In the wise words of Pulitzer Prize winner Kendrick Lamar, “You forgive, you forget, but you never let it… go!”

This week, Han, Cil, and Rachel investigate the eerie emotional landscape of Season 2, Episode 7 of 9-1-1, “Haunted,” where the specters of past relationships loom large. We dissect the complexities of Eddie's and Buck's situations, illustrating how both men grapple with their ghosts — Eddie with the return of his estranged wife, Shannon, and Buck with the emotional fallout of his relationship with Abby. Both men are faced with the choice to lay their past to rest or resurrect it, much like how Hen finds herself responsible for the life or death of her own perfect stranger of a father.

As we unpack the significance of closure and the desire for transparency within familial and romantic relationships, this episode is an exploration of empathy, accountability, and the courage it takes to confront one's past. Ultimately, “Haunted” serves as a reminder that while our ghosts may linger, it is our choices that define our present and shape our future.

📔 Articles Mentioned:

📰 9-1-1: Ryan Guzman Previews Eddie’s Tense Reunion With His Estranged Wife, TV Line

📰 9-1-1's Jennifer Love Hewitt asked for Maddie 'to be with Chimney' on very first day on set, Entertainment Weekly

📰 Color Theory Threads, @ soleilose, Twitter

• Buck and Eddie and the Color Theory (A Deeper Dive)
• Buck is Red, Eddie’s Blue and Christopher is Yellow – A Short Thread

📖 ice cream before dinner by cloudydaisies, Archive of Our Own

📖 one bright morning changes all things by hispolestar, Archive of Our Own

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The Buddie System is a Nerdvergent Media production.

Music by DIV!NITY 

(00:00:00) Welcome to Dispatch (Intro)

(00:06:32) Jaws of Life (Deep Dive)

(00:07:05) Music Analysis (I Found by Amber Run)

(00:14:30) Press Articles

(00:23:06) Red String Corner (Parallels & Foreshadowing)

(00:28:40) Color Theory

(00:36:59) Flashover (Themes)

(00:47:19) Who's Cookin' (Character Arcs)

(00:49:33) Athena

(00:49:59) Bobby (Tangent)

(00:54:15) Back to Athena

(01:03:15) Hen

(01:20:29) Buck

(01:49:56) Eddie

(02:12:36) Where's the Fire (Scene Dissection: Eddie & Shannon Confrontations)

(02:36:23) Slow Burn (Bi Buck & Buddie Watch)

(02:58:23) Bring a Buddie With You & Outro

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 deep dive podcast 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 no buddy is left behind.

Hey, Alexa, play Haunted by Taylor Swift.

Welcome to Dispatch.

What's on call this week?

This week we're discussing season two, Episode seven Haunted, written by Erica L.

We have some calls of the week, as per usual.

The first one is Dig it on Dig It.

I was really confused.

Half of the audience is not going to get that.

It's a holes.

That is like the most millennial reference I could actually think of.

If you haven't watched the movie Holes, based on the book Holes, it's very good.

If you're Gen Z and you have seen Holes and you got that reference, please let us know.

I'm curious to know if you got that reference.

If you're cultured and have educated yourself.

3.

Yeah, I was obsessed with that movie.

Oh my God, me too.

It's so good.

If you did get that reference, you deserve a senior disc.

Wow.

Are you calling.

What we deserve is a spot trip.

For calling broken bodies.

Oh, oh, okay, I got it, I got it, I got it.

An honorary senior discount.

Yeah, dust off your senior discount card for the local buffet early bird special.

Your AARP card.

Okay, let's not insult our friends, okay?

Our buddies.

Or buddies.

It's just a number.

Whatever.

Anyway, let me stop.

But you are in great company because I'm very proud of that reference.

Anyways, Diggity.

Don't.

Oh.

Where two graveyard diggers are swallowed when a sinkhole opens up in a cemetery.

The next one is when a stranger calls.

So a call comes into dispatch from a hiker in distress, but when the 118 come to the rescue, they come across human remains and a hiker who claims he never called 911.

The next one is.

It's frickin bats.

I love Halloween.

And in this one, a cauldron, which, yes, that is the collective noun for bats.

A cauldron of rabid bats infests, haunted corn maze.

Rachel rolling up with Bat Wikipedia effects.

You're welcome.

Sorry.

Continue.

Thank you.

A cauldron of rabid bats infests, a haunted corn maze.

And the last one, Forgive me for this.

Also very, very old reference.

The last call that we see in this episode is the Atreyu and Artax from the Neverending Story.

Real World AU that We Never Wanted, in which a police horse gets spooked at an outdoor Halloween party, and due to the extent of its injuries, it has to be put down.

Also, if you get that reference, pull on up next to us at the Early Bird Buffet special.

I actually do not get that reference, so I will not be joining you.

Wait, you haven't seen the Neverending Story.

She hasn't seen a lot of.

Put that on the list.

Yes, put that on the list because it is so good.

This is the vibes we're going with.

What did you think of this episode?

I find this episode fascinating and also heartbreaking and just so much.

Every time I rewatch it, I'm like, oh, my God, a Halloween episode.

And then I'm like, why?

No.

This is so depressing.

This is actually one of the most depressing episodes.

You're like, oh, a Halloween episode.

TJ was watching it with me as I.

I'm just, like, by proxy forcing him to watch this show at this point, because I rewatched the episodes, like, at least four times, and one of them is normally while we're eating dinner at night when we record.

So he was not like he.

Normally.

He's making a lot of jokes, and he did not really make a lot during this episode.

And then during the horse scene, he was crying.

Oh.

Which I cry every time.

I cry every time I watch the horse scene.

Yeah, but he was crying.

I remember I cried, too, when I first watched it.

That, like, do not put an animal that needs to be put down in front of me.

I will.

A ball.

How.

And it's.

It's, you know, his.

His human friend and how he's talking to him.

That is what kills me.

And hen.

Ugh.

We'll get into it.

But yeah, it's a.

It's a really good episode.

There's a lot of.

There's a lot of meat.

I know you hate when I say that, but there's a lot of meat in the character arcs for fucking Eddie separately in this episode.

Oh, yeah.

I'm here for better.

Kind of like mirroring, paralleling, oppositely.

Yes.

Like, not exponential, but.

What do you call when it's like one goes up, the other goes down perpendicular.

No pendulum.

No.

It's an inverse relationship.

Thank you very much.

We're gonna need the jaws of life over here.

It's time to get deep dive.

Deep dive.

Six feet under.

Dive into the pool.

Into the well.

Breathe through.

Breathe through a garden hose.

And spit bees out.

Spit bees out.

Mouth to mouth theory debunked.

Oh, we've lost so many times this week.

Oh, but we've won so much.

But we've also won so much.

Anyway, this isn't.

So I don't really know, like, where to talk about the music, right?

So Deep dive is where it's going to kind of analyze it a little bit.

So I really want to talk about the song that plays at the end called I Found by Amber Run.

I didn't get it until tonight.

Like, I know that song.

I love that song.

That's a Destiel song to me.

So I was, like, really confused about how it was used because to me, it's like a.

Like a soulmates finding each other kind of thing.

So, like, in my mind, it's a romantic thing.

And so I was like, this doesn't really make sense for, like, how it's being played here.

Like, it's like a positive romantic thing.

But then I listened to it, like, 40 times while I was getting ready for tonight, and I was like, oh, this is one of those songs that you really can take either way.

Like, two very different ways.

So I wanted to talk about a couple of the lyrics.

The song starts off saying, I'll use you as a warning sign that if you talk enough sense that you'll lose your mind.

And they repeat.

If you talk enough sense, then you lose your mind a lot of.

A lot of times.

And then I, like, looked up.

I like to look up things, even if I know what they mean, just to, like, reiterate specifics.

So talk some sense into is defined as to cause someone to stop thinking or behaving foolishly.

So the way that it's worded is, like, if you do that enough, you go crazy.

Like, if you have someone try to talk you out of being foolish enough, like, you'll lose your mind.

So the song is the opposite view of how I've always looked at it is kind of saying, like, stop trying to do this thing with different.

Like, expecting different results because you'll go crazy.

So, like, the I found love where it wasn't supposed to be, which I always thought was super romantic right in front of me.

Talk some Sense to me, I always took that to mean the opposite of.

What is actually saying.

Yeah.

What I assume they're trying to, like, portray in the scene.

Because they're showing.

They definitely show him.

And it's definitely a lot of Buck during this because it's playing while he's doing his voiceover at the end, reading his letter.

So there's a lot of talking about, like, using a person as, like, they say, a focal point or a gauge.

So, like, I'll use you as a focal point so I don't lose sight of what I want.

And I always took that to mean I'm gonna use you as the focal point because you're what I want.

But in this context, it seems like the opposite.

Right.

Okay.

Buck specifically is like, I'm using Abby as a focal point, reflecting on that so that I know what I don't want.

And starting on, you know, this journey to find out who I am without her.

I'll use you as a makeshift gauge of how much to give and how much to take.

Oh.

Oh, wait, that's so good.

Yeah.

So, like, great job.

The song choices are, like, almost always incredibly good.

So this one, I was like, this was a weird one that didn't make sense to me for so long.

But it finally clicked for me tonight because I just had, like, bias to, like, you know, pre associating it with something.

It's one of those things where you could, like, look at it on a more surface level and be like, oh, it's super romantic.

But if you dive into it a little deeper, it's like, wait a minute.

And the tone of the song is in A minor, I think.

Cause it sounds kind of somber.

And I always.

It just made sense for Destiel because of their love story specifically.

Right.

It just makes sense in that way where it is romantic, but it's heartbreaking.

Like a yearning sort of thing, which isn't right necessarily.

Like, where it's like, they found love, it's right in front of them, but they.

But it's like, they can't quite, like, make it work.

But.

Yeah.

So this one.

This other interpretation that I'm now associating with Buck, I guess, specifically is the opposite of that.

And I just thought it was just, like, a really great accent to his voiceover and what's happening at the end there.

I love when they do that.

And it also kind of works for Hannah as well, because here she has, like, she's saying goodbye to this person who she's never known.

And I think so much of what she and Karen do for Denny or.

Or their kids to do.

Not that.

Right.

Like.

Like, full pendulum.

She's using her.

Her daddy left her as a makeshift gauge of how much to give, how much to take.

Focal point so she doesn't lose sight of what she wants.

Yeah.

Ooh.

And I love when they can choose songs that have the same messaging, but meanwhile, so much to, like, multiple characters.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's when you know it's a good choice.

Even just the chorus where it's like, I found love where it wasn't supposed to be right in front of me.

Talks and sense to me.

It's like she.

She does have love for her dad, even though he left her.

And so she has to, you know.

Really wrestle with that.

What I'm looking for.

Yes.

Yeah.

And then for Buckets, obviously very literal.

I found love where it wasn't supposed to be like, they were not right for each other, but they were in front of each other.

Convenient.

And finally, like, someone has talked sense into him, which, like, he talked sense into himself.

But, you know, with.

With a little.

With a little help.

But a little help.

I feel like it was just like he was figuring it out.

Everyone was letting him figure it out.

And then when he went to them, he already, like, knew, but he was getting the, like, confirmation that.

Yeah.

The validation that he was right.

And I think Carla was kind of like the.

Like, the tipping point on the head.

Yeah.

Last nail in the coffin, would you say?

Yeah.

A Rip.

Mm.

I think I wrote that down somewhere.

I think I wrote that down in my notes somewhere.

I was like, the last nail in the coffin.

No, I said, oh.

Rip Decided to put his relationship with Abby to rest.

Rip.

I feel like I said something like, oh, I just said deaf of his relationship with her is what I said.

What a great Halloween episode.

Jesus.

Anyways, fantastic music analysis.

Thank you.

Can always trust you for that.

I'm a huge lyric person, so I really appreciate that.

They do, like, a lot of shows will just, like, choose vibes and not pay attention to the lyrics.

And they do a really good job of.

For, like, the key emotional moments, choosing really good songs.

So I found an article that came out, I think, the same day as this episode aired, and it's an article with Ryan Guzman.

The title, or it's from TV Line.

The title is Ryan Guzman previews Eddie's tense relation Reunion with his estranged wife.

And I thought there were.

There were some interesting quotes in here I'd like to share with you.

So at one point, he says in talking about Shannon coming back and you know, their rocky relationship and how we start to see that, he says it seems like she had very good reasons for doing the things she did.

Plus, who knows if Eddie went over the line at one point.

There are so many things that have yet to be said.

And I love this quote because we do get to see in season three with Eddie Begins, which is also just like such a pivotal episode, obviously we refer to it literally every single time.

Sorry, not sorry.

And so I think that's great because, you know, with this episode, they really are already setting up for that kind of thing because we, we do or when we get to that episode, we'll see the, like this argument that they have kind of fleshed out in the, in the flashbacks and it stays very true to what they say in this episode.

There's another quote that I thought was really cute.

It was Ryan saying that Gavin McHugh, who plays his son Christopher, had a school project where he had to pick an interesting person that inspires him.

And he wrote about Ryan.

He said he could have chosen anyone, but he wrote about me.

He's made me even more excited as a soon to be father to get to that place with his own child.

I feel very privileged that my character gets to spend time with him.

And I thought that was because he.

Calls Gavin his first kid.

Exactly.

I thought that was really, really sweet.

And just also I don't want to make this like weird or like, or sad, but in, but in dose in the last episode, Bobby talks about how his daughter Brooke was doing a show and tell with her hero who was her dad.

And I just thought that was like a kind of a nice connection, like a little art, like life imitating art sort of thing.

And just really sweet.

I love that they have that bond and chemistry as TV father, son.

It's really cute.

They work so well together.

And then the last thing I want to share from this article is the author of this article said, speaking of Eddie's love life, many viewers assumed that he was going to be paired with Buck's sister Maddie, which I'm very interested to hear for anyone who's been in the fandom longer than, than we have, like since season one and longer than six months.

Longer than six months.

What, what the vibe was like, like what was the temperature in those first couple episodes of season two, because I haven't really seen too much about it from the fandom side, you know, and I don't know if this is addressing like the fandom sort of beliefs or Just like a general audience sort of thing, but could be general audience.

I'll let you finish.

I'll let you finish, and I'll give you my opinion.

I'm gonna let you finish.

I'm gonna let you.

Thank you.

So Ryan Guzman said, I think everybody was on the same train of thought.

Even the writers, when they initially brought me in for the show, were like, we've got this new character played by Jennifer Love Hewitt, who we think might end up.

Who we think you might end up with.

We had this whole long speech about where the character was headed, and I didn't know that.

That it was even brought to Ryan at the table to discuss his character about Eddie.

But that also made me.

Or I've heard before, and I found an article that states it where Jennifer Love Hewitt had asked for Maddie to be with Chimney from her very first day on set.

So I have that linked as well.

So it's.

It's more recent.

But Jennifer Love Hewitt said, back on her first day of 91 1, Tim Minier asked what I wanted to have happen for Maddie.

And I said that I wanted her to be with Chimney.

It was kind of like, wait, what?

Which I guess kind of tracks because they had a slightly different plan.

And then she goes on to say, I just felt like they're, like they were two people who were sort of meant to be together.

I was just sort of thinking about who Maddie was and where I hoped she was going to go.

And I think she was deserving of a Chimney in her life.

I think anybody who wants to be in love deserves a really good person like him.

I don't know.

It was just a gut feeling.

And putting those two bits of information together is so cool because it shows how collaborative Tim Minor has been where they had an idea for the character, for their characters, and based on the input of the actors who like Jennifer Love Hewitt's gut feeling, which was a fantastic gut feeling.

I think we can all agree on that, because Maddie and Chimney are just, like, so wonderful.

Separate, but together as well.

It shows, like, how the narrative in the story is, like, fluid and can be.

It's, like, still unwritten sort of thing and just kind of fantastic that they kind of pivoted a little bit.

And possibly with that.

Thank you.

Jennifer Love Hewitt paved the way for something else.

Scylla, what were you going to say?

Because I know you had opinions.

I.

I feel like, okay, like, in the show itself, obviously they've made changes as Far as the final cut goes, but, like, I didn't feel like they were gonna get together, obviously, like, by watching the show, but stereotypically hot girl, hot guy.

Like, of course they were.

They could have been, should have been.

It's like a typical to me.

And newcomers.

Newcomers.

It's.

To me, it's typical.

I just.

And I think I said this in last week's episode.

I think I said.

I feel like it would have been pretty.

I.

I feel like it could have been, like, not destructive, just bad, like, if they ended up together.

I don't know.

They have.

So they're so similar.

I think they can benefit from, like, each other's baggage, I guess.

But I don't think in a relationship.

I think more in, like a friendship type of thing.

Yeah.

Kind of how I feel about Taylor and Buck.

Yeah.

Like, they're.

They're too similar.

And with.

With Maddie and Eddie, like, there's a lot that they can identify with in each other, but I'm not sure that's what the other one would need in a romantic relationship or a.

Or a.

Or a partnership, which kind of makes it more perfect that Maddie ends up with Chimney.

Because he kind of like brings her.

Brings her up a little bit, you know, lightens the.

What have we been saying?

He helps lighten the load for Maddie and.

Load.

Exactly.

And I think Buck is also there.

Buck is also there for Eddie.

I'm also here.

And.

And.

And let's just.

Let's just say they just.

Their initial thought was just the wrong Buckley.

That's all.

Yeah, that's all.

So that was the press for my little red string corner.

There were a couple things that I wanted to point out.

I didn't really have a good place to point them out otherwise.

So some of them are going to be a little, like, parallely, a little foreshadowy.

This is the place to do it.

So at the corn maze or the haunted house or whatever, call.

And there were all the bats and Hen says, you know, rabid bats.

During a mosquito epidemic.

That is a very subtle or.

I think it's subtle call back to the last episode in Dosed, where at the very end, after Taylor Kelly has kind of gotten her big break in front of the camera.

She.

And I think it's the scene at the end where Maddie is watching laundry.

Yeah.

And Taylor is doing this story about this mosquito epidemic that's happening.

And I just thought that was great because that's what you call continuity.

That's what you call continuity.

Never met her before.

We Started watching the show.

But, like, that's such a teeny, tiny element detail.

Yeah.

And I was just like, wait a second.

We know that there's a mosquito epidemic because it was mentioned very, very, you know, offhand.

And then, you know, Buck has a.

An opening monologue in this episode, and he talks about eventually everything dies.

Yes.

And I just wanted to point out that eventually everything dies in the episode where we.

Where we meet Shannon.

I know.

Yikes.

Insane.

Yes.

Insane choice.

That's big.

Yikes.

Anyway, and there's.

There's some insane things.

I'm sure we'll go into that more.

That is going on on the sixth.

No shit.

This is not the sixth.

This is the seventh.

We're not stone six.

Thank God.

Oh, my God.

That's why we had so much trouble with it.

A number six parallel.

Anyway, sorry.

Derailed.

Yes.

So Buck doing the.

Doing the opening monologue.

Everything eventually dies in the episode where Shannon cometh back.

That's wolf.

That's a big wolf.

And that also indicates to me, even from that parallel that I.

That I found with the escalator call, they knew.

They knew they were going to kill her off early.

Sorry.

Spoilers.

Wait.

What?

The escalator from episode four.

Wow.

Yeah.

It was stuck.

Wow.

Okay.

Yay.

Remember when I was talking about the guy with the engagement ring and then just wanted the box and it was like that kind of like.

Yeah.

Because it was a similar shot.

Yeah.

And I.

And I paralleled it to Eddie and Shannon.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

This is.

It's now been, like a month since we did that.

So I just remember that because I was really proud of it.

Okay.

And I'm looking.

I'm looking for foreshadow.

I'm purposeful looking for foreshadowing things.

So this is just another tick under the clock.

So you think they knew, like, they brought her on and they already had this arc planned for her to, like, bring her back and kill.

Wow.

I really knew.

We're gonna bring on this pretty man and just make him suffer.

I really do think they had that in mind, like, from the very beginning the season.

Yeah.

There was something else that I noticed that I can't remember where it is now.

It was probably not for a deep dive.

Yeah.

And.

Oh, it's in themes.

We'll get there.

Oh, okay.

And I think I feel like that is supported as well, because I haven't found.

I don't have an article to reference it specifically, but I know Tim Minor has said that he kind of regrets killing Off Shannon and.

And Devin Kelly, the actress.

Because she's so great.

The actress.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So I.

I kind of feel like that was in the works kind of from the beginning.

Yeah.

And just by sheer, like, how great she is.

That's why they keep bringing her back in interesting ways.

And then, you know, so we have a sinkhole at the.

At the cemetery, and.

And Buck almost falls in, and Bobby catches him, and he says he doesn't want the crew to fall into a sinkhole and drag 10 tons of loose soil on top of themselves.

And I just wanted to.

We're really beating that reference like a dead horse.

Dead horses.

That's.

We're not there yet.

Shh.

Yes.

So I.

For this one, I don't know that it was, like, actually intentional, but it is interesting because it is.

It's interesting because it is the episode where Shannon comes back, and it is very.

Eddie.

Heavy with this kind of stuff, so I have to point it out.

Okay, so color theory is a thing.

We're just going to tldr, introduce the idea that we can, you know, come back to in more depth later.

There's an idea that goes around, I think, in.

In a lot of shows as well, especially fandom, with color theory and kind of assigning a color to a character sort of thing.

If they tend to wear that color a lot, it's indicative of certain things.

Or, you know, like, Dean in Supernatural is green, but Castiel is blue.

Those are the color of their eyes.

So it's this kind of, like, signifier of them.

So.

And they put them in those colors a lot.

Exactly.

Well, I mean, Cas tie is blue.

It's the one piece of color he has.

Beige is a color.

And Dean's jackets are normally green.

Yeah.

So beige is a color.

Neutral.

It is a neutral, but it's still a color.

Anyway.

Anyways, I'm trying to do this tldr.

So typically, like, wardrobe will end up putting characters in a lot of the same colors.

There's a theory that people have developed and that I personally subscribe to, and it's that Buck is red, Eddie is blue.

Right.

But then you also get into Christopher's yellow, which I think we mentioned a little bit in our 204 episode stuck, because he had a lot of, like, yellow with that big yellow cabinet.

So Christopher is generally thought of as yellow, and Shannon is orangey.

Right.

So those are the typical colors, and that these characters are represented by.

And any.

Anytime they're wearing those colors is indicative of them, like, being themselves or if they're wearing a different color.

They're like, maybe not feeling exactly themselves.

So specifically, at the end, like, in the end monologue with Buck, when he's talking about how he.

How he wants to find who he is without Abby, he is in red.

So that is very much a.

Like, he's trying to find himself.

He's trying to be himself without Abby.

That's an indicator as well.

And then when Eddie.

And when Shannon comes over to Eddie's house, Eddie is in all blue.

I mean, it's.

It's a Canadian tuxedo.

It's denim on denim.

I don't have a problem.

It looks really good.

Yeah.

But it is head to toe blue, which is also interesting because it's.

It's in his space, it's in his house.

And Shannon is in this kind of like orangey rust color top.

Right.

With blue pants.

But, you know, but after.

After they meet and he goes to meet her after her interview, he's in green, which is a combination of blue and yellow.

But she is also wearing a yellow dress in this instance.

So that can also kind of be an indicator of Eddie trying.

Of Eddie, like, you know, like, kind of extending maybe.

Maybe not feeling like, as holy in himself because he's trying to be something for Christopher or Shannon.

And that inclusion of yellow into his typical blue is an indicator of that.

So that's just like a very, like, tldr as you're watching episodes.

Just pay attention to that.

There's a great thread or a couple threads on Twitter which will link as well.

That explains it pretty well.

But it's just something that is cool to look out for and just another facet of, you know, trying to get into the character psyche through a visual medium, being clothing and how they express themselves in their clothes.

From the wardrobe department when.

When he's touring the school, when Eddie's touring the school and he's wearing an all blue suit and Carla's there, she's wearing an orange shirt.

And what is Carla representing so much in this episode?

Oh, a motherly presence.

A motherly presence or a push to.

Push to.

For Chris to have his mom.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So see, there's, like, it's definitely stuff that you're.

That we can really read into, and it is very subjective on what you think it could mean, but, like, it is.

It is there.

Yeah.

But it is intentional.

There's.

There's.

There's a certain amount of intentionality in, you know, costume design, you know, to.

Help portray what the characters are going through on the Inside, on the outside.

Yeah, well, there's there.

Especially in television, I think everything is so intentional, like from set pieces to costuming, like every.

Every part of it is.

So whenever I like, feel like we're reading a little bit too much into this, I'm like, are we though?

Because so many people had to make a decision.

They put a lot of work and a lot of details into.

Yeah, exactly.

Are we getting the meeting right?

Maybe, maybe not.

But that's the subjective part.

Yeah.

The fact still remains that there are so many decisions from, like the collaborative departments that have to okay this and this and this for it to go.

So, like, there's intention there from so many different aspects to kind of support this.

And I know we're gonna get into this particular scene later, but the conversation that Maddie and Buck are having.

Yes.

It parallels season seven, episode five, but they're also wearing the same colors, which is like, insane because he.

Yeah, because she's wearing that, right?

No, no, I'm talking about the comp.

So in the.

In the kitchen, they're having a conversation over dinner.

Buck and Maddie.

Uh huh.

Oh, yeah.

So she's wearing that minty green.

And both in season seven and in this season.

And then he's wearing.

Well, in season seven, he's wearing.

He's wearing like a.

Is that navy or is that black?

Or is my computer screen.

It's really dark blue, I think.

I.

It's really hard to tell because of the lighting.

Bluish black.

I was gonna.

Okay, well, it's a very, very dark color.

But I thought it was black because he's also wearing it.

I assume it's not black because they like never put him in black.

So what is he wearing in this scene?

I'd have to go back and see it.

But if they put him in something so close to black, whether it's navy or not, it's still.

That is also indicative, you know, still talking about color theory.

That's indicative of him deciding that his relationship with Abby is no longer.

So it's.

It's him kind of like in this, like, dress of mourning.

So still stands.

Thank you, Rachel.

Thank you for telling me.

It still stands.

Because I was like, well, never mind then.

No, I mean, it's accurate.

I was just trying to get the color right because that's how my brain works.

But yeah, you're right.

It doesn't matter whether it's black or dark blue.

It's the same alleged meaning.

So I know this episode is called Haunted, but I feel like they should have called it ghosted because that's kind of actually the theme because everyone has been ghosted and that the ghosting is what's haunting them.

They've been ghosted in different ways or I guess in different types of relationships for different reasons.

But I mean, when it comes down to it, it's all abandonment.

Yeah.

Which I think is, you know, ghosting is abandonment, like inherently.

But abandonment sounds more serious.

Which I feel like all of these situations are pretty serious.

It wasn't like, oh, I went on a couple dates and like they ghosted me.

You know what I mean?

Because I feel like ghosted is normally used in a casual dating sort of.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think all, pretty much all of the characters here have a.

Have an issue with feeling abandoned in some way, shape or form.

Or maybe they are the ones who have done the abandoning.

I'm gonna go to my favorite one that I, that like, is kind of obvious.

But I only realize this always happens to me.

I don't know why.

Sometimes things are super obvious, obvious, and I don't notice it until like the umpteenth time that I watch it.

And I'm so sorry, but beating a dead horse is a big theme.

And then once I realized that that was a theme, I was like, oh, they really like did it heavy handed did this.

And we're like, we're just going to let you know with our whole chests that all of these situations are beating a dead horse.

And the definition of that, because I like to do that, is to waste effort on something when there is no chance of succeeding.

Ooh, no win scenario.

Right.

Because you can't, like the horse is dead.

You can't.

That's so sad.

I'm.

I said I was sorry, but it is, but it, it's very true in like all of these situations.

Right.

Because like, if, if Buck had continued to wait around trying, you know, to do the same thing, expecting something different to happen.

Like, there's just no chance.

There's no chance of it, you know, ever succeeding.

And they're telling us so many ways narratively that this is Eddie and Shannon is just not meant to be.

They're telling us that, like, this is a waste of time because it can never succeed.

Oof.

I actually didn't really pick up on that fully.

And Hens is like a past beating a dead horse.

Right.

Because I feel like.

I feel like she kind of got over it as much as she could.

Like being abandoned because it happened when she was nine.

Yeah.

I think she had to.

It still brings things up it still brings things up.

And I think ultimately she real, like, she realized when she was having that conversation with Athena, Right.

That, like, she couldn't just keep being mad at him because she didn't.

She didn't hate him.

Right.

And she, like, there's no way that, like, she has enough negative feelings about him to, like, feel any positive feelings about pulling the plug.

So I don't know.

I think it fit for everyone.

So sorry for the wording, but yes, so that.

So that makes sense if a real, real, like Nokia on the head sort of.

Sort of way of going about it and then just to get back to being ghosted.

But I feel like this is also kind of similar to what Hen is kind of experiencing.

There's this element of, like, knowing versus not knowing or being haunted by the what ifs.

And I feel like that specifically is affecting Hen and Athena.

Well, all of them.

Right?

Yeah.

You know, just kind of like.

Or maybe just like the most explicit with Hen because she's.

She's looking through all this stuff and she's like, you know, what, what if.

I mean, yeah, she's.

She has these what ifs of, like, what if, you know, since he, her dad obviously was in LA and was obviously, like, keeping some tabs on her, like, what if, you know, he had reached out and they had formed some kind of relationship and then Buck is struggling because he's like, I feel like I should move on, but what if she comes back?

Like, am I giving up too soon?

And Eddie is like, you know, what if she had come back?

What if Shanahan come back?

And I know I'm skipping around a little bit, but that, that really goes into this idea of hope and waiting, but also closure and grieving.

Right.

Because you.

You want to continue to have hope and hope in people and hope that things will turn out for the better.

But like Buck says in the episode, how do you know if you're hanging on too long or giving up too soon?

So it's that kind of, like, tension of how much time do you let pass before you let go?

So either, like, you let go without closure and you're grieving it anyways, or even if you have let go and you finally do get closure back, you then have to go into grieving it again as a second time sort of thing, because now you know what would have happened.

And I feel like we'll see that with Buck and Abby as well at the end of season three.

Yeah, I put.

I had closure, but specifically, there are two ways that people are Having closure here, which is either finding it or just making it.

Because if it's not offered to you, in the case of Buck and Hen, you have to make it.

And the next episode is find it or you don't find it.

You make it so smart.

Oh, my gosh.

Impeccable.

Yeah, that.

So that theme of kind of like making your own closures so you can move on finding versus making goes into the next episode, which we're gonna talk about next time as well.

And let's see, there's also like this theme of notifying next of kin.

Right.

So in.

In terms of finding closure, I guess, you know, or.

Or when closure is thrust upon you, you know, I don't.

When.

When you are given closure, like.

Like when Athena goes to the wife of the deceased hiker or so she notifies his next of kin.

Hen's father was.

They were trying to find his next of kin so they could decide what to do for him.

Notifying next of kin for Eddie, contacting Shannon, which he would not have otherwise if he didn't have to do this interview for the school.

So there's like that element as well, I think, which.

Which kind of connects to like resurfacing or shall we say unearthing in a very literal sense.

I said unearthing because of the graveyard thing, not because of the.

Well, sure, but, you know, and so like resurfacing after no contact, and then all of a sudden like, boom, they're there and what do you do in any kind of sense of what there is.

So like this unearthing as well also, Chimney mentions it.

Just a little tie back to the earthquake, how that shifted things under the surface.

So they're walking on eggshells and bubble wrap.

He says.

So this.

This feeling of like shifting sands or wide reaching effects of unstable ground, which also.

And also like going back to the earthquake, the release of pressure which causes a collapse.

And that's the.

That's physically seen in the sinkhole.

So we still see this element of pressure and release that we saw in the first episode of the season and how that creates.

So we see like more the effect of that and how that creates this like, rocky terrain and that these characters have to traverse in, like, their relationships and stuff.

And if that makes sense, I think that covered it.

Who's cooking?

Oh, speaking of unearthing, so Athena gets a little arc in this episode, but what is really cool is how it's kind of like laying the crumbs for some stuff that happens in the future.

And like her Begins episode and then season six.

Yeah.

Which again, everything is.

Everything is connected and not being.

Everything is connected.

Everything has intention.

We have connected.

Shit.

But yeah.

So basically the origin of her wanting to be a cop is because of this tragedy happening to her next door neighbor who was a kid and it was an unsolved case.

A cold case.

So a cold case.

And I think distinctly what pulls her to this specific case, other than the similarities, is that she.

Other officers don't want to work on it because they want to work on things that just happened, you know, and finding people to try and help people who are still alive or not.

Dead ends that are dead ends.

Exactly.

Yes.

Sorry for the phrasing.

Yeah.

But so she, she.

She, you know, volunteered.

She volunteered for this.

And like, as Bobby said, she.

He was like, this isn't like your thing.

And she was like, I can do whatever the fuck I want, basically.

So true Queen.

Which I don't think is even realistic for her position.

But nothing about what Athena does is realistic.

I'm fine with that.

She can do whatever she wants.

She can do what she wants.

But I do love that Bobby points out, like, this isn't your usual beat.

And she's just like, I'm a field sergeant.

Yeah.

I go wherever I want.

Makes a phone call and then, then he's like, are you gonna help me clean?

She's like, bye.

Which respect.

Because I would not want to.

Those were a lot of pumpkins.

Yeah, they got so many pumpkins.

I love that Bobby was making ghosts for Buck.

For Buck.

Father behavior.

Yes.

Talking to other kids about his other kid and was like, we gotta make ghosts for your brother.

For your big brother.

Because he's convinced that A ghost called 911.

He's so silly.

Goofy.

Quick tangent on Bobby really quickly because I just wanted to like mention this.

So like, yeah, they're making a bunch of ghosts for Buck because he's doing like this little like ribbing thing.

But when Athena asks, you know, like, what do you think about this?

And you know, like, do you think it was a ghost?

Do you think it wasn't?

And Bobby does this like very Bobby thing where he answers without answering, which he does a lot, right?

He's like, in, in response, he's like, well, I think that there was someone who called and.

And probably saw this hiker, like go off the edge and called 911 for them and then just like hung up.

Like the most kind of boring, logical answer, most likely possibility.

But he doesn't answer whether or not he thinks ghosts Are real, which was the question.

So he completely like obfuscated it, which he also does looking forward in the Jinx episode.

Oh my God.

Right in.

He's like, I'm Switzerland.

Yeah.

Because in.

In that very same vein, you know when they're saying the like talking about the keyword and everything like that, and he just kind of like, I think everybody can think what they think and that's fine.

But he doesn't answer for himself.

And I just think that's really funny because it's just another example of him like not disclosing his personal beliefs.

Well, I feel like, I feel like that's one thing, but I also feel like he's like trying to make it make sense to himself because if he puts too much into it, he's.

He'll also be just like them.

He's got to keep it together.

Right.

I wonder if he feels like he needs to be the voice of reason, you know, when everyone's going on like these kind of spiritual woo woo, like kind of tangents.

Well, yeah, because the three of because and chimney and Buck are all varying degrees and flavors of like superstitious and.

Yeah.

And then there's Eddie who doesn't want to.

But like then he was like, oh yeah, what about your necklace?

You're believing in that.

Exactly.

Well, what's it people always say this in fix and I.

It's accurate is that he's not, he's not superstitious.

He doesn't like believe in ghosts.

But he believes in signs.

Bobby does.

No, Eddie.

Oh yeah.

He believes in signs and then does stupid things because he thinks things are signs.

Well, I think he doesn't put weight into them.

But then they keep showing up for him and he doesn't want to like pay attention to them.

I don't think Eddie wants to believe that they're signs.

But like signs keep showing up for him.

But I was also just going to say I wonder too if Bobby finds it kind of difficult to.

Look at.

The more like spiritual, you know, that kind of aspect of stuff.

I wonder if he thinks that it like conflicts with his faith.

Could be.

So I was gonna say I feel like it's very hard one or other direction.

Right.

So like my family, very staunchly ghosts are not real.

But like they don't believe this anymore.

But like definitely we're like, yes, like demons.

And I'm like, what's the difference between like demonic spirits and ghosts?

Like are we not saying the same thing but different words?

Like, I don't.

But I, I Definitely feel like you either as a religious person, either like really believe in that stuff because you already believe in the woo woo or and you like work that into like your belief system there, or you're just like, it's not in.

It's not in the book that I'm reading.

So it doesn't exist.

So I just wanted to go on that brief tangent.

Yes, back to Athena, but back to Athena.

So, yeah, she's really drawn to this case, really focused on solving it because she wants to give any next of kin closure because she watched her neighbors watch that whole family who lost their daughter or sister.

And she said something like, like aged them.

It changed them very quickly.

She was like even a.

Even a week later, she.

So she says when she's talking with hen, she says she remembers how much the parents changed, like in just a week of not knowing.

And there we have the not knowing again.

It was enough to age them.

And by six months, another six.

By six months they were totally broken.

So they had lost.

It seemed like they had lost hope and they kind of became ghosts themselves a little bit.

Right?

Yeah.

And that seems to really have stuck with her and you know, obviously why she.

She kind of became like a little dog with a bone about this case, this cold case.

Because if she can help solve this one that's one step closer maybe or something that she can do that she couldn't have done with the other one.

So it's not exactly like the, like the 148 names for Bobby, like making up for it.

But like she's still.

I feel like she very much like.

She has all empathizes with personal empathy for it.

Yeah.

Empathy is another theme in this episode as well.

Like seeing something from another person's perspective.

Another person's perspective.

Yeah.

Once she actually solves this case.

Right.

Which props to her because it wouldn't have been solved if she didn't take it upon herself, you know, kind of outside of her job jurisdiction a little bit.

It would have kept on just like being that.

That lack of closure for this family.

So like she really is the person that is that solved the case or took care of the importance of that, because she knew that.

And I think Maddie touches on this as well when she talks to buck this idea of, you know, thinking or understanding what that person would be going through that, you know, is wrestling with the losing hope or not giving up hope and everything like that.

And so Athena delivers the news to the wife of the deceased hiker and the wife says that, you know, he had been missing for seven years.

And I think that's important because also in that conversation with Maddie and Buck, they mention that, you know, after six or seven years you can legally declare a person dead.

And Maddie goes on to say, you know, like, you know, that must be awful to declare that you've lost hope.

The wife never lost hope.

She.

It was that it was like that time period where she could have petitioned to have him declared dead, but she never lost hope.

Athena specifically says she saw the missing persons report and not anything else.

So even in that timeframe, like, she never lost hope.

But also the wife was so mad.

Not that people thought that her husband had left her, but she was so mad that nobody believed in him that he wouldn't up and leave her like that.

And I thought that was an interesting maybe parallel to Eddie and Shannon as well, that Eddie hasn't given up the hope that he can do what's best for Chris, which I do want to get in into later.

But I thought that was an interesting parallel because we see a lot of that people saying oh or implying Eddie always thinks he knows best is sarcastic.

But Eddie hasn't given up hope in himself that he's doing what's best, even though other people maybe have, maybe haven't.

So I thought that could be a possible parallel.

I don't know if this is even relevant anymore, but I did pick up crumbs because.

Crumbs.

Crumbs.

Because, well, whatever, we'll disregard my thought process for that.

But like, but I did pick up crumbs, like in terms of Athena's story and a little bit of that flash forward aspect of it.

So I, like, I, I had completely forgotten that she actually did have like the, the whole backstory.

So I think I was like reacting as I was watching.

So like it just kept.

So that's why I was like, I was like disregard my thought process.

Now I'm talking about my thought process.

But anyway, I had connected this to what we know about Athena.

What we learn in Athena begins.

I don't remember what that is, but about like her fiance and like, like basically like she didn't know who killed him, right?

Yeah, so she didn't know who killed him.

And like I thought like, she also like she connect.

She found empathy through that because like for so long, like she just didn't know who it was.

She didn't get that kind of closure.

So that's why I was like, oh, they're also putting.

They're also setting this up for another backstory of Athena's.

No, exactly.

Thank you for bringing that up as well.

I forgot to.

I forgot that was also part of it too.

So, like, she really does have this deep well of empathy for these cold cases.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that one.

But still, you're so right, because it.

It does set up both of her, like, backstory cases in.

In this manner.

And her.

Her personal proximity.

Or it sets up her proximity in different ways for these kind of cold cases.

And why she felt such a pull to.

Yeah, why she felt such a pull to be able to be able to provide the closure for someone, even if she can't provide it for herself or the parents of the little girl from.

From her childhood.

That's.

That's a great point.

This.

Actually, this episode, I think, does so much to, like, crop up or drop.

Like the beginning of lore drops for Athena.

Definitely Eddie as well, in such an interesting way.

Because they also, like, when we finally do see those, it is very consistent to what was put up in season two, I feel like.

Right.

So that's kind of.

That's really interesting.

And.

And it is really very much like the things that.

That haunt these characters popping up again.

Ghost of a second chance.

We might say, like, whack a mole.

But whack a ghost.

That wouldn't be very efficient because they're translucent and I'm with iron.

Oh, that could work.

It doesn't rhyme.

Oh, my God.

Speaking of closure and I guess ghosts of a second chance.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

One day we won't make it all about Eddie.

Today is not that day.

Wait, are we going into Eddie already?

No, no, that was just an Eddie reference.

Oh.

So hen.

Henrietta.

Henrietta, my love.

Henrietta.

Going.

Going through it.

Can she catch a break?

No.

Ever.

Literally never.

Homophobia.

If it isn't like.

If it isn't like, crazy exes, it's now daddy issues galore.

Which, when you learn about the daddy issues, you're like, oh, yeah, that makes sense.

I get it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

When you learn about everyone's daddy issues.

Everyone.

Everyone does have daddy issues.

You can't work at the 118 without daddy issues.

It's on the job.

And mommy issues, actually.

Yeah.

You need to be gay and have daddy issues.

Just all the issues.

It's a requirement.

So, yeah.

Hen.

Hen is really just, like, blindsided by learning that her father is in la.

Has been.

Has been.

And she is in charge of deciding to pull the plug on him or not.

It's the only thing keeping him alive.

Oof which is like a hard decision to make for anyone, but especially complicated for her because she was abandoned by this man at 9 years old and she hasn't seen or heard from him since.

What a.

What a thing to have dropped in your lap, like, literally.

She didn't ask for this.

Nope.

She didn't ask for any of it.

And especially this happens.

I mean, obviously this is intentional in this, in the writing, but after the sinkhole and she's all just like kind of uneasy about like disturbing the spirits because she got like the.

It wasn't a bulldozer, but that a heavy machinery to help find the gravedigger.

She's like, I don't need that mess following me home.

So she was trying to be respectful of the spirits there.

And look what followed her home.

Whoops.

So she's really wrestling this episode with this conflict of having this stranger, this person who she is related to but doesn't know and her.

The responsibility that has been just like put on her shoulders.

Want to talk about Atlas again?

So she's trying to make a decision between, you know, what, what she, what she owes to him, what he would want and why she's.

She even has to do it in the first place because essentially to her he is a stranger and she has to make a life or death decision for him.

And chimney reminds her that they make life or death decisions for strangers all the time.

But it's different when you have personal history, especially being abandoned.

It makes it so much more complicated.

So I think her main thing in this episode is trying to make that closure because he is not able to give it to her since he is comatose.

And, you know, here, here she has this, like, it could have been like a wonderful opportunity to touch base and kind of like ask him questions and get that closure of like, you know, why did you do this?

Why did you leave?

Why.

Why are you back in la?

Why do you have.

Why were you keeping tabs on me?

Because he had an article from.

About hen, like from three years ago.

But she doesn't get that opportunity because he is incapable.

Yeah, she kind of has to go through the stages of grief.

Yeah, right.

And mourn someone that she doesn't know and doesn't have a relationship with.

And she's having those what if thoughts.

Mourning what could have been.

Yes, mourning what could have been.

And she's like a little angry, but mostly she's just like, what the fuck do I do?

Like, why is.

Why.

Why is this up to me?

And she's doing a lot of external.

Working through it with chimney and with Karen.

And I feel like Athena.

And Athena.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah, sorry.

Her support system.

Yeah, her support system.

And I feel like this is a little bit of growth for her because I feel like we've talked about in some past episodes how Athena had to, like, pry things out of her to get her to talk through situations, and now she's like, just seeking people out, you know, offering up what's going on and just leaning on that support without like, having to, like, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

It's kind of.

If I may, it's kind of like Buck asking, you know, everyone else's opinions as well.

They're.

They're doing very much like they're going through these kind of success, which, I mean, Buck is going through, like, the grieving process for that as well.

Yeah.

So.

So hen is all like, you know, her.

Her dad is.

Is the ghost that haunts her brain, but she never has hated him enough to, like, want him to die or anything like that.

But she's never like, really felt a kindred, like, love for him.

And I thought that was a kind of tie to what she said with Ava.

I just had the same thought.

I just found that parallel too, because she says that she couldn't hate him enough to, you know, basically pull the plug on him.

It's kind of like how she was so angry at Ava.

Like, but she.

But when Ava overdosed or.

And was, I think, unconscious at the time, she.

She had the choice of whether letting her live or die.

Like, she could have walked away from that.

But even though.

Even though basically she just.

She still saved her, even though Eva was this awful person that has hurt her numerous of times.

So.

So this is.

This is like the second time that she's had to deal with, like, you know, the life or death situation of someone who was supposed to love her.

Oof, that's rough, buddy.

And also, like.

I can hear it in his voice.

It's so bad.

Oh, Dante Bosco, you have like, the most unique voice acting voice I've ever.

Oh, what a gift.

Pinpoint that a mile away.

Yeah.

Wow.

Oh, my gosh.

Honor.

But also, oh, my God.

But also when or when hen has her big confrontation with Eva and she's all like, I feel nothing for you.

It's like that apathy.

So it's kind of similar.

I think Hen's apathy for Ava is more.

Well, yeah, it's similar because she doesn't.

She didn't get what she needed to out of either of Them.

Because they were supposed to be people who loved her and they did not fulfill on that.

Yeah, I think it's worse with Ava, though, because, like.

Yes.

Yeah, because she was there.

Well, yes.

An adult.

And, you know, Ava was like.

Why do I want to say?

Nefarious?

Like, she, like, she was literally like, essentially a villain.

You know what I mean?

Like, she was doing shit to hurt her and fuck with her on purpose.

And, like, her dad isn't.

Ness isn't really a villain.

He's just kind of not there.

He doesn't exist to her.

It Like a void, like a sinkhole.

Oh, how many?

How many?

How many?

That was good.

Thank you.

Wow.

I didn't even.

So a little bit at the.

At the end where she has made her decision.

She kind of, like, there's an element of confession again from the last episode from dost, where she.

Where she is kind of in his comatose state.

She's kind of giving him an update on her life and all of the things that he's missed.

And she says that, you know, as she was growing up, he became like her diary, like confessions to imagine to an imaginary father.

And she.

She doesn't know him, so she.

She's mourning the loss of that relationship as well.

And she never gets to fully know why he was like that or.

Or what he was like or why he left her.

And she can only go off of what she would want.

And there we have, like, that empathy again.

So she's extending, you know, her empathy of, like, what she would want for someone to do for her to him who.

Who doesn't.

Hasn't really earned it at all.

And she said she.

She wouldn't want to live like this, like a ghost in a hospital, which is obviously very kind of nail on the head there, right?

And it really connects to the call with the horse because of how.

God, what do we call him?

The horse handler.

I don't know his name.

Police Horse Guy.

Horse Friend.

Horse Friend.

I wish I had a name for him.

Police Officer Horse Friend.

Police Officer Horse Friend.

God, that is so long.

But anyway, just.

Officer Horse Friend.

Officer Officer Horse Friend.

Officer Horse Friend already knows, like, the horse was suffering, and he just.

He was like, please, just.

Just, you know, put him down.

And.

And Han is like, can't.

She's not.

She couldn't grapple with that fact that she has.

She's basically like, maybe we could try other things and not like, end this life.

So it's like, kind of.

It mirrors that.

That situation mirrors the situation where she's like, I don't know if I have the choice of doing this or in pulling that plug.

So, like, that's what I found interesting.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think she is also very, like, kind of realistic about things as well.

She's.

Because she says, like, you know, we don't have enough of this to, like.

Or animal control wouldn't come in time, and we don't have enough this.

Da, da, da, da.

So she is kind of like, she.

She is in paramedic mode, which we've discussed.

She is very, like, logical in that mode.

But we see that start to break down a little when she's about to inject the horse with I don't know what it was to put him to sleep.

And morphine.

Yeah.

Maybe they overdosed him with morphine.

Yeah.

So we do see that kind of wall, that compartmentalization of professionalism to bring that back into the conversation again.

We see that break down and she.

So much so, because she's obviously thinking about her dad in this kind of same situation, which, again, I don't know how I feel about, like, equating a person to an animal sort of thing, because I know that happens again.

Yeah, a couple times.

But, like, for the metaphor, will allow it, but she does.

Or.

Or she can't bring herself to do it in this case, which is maybe kind of unusual for her.

And so she can't bring herself to pull the plug, as it were, for the horse.

But Bobby is able to as part of her support system in a professional and personal setting as well.

He takes the weight off her shoulders.

So he.

There he is being Atlas again, and he's the one that.

That does it.

So it.

I think that that gave her, like, that whole experience with the horse kind of gave her that answer that she was looking for, that even though she wasn't able to bring herself to put the horse down herself.

It kind of gave her the, like, the push to be able to do it for her dad because she.

She wouldn't want to live as a ghost in a hospital.

And she.

She gives him forgiveness, which, again, is not earned or asked for, but she does that for herself and with empathy in order to let him go.

And there we have letting go again.

This whole episode is a.

Is a lot about letting go, too, in.

In very, like, very close personal aspects as opposed to letting go of things on the job, which we've been seeing a lot lately.

And speaking of letting go, I just.

Wanted to say one quick other thing about the horse.

Okay.

You're really beating.

I'm trying to be nice.

Wow.

I just wanted to.

Very, very sorry that I thought of that.

Yeah, that one's on you.

That one's on you.

I went, oh, no.

Immediately wrote it down.

Oh, no.

This will be great.

But it's not my d.

I didn't do it.

I just noticed it.

No, it's fine.

Just very, very quickly, I wanted to mention how the police department and the firefighters kind of like locked arms in a show of respect and privacy for again, essentially a fallen comrade.

Right.

Because it was a police.

A police horse.

Police horse.

And so that's another example that will.

That we see in season two of one.

The, like the police and the firefighters and that kind of brotherhood supporting each other.

But also with the little girl in the Dorothy costume that has no parents.

Has no parents apparently, and made friends.

Made friends with the horse.

Serious moment.

This is a serious show.

So serious.

It's a very serious, realistic show.

Okay.

Yeah.

What was she doing all by herself?

Jesus.

Following the yellow brick road, probably.

Rachel, please finish your thought.

I'm trying.

I'm going to shut up.

I'm trying.

Done.

Anyways, anyways, so the fact that like she kind of came in and was also there to help support the officer horse friend.

So that is, she's kind of the stand in for like the community and the public being affected and offering a shoulder to lean on for the police and for the firefighters as well.

So that's another foreshadowing to the very end of season two.

And I just wanted to make note of that.

Well, it's time to get booked.

Yes, let's get booked, please.

I'm have that.

I have that stuck in my head.

It's so good.

So.

So book is basically, he already came to the conclusion that he needs to move on, but he's also uncertain because, like, he's still kind of glomming onto this thing where he thought he found that connection that he was looking for.

So he's like looking at it logically.

He's like, I should move on.

But emotionally he's like, what if he's still stuck?

Yeah, he's still stuck.

And he's thinking about, but what if I let go and she comes back?

He's trying.

He's thinking about, like, what could could happen if like their relationship could continue.

But he knows and logically and also like deep down you know that he needs to move on.

He does this by making the rounds of people he knows to get validation in that fact because, you know, asking.

He has an aversion to therapy for good reason.

Oh, I saw a tweet earlier, and someone said the reason he does online therapy is because he can't do in person therapy anymore.

And.

Oh, wow, I've never thought about that.

And now I am sad.

I mean, it was also.

Because it was like, wasn't it?

But, yeah, I was gonna say it wasn't a Covid.

Yeah.

But I think, like, if he were to continue doing it, I think.

Anyways, that's neither here nor there at the moment.

So, yeah, he.

He has a conversation with Maddie where he basically says all things that I opened this segment up with, which is.

Like, well, I thought the conversation was so great because they started talking about this.

The hiker ghost call.

Right.

And then it so seamlessly transitioned to like, wait, we're not talking about that anymore, are we?

And you can really see it, I think, especially on Maddie's face kind of first.

I think Buck realizes it a little afterwards, but Maddie is like, oh, this is.

You're projecting.

We're not talking about the high grounds anymore.

Projecting.

We're talking about you now.

And you can kind of see that in her expression as she realizes that because she starts.

You can really see her empathy coming through because she already says, oh, it must be awful to have to declare someone dead after seven years and admit that you lost hope.

And Buck, who is usually.

And we've said this from the beginning with the earthquake scene or call, he's been so optimistic, and he's always just like, we can do it.

We can make it out of here.

I like our chances sort of stuff.

And he's just kind of like, no one can wait forever.

And Maddie's just kind of like, oh, Evan, you know, in the.

I didn't do it right.

But in the way that she says, yeah, his name.

It's that transition there that it's like, oh, we're not.

We're talking about you now.

And how he is losing hope in, you know, trying to wait out this relationship that he's been so adamant and proud to, you know, prove to himself and everyone else, like we've spoken about, that he can make it work.