking just like you boiled chicken and you just stuck it in there.

Like you can't just take like just a plain block of tofu and do nothing with it.

The same way you can't just take.

Unseasoned cooked chicken and suspending it in transparency.

This whole segment is disgusting.

Let's move on.

I just love like ragging on Buck a little bit.

My highlight for Buck is when he's taunting Eddie with the whole chain of command thing when they were doing their.

I guess it's one person but two person job at the fire station.

I don't know.

Yes.

With the brims.

So.

But I also think it's, it's interesting how like he, he, he's really like, it's trigger because I guess it might be triggering for him because it, it really goes back to the, the lawsuit era during that arbitration here hearing because Eddie was like, well, I understand the chain of command and I can't like talk about.

No, he says something like, well, I can't really speak on Buck's health issues, but I understand the chain of command, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

So I'm sure it's like maybe a little bit of a Point of contention there maybe a little bit triggering for him.

So.

Absolutely.

If you say the chain of command.

One more time, Same episode.

We're back at the grocery store.

So.

Interesting.

Yeah.

And we're having like some like a firing situation.

Yeah.

I don't think that was, I don't.

Think that was coincidental siding with the firing squad.

He's so funny.

My favorite Buck moment from these two episodes.

I think I.

Because I just love the dynamic that they're, they're building with him and Harry.

So, you know, as soon as Harry was having the moment of like not wanting to like get back on the horse, I was like, go talk to.

Go talk to your big firefighter brother.

And he did.

And it just made me really happy to see them have like a serious conversation that Harry feels comfortable like being vulnerable and opening up continually with like these emotions that like you wouldn't Normally see an 18 year old dude be able to like openly talk about.

So he really feels safe with Buck.

And we get the return coffee table walking, which.

Oh my God, it's been a minute.

I feel.

I'm so excited.

Yeah.

I mean Harry doesn't sit on the couch, but like Buck sits on the coffee table and we know still coffee.

That means still counts.

Serious conversation time.

And it was.

He's being such a good brother that he went and he confronted Athena and said, you.

I think something got into his head.

Head.

And she's like, what?

And he's like, you like, couldn't be me.

I'd be too scared.

But the way he was like, you know that voice you have in your head that's like, you're not good enough.

He's like, you probably don't have that voice.

Was so funny as well.

Love that.

My God.

Yeah.

I really love that whole like dynamic with Harry confiding in Buck, but then Buck kind of confiding in Athena on behalf of Harry in that way.

It's just, it's so fun to see.

And just the way Buck like steps up as someone who's been in Harry's shoes because I think there's, we've mentioned, there's a lot of parallel there.

So it's really great.

So Eddie.

So my highlight for Eddie was watching him teach hen samba.

Yes.

And I love that so much.

One, because we, we get to see him dance again.

And two, because of like what it implies really.

Because him dancing, it really was like the whole choosing joy kind of thing.

And then we learn in, we learn in 8:13 that Eddie's parents put him through those competitions, and, like, they sucked the fun out of dancing because he really enjoyed it.

So it's like he's taking it back and he's, like, showing it.

He's.

He's teaching someone else, you know, someone that he loves dearly, how to dance to make her feel better.

And it's also just.

Well, then there's the other implication of, like, it's in back.

It's in Buck's backyard.

But, like, oh, my God.

We'll talk about that later, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

100%.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's so interesting when you kind of, like, bring Eddie's history with dancing back, because it's like he's kind of reclaiming.

And we've seen this since season, like, since 806.

Like, he is reclaiming something that brings him joy.

Just like hen is trying to reclaim her body.

Yeah, in a way.

So that's a nice, like, parallel with that, too.

And it just.

That's so fun.

I love that Chris was there.

Oh, yeah.

That whole scene was just, like, so full of joy.

I mean, it was part of, like, that joyful montage, but it was so full of joy and really cute.

My highlight for Eddie, I really loved how he was able to use his personal experience to, again, kind of, like, walk into that.

That moment of PTSD crisis with.

I think it was Ben Cowan.

Sergeant Ben Cowan in the grocery store.

Yeah.

And.

And.

But also, like, the way that Eddie, like, they tried to walk into it with him with.

With, like, the guise of them.

Them being, you know, still in the army and overseas or wherever.

And.

But it was Eddie speaking from personal experience that really got through to him, saying, you know, we're not over there.

We're here now.

We're safe.

All of that.

And.

And just really kind of like, putting into perspective, I think, a lot of what Eddie has learned, especially after his, you know, panic attacks in season five, relating to his experience in the army.

I thought that was, like, a really beautiful, like, touchstone for Eddie, especially in an episode titled war.

Like, you can't have an episode titled war and not focus a little bit in some way on.

On the character who was in.

In a war.

I also like the.

The.

I guess the.

The continuity of doing this thing where he's, like, stepping into.

Into it with, like, the.

The victim or someone who's injured, because we see.

We.

We see him do this in the.

Call the dead guy call in 905.

So he's, like, performing here and then.

And then in here with the.

With the vet.

He is he's trying to act like they're actually like doing that whole extraction thing, but it really isn't.

So he has to kind of like put that away, like be real with him.

So I think it's just very interesting how he was using that tech, the technique, and it worked in 905, but then he had to kind of change that up and here in, yeah, 908, it.

It really is like an interesting progression.

How it was like, okay, we're going to perform, we're going to kind of like play pretend a little bit, but that's not working.

What actually works, I mean, situationally of course, but like what actually works, especially in this situation, which is, is which can be paralleled so easily to Eddie, is to move forward.

And I think that kind of thing is going to be so important to Eddie's season long arc, which I think we're really starting to see formulate.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I think, I think that's an interesting, like, aspect to it.

I love that they give him.

Excited to see more I was gonna say.

I really love that they, they seem to always give him like season long arcs.

It's always sprinkled here and there.

It's very interesting.

Yeah, it's, it's subtle and I think we'll probably talk.

Talk a little more about this later.

But like, we're really kind of seeing this.

Even if he's not like a plot in an episode, there's enough when you stitch it together between all of the episodes that there's something like significant character wise happening with him.

And I think that's really a fascinating method of storytelling, especially in an ensemble show.

Like they're, they're putting in the work for that.

You have to look for it because it's sprinkled.

Sprinkle, not crumbs.

It's sprinkles.

My favorite Eddie moment was starting off episode eight and he, in front of Buck Salad, calls himself Hen's work husband and is talking about her ex work husband, chimney.

And I'm like, you're talking to your ex work husband about your current work life and that doesn't seem kosher, Bud.

Oh, oh, don't talk about your exes, Eddie.

You're still messy.

That's just one of those big glaring, like, we're not gonna touch that.

But we're just going to leave it here for you to be.

Be like, that is a big neon sign.

It's like right there.

It's like, okay, if you're Hen's work husband who, whose work Husband.

Were you before?

Do you know what you just said?

It's one of those word problems.

If Eddie's current work wife is hen, but hen's ex work husband is chimney, who was Eddie's ex work husband is Buck.

The answer is B, Buck be Buck.

Oh.

Oh, my God.

If I was Buck Buckley, which I wouldn't be because he's much nicer than me, I would be a petty little and start calling Robbie husband all the time.

I wouldn't be surprised if we get that at some point, honestly.

Maybe not, but, like, that would be.

It doesn't seem really Buck, but it.

Would be funny if he's trying to, like, dig a little bit on.

On Eddie.

Then you know what would be really funny is if he starts calling him his partner.

Like, introducing, this is my partner, Robbie.

And Eddie's right there just like, what.

Am I, chocolate liver?

Yeah, that's.

You know, that's what they do on calls.

They're like, I'm Eddie.

This is Buzz.

This is my.

Yeah, yeah.

This is what they're doing.

Which is funny.

Yes.

Because, like, Buck is always like, I'm Buck.

This is Eddie.

Or just like, not even I'm Bug.

It's just like.

And this is Eddie.

All right, you know, it's time to.

Buddy.

Max, Max, Max, Max, Max.

Okay.

Anyway, breaking Buddy news.

So we've got bickering Buddy and 908.

Yes.

We've got Buddy taking sides on the hen versus chimney.

Right.

Which is funny because it's like, at first, Eddie was like, I can't tell hen that I agree with no.

Or I can't tell chimney that I agree with that.

Or some like that.

Because then he takes it back and he's like, actually, chain of command.

Well, well, Buck thought they were on the same page, and then they weren't.

And then he was like, wait, no.

You know, with the firing squad.

So dramatic betrayal.

And then we've got.

Well, we just talked about this.

We've got the whole work spouse's situation going on.

Because, like, what is that?

I don't know.

I guess I don't know what is.

They bring it up and they don't want to address it.

Just like everything Buddy this season, it.

Is the unnamed thing.

It's the elephant in the room.

It is.

Is.

It's always the elephant in the room.

Big rainbow elephant in the room.

You guys remember Eddie F. Yes.

Yeah.

I love Eddie F. Actually, that's still relevant.

Oh, it's really relevant.

100%.

It's very relevant.

And then we've got.

I'm sorry, I. I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it.

His.

In his, like, little, like, cadence.

Yes, sir.

The sarcasm.

My God.

Dripping with sarcasm.

Because I know that was going triple platinum on everyone's.

Everyone's screens.

Because like, what?

Yeah, what.

What a choice to make Evan Buckley do that.

Because they did that for the fanfic writers and the editors.

They did.

And for me.

And for all of us.

For all of us.

And then we've got.

We continue to have buddy bickering at group partners therapy because, I mean, I'll get more into like, the actual, like, details of this, but it's just funn to see them argue when they didn't have to be there.

And the argument wasn't even about them.

And they made it about themselves in front of Athena Salad.

Literally in front of her very large assortment of charcuterie.

Yes, she knows how to throw a dinner party.

But yeah, just.

Just like the entire rest of the argument, like, Maddie's little chime in was about the way that chimney handled it and all of that.

It.

It was very, like, on topic about chimney and hen, but Eddie made it about Eddie.

Mm.

So guys, read the room?

No, I guess that the.

The fact that they are.

They are really big elephants in the room.

They really can't see anything but themselves.

But they can't even read their own emotions.

You think they can read a room?

Damn.

Maybe we should bring Alex back.

So the episode opens with them sweeping hoses.

I don't understand.

Boy, they are.

They're sweeping hoses.

Is this euphemism.

Watch back in 907.

But also the way that they're sweeping, like, and there's space, but they keep leaning into each other.

And I'm just like, why do we need to be so close while we're sweeping?

And.

And while we're at it, we're back to two people for a one person job.

And nature is healing.

There's something.

But there's something about the motion.

Double on.

There's something double entendre about that.

I. I'm so sorry.

Scrubbing the hoses.

Yes.

Yeah.

They could have been doing any job, but they were doing the.

They could have been literally doing any job because every job they do is a one person job.

It was really funny because I was like, whose hose?

I remember you saying.

I was like, what kind of.