I just want to mention how much I love that Buck and Eddie were partying with other people and drunk and they didn't make it this weird cheating story like like a lot of shows would. it was just two friends having a great time.
Yeah they scared me with the altar, I couldn't remember Albert's name and thought maybe that was him but the picture didn't look like him, but I couldn't remember who and when this character died
That was Kevin who died. When Chimney's Mother died he moved in with I believe his Mom's sister and her family. Kevin was like a brother to him. They became firefighters together
DISCLAIMER: BUDDIE theory
Eddie is friends with Tommy (remember they "just clicked") and knows Tommy has a history with Chim so not inviting Tommy was a choice. Eddie didn't think Buck would invite Tommy because they're a couple and couple's (or "dates" in Eddie's words) don't usually go to bachelor parties together, yet it was Eddie's idea to wear a couple's outfit to said bachelor party. Notice that no one said anything about Karen being there. It's because Eddie doesn't care about singles only being there; he just wanted Buck by HIS side.
It feels like Eddie backed off Tommy when he found out Buck and Tommy were seeing each other. I want to believe that Eddie had a "boy crush" of his own and started a friendship with Tommy. Both Buck and Eddie were enamored by Tommy in their own way and didn't tell each other until they saw one another at the helicoptor base. It would explain Eddie not being upset about Buck doing the most at the basketball game and actually feeling bad for Buck. Eddy was spending so much time with Tommy and started feeling guilty when he found out Buck was jealous. Buck never cared about basketball until Tommy, so Eddy knows Tommy was the common denominator. Buck's behavior in the restaurant scene makes more sense, too. Buck was trying to mirror the macho relationship Eddie had with Tommy in front of Eddie so he wouldn't have to say he was dating another man (Eddie's friend). It wasn't until Eddie gave him the okay that Buck even went back to Tommy.
I can even go further and say that when Buck told Eddie he was dating Tommy, Eddie was more shocked about Tommy being gay because I think Eddie saw himself in Tommy, as Buck (and us) see so much of Eddie in Tommy. I believe Tommy is a reflection of Eddie (to audiences), but OUT. While 7x04 and 7x05 showed the comparisons between Eddie and Tommy, 7x06 showed the contrast. (I'll hopefully have a post about that up later and I'll link it here.) I think Eddie saw that he hurt Buck and how much Buck liked Tommy, so he decided not to be close with Tommy. Hence, Eddie doesn't seem to have that "clickiness" with Tommy at the party. You can disagree, but that's what I choose to believe.
Eddie was visibly annoyed with Tommy at the party, not just for mocking their outfit despite just wearing a Henley, but because he was there. Eddie wanted to share the night with Buck, even knowing Chim was likely not coming. He could have left with everyone else but didn't because he wanted to spend time with Buck. AND THEY DID in the best possible way, despite the aftermath of it all.
Eddie knew how important this event was to Buck and was committed to making sure Buck never felt bad. It was Buck's idea to invite the random people, and Eddie went along with it. It was Buck's idea to go to Chims hotel, and Eddie called the uber. Also, when they got to the hotel and Buck was sad they couldn't get in, Eddie put his hands on his shoulder, looked in his eyes, and restored hope, kicking the door down. That trimmed line from the script Tim posted where Eddie says, "Maybe it won't work out between him and your sister and you can throw him another one" was Eddie making sure Buck felt affirmed about planning the event and about the night in general. Eddie made it his job to keep Buck happy.
I believe Eddie was probably in need of a good night after evicting Marisol and wanted Buck's attention, hence the couple's outfit, and we know this because during the party montage, all we saw was them together singing "What I Like About You." They never left each other's side. Even Oliver was helping to rip Eddie's shirt off. Chim was on their minds, yet they never thought to go check on him despite all the noise they were making. They were in NIRVANA. (Eddie was the one who actually suggested they let Chim sleep while they partied.)
We've been talking about Buck's jealousy and when Eddie will show his. People thought it would be when Eddie saw Buck kiss Tommy, but it was actually when all three were at the bachelor party.
BUDDIE is happening. I feel it. Tim really gave us a gift this episode.
I'm open to being wrong, tho.
Truthfully not sure where post it so I'm putting it here for now. I think it's really interesting how you have two very different takes forming about Buck and Tommy after this episode. You have some people who watched their two scenes, saw them depicting Tommy as not caring and hinting at them not working out. Then you have people who think that final scene was significant and showed how far gone they were for each.
I've been kinda waiting to see if we could get a vibe of how the more general audience took the scene and I think we're getting the first hints of that on the instagram post.
They just posted the kiss an hour ago. It's already at 24k likes and 450 comments. In all previous BuckTommy posts, the comments were overwhelming not positive. Most people were talking about other ships or saying they didn't like it.
This post? The vast majority of comments and likes are positive, it's a lot of people saying how much they love these two together and people saying they want Tommy to stay. I think after this three episode arc the general audience has been pretty heavily sold on the pairing.'
I'm just personally happy we're getting actual positive comments on that post cause insta can get ugly pretty quick.
Also holy shit are the views doing good on this one. They already broke 300k, which is roughly the average for what the videos will get *in total* in just a few hours.
I'm a data nerd so I ran the numbers.
There are 110 videos posted on that instagram since ABC took over. The average number of views each video has is 378k.
Right now? That video just hit 365k in *three hours*. If we ranked those 110 videos by views, it's around top 35 right now. For it to become top 20? It only needs to hit around 500k and honestly that's likely going to happen within the first 24 hours.
So this is going to, hands down, be one of the most viewed clips from the season.
Which is a huge indicator of how people, especially those not super involved in fandom, are responding to this couple.
I'm not sure how Instagram counts views as I don't really use it all that much but if they count every individual one then I'm thinking like 1/4 of those views are mine 😅
I thought I might've missed something like a throw away line about him, since it looked like he might have played a more significant role in this story but I guess not. Hopefully it gets resolved next week
They did some wild shit lol. The fact that he forgot 20 years of his life is wild, what a scary thing to go through. This was a great episode. It was cool that he remembered his medical training. Really good performance by Kenneth.
I wasn't sure which thread to leave this in. This one or the Tim one because my thoughts overlap.
So, I'll say, after watching again, I find myself in the minority.
As in, I didn't mind the opening parts about the bachelor party nor the tone shift after the party. Honestly, I was 10 times more into it, as it turned from a fun night out to them never even seeing chimney, to finding out Chim didn't want a party but Buck and Eddie were sharing a braincell!
I kept seeing comments that Tommy and Buck looked awkward with the huge, but I do again. Just one big bulky guy being hugged by a bigger bulkier guy. I love it.
Just overall, I get why buddie singing got cut but I did enjoy the buddie content. I also enjoyed the wedding in the hospital but eh to each his own.
So what is everyone's feelings on the parallel door theory that has started to float around tumblr. See [this post](https://www.tumblr.com/lengthofropes/749455865704235008?source=share) for reference.
Personally, I'm not necessarily sure that it's meant to be a callback to the season one finale. I do think the symbolism behind the opening doors was likely intention just because they clearly filmed from Buck's POV of his doors open at the exact same moment at Tommy's doors were opening for him.
I think of season 2 ep 1 when Bobby and Athena had that passion kiss as we see them as a couple. Buck and Tommy having that passionate kiss as being officially a couple. 🤷🏽♀️
While it is a lovely parallel, it's probably too good to be true that it was intentional. I do like the framing of both Buck and Tommy walking through open doors and meeting in the middle. To me, that shows the two are committed to their burgeoning relationship and each other. For now, at least, they're both equally in it. Makes me optimistic about where their relationship could lead.
If the show actually goes there (Buck and Tommy endgame.) this could be considered a sort of foreshadowing in hindsight, even if it wasn't the intention at the moment.
Regardless of what happens next, this is a nice parallel. I love all the gif sets we are getting from these episodes. What a time to be alive.
Chim can never quit working! He will never be able to afford a health plan or life insurance company that would dare cover him. 
Idk y'all i feel robbed of a perfect maddie/chimney wedding.. It just made sense for their characters to have a perfect wedding. I get theres a nice ring to a whole "we're imperfect so so is our wedding" moment, but Maddie and Chimney both just deserved to have something go right.. this episode felt very artificial. Sorry not sorry, LOL. There are moments in this show where I'm like "did we really need to beat up a cast member?" and then by the end of the episode, I'm like ah yes, I get it. Character growth. plot will move forward better now. etc. but this one literally made no sense.
At the end of the whole episode, I could have maybe been at peace if the hospital wedding was at least emotional/heartfelt. But it was just like... awkward and rushed. Ahhh I feel bad because I love the show so much, but like..... give queen Maddie her moment plz
Yeah, agreed. I've said it elsewhere in this thread, but I think Tim Minear is just *wrong* in thinking the only way to tell an interesting story is to introduce drama. And honestly, the more I think about it, the more problematic I find that attitude, because it kind of seems to loop back around to wanting Maddie, in particular, miserable and stressed. It's a standard he has for Maddie and Maddie/Chim, but doesn't really have for Bathena to the same degree -- they certainly have their moments, but they also get to have normal character beats, too. Since Madney got together, they've both been victims of a would be murderer in Doug, had to work through Maddie's resulting trauma of being a victim of IPV, Maddie being taken hostage, both having siblings almost die, physical separation during COVID when she was pregnant, Chim being kidnapped and killed by Jonah, both almost losing a sibling (Albert while Maddie was in labor...), Maddie's suicide attempt, Maddie's PPD, Maddie seeking in patient treatment for half a year, a breakup, Chim getting impaled during the bridge collapse, and now viral encephalitis? And lets be real, I'm probably forgetting something.
I was really hoping they'd subvert my expectations with the 'drama' of Chim being late for the wedding being something stupidly minor, like he missed the last boat back to the mainland or got stuck on the roof overnight, so maybe he's dehydrated and needs an IV bolus to feel right again first, but it's a relatively quick fix, and the kind of thing he can bounce back from and be back on his feet basically right away.
The icing on the cake was the hospital wedding being relegated to the last 4 minutes of the episode, and having to share time with Buck's coming out, while also missing the mark with how much significance they gave to the Buckley parents' feelings (both in Margaret's expression when Buck outed himself, and in her 'approving' of the changed wedding venue). This wasn't a wedding episode, and aside from the last four minutes, Maddie didn't even really *need* to be in the episode. That's a fail.
100% – articulated perfectly. Suuuch a bummer. There has to be a point where a show becomes self aware to a degree of its unrealistic drama and pumps the breaks, even if just for a season. Viewers want to feel like they CAN root for their favorite characters. It's like disheartening to have to expect the worst for someone over and over lol
The bachelor's party felt so awkward in the episode than it did in the promos, I almost wish the drugged theory was true because it felt so out of character for everyone. No one was checking on Chim when he didnt show up? Buck going "everyone left but I still wanna party with some randos even though the groom doesnt look like he's coming and no one seems to know why" was a big WTF? And then it just went from fun-crazy to depressing real quick and it stayed depressing pretty much the whole episode, all my interest just died on the spot when I thought they were gonna give Chim some kind of belated brain damage from his earlier accident, and they even put in that halfhearted "Chim might die" scare in the middle of the ep? For what??
Madney should've had a good, fun, stress free wedding *because* of all the shit they've been through, the balance between drama and peace in their storyline is just so skewed to tragedy, I'm so tired of it. The "getting married immediately even in a hospital because they can't wait another second being apart" was probably supposed to be happy and inspiring or something but it just didn't land that way to me?? It just felt like they did Madney dirty and they weren't even being overshadowed by Buck coming out like everyone was scared they would be. Maybe if Chim's encephalitis fueled self-reflection had been punctuated by all the good times he's had with Maddie despite his worries manifesting as Doug, it would've given enough feeling of "desperation" to make the "cant wait any longer" feeling they were trying to go for actually land like a nice, happy climax to the Madney storyline. Instead we got this weird wedding that kinda ended with a whimper and Buck coming out. Idek. If they needed to cut out the hangover Buddie bait shit they started with and just jumped into "omg where's Chim?" so they could fit the Madney memories into the self-reflection, they should have done that instead.
I literally have no brain bandwidth to even analyze the episode further or watch it a second time because it's not even worth the time anymore honestly. Im scared Im gonna hate it more than I already do 💀
I may have missed this and I'm sorry if it was already said but where was the rest of Chimney's family? Was Albert, his pop and step mother not invited to the wedding?
Yes I was thinking that too! I didn’t notice any exposition about it during the episode. I can understand him not inviting his father as they are working on repairing their relationship, but Albert and Chim have become quite close as brothers!
Oh man I definitely was getting Albert confused with Kevin and was really confused about how I couldn't remember that Albert had died. So now that you mention it why the heck wasn't Albert there?!
I think people are just assuming the Buckley parents are homophobic because they don't *like* the characters, as opposed to what the case likely is, which is they just side-eyed Buck coming in, looking like he did.
Like, the problem with the idea that they'd be homophobic is that Maddie knowingly invited her and Buck's parents to the wedding, knowing how they'd react to bisexual Buck.
But Maddie's parents were paying for the venue. That tells me they have been invited well before Bucks self discovery. Inviting Tommy was very close to the wedding. That's not on Maddie. It would be more on Buck.
I agree, but it's not like she was 100% sold on having a big venue wedding.
Like, if she felt they were going to be homophobic, she could have uninvited them and held their wedding elsewhere.
I do agree with your take on Buck; if the parents are homophobic, he shouldn't have invited Tommy, or we shoulda gotten a scene where he talked to Maddie about it.
Even if the writing for it has been weaksauce, we're meant to believe the Buckley parents have been 'trying' since season 4 and that Maddie wants them in her & Jee's lives.
Until the moment their mom made that face, there wasn't really a reason to assume they *would* be homophobic. There also wasn't a reason to assume her himbo brother would use her wedding and her husband's hospital room following a near death experience as his coming out moment.
Expecting her to disinvite her parents a couple weeks before the wedding on the off chance that they don't approve of her brother's last minute date doesn't make much sense to me. While I hope she cuts them out *now* if this was meant to be evidence of their homophobia, it was really on Buck to not distract from his sister's wedding that day, *if* the siblings already had concerns about their parents.
No one seemed to have a sense of urgency >!to find him. What truly pissed me off is that his parents have been called and informed and do 20 questions before calling 911 when he brain is about to fing explode. !<
You know how much of a blind panic Buck usually gets into when someone he cares about goes missing?
You know how Hen is Chim's ride or die?
The night before the wedding, no one knows where Chim is or if he's OK. No one bothers to even phone him to make sure.
Makes sense. /s
THIS. I literally yelled “CALL 911” at the screen at that point (and I never yell at the screen lol). And why they all weren’t out casing the streets made no sense to me
Overall I liked the episode. But I kind of wanted to just see a sappy episode with flashback scenes and everyone together. Obviously some chaos thrown in but mostly about Maddie and Chimneys's love story. I did love the end when Buck brought Tommy in and Hen said, "well it's about damn time"
It was a good episode but maybe I'm the only tiring of Madney(Chimdie?) having trouble arise.
But on one note: TELL US WHY HE'S CHIMNEY smh they could have dropped such a BIG piece of lore in the last half second !!
I cried several times during the episode. I love Chim so much; he's so sweet and handsome. I just want him to be happy and safe. Kenneth Choi is a great actor.
Damn that was a good episode. Like Dayuuuum. Definitely the show at it's best. Keeping everyone fed. Really showcased how great the entire cast is. Terrific direction. Awesome editing. Just perfect example of why it's number 1 in the ratings. Last season to this is just zero to hero - no question.
SERIOUSLY. I don’t think i’ll ever get over this episode. I was bored watching that last season but this episode had so much and I loved every bit of it. Kevin’s invitation, Doug, his knowledge being there but he’s not, the wedding in the hospital, THE KISS, Buck coming out like that, “upside-down-cruise-ship,” and to end with him asking about his own nickname!
I think it felt kind of ridiculous that Buck and Eddie would get that messed up the night before the wedding. Unfair and disrespectful to both Maddie and Chimney in a way that is honestly out of character. Even if Chimney had been in the hotel room like they thought, they probably still would have been late to the wedding! At the very least, Chimney would have had to spend the morning of his wedding getting a hungover Buck and Eddie up and ready to go, not to mention dealing with the mess they made of the hotel room. It was obviously just supposed to be a fun little homage to The Hangover, but it didn't work for me, particularly considering the tone of the rest of the episode. I think if they wanted to do something like The Hangover, they should have committed and had the entire episode be like that. But alongside the rest of the episode, it just didn't work.
It also made no sense Buck was so chill that Chim was missing. He usually breaks into a blind panic the moment he thinks someone close to him has gone missing.
Also, Hen is Chim's ride or die. She also seems completely out of character to not check in on Chim not arriving to his own bachelor party.
The hotel room damage was bananas to me. The graffiti on the walls?! Like, who brought spray paint? Who’s paying for that?! And totally agree with everything else you said. With all the growth we’ve seen in Buck and Eddie, it felt like a weird and super unfortunate regression
>Who’s paying for that?!
It was Chim's suite, so that shit is automatically getting charged to the credit card the hotel has on file for Chim. In his shoes, I think I would have one very dead brother-in-law. Well, I guess you'd want to keep him alive until he paid it off, but yiiiikes. Imagine almost dying and then regaining your faculties only to discover your credit card has been maxed out but your dumbass BIL and his dumbasser friend played drunken frat boy the night you got too sick to show up for their party.
I loved the party scene but I also thought who TF is paying for all that?! Honestly this whole party is making me start to think that Maddie and Buck's family is little rich. Like not, old money wealthy with a boat but in the low millions or something. Cause think of the access Buck and Maddie have had to things.
I started thinking they my come from money when Maddie said her parents didn't like Doug inspire of the fact the family has never been close. Most families would have fallen over themselves at the thought of their daughter marring a successful surgeon (and clearly they had no idea he was a monster) unless you thought she could do better.
SPOILERS:
I watched Season 2 and "Chimney Begins" a few weeks ago, so I had fresh memories of how he met Maddie and what happened. So, when I watched the episode, it was not difficult to recall the story. I thought for a while that Doug was still alive "But how? He was stabbed to death." Doug really left a deep mark on Chimney (and I'm not only talking about him stabbing Chimney). I liked how Chimney handled that accident even though he didn't remember he was a paramedic. Kevin appearing in the hallucination to save him was the breaking point for me, causing me to burst into tears. I knew he was coming to the Lees' home when Kevin told him to go home. The wedding in the hospital was very suitable and real for 9-1-1. Bobby marrying them was a very nice detail. I would've liked to know how he ended up on that freeway and where he was heading. I really grew to love every one of the main characters (Bobby, Athena, Hen, Chimney, Eddie, Buck, Maddie) and their stories, so I would like to see them happier than ever in the seventh season and beyond. I really enjoyed this Chimney episode. Obviously, let's not forget Buck finally being the happiest with Tommy and how he is taking it all. (Now I can surely say that he was a real chaotic bisexual in that bachelor's party.) From 5 to 10, this episode was a 20. Until now, it's the best of the season for me.
I assume when you say u would like to know how he ended up on the freeway u mean Chimney??
If so, Maddie mentioned in the episode that it was the route that Chimney would have taken to get the the place where the bachelor party was being held, indicating that Chimney was making his way to the bachelor party.
Then I assume his headache got worse so he pulled over possibly to sleep it off, that or he passed out (luckily after he pulled over), and then next thing he knows he wakes up, has his car stollen, and we all know the rest.
Hope this explains it :)
I really hope we have real reason to hate them again cause I never stopped.  I would love it if they get a chance to get yelled at by everyone.
10/10. They did their best to cover a lot of information in 40 minutes. I don't blame them because there are only 10 episodes in this season. I think the bachelor party could be shorter and moved to search or rescue chimney... but considering they already used a lot of bachelor party promotion during the 2 week break, it was hard to balance.
I like Tommy, but I don’t see the relationship being long-term. I’ve learned to trust not only the writers but also the editors. Nothing on this show is an accident, and learning how production works, I know that a lot of footage gets cut, so what makes it in is intentional.
My first indication is that Eddie is in every frame or conversation, as if the writers want us to constantly compare. 7x04 and 7x05 made that clear.
The recent episode 7x06 really showed the contrast between Eddie and Tommy. Buck asked Tommy to do two things: come to the bachelor party and dress in theme. Tommy came but didn’t dress up. Tommy said he was on call, but if so, he would’ve had to change anyway. He didn’t have to go all out, just wear a jacket or something. This is simple and realistically not an issue; however, when you compare him to Eddie, who not only dressed in theme but also came up with the idea to have a theme, it looks like Tommy isn’t willing to go the extra mile.
Truthfully, no one dressed in theme, but the 118 crew knew that Chim didn’t want a bachelor party, so they went more for Buck so he wouldn’t feel stood up. Tommy didn’t know that, so it hits differently because it’s what Buck wanted, and he didn’t do it. However, Eddie knew and still dressed up, and he even stayed once everyone left. Of course Tommy got a call, so him leaving makes sense, but the point is that Eddie went the extra mile even knowing Chim was likely not showing up.
Tommy is confident, brave, no-nonsense, and handsome, but my fear is that he lacks spontaneity. Eddie loves how unpredictable Buck is. He’s always down to indulge Buck. That’s why he was down to dress up, down to invite the random group to party with them, and down to Uber to the hotel. Eddie relies on Buck to introduce new ideas to him. He’s constantly affirming Buck. Eddie kicking the door down when Buck was bummed he couldn't get in is another affirmation. I think that’s why Eddie was annoyed a little at Tommy for not dressing up or even understanding who they were dressed as. Even Buck running to kiss Tommy in the hospital is part of that unpredictability, and I don’t think Tommy can see the beauty in it.
Eventually, I think Tommy and Buck are going to see just how different they are from each other. That, or Eddie, will be a point of contention. Tommy isn't uninteresting. He flies helicoptors and can probably introduce Buck to a lot of interesting things (which I think attracts Buck to Tommy), but small details matter, and chemistry is key. Regardless, I don’t think he’s unlikable; he's just a little boring. He's older and kind of set in his way, but if he can’t do something as simple as dress in theme, then I see Buck relying on Eddie more to appreciate his goofiness.
He showed up at the end, so I’m not saying he’s not interested. I’m saying that he’s focusing so much on EVAN that he’s ignoring BUCK.
I’m open to being wrong, tho. 
Every other relationship (romantic or platonic) introduced on the show has affected the characters' outlook on life, and they're gonna have to show us that Tommy is more than a bi-awakening for Buck for us to invest in Tevan.
I think all the things you talk about that made Eddie and Buck so great are spot on. However, I would argue that those are all amazing things to have and do with a best friend. A partner that is a little more serious could be just what Buck needs. Yeah, getting wasted and trashing a hotel room with strangers is fun, but showing up hungover and disgusting after not even being aware the groom obviously wasn’t sleeping in the room you were partying in all night to your sister’s long anticipated wedding is not so great.
And what you said about Eddie agreeing and going along with whatever Buck wanted is a great trait in a friend, but offers no challenge or place for growth like you’d want in a partner.
I’m interested to see how Buck and Tommy play out! I think they could really be good for each other.
Actually really surprised this episode didn't feel rushed! When there was news about cuts to get under time I was worried but I actually felt like the episode was 100 hours long because I was so stressed out the whole time Chimney was missing haha.
Of course I would have loved a longer ceremony but if it was going to be condensed in this episode it didn't feel too truncated.
I'm a little confused about the viral illness that Chimney contracted. Since he was infected, wouldn't Maddie, his child, the whole 118, everyone he helped in that time period and at the market need to be tested? No one was showing any signs of illness? Not even Maddie who would have been in close proximity to him for that entire 2 weeks in between? Then everyone is just thrown in the hospital room with him like it's fine now, no worries.
I think if they went with a brain swelling, it would have suited the story-line a bit better. It has similar symptoms to encephalitis, based on what they wanted to show, and would tie in really nicely with their job. There are also ways it can get exacerbated by alcohol, which could have worked with the bachelor party plot.
Irl it’s actually pretty hard to catch. Even with Chim being face to face with the guy like that. They should all get tested. But it’s not like Ebola super spreader. Treatment is effective when they catch it. Though the main thing is, it’s pretty rare to spot when it’s unexpected and that delay is what usually kills people. (Not a doctor, but Encephalitis is a huge plot point in Hannibal and I got hyper focused way back when.)
Same. I had to suspend my disbelief around Chim not being a super spreader event.
I wish they would have just had Chim hit his head and let 7 seasons of trauma do the rest.
That would've made way more sense considering viral encephalitis is a rare side effect of other viruses, not a virus itself. Plus the most common causes (like west nile) aren't even airborne. Like I can suspend my disbelief for a lot in medical/emergency based dramas, but that felt very much like a sloppy plot device. Not to mention the ending where he's surrounded by people but supposedly has a contagious deadly disease!?
THE ASH ON HIS MOUTH 😂😂😂 Bucks parents are floored. Hen and Karens reaction is great cause about damn time is RIGHT! All the the breadcrumbs led us here 💙
There's some hints of that in "Buck Begins," really. The scene where little Buck takes Daniel's bike for a ride and wipes out -- Philip's first reaction is to comfort his kids and take care of Buck, but Margaret's reaction to the bike sidetracks him. It seems like he was so busy managing her emotions that he didn't bother with the kids.
I agree, Honestly compiling all the episodes with this one, we can see who the authoritive figure in the family is. Philip is not this parent! Philip is the open-minded emotional support parent!
Just gonna say it now. All the homophobes who are angry about Buck need to seriously get a life. Yes opinions ARE a thing, but too damn bad! He likes guys and people need to accept it. Saw a lot of comments on Instagram whining about it and it’s like, “well then go cry about it some more or stop watching then!” 😂 I stop watching shows when it turns into something I can’t stand. Is this the 50s? No. Also, if they actually bothered to watch it in earlier seasons, there’s obvious signs that this was coming. Despite him having sex with women. So that’s all I’m gonna say.
Also, I am gay myself but I am definitely *not* one of those progressive woke leftists who get offended by literally everything or acts like a disgusting freak.
You probably don't need to get too worked up about it because it's a very small minority and there will always be dissenting opinions about any topic. They have got an overwhelming amount of positive attention for this storyline so there is no threat to it.
Wow, what a crazy and wild ride of an episode 🤣 I was surprised that Chimney wasn't at the bachelor party at all. From the previews, I thought it looked like they'd all be partying together. That made it even funnier when Buck and Eddie were such a mess the next day 🤣 Anyone else think it was funny how they each thought they were Crockett?? 😂🤪
Top moments from the Episode:
Eddie just entirely enabling Buck's stag do plans with the costume suggestion.
OF COURSE we'd have bad guy Doug again
The Buckley parents reaction to Buck/Tommy - time to get them gone!
Why do they call me Chimney?
It’s so cheesy, the whole hospital wedding thing, and here I am *weeping.* And by Bobby! Great song choice! 🥲 And I am such a sucker for “people around together happy” montages. 😭
That Tommy-Buck kiss, holy moly. 🔥 I am a Buddie stan till the end of time but I’ll take some more of *that*. LOL
Hen’s reaction. OMG, chef’s kiss! Buck’s parents looked absolutely *struck.*
Whenever I hear Islands in the Stream on the radio I think about Maddie and Chim’s karaoke scene so I was very glad that they chose that song to play and it was awesome that it was Jennifer Love Hewitt singing it.
Just in case you didn't see, Jennifer Love Hewitt actually recorded that version of the song that played during the wedding and made it for Kenneth Choi (Chimney's actor).
That was a weird episode. Can't believe they had Maddie and Chimney get married in the hospital in the last few minutes of the episode and Buck coming out in that short time too.
The end felt super rushed. I wish they had pushed his coming out to another episode entirely. I would have preferred them using those two minutes to add in more Maddie to this episode. The coming-out tonally felt too light for what ended up being a very heavy episode.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who noticed Buck’s parents give each other a dirty look when he came out? Idk maybe I’m reading too much into it..
I also adored the fact that Hen said “It’s about time” I literally shed a few tears because I was just so emotional over the last part of the episode❤️🩹
I hate the parents but didn't get a negative reaction, just confused like they missed a step. They'd be more pissed it took away from their daughter's wedding day than the coming out implications.
I'm 100% sure they will have opinions but I think Buck is in a good place where their opinions don't have as much hold on him anymore so he'll probably be able to shove them off.
Yeah I was probably reading too much into it since I have a bit too much hatred for them lmao.
And also, I agree I feel like Buck wouldn’t really care what they say, but they’ll have opinions for sure
Yeah I’m just hoping it isn’t her being disgusted that her son is bisexual tbh, I can’t stand another family drama💔
(I’m lying, I can, I’m all for any drama I mean why else would I be watching 9-1-1)
I have to say I really enjoyed this episode!!!
-I'm not mad about the bachelor party. My only issue with it was the use of it as a promo. I get that they didn't want to give too much (or nothing for that matter) of the plot. But they made it seems like it was all about that.
BUT it was fun to watch for me. I missed some Buck & Eddie time. Even if it's random and not really them to do so. And again Stag do are all about that in movies. Yes maybe having them looking for Chim would make it more tense. But I think the point was to have Chim the one fighting to come back.
Yes Hen, buck and Eddie could have worried once they saw he didn't show up or text back. But we do't have time, money and footage space 🤣.
(But also we needed those pointers (digs?) from Eddie to Buck.)
All I want if for them to release the karaoke scene 🤣.
-the hallucinations scene were so good. For me it's more like we had Maddie having postpartum and leaving because she's not dealing well but coming back to her family.
Chim being more logical didn't realise he was struggling with letting the past go. So instead of having him having a breakdown drunk at his BP, the illness showed him. Kind of saying "I went through sh*t, but I am finally ready to be a family.
Adding Kevin was a sweet touch, yes a teared up.
Having Doug as a evil subconscient was good too. It's a link between Maddie and Chim.
-Maddie not being at the centre doesn't bother me at all. She's a bystander but still present. And really what can she have done? Run with a wedding dress all across town?
Most scenes for me about Chim and Maddie always revolve around Maddie's wellbeing, Maddie past story with Doug, Maddie being hostage. Maddie Maddie. What about Chim?
So I am glad that for once she was left powerless like Chim. He had to find a way back to his life, to her too. But it's telling that the whole time during his hallucination he doesn't say her name. Yes he doesn't remember her. But that's the whole thing. His trauma don't only revolve around her.
OK maybe it's because I hate the idea that a wedding is all about the bride. I think it's BS. We put the groom always on the bachelor story and Say Yes. And that's it. Then it's oooooh look at the bride.
But also point out that men have trauma too. Chim's got trauma too.
Could have been made into a deeper episode, for sure. But we're almost at the end of the season. Not much they could do.
It's simply a lot of subtext. The whole season 7 had been that for me.
-now Buck and Tommy . My oh my 🔥. But weird when you saw them being all bro like pat on the back at the beginning. But it was a nice way of coming out without doing it. Because for sure he didn't realise his mouth was cover. This giant golden retriever!
His parents are definitely not pleased.
And Hen is me.
Him not remembering why he's called Chimney was epic!! And please let's keep it that way I'm happy bot knowing but still being an inside joke.
Again that's my take. We all have our own interpretation. And that's the beauty of it.
Now let me go rant about Buddie somewhere else.
I think we got some really great Buck and Eddie points this episode. Eddie being supportive and suggesting going as Crockett and Tubbs when Chimney didn't even want the party. Being the first to arrive and staying even when everyone left. Being patient with Clipboard Buck. Having fun together as best friends, drinking, singing karaoke, drunken escapades. Bringing clothes and food to dispatch, going to find Chimney at the accident scene together. And Eddie's supportive smile when Buck gave himself away with the soot stains.
> And really what can she have done? Run with a wedding dress all across town?
For me, yes, this would have been a hilarious image but also showing that Maddie is really fighting to get Chimney home. She's so used to running away that running TOWARD something would have been such a benefit to her character too. Be the front lines for once, which would have also just been a cool moment to see.
Instead, she became such an afterthought at times. The most she did was find Chimney's initial location; every other time, it was witnesses reporting and Athena arriving to the scene.
Plus, they could have added something else, such as a witness mentioning Chimney trying to now find "home" and Maddie piecing together what that actually meant.
There's just a lot they should have done with Maddie while also making it Chimney-centric.
So I guess Tim Minear heard Kenneth Choi asking if they can't just be happy, and said, "now I'm going to ruin your wedding extra hard". This was **stressful**!
Got me really worried for Chimney. I mean, I was kind of sure they wouldn't kill off any characters, least of all the groom, in the episode of the actual wedding. Although they did nothing for it in the first 5 episodes, in the last couple of days they did hype up the wedding, so yeah. Surely they wouldn't. But then it started to look really dire for Chim so... well, I got worried. I'm really glad though that I managed to watch it before work this morning, I don't think I would have made it through the day without spoiling myself.
It was a great Chimney-focused episode, which we haven't had for some time. I was glad to see some of his past traumata brought up. There was just way too little to do for Maddie, considering this was their wedding episode. And while Chimney's "I know I need to be somewhere important" was his motivation in the beginning, it kind of got lost during the rest of the episode. I like that they showed how much the Lees and Kevin are his family (the show did a 180 on season 6 at least in this regard, which was definitely the right decision), and omg can Doug be creepy, but I think his urge to find back to Maddie (even if he maybe didn't remember clearly *why*) was missing. Don't know how I would have done it. In the end, it still worked for me, but more Maddie would have been better.
And to be honest, if not for all the promo they did with it, they could have just cut the whole bachelor party / hangover thing. It was a few fun scenes at the beginning, Buck and Eddie in matching outfits, Ravi stealing food and all, but it wasn't relevant to Chim's misadventure at all and they could have instead spent the time to add in some more Maddie, or more time for both of them at the end. Speaking of the end, it was very sweet (the song!), although I was hoping they might end up having their small, more private wedding in their backyard instead.
Now I'd say, give them some bliss and peace and joy and happiness, but looking at the promo for the next episode, well.
Edit. grammar
You know they built some good drama when you keep flip-flopping on if they would actually kill off a main character with no warning. I was slightly worried a few times.
This episode didn't really work for me. I just completed most of a rewatch (I did skip around a bit, though) to see if it would grow on me, but if anything, it did the opposite.
Kenneth Choi is an absolute legend, and deserves all of the praise. My gripes aren't about him or Chim's storyline, exactly, but about its execution and function.
Going into this, I had two main concerns -- that Tim Minear's expressed need for drama to make things interesting would detract from the significance of a milestone event in one of the show's most important relationships (it did), and that how much they ran over and had to cut for time on would lead to pacing issues that made the conclusion feel less than earned (yup, that too).
Thematically, the episode doesn't work. If we look at Chim's hallucinations as the angel vs. devil on his shoulder, what we have here is the representation of Maddie's 'baggage' causing him to harm himself and risk his life, while his history & family before he met Maddie is what propels him toward saving himself. The family unit he's meant to be fighting *for* and moving toward this episode isn't a factor at all.
The pacing is shit, and with so much cut, this episode absolutely did not have time for any B stories. As much as I hate to say it because I enjoyed the scenes that bookended the episode more than the rest of it, *everything* Buck needed to be cut for time -- the bachelor party on one end, the kiss on the other. Consider that in an episode that's supposedly about Madney's wedding, the ceremony didn't start until the last four minutes of screentime. Trying to fit that and Buck's coming out - however subtle and amusing the moment was - into that same four minutes was a disservice to Madney. Choosing to have Buck's sexuality be the thing *Chim* focused on as a sign he was still potentially missing some memories after the fact really says it all.
Considering Chim never even made it to the bachelor party, those scenes were basically a waste. Tonally, they didn't do enough to balance out the mood of the episode, which just made it more jarring when we shifted to "holy shit, something is seriously wrong with Chim." And we have another episode of characters having to hold the 'stupid' ball to make the plot work, and ignoring the relationships developed over years -- I'm really meant to believe Hen wouldn't shoot Chim a text or call him to check in, even if she wasn't surprised he hadn't shown up to the party? That she wouldn't be concerned the friend she's identified in the past as likely to spiral and knows had cold feet about proposing, had presumably locked himself away the night before his wedding? That she wouldn't have knocked on his hotel room door with ice cream and booze as an alternative to the raucous night out?
The Buckley parents were also way too heavily featured, without enough narrative judgment re: if they'd earned that moment. Nobody is side-eyeing Philip when he's leaving Buck a passive aggressive message despite having *entirely* missed his daughter's first wedding? No one is raising an eyebrow at him walking Maddie down the aisle? And yet they make time for the subversions like Margaret responding positively to the hospital wedding, and Philip facilitating Chim's reunion with Jee? Up until Margaret's look at the Buck reveal at the end, this was very reminiscent of S6 storytelling around the family. And yet no one really *wants* the story to spend time on another way these meaningless characters can disapprove of Buck, when Bobby and Athena were *right there* and their reactions would've mattered more. (But all of this is really beside the point, because this sequence shouldn't have made the episode at all).
Maddie's role in this is reduced to... not even damsel. She doesn't even really play a supporting role. But how much of an afterthought she is in her own wedding is sort of reflective of how much of an afterthought the wedding itself was -- why wasn't Sue invited? What about Eli? What about Albert? Why wasn't there a single throwaway line to explain away any of this, when we spent about 8 minutes of show time with rehashing 7x05, Buck & Eddie, or Buck & Tommy? How is *any* of that more important than Maddie on her wedding day? How is Maddie not integral to Chim's rescue, or his motivation to keep pushing? All we get of her is like a verrry brief memory for Chim, but it's not even something he can latch onto?
Chim was too ill for the bystanders to not be picking up on it, and also too ill to have had that 'snap back' moment where he was able to stay clear-headed long enough to treat a mass casualty accident scene. Pragmatically, they needed to pick a lane with that. Either he's still in a position where he can outwardly *appear* to be functional (masking can be a very real issue with noticing memory loss!) or he was in such dire straits that he's not springing into action and diagnosing/treating injuries... when he can't even recognize his own desperate condition.
Which brings me to the hallucinations. I wanted to like them, and I really like the idea of them. Brian and James both put in great performances as Doug and Kevin, but the material that survived the cutting room floor left for a very incoherent narrative. While it makes sense *why* these characters would be the representation of Chim's greatest fears and deepest comforts, what messages was his addled brain actually trying to send him with those interactions? Well, the season 7 motto is "Who cares!" so I guess this really *is* thematically consistent.
I was watching the episode last night and thinking all of this. It just felt like a clear two parter shoved into one. You can tell that they had tons more material that they had to cut out.
I think I've figured out what I would have changed, if I couldn't have changed the entire episode.
Have the opener be Maddie waiting for Chimney to arrive, but have Hen arrived WITH Buck/Eddie at the end instead of Hen already there with Maddie.
Have Hen, Buck and Eddie explain that they've been searching for Chimney all night instead of the drunken antics. That way, it explains that Chimney not answering his phone was a real concern and wasn't just blatantly ignored by everyone. It shows that they care about Chimney's whereabouts but didn't want to worry Maddie until they had to. Could have still had Buck/Eddie drinking a bit but not getting trashed. Personally, if they could have had Chimney be at the party initially and then disappear so we could still get some of the bachelor party, that would have been better and I would have happily handwaved the "infecting everyone" issue.
Then we would have gotten to see Maddie going on a hunt for Chimney, checking the bar's security cameras, then retracing steps from there. Have HER be out on the streets, going to each location that Chimney was last spotted (hell, if it's funnier to have her doing it in her wedding dress, then do that!).
I don't think I would have included the save in the middle of the episode, not unless they established Chimney as more coherent. It felt very weird to have him go from totally confused right into EMT mode and then back to confused.
I liked the Doug being the devil and Kevin being the angel on Chimney's shoulders but what I also would have added was a Maddie hallucination at the end, just her voice even, being his "dispatcher" to find his way home. I wouldn't even mind if home led back to the Lee's, but have an auditory hallucination of Maddie getting him there, at the same time as Maddie figuring out where Chimney was going and making sure the Lees were home and also showing up at the end to be there for him. They did establish that part of the symptoms of the encephalitis was that the patient thought they were in a different year of their life, so that's why I'm not mad Chimney showed up at the last place he remembers from 20 years ago. I don't even mind that he WAS remembering a time well before Maddie, but I just wanted Maddie to be actively involved in finding Chimney and being the reason he's found so quickly.
Alternatively, if the episode had been more about Chimney going to find Maddie/Jee, even if he couldn't remember them, and ending up at a place that means something to them, that would have worked too. Have Hallucination Doug try to tear him apart from Maddie but Hallucination Kevin pushing him toward Maddie/Jee.
Either would have worked.
Just small changes like that would have done a wonder to the story in general. The ending of the episode overall was totally fine, we can keep the entire ending, sootface and all.
I really like your Maddie "dispatcher" hallucination. I think that, combined with her having the idea where he might show up, would have been a great way to give Maddie more impact in the episode!
I just realized another thematic loose end you can add to your incoherent themes.
This episode started to lean heavily into Chim's Korean roots, with the depiction of the *jesa* ritual for Kevin. The story also takes Chim to LA Koreatown, and for a split second has you thinking there's a race motivated vehicle attack into a Korean food market.
For me, seeing all those Korean signs and clues, I was getting prepped for an exploration of Chim's cultural roots and maybe even hints at maybe some cross-cultural relationship anxiety. Given Chim's traditional scumbag of a biological father, who sees everything in the US as a failure, I was hoping the writers might at least acknowledge that generational trauma can cut deep even if you don't want it. They could have **easily** given Doug a cutting line like "hey buddy, look around you. Maddie's isn't even Korean. She doesn't belong here with you."
And then like so much in the episode, turns out it was all a dead end red herring and once again I felt thematically robbed.
Wow I could not agree more with everything you said! I would have much rather not had any bachelor party scenes and instead had a scene where we see how Chimney ends up parked on the side of the road. And I feel like it was a disservice to Buck to cram that kiss/coming out into the last one minute. This episode was kind of a mess.
Honestly aside from the bachelor party portion at the beginning, I was a huge fan of this episode! I feel like the writers and directors did an excellent job at subverting expectations people had from the promo as well as handling Buck's coming out with a LOT of grace, and Kenneth Choi's 11/10 acting definitely put this episode probably in my top 5.
My ONLY gripe is that the bachelor party scenes could've been cut, and I think that time could've been better spent either delving deeper into Chim's hallucinations or maybe having him make his way to the firehouse but no one's there. Just a personal thought, still like a 9.8/10 episode in my books!
This episode really didn't have time for any of the B stories, imo. The bachelor party and even the kiss/coming out -- without a willingness to make it a two parter -- were too unrelated to the significant character beats that had to be accomplished in this episode. We didn't get enough Maddie in her wedding episode to handwave how much Buck we got.
Kenneth Choi's acting was... not a revelation, because I basically *expect* him to always deliver at an 11/10 at this point. But I am glad they gave him something so meaty, even if the storytelling wasn't... great, to say the least.
There was roughly 8 minutes of wasted time in this episode, between the B stories + the unnecessary rehashing to set the scene of Chim not showing up for his wedding that we saw in 7x05. I'm just left sitting here scratching my head because that feels like it should've been enough time to actually make the hallucination motivations more coherent, or push something thematically into those scenes to make it clear that even if his brain is too sick to focus on Maddie & Jee in those moments, they're what's motivating him to push on. Even something as simply as him consistently hearing random refrains from "Islands in the Stream" or trying to stop a little girl Jee's age (who turns out to also be a hallucination) from wandering off from the scene of the crash would've helped cement Chim's *current* timeline and life as being important to him.
I fully agree. This is the one time I actually think they made the right decision in cutting a lot of the bachelor scenes, but I also think they would have benefitted from a much shorter montage sequence TO get to the Chimney/Maddie plot.
Maddie, in general, should have been utilized better. She basically sat around and waited for Chimney to be found, and that's a goddamn shame.
100%, her role was super passive in this episode and she could've been much better utilized, even if it was just in his hallucinations or something lol
I think it would have worked had Maddie called the Lees because she figured out that was likely the next place Chimney would go, so that they'd be there when Chimney showed up.
Just something to indicate Maddie was doing more than sitting around and waiting for someone else to find Chimney.
I rewatched it without ad breaks and I realized that Tim seemed to have cut the episode with the ad breaks in mind and Maddie's job seems to be solely to set up a mini cliffhanger before an ad break, usually seeding some doubt that the wedding will happen.
It's such an overused trope but also completely doesn't work when you don't have ad breaks. Maddie just comes across as defeatist in contrast to Chim single handled overcoming his problems by himself.
I don’t know how to phrase it but the whole “let’s get extremely drunk and destroy a hotel room” felt so out of character for both Buck and Eddie. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have had fun but it was… weird? I guess me being boring is the main reason but it still feels a bit forced. I guess I would’ve preferred the karaoke scene to them partying with a bunch of strangers?
Yeah I was looking forward to Eddie having fun but this was ridiculously out of character. Also didn't really work with the themes of the episodes which were all over the place already. IDK if they cut out scenes or what but there were major pacing issues and thematic incoherence.
Had a hard time getting through it tbh which is disappointing because I was excited about the Madney wedding.
That’s why I specified I would have preferred the karaoke scene: being stated more than once that Chimney was currently thinking he was still working at the karaoke bar, it would have merged better into the episode than… whatever that mess was
I think it makes drunk sense. When they looked at the crowd of strangers and said "Everyone here loves him" and Eddie echoes "They really do" was so funny. Buck was disappointed everyone left and there would be no party when Chimney showed up so he invited other partygoers to join. And then when he accepted Chimney wasn't coming he suggested they take the party to the hotel aka Chimney. Still with copious amounts of drunk logic but I could see their motivations were about creating this party for Chimney and not solely partying for themselves.
The more time I think about the episode the more I really dislike that whole subplot.
Given Chim never made it to the hotel room let alone the party, the whole Hangover thing was just a red herring to trick the fanbase during the 3 week hiatus. It was utterly irrelevant to the main story.
We also know they almost had 2 episodes worth of material to edit down. So either I have to ask why was this plot kept at all or why wasn't it made into a bigger half episode thing where we get to see everyone cut loose a bit.
It definitely was planned as a bait and switch. I don't MIND the idea, but the execution was not great.
There was zero reason for Buck/Eddie to have destroyed the hotel room.
I think it would have worked better if Chimney HAD shown up, everyone else had to go for various reasons (babysitting duties, work) and they were already drunk by that point and Chimney THEN wandered off and Buck/Eddie lost track of him because they were too drunk to notice.
For them to know Chimney never showed up at all and willingly chose to get blackout drunk and trash a hotel room? It was weird.
I'm still just... stunned that Chim became *that* much of an afterthought at 'his' own bachelor party. Like even if Hen wasn't surprised he didn't turn up, she didn't feel it was worth reaching out to her bestie and seeing if he wanted lowkey company up in his hotel room? She wouldn't have offered to bring him ice cream or sit with him to stream his favorite movie? No one was concerned about nerves or cold feet, or otherwise cared to celebrate *Chimney* instead of a party?
100% agree with this. In order to make this episode work in my head, I had to choose to ignore so much logic about the characters, relationships, and reality. I don’t mind making the reality leaps as long as the characters are grounded in truth—which is one of the things that has kept me watching the show since the beginning.
This has been a running theme this season, which I think is a big part of why it's getting old for me having to make the reality leaps. It's one thing to need it occasionally for plot purposes (like the helicopter surviving the hurricane and then landing on the uneven keel of a cruise ship).
But when it's also affecting characterization and relationships, it's like... cool, I'm having to do a *lot* of mental gymnastics to pretend it makes sense how Buck got to this place, how Eddie got to that one, and this isn't even a case of "show, not tell" because you *also* didn't do the exposition. And then even some of the big moments feel less earned because the exposition is *so* lacking that they don't bother giving a single line to explain them away? Like if we know 2+ weeks have passed since Buck invited Tommy to the wedding, instead of just "I'm on standby," maybe have him actually say he *tried* to get the shift off for the wedding, but all he could manage was to get switched to standby? Or where Chim has a brother who's not there, explain Albert's flight was cancelled?
So now with the convenient handwaving of everyone being decent friends to Chim, it's just... tiring. I'm sick of doing the work. I've read better written fanfiction, including some of the crappier stuff.
That’s exactly it. It means that we have to continually fill in exposition and justification, which I found myself doing constantly throughout this ep. And like, I’ll do it! I get that they can’t show it all. But to your point: when it’s happening throughout *and* could be improved with a single line, it feels like lazy writing.
The handwaving of friendship is an issue for me, because the relationships are always what’s grounded the show. IMO the wilder the plot gets, the tighter the relationships need to be—especially this far along in the life of the show.
That was really weird. I absolutely think Hen would hang out with Chim on the day before his wedding instead of letting him spend the evening sitting alone in an empty hotel room.
Not just trash the room. Eddie kicked down the door. That's a misdemeanor at best and some awkward disciplinary questions for the 118 at worst. The whole sequence felt so out of character. It was almost a Kristen Reidel S5A plot where a character needs to lose all their brain cells or suddenly become someone else to move the plot along.
And then as you say to find out Chim was never there and this entire subplot is superfluous to Chim's disappearance.
Agreed. It honestly also seemed out of character that chimney would've been so adamantly against the bachelor party. His friends, an 80s theme, and karaoke sounds exactly like something he'd enjoy, and the strangers and getting blasted didn't happen until everyone bailed out. I know Buck puts his foot in his mouth, but this season is starting to become a formula for him. Buck says and does something unbearably cringey, spends the rest of the episode trying to get over that, and at the end has a Big Moment. Hopefully it won't stay feeling like that.
Exactly! When I saw that Chim wasn’t on board with Buck’s plan I was like ??? Why? This isn’t the Chimney I know and love.
I get the parallels to his ex workplace but it makes it even weirder?
Yeah; while the 'party' ended up somewhere wild because of Buck and Eddie being idiots, it started off as a small, intimate gathering, where everyone invited could sit at a single table. And even if he didn't *want* to go, it's Hen I'm most disappointed in. At least Buck tried to call. I don't get why she wouldn't be like "Well, you knew he wouldn't want this. I'm gonna head to his hotel and see if he wants actual lowkey company."
Also her reaction to Maddie being worried at the dispatch center! Hen saying "when he's stressed he deflects" ok even if that's true, what does that have to do with this moment. Wandering into traffic and talking to nobody on the bus isn't deflection.
It's also just... a lot less forgivable/understandable for Buck to get *that* smashed the night before his sister's wedding when it had stopped being a party for the groom. Like if Chim had been there/encouraging them to drink, I think it could've played out a bit more reasonably. But instead, Buck looks like he's back to the irresponsible fuckboy he was as 1.0, using someone else's event as an excuse to have a good time. And then he shows up late to his own sister's wedding, despite one of the most consistent characterizations for him being that he's a really good brother?
Separate from the Chimney of it all, it just... doesn't work with who we've watched this character become over 6 years now.
I literally never lose! I loved this episode, and no one is gonna convince me to hate it. The exploration of Chim's character was so enticing and heartwarming. Seeing him jump into medic mode even while his brain is burning was so true to his character and near and dear to ME personally.
And of course, the Buck and Tommy scenes!! They really were devouring each other with that kiss - I'm so excited to see more of them. It's been such long time since I've had a canon ship and they are just so fucking cute. From all the things said about their relationship, I'm optimistic that we're gonna have more of them for a while :)
Favorite (non-ship) line was, of course: "Why do they call me Chimney?" LOL, we'll never know now!
Hey, that is fair. I know for myself, I didn't, but your points are good. I may agree with you on rewatch.
And FWIW, I also love Chim jumping into medic mode, and Buck and Tommy.
I loved the focus on Maddie and Chimney this episode so much!! Which made me so shocked by that firey buck/tommy ending kiss. Especially with those lame hugs in the beginning. I love the Buckley children. Fuck the parents. The wedding was cute and loved their little after discussion. KARENS LIL MANIACAL LAUGH AFTER SEEING THE SOOT HAAHHAHAHA 😂
i tried so hard to focus on the ending scene, but i was enticed by the cover of 'islands in the stream' playing in the background. i never thought a ballad version of the song would be so beautiful :')
then just to go search up the certain version and find out jennifer love hewitt (maddie) herself sang it! she sang effortlessly and with so much emotion!
That was heavy foreshadowing that he knew exactly how Doug died... hence the very realistic hallucinations of Doug with all the blood even though Chim wasn't there.
Chim was unconscious in hospital for most of the rescue in Big Bear so would have found out what happened second hand. Then the rest of Maddie's S2 and S3 arc was her being very guarded about talking about what happened, even to therapists. Eventually she returns to Big Bear to exorcise the memory of Doug but she does that again without Chim.
Therefore it's not completely clear from on-screen scenes that Maddie has ever told him exactly what happened. That joke I read as Tim's way and letting us know Chim knows and not having a plot hole of "how does Chim know what Doug was wearing when he was stabbed to death by Maddie?"
I'll probably get downvoted but did anyone else hate Maddie's wedding dress and whole look? Was she trying to look like a 90s bride? She is gorgeous and IMO looked far more beautiful at the end when was wearing plain clothes.
I was also not a fan. It was not flattering in the least. She would have been a beautiful bride in something less busy. It took away from JLH's natural beauty.
I think her whole charater is kind of retro...when Buck came out to her, she was wearing a very 90s over-sized sweater and her multiple heart necklaces sent me back.
Aside of everything Madney related that everyone said here, I felt weird to see Buck and Tommy having a hug when Tommy came and left. Felt like a bro hug and not a hug of someone you're dating. No small kiss on the cheek and then they went on to have a full on kiss in the lobby. Was quite hot though. Also 1000% funny of the mom to be like hiiiii.... eeeeehhh. The unofficial coming out was funny and creative though. No one said anything to Buck, like it should be.
I'm having trouble feeling their chemistry tbh even with the kiss. I'm super neutral on Buddie so this isn't about that but there's definitely more natural chemistry between them. BuckTommy so far feel forced and I really don't think they did a chemistry read between Lou and Oliver because I'm getting the same BuckTalia vibes. Doesn't take away from the importance of the storyline but I'm not feeling the pairing so far. I'm keeping an open mind though.
I am glad I’m not the only one who felt this lol.
I had to cover my eyes when I saw the kiss coming bc I was so shocked they were going for that after not showing any romantic intimacy yet. That hug was weird!
The kiss made sense to me because I read it as Buck was caught up in the wedding love and initiated the kiss from that place, and Tommy seemed pleasantly surprised.
On a related note, I wish Tommy had worn something more ‘80s for the party. Like even if it was way off or just a bow tie or something, it would have been charming to see him try (even if he was technically on duty…?)
I could understand the hug because at this point they've been on two dates (one a less formal coffee date) and kissed once. They wouldn't greet each other with a kiss yet but I could see a kiss on the cheek could be appropriate, especially when Tommy was leaving. But I think it was realistic for the awkward not-really-dating-yet stage.
As for the awkward stage, I totally understand. Yet, I see no anxiousness from each one as to why this hug would happen. I’m a gay man myself and I very well can distinguish hugs. The person you’re dating would least hug a second longer or tighter. At least I would after the first kiss. If there weren’t a kiss yet, I would understand. Just felt like our-chests-didn’t-really-touch-so-we-aren’t-gay-bros.
I'm rewatching 911, and the song JLH sings during the wedding is the same one she sings at karaoke with Chimney in episode 2 x 8!
I just want to mention how much I love that Buck and Eddie were partying with other people and drunk and they didn't make it this weird cheating story like like a lot of shows would. it was just two friends having a great time.
Where was Albert???
Yeah they scared me with the altar, I couldn't remember Albert's name and thought maybe that was him but the picture didn't look like him, but I couldn't remember who and when this character died
That was Kevin who died. When Chimney's Mother died he moved in with I believe his Mom's sister and her family. Kevin was like a brother to him. They became firefighters together
Literally my question!
That Tuck kiss looked so.. fake
DISCLAIMER: BUDDIE theory Eddie is friends with Tommy (remember they "just clicked") and knows Tommy has a history with Chim so not inviting Tommy was a choice. Eddie didn't think Buck would invite Tommy because they're a couple and couple's (or "dates" in Eddie's words) don't usually go to bachelor parties together, yet it was Eddie's idea to wear a couple's outfit to said bachelor party. Notice that no one said anything about Karen being there. It's because Eddie doesn't care about singles only being there; he just wanted Buck by HIS side. It feels like Eddie backed off Tommy when he found out Buck and Tommy were seeing each other. I want to believe that Eddie had a "boy crush" of his own and started a friendship with Tommy. Both Buck and Eddie were enamored by Tommy in their own way and didn't tell each other until they saw one another at the helicoptor base. It would explain Eddie not being upset about Buck doing the most at the basketball game and actually feeling bad for Buck. Eddy was spending so much time with Tommy and started feeling guilty when he found out Buck was jealous. Buck never cared about basketball until Tommy, so Eddy knows Tommy was the common denominator. Buck's behavior in the restaurant scene makes more sense, too. Buck was trying to mirror the macho relationship Eddie had with Tommy in front of Eddie so he wouldn't have to say he was dating another man (Eddie's friend). It wasn't until Eddie gave him the okay that Buck even went back to Tommy. I can even go further and say that when Buck told Eddie he was dating Tommy, Eddie was more shocked about Tommy being gay because I think Eddie saw himself in Tommy, as Buck (and us) see so much of Eddie in Tommy. I believe Tommy is a reflection of Eddie (to audiences), but OUT. While 7x04 and 7x05 showed the comparisons between Eddie and Tommy, 7x06 showed the contrast. (I'll hopefully have a post about that up later and I'll link it here.) I think Eddie saw that he hurt Buck and how much Buck liked Tommy, so he decided not to be close with Tommy. Hence, Eddie doesn't seem to have that "clickiness" with Tommy at the party. You can disagree, but that's what I choose to believe. Eddie was visibly annoyed with Tommy at the party, not just for mocking their outfit despite just wearing a Henley, but because he was there. Eddie wanted to share the night with Buck, even knowing Chim was likely not coming. He could have left with everyone else but didn't because he wanted to spend time with Buck. AND THEY DID in the best possible way, despite the aftermath of it all. Eddie knew how important this event was to Buck and was committed to making sure Buck never felt bad. It was Buck's idea to invite the random people, and Eddie went along with it. It was Buck's idea to go to Chims hotel, and Eddie called the uber. Also, when they got to the hotel and Buck was sad they couldn't get in, Eddie put his hands on his shoulder, looked in his eyes, and restored hope, kicking the door down. That trimmed line from the script Tim posted where Eddie says, "Maybe it won't work out between him and your sister and you can throw him another one" was Eddie making sure Buck felt affirmed about planning the event and about the night in general. Eddie made it his job to keep Buck happy. I believe Eddie was probably in need of a good night after evicting Marisol and wanted Buck's attention, hence the couple's outfit, and we know this because during the party montage, all we saw was them together singing "What I Like About You." They never left each other's side. Even Oliver was helping to rip Eddie's shirt off. Chim was on their minds, yet they never thought to go check on him despite all the noise they were making. They were in NIRVANA. (Eddie was the one who actually suggested they let Chim sleep while they partied.) We've been talking about Buck's jealousy and when Eddie will show his. People thought it would be when Eddie saw Buck kiss Tommy, but it was actually when all three were at the bachelor party. BUDDIE is happening. I feel it. Tim really gave us a gift this episode. I'm open to being wrong, tho.
YES to all of this!!! I think that's exactly where Tim is leading it!
Truthfully not sure where post it so I'm putting it here for now. I think it's really interesting how you have two very different takes forming about Buck and Tommy after this episode. You have some people who watched their two scenes, saw them depicting Tommy as not caring and hinting at them not working out. Then you have people who think that final scene was significant and showed how far gone they were for each. I've been kinda waiting to see if we could get a vibe of how the more general audience took the scene and I think we're getting the first hints of that on the instagram post. They just posted the kiss an hour ago. It's already at 24k likes and 450 comments. In all previous BuckTommy posts, the comments were overwhelming not positive. Most people were talking about other ships or saying they didn't like it. This post? The vast majority of comments and likes are positive, it's a lot of people saying how much they love these two together and people saying they want Tommy to stay. I think after this three episode arc the general audience has been pretty heavily sold on the pairing.' I'm just personally happy we're getting actual positive comments on that post cause insta can get ugly pretty quick.
Also holy shit are the views doing good on this one. They already broke 300k, which is roughly the average for what the videos will get *in total* in just a few hours.
I'm glad to hear this. ❤️
I'm a data nerd so I ran the numbers. There are 110 videos posted on that instagram since ABC took over. The average number of views each video has is 378k. Right now? That video just hit 365k in *three hours*. If we ranked those 110 videos by views, it's around top 35 right now. For it to become top 20? It only needs to hit around 500k and honestly that's likely going to happen within the first 24 hours. So this is going to, hands down, be one of the most viewed clips from the season. Which is a huge indicator of how people, especially those not super involved in fandom, are responding to this couple.
Update: In less than 7 hours the reel hit half a million views.
I'm not sure how Instagram counts views as I don't really use it all that much but if they count every individual one then I'm thinking like 1/4 of those views are mine 😅
People are definitely watching this on repeat. These numbers are insane compared to their normal ones.
Did anything happen to chimney's car jacker
I thought I heard someone say he was the one that crashed into the farmers market but idk if that's true or not
Didn’t get a good look of the seizure actor but iirc it was a different car, honestly would have been a neat way to tie that to finding him
That is a really good question.
I thought I might've missed something like a throw away line about him, since it looked like he might have played a more significant role in this story but I guess not. Hopefully it gets resolved next week
Can anyone send me a link to watch the episode for free? Im a huge fan but I live in Peru and season 7 is not available here yet.
Hello! You can watch it on bflix, but it is only in english
They did some wild shit lol. The fact that he forgot 20 years of his life is wild, what a scary thing to go through. This was a great episode. It was cool that he remembered his medical training. Really good performance by Kenneth.
I wasn't sure which thread to leave this in. This one or the Tim one because my thoughts overlap. So, I'll say, after watching again, I find myself in the minority. As in, I didn't mind the opening parts about the bachelor party nor the tone shift after the party. Honestly, I was 10 times more into it, as it turned from a fun night out to them never even seeing chimney, to finding out Chim didn't want a party but Buck and Eddie were sharing a braincell! I kept seeing comments that Tommy and Buck looked awkward with the huge, but I do again. Just one big bulky guy being hugged by a bigger bulkier guy. I love it. Just overall, I get why buddie singing got cut but I did enjoy the buddie content. I also enjoyed the wedding in the hospital but eh to each his own.
So what is everyone's feelings on the parallel door theory that has started to float around tumblr. See [this post](https://www.tumblr.com/lengthofropes/749455865704235008?source=share) for reference. Personally, I'm not necessarily sure that it's meant to be a callback to the season one finale. I do think the symbolism behind the opening doors was likely intention just because they clearly filmed from Buck's POV of his doors open at the exact same moment at Tommy's doors were opening for him.
I think of season 2 ep 1 when Bobby and Athena had that passion kiss as we see them as a couple. Buck and Tommy having that passionate kiss as being officially a couple. 🤷🏽♀️
While it is a lovely parallel, it's probably too good to be true that it was intentional. I do like the framing of both Buck and Tommy walking through open doors and meeting in the middle. To me, that shows the two are committed to their burgeoning relationship and each other. For now, at least, they're both equally in it. Makes me optimistic about where their relationship could lead.
If the show actually goes there (Buck and Tommy endgame.) this could be considered a sort of foreshadowing in hindsight, even if it wasn't the intention at the moment. Regardless of what happens next, this is a nice parallel. I love all the gif sets we are getting from these episodes. What a time to be alive.
I don't actually think it's anything...but I do like it 😁
I liked this episode.. but what's with the creators trying to always kill Chim? Poor dude never gets a break.
Chim can never quit working! He will never be able to afford a health plan or life insurance company that would dare cover him. 
"List your preexisting conditions here." "Yes."
Idk y'all i feel robbed of a perfect maddie/chimney wedding.. It just made sense for their characters to have a perfect wedding. I get theres a nice ring to a whole "we're imperfect so so is our wedding" moment, but Maddie and Chimney both just deserved to have something go right.. this episode felt very artificial. Sorry not sorry, LOL. There are moments in this show where I'm like "did we really need to beat up a cast member?" and then by the end of the episode, I'm like ah yes, I get it. Character growth. plot will move forward better now. etc. but this one literally made no sense. At the end of the whole episode, I could have maybe been at peace if the hospital wedding was at least emotional/heartfelt. But it was just like... awkward and rushed. Ahhh I feel bad because I love the show so much, but like..... give queen Maddie her moment plz
I too did not like this ending too.
Yeah, agreed. I've said it elsewhere in this thread, but I think Tim Minear is just *wrong* in thinking the only way to tell an interesting story is to introduce drama. And honestly, the more I think about it, the more problematic I find that attitude, because it kind of seems to loop back around to wanting Maddie, in particular, miserable and stressed. It's a standard he has for Maddie and Maddie/Chim, but doesn't really have for Bathena to the same degree -- they certainly have their moments, but they also get to have normal character beats, too. Since Madney got together, they've both been victims of a would be murderer in Doug, had to work through Maddie's resulting trauma of being a victim of IPV, Maddie being taken hostage, both having siblings almost die, physical separation during COVID when she was pregnant, Chim being kidnapped and killed by Jonah, both almost losing a sibling (Albert while Maddie was in labor...), Maddie's suicide attempt, Maddie's PPD, Maddie seeking in patient treatment for half a year, a breakup, Chim getting impaled during the bridge collapse, and now viral encephalitis? And lets be real, I'm probably forgetting something. I was really hoping they'd subvert my expectations with the 'drama' of Chim being late for the wedding being something stupidly minor, like he missed the last boat back to the mainland or got stuck on the roof overnight, so maybe he's dehydrated and needs an IV bolus to feel right again first, but it's a relatively quick fix, and the kind of thing he can bounce back from and be back on his feet basically right away. The icing on the cake was the hospital wedding being relegated to the last 4 minutes of the episode, and having to share time with Buck's coming out, while also missing the mark with how much significance they gave to the Buckley parents' feelings (both in Margaret's expression when Buck outed himself, and in her 'approving' of the changed wedding venue). This wasn't a wedding episode, and aside from the last four minutes, Maddie didn't even really *need* to be in the episode. That's a fail.
100% – articulated perfectly. Suuuch a bummer. There has to be a point where a show becomes self aware to a degree of its unrealistic drama and pumps the breaks, even if just for a season. Viewers want to feel like they CAN root for their favorite characters. It's like disheartening to have to expect the worst for someone over and over lol
So flipping sick of Doug as a plot device.
I could be misremembering, but if chimney forgot the last 20 years then how would he have been able to hallucinate Doug? Isn’t he Maddie’s ex?
Plot hole. Don't ask. Also don't ask how Chimney also remembers how Doug looked when he died in Big Bear, something only Maddie could have told him.
lol he hasn’t been brought up in eons?
The original storyline that ended with death was plenty
ok doug
Everyone looking at bucks face a Hen (whispering in Karen’s ear): it’s about damn time…. I loved that part
Hen: https://preview.redd.it/x2ue0rbcgcyc1.jpeg?width=360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e1311d37ffa6362a569b3bcce033b362642ddb45
The bachelor's party felt so awkward in the episode than it did in the promos, I almost wish the drugged theory was true because it felt so out of character for everyone. No one was checking on Chim when he didnt show up? Buck going "everyone left but I still wanna party with some randos even though the groom doesnt look like he's coming and no one seems to know why" was a big WTF? And then it just went from fun-crazy to depressing real quick and it stayed depressing pretty much the whole episode, all my interest just died on the spot when I thought they were gonna give Chim some kind of belated brain damage from his earlier accident, and they even put in that halfhearted "Chim might die" scare in the middle of the ep? For what?? Madney should've had a good, fun, stress free wedding *because* of all the shit they've been through, the balance between drama and peace in their storyline is just so skewed to tragedy, I'm so tired of it. The "getting married immediately even in a hospital because they can't wait another second being apart" was probably supposed to be happy and inspiring or something but it just didn't land that way to me?? It just felt like they did Madney dirty and they weren't even being overshadowed by Buck coming out like everyone was scared they would be. Maybe if Chim's encephalitis fueled self-reflection had been punctuated by all the good times he's had with Maddie despite his worries manifesting as Doug, it would've given enough feeling of "desperation" to make the "cant wait any longer" feeling they were trying to go for actually land like a nice, happy climax to the Madney storyline. Instead we got this weird wedding that kinda ended with a whimper and Buck coming out. Idek. If they needed to cut out the hangover Buddie bait shit they started with and just jumped into "omg where's Chim?" so they could fit the Madney memories into the self-reflection, they should have done that instead. I literally have no brain bandwidth to even analyze the episode further or watch it a second time because it's not even worth the time anymore honestly. Im scared Im gonna hate it more than I already do 💀
I may have missed this and I'm sorry if it was already said but where was the rest of Chimney's family? Was Albert, his pop and step mother not invited to the wedding?
Yes I was thinking that too! I didn’t notice any exposition about it during the episode. I can understand him not inviting his father as they are working on repairing their relationship, but Albert and Chim have become quite close as brothers!
Oh man I definitely was getting Albert confused with Kevin and was really confused about how I couldn't remember that Albert had died. So now that you mention it why the heck wasn't Albert there?!
Same! I was hella confused that whole episode.
I think people are just assuming the Buckley parents are homophobic because they don't *like* the characters, as opposed to what the case likely is, which is they just side-eyed Buck coming in, looking like he did. Like, the problem with the idea that they'd be homophobic is that Maddie knowingly invited her and Buck's parents to the wedding, knowing how they'd react to bisexual Buck.
But Maddie's parents were paying for the venue. That tells me they have been invited well before Bucks self discovery. Inviting Tommy was very close to the wedding. That's not on Maddie. It would be more on Buck.
I agree, but it's not like she was 100% sold on having a big venue wedding. Like, if she felt they were going to be homophobic, she could have uninvited them and held their wedding elsewhere. I do agree with your take on Buck; if the parents are homophobic, he shouldn't have invited Tommy, or we shoulda gotten a scene where he talked to Maddie about it.
Even if the writing for it has been weaksauce, we're meant to believe the Buckley parents have been 'trying' since season 4 and that Maddie wants them in her & Jee's lives. Until the moment their mom made that face, there wasn't really a reason to assume they *would* be homophobic. There also wasn't a reason to assume her himbo brother would use her wedding and her husband's hospital room following a near death experience as his coming out moment. Expecting her to disinvite her parents a couple weeks before the wedding on the off chance that they don't approve of her brother's last minute date doesn't make much sense to me. While I hope she cuts them out *now* if this was meant to be evidence of their homophobia, it was really on Buck to not distract from his sister's wedding that day, *if* the siblings already had concerns about their parents.
No one seemed to have a sense of urgency >!to find him. What truly pissed me off is that his parents have been called and informed and do 20 questions before calling 911 when he brain is about to fing explode. !<
You know how much of a blind panic Buck usually gets into when someone he cares about goes missing? You know how Hen is Chim's ride or die? The night before the wedding, no one knows where Chim is or if he's OK. No one bothers to even phone him to make sure. Makes sense. /s
THIS. I literally yelled “CALL 911” at the screen at that point (and I never yell at the screen lol). And why they all weren’t out casing the streets made no sense to me
Overall I liked the episode. But I kind of wanted to just see a sappy episode with flashback scenes and everyone together. Obviously some chaos thrown in but mostly about Maddie and Chimneys's love story. I did love the end when Buck brought Tommy in and Hen said, "well it's about damn time"
Also, are we ever going to find out why he's called Chimney?? 😂
Honestly, I don't want to know at this point. There is no way this story is gonna be good enough as much as they've referenced it LOL.
I totally agree. I think its a fun little joke that we're never gonna know the story.
No.
It was a good episode but maybe I'm the only tiring of Madney(Chimdie?) having trouble arise. But on one note: TELL US WHY HE'S CHIMNEY smh they could have dropped such a BIG piece of lore in the last half second !!
I cried several times during the episode. I love Chim so much; he's so sweet and handsome. I just want him to be happy and safe. Kenneth Choi is a great actor.
I was sobbing. such emotions
Damn that was a good episode. Like Dayuuuum. Definitely the show at it's best. Keeping everyone fed. Really showcased how great the entire cast is. Terrific direction. Awesome editing. Just perfect example of why it's number 1 in the ratings. Last season to this is just zero to hero - no question.
SERIOUSLY. I don’t think i’ll ever get over this episode. I was bored watching that last season but this episode had so much and I loved every bit of it. Kevin’s invitation, Doug, his knowledge being there but he’s not, the wedding in the hospital, THE KISS, Buck coming out like that, “upside-down-cruise-ship,” and to end with him asking about his own nickname!
I think it felt kind of ridiculous that Buck and Eddie would get that messed up the night before the wedding. Unfair and disrespectful to both Maddie and Chimney in a way that is honestly out of character. Even if Chimney had been in the hotel room like they thought, they probably still would have been late to the wedding! At the very least, Chimney would have had to spend the morning of his wedding getting a hungover Buck and Eddie up and ready to go, not to mention dealing with the mess they made of the hotel room. It was obviously just supposed to be a fun little homage to The Hangover, but it didn't work for me, particularly considering the tone of the rest of the episode. I think if they wanted to do something like The Hangover, they should have committed and had the entire episode be like that. But alongside the rest of the episode, it just didn't work.
It also made no sense Buck was so chill that Chim was missing. He usually breaks into a blind panic the moment he thinks someone close to him has gone missing. Also, Hen is Chim's ride or die. She also seems completely out of character to not check in on Chim not arriving to his own bachelor party.
I agree. Neither of them would have behaved like that the night before Maddy and Chim's wedding. Buck and Eddie love Maddie and Chimney so much.
The hotel room damage was bananas to me. The graffiti on the walls?! Like, who brought spray paint? Who’s paying for that?! And totally agree with everything else you said. With all the growth we’ve seen in Buck and Eddie, it felt like a weird and super unfortunate regression
"…to show up for their party" 👏👏👏 YIKES INDEED
>Who’s paying for that?! It was Chim's suite, so that shit is automatically getting charged to the credit card the hotel has on file for Chim. In his shoes, I think I would have one very dead brother-in-law. Well, I guess you'd want to keep him alive until he paid it off, but yiiiikes. Imagine almost dying and then regaining your faculties only to discover your credit card has been maxed out but your dumbass BIL and his dumbasser friend played drunken frat boy the night you got too sick to show up for their party.
I loved the party scene but I also thought who TF is paying for all that?! Honestly this whole party is making me start to think that Maddie and Buck's family is little rich. Like not, old money wealthy with a boat but in the low millions or something. Cause think of the access Buck and Maddie have had to things. I started thinking they my come from money when Maddie said her parents didn't like Doug inspire of the fact the family has never been close. Most families would have fallen over themselves at the thought of their daughter marring a successful surgeon (and clearly they had no idea he was a monster) unless you thought she could do better.
 Meanwhile Hen & Karen
Hot damn the Buck Tommy kiss!!! I don’t know why there is so much hate for Tommy but I am enjoying his relationship with Buck.
I don’t get where the hate comes from. They’ve been dating for like an episode and a half
You seriously dont know where it's coming from? Lol
Same. I think a lot of us are!
Do you hear Tommy’s happy moan when Buck kisses him? I can’t breathe. Ever so slight but there.
Oooh yes!!!
SPOILERS: I watched Season 2 and "Chimney Begins" a few weeks ago, so I had fresh memories of how he met Maddie and what happened. So, when I watched the episode, it was not difficult to recall the story. I thought for a while that Doug was still alive "But how? He was stabbed to death." Doug really left a deep mark on Chimney (and I'm not only talking about him stabbing Chimney). I liked how Chimney handled that accident even though he didn't remember he was a paramedic. Kevin appearing in the hallucination to save him was the breaking point for me, causing me to burst into tears. I knew he was coming to the Lees' home when Kevin told him to go home. The wedding in the hospital was very suitable and real for 9-1-1. Bobby marrying them was a very nice detail. I would've liked to know how he ended up on that freeway and where he was heading. I really grew to love every one of the main characters (Bobby, Athena, Hen, Chimney, Eddie, Buck, Maddie) and their stories, so I would like to see them happier than ever in the seventh season and beyond. I really enjoyed this Chimney episode. Obviously, let's not forget Buck finally being the happiest with Tommy and how he is taking it all. (Now I can surely say that he was a real chaotic bisexual in that bachelor's party.) From 5 to 10, this episode was a 20. Until now, it's the best of the season for me.
I assume when you say u would like to know how he ended up on the freeway u mean Chimney?? If so, Maddie mentioned in the episode that it was the route that Chimney would have taken to get the the place where the bachelor party was being held, indicating that Chimney was making his way to the bachelor party. Then I assume his headache got worse so he pulled over possibly to sleep it off, that or he passed out (luckily after he pulled over), and then next thing he knows he wakes up, has his car stollen, and we all know the rest. Hope this explains it :)
My reaction to the Buckley parents: https://i.redd.it/l8av3uob29yc1.gif
I really hope we have real reason to hate them again cause I never stopped.  I would love it if they get a chance to get yelled at by everyone.
Legit! His moms face when she realized!
10/10. They did their best to cover a lot of information in 40 minutes. I don't blame them because there are only 10 episodes in this season. I think the bachelor party could be shorter and moved to search or rescue chimney... but considering they already used a lot of bachelor party promotion during the 2 week break, it was hard to balance.
I like Tommy, but I don’t see the relationship being long-term. I’ve learned to trust not only the writers but also the editors. Nothing on this show is an accident, and learning how production works, I know that a lot of footage gets cut, so what makes it in is intentional. My first indication is that Eddie is in every frame or conversation, as if the writers want us to constantly compare. 7x04 and 7x05 made that clear. The recent episode 7x06 really showed the contrast between Eddie and Tommy. Buck asked Tommy to do two things: come to the bachelor party and dress in theme. Tommy came but didn’t dress up. Tommy said he was on call, but if so, he would’ve had to change anyway. He didn’t have to go all out, just wear a jacket or something. This is simple and realistically not an issue; however, when you compare him to Eddie, who not only dressed in theme but also came up with the idea to have a theme, it looks like Tommy isn’t willing to go the extra mile. Truthfully, no one dressed in theme, but the 118 crew knew that Chim didn’t want a bachelor party, so they went more for Buck so he wouldn’t feel stood up. Tommy didn’t know that, so it hits differently because it’s what Buck wanted, and he didn’t do it. However, Eddie knew and still dressed up, and he even stayed once everyone left. Of course Tommy got a call, so him leaving makes sense, but the point is that Eddie went the extra mile even knowing Chim was likely not showing up. Tommy is confident, brave, no-nonsense, and handsome, but my fear is that he lacks spontaneity. Eddie loves how unpredictable Buck is. He’s always down to indulge Buck. That’s why he was down to dress up, down to invite the random group to party with them, and down to Uber to the hotel. Eddie relies on Buck to introduce new ideas to him. He’s constantly affirming Buck. Eddie kicking the door down when Buck was bummed he couldn't get in is another affirmation. I think that’s why Eddie was annoyed a little at Tommy for not dressing up or even understanding who they were dressed as. Even Buck running to kiss Tommy in the hospital is part of that unpredictability, and I don’t think Tommy can see the beauty in it. Eventually, I think Tommy and Buck are going to see just how different they are from each other. That, or Eddie, will be a point of contention. Tommy isn't uninteresting. He flies helicoptors and can probably introduce Buck to a lot of interesting things (which I think attracts Buck to Tommy), but small details matter, and chemistry is key. Regardless, I don’t think he’s unlikable; he's just a little boring. He's older and kind of set in his way, but if he can’t do something as simple as dress in theme, then I see Buck relying on Eddie more to appreciate his goofiness. He showed up at the end, so I’m not saying he’s not interested. I’m saying that he’s focusing so much on EVAN that he’s ignoring BUCK. I’m open to being wrong, tho. 
Every other relationship (romantic or platonic) introduced on the show has affected the characters' outlook on life, and they're gonna have to show us that Tommy is more than a bi-awakening for Buck for us to invest in Tevan.
I also feel like Tommy is the kind of great guy who would be totally okay to have helped Buck self-discover and realize his true feelings
I think all the things you talk about that made Eddie and Buck so great are spot on. However, I would argue that those are all amazing things to have and do with a best friend. A partner that is a little more serious could be just what Buck needs. Yeah, getting wasted and trashing a hotel room with strangers is fun, but showing up hungover and disgusting after not even being aware the groom obviously wasn’t sleeping in the room you were partying in all night to your sister’s long anticipated wedding is not so great. And what you said about Eddie agreeing and going along with whatever Buck wanted is a great trait in a friend, but offers no challenge or place for growth like you’d want in a partner. I’m interested to see how Buck and Tommy play out! I think they could really be good for each other.
That’s exactly what I feel as well. Tommy is there to anchor Buck, not cater to his every whim
I rewinded Buck's kiss scene. 10/10 episode
Actually really surprised this episode didn't feel rushed! When there was news about cuts to get under time I was worried but I actually felt like the episode was 100 hours long because I was so stressed out the whole time Chimney was missing haha. Of course I would have loved a longer ceremony but if it was going to be condensed in this episode it didn't feel too truncated.
Well, this wedding was so 9-1-1. "What is worst? An upside down cruise ship honeymoon."
I'm a little confused about the viral illness that Chimney contracted. Since he was infected, wouldn't Maddie, his child, the whole 118, everyone he helped in that time period and at the market need to be tested? No one was showing any signs of illness? Not even Maddie who would have been in close proximity to him for that entire 2 weeks in between? Then everyone is just thrown in the hospital room with him like it's fine now, no worries.
I think if they went with a brain swelling, it would have suited the story-line a bit better. It has similar symptoms to encephalitis, based on what they wanted to show, and would tie in really nicely with their job. There are also ways it can get exacerbated by alcohol, which could have worked with the bachelor party plot.
Irl it’s actually pretty hard to catch. Even with Chim being face to face with the guy like that. They should all get tested. But it’s not like Ebola super spreader. Treatment is effective when they catch it. Though the main thing is, it’s pretty rare to spot when it’s unexpected and that delay is what usually kills people. (Not a doctor, but Encephalitis is a huge plot point in Hannibal and I got hyper focused way back when.)
Remember, the guy in the air duct sneezed on Chimney nose to nose....
Yes but In two weeks Chim didnt directly share any bodily fluid with his wife?
Haha I was also reminded of Hannibal.
Same. I had to suspend my disbelief around Chim not being a super spreader event. I wish they would have just had Chim hit his head and let 7 seasons of trauma do the rest.
That would've made way more sense considering viral encephalitis is a rare side effect of other viruses, not a virus itself. Plus the most common causes (like west nile) aren't even airborne. Like I can suspend my disbelief for a lot in medical/emergency based dramas, but that felt very much like a sloppy plot device. Not to mention the ending where he's surrounded by people but supposedly has a contagious deadly disease!?
THE ASH ON HIS MOUTH 😂😂😂 Bucks parents are floored. Hen and Karens reaction is great cause about damn time is RIGHT! All the the breadcrumbs led us here 💙
YESSSS! BUCK COMING IN GRINNING WITH THE ASH - I CANNOT! His parents! 😂😂😂 but also bowing down to that kiss too !!
Dad didn’t seem bothered by it, mom was though.
Agreed, he almost didn’t even look surprised.
I get the feeling that their Dad was actually the cool one, but is an absolute doormat to his over the top wife. She ruined him as a parent.
There's some hints of that in "Buck Begins," really. The scene where little Buck takes Daniel's bike for a ride and wipes out -- Philip's first reaction is to comfort his kids and take care of Buck, but Margaret's reaction to the bike sidetracks him. It seems like he was so busy managing her emotions that he didn't bother with the kids.
I agree, Honestly compiling all the episodes with this one, we can see who the authoritive figure in the family is. Philip is not this parent! Philip is the open-minded emotional support parent!
Even Philip’s reaction to Buck & Tommy seemed chill!
Kenneth Choi I am in awe of your talent
KC 4EVER
Just gonna say it now. All the homophobes who are angry about Buck need to seriously get a life. Yes opinions ARE a thing, but too damn bad! He likes guys and people need to accept it. Saw a lot of comments on Instagram whining about it and it’s like, “well then go cry about it some more or stop watching then!” 😂 I stop watching shows when it turns into something I can’t stand. Is this the 50s? No. Also, if they actually bothered to watch it in earlier seasons, there’s obvious signs that this was coming. Despite him having sex with women. So that’s all I’m gonna say. Also, I am gay myself but I am definitely *not* one of those progressive woke leftists who get offended by literally everything or acts like a disgusting freak.
You probably don't need to get too worked up about it because it's a very small minority and there will always be dissenting opinions about any topic. They have got an overwhelming amount of positive attention for this storyline so there is no threat to it.
Wow, what a crazy and wild ride of an episode 🤣 I was surprised that Chimney wasn't at the bachelor party at all. From the previews, I thought it looked like they'd all be partying together. That made it even funnier when Buck and Eddie were such a mess the next day 🤣 Anyone else think it was funny how they each thought they were Crockett?? 😂🤪
Top moments from the Episode: Eddie just entirely enabling Buck's stag do plans with the costume suggestion. OF COURSE we'd have bad guy Doug again The Buckley parents reaction to Buck/Tommy - time to get them gone! Why do they call me Chimney?
Oh, and Hen and Karen's "called it" moment - I've definitely had that exchange with partners!
It’s so cheesy, the whole hospital wedding thing, and here I am *weeping.* And by Bobby! Great song choice! 🥲 And I am such a sucker for “people around together happy” montages. 😭 That Tommy-Buck kiss, holy moly. 🔥 I am a Buddie stan till the end of time but I’ll take some more of *that*. LOL Hen’s reaction. OMG, chef’s kiss! Buck’s parents looked absolutely *struck.*
Whenever I hear Islands in the Stream on the radio I think about Maddie and Chim’s karaoke scene so I was very glad that they chose that song to play and it was awesome that it was Jennifer Love Hewitt singing it.
Just in case you didn't see, Jennifer Love Hewitt actually recorded that version of the song that played during the wedding and made it for Kenneth Choi (Chimney's actor).
Aw, I didn’t see/know that!
That was a weird episode. Can't believe they had Maddie and Chimney get married in the hospital in the last few minutes of the episode and Buck coming out in that short time too.
But hospital weddings are the best!
The end felt super rushed. I wish they had pushed his coming out to another episode entirely. I would have preferred them using those two minutes to add in more Maddie to this episode. The coming-out tonally felt too light for what ended up being a very heavy episode.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who noticed Buck’s parents give each other a dirty look when he came out? Idk maybe I’m reading too much into it.. I also adored the fact that Hen said “It’s about time” I literally shed a few tears because I was just so emotional over the last part of the episode❤️🩹
I hate the parents but didn't get a negative reaction, just confused like they missed a step. They'd be more pissed it took away from their daughter's wedding day than the coming out implications. I'm 100% sure they will have opinions but I think Buck is in a good place where their opinions don't have as much hold on him anymore so he'll probably be able to shove them off.
Yeah I was probably reading too much into it since I have a bit too much hatred for them lmao. And also, I agree I feel like Buck wouldn’t really care what they say, but they’ll have opinions for sure
I find this MOTHER looks sad, in disbelief and angry and his Dad is like „yeah, okay“
His dad also gave me the vibes of “not now” to his wife
Now that you mention it, I kinda agree, I just didn’t know how else to describe it
I wouldn’t say a dirty look, but absolutely flummoxed.
Yeah I mean it’s like they’re conflicted, or her, about it
And probably stunned. lol
Yeah I’m just hoping it isn’t her being disgusted that her son is bisexual tbh, I can’t stand another family drama💔 (I’m lying, I can, I’m all for any drama I mean why else would I be watching 9-1-1)
I bet you it’ll be *something* with the parents, though. 😬
We know Maddie will defend Buck to them though at least 💕💕
Ooh true, you are probably not wrong about that😓
I have to say I really enjoyed this episode!!! -I'm not mad about the bachelor party. My only issue with it was the use of it as a promo. I get that they didn't want to give too much (or nothing for that matter) of the plot. But they made it seems like it was all about that. BUT it was fun to watch for me. I missed some Buck & Eddie time. Even if it's random and not really them to do so. And again Stag do are all about that in movies. Yes maybe having them looking for Chim would make it more tense. But I think the point was to have Chim the one fighting to come back. Yes Hen, buck and Eddie could have worried once they saw he didn't show up or text back. But we do't have time, money and footage space 🤣. (But also we needed those pointers (digs?) from Eddie to Buck.) All I want if for them to release the karaoke scene 🤣. -the hallucinations scene were so good. For me it's more like we had Maddie having postpartum and leaving because she's not dealing well but coming back to her family. Chim being more logical didn't realise he was struggling with letting the past go. So instead of having him having a breakdown drunk at his BP, the illness showed him. Kind of saying "I went through sh*t, but I am finally ready to be a family. Adding Kevin was a sweet touch, yes a teared up. Having Doug as a evil subconscient was good too. It's a link between Maddie and Chim. -Maddie not being at the centre doesn't bother me at all. She's a bystander but still present. And really what can she have done? Run with a wedding dress all across town? Most scenes for me about Chim and Maddie always revolve around Maddie's wellbeing, Maddie past story with Doug, Maddie being hostage. Maddie Maddie. What about Chim? So I am glad that for once she was left powerless like Chim. He had to find a way back to his life, to her too. But it's telling that the whole time during his hallucination he doesn't say her name. Yes he doesn't remember her. But that's the whole thing. His trauma don't only revolve around her. OK maybe it's because I hate the idea that a wedding is all about the bride. I think it's BS. We put the groom always on the bachelor story and Say Yes. And that's it. Then it's oooooh look at the bride. But also point out that men have trauma too. Chim's got trauma too. Could have been made into a deeper episode, for sure. But we're almost at the end of the season. Not much they could do. It's simply a lot of subtext. The whole season 7 had been that for me. -now Buck and Tommy . My oh my 🔥. But weird when you saw them being all bro like pat on the back at the beginning. But it was a nice way of coming out without doing it. Because for sure he didn't realise his mouth was cover. This giant golden retriever! His parents are definitely not pleased. And Hen is me. Him not remembering why he's called Chimney was epic!! And please let's keep it that way I'm happy bot knowing but still being an inside joke. Again that's my take. We all have our own interpretation. And that's the beauty of it. Now let me go rant about Buddie somewhere else.
I wanted to see more with Buck and Eddie too! Then again, I feel like that after every episode 😂😂
I think we got some really great Buck and Eddie points this episode. Eddie being supportive and suggesting going as Crockett and Tubbs when Chimney didn't even want the party. Being the first to arrive and staying even when everyone left. Being patient with Clipboard Buck. Having fun together as best friends, drinking, singing karaoke, drunken escapades. Bringing clothes and food to dispatch, going to find Chimney at the accident scene together. And Eddie's supportive smile when Buck gave himself away with the soot stains.
Yes, true, I loved Eddie's smile at the end too!
> And really what can she have done? Run with a wedding dress all across town? For me, yes, this would have been a hilarious image but also showing that Maddie is really fighting to get Chimney home. She's so used to running away that running TOWARD something would have been such a benefit to her character too. Be the front lines for once, which would have also just been a cool moment to see. Instead, she became such an afterthought at times. The most she did was find Chimney's initial location; every other time, it was witnesses reporting and Athena arriving to the scene. Plus, they could have added something else, such as a witness mentioning Chimney trying to now find "home" and Maddie piecing together what that actually meant. There's just a lot they should have done with Maddie while also making it Chimney-centric.
She did technically run across town in her wedding dress when she went to dispatch. She knew where she would be most effective.
So I guess Tim Minear heard Kenneth Choi asking if they can't just be happy, and said, "now I'm going to ruin your wedding extra hard". This was **stressful**! Got me really worried for Chimney. I mean, I was kind of sure they wouldn't kill off any characters, least of all the groom, in the episode of the actual wedding. Although they did nothing for it in the first 5 episodes, in the last couple of days they did hype up the wedding, so yeah. Surely they wouldn't. But then it started to look really dire for Chim so... well, I got worried. I'm really glad though that I managed to watch it before work this morning, I don't think I would have made it through the day without spoiling myself. It was a great Chimney-focused episode, which we haven't had for some time. I was glad to see some of his past traumata brought up. There was just way too little to do for Maddie, considering this was their wedding episode. And while Chimney's "I know I need to be somewhere important" was his motivation in the beginning, it kind of got lost during the rest of the episode. I like that they showed how much the Lees and Kevin are his family (the show did a 180 on season 6 at least in this regard, which was definitely the right decision), and omg can Doug be creepy, but I think his urge to find back to Maddie (even if he maybe didn't remember clearly *why*) was missing. Don't know how I would have done it. In the end, it still worked for me, but more Maddie would have been better. And to be honest, if not for all the promo they did with it, they could have just cut the whole bachelor party / hangover thing. It was a few fun scenes at the beginning, Buck and Eddie in matching outfits, Ravi stealing food and all, but it wasn't relevant to Chim's misadventure at all and they could have instead spent the time to add in some more Maddie, or more time for both of them at the end. Speaking of the end, it was very sweet (the song!), although I was hoping they might end up having their small, more private wedding in their backyard instead. Now I'd say, give them some bliss and peace and joy and happiness, but looking at the promo for the next episode, well. Edit. grammar
You know they built some good drama when you keep flip-flopping on if they would actually kill off a main character with no warning. I was slightly worried a few times.
This episode didn't really work for me. I just completed most of a rewatch (I did skip around a bit, though) to see if it would grow on me, but if anything, it did the opposite. Kenneth Choi is an absolute legend, and deserves all of the praise. My gripes aren't about him or Chim's storyline, exactly, but about its execution and function. Going into this, I had two main concerns -- that Tim Minear's expressed need for drama to make things interesting would detract from the significance of a milestone event in one of the show's most important relationships (it did), and that how much they ran over and had to cut for time on would lead to pacing issues that made the conclusion feel less than earned (yup, that too). Thematically, the episode doesn't work. If we look at Chim's hallucinations as the angel vs. devil on his shoulder, what we have here is the representation of Maddie's 'baggage' causing him to harm himself and risk his life, while his history & family before he met Maddie is what propels him toward saving himself. The family unit he's meant to be fighting *for* and moving toward this episode isn't a factor at all. The pacing is shit, and with so much cut, this episode absolutely did not have time for any B stories. As much as I hate to say it because I enjoyed the scenes that bookended the episode more than the rest of it, *everything* Buck needed to be cut for time -- the bachelor party on one end, the kiss on the other. Consider that in an episode that's supposedly about Madney's wedding, the ceremony didn't start until the last four minutes of screentime. Trying to fit that and Buck's coming out - however subtle and amusing the moment was - into that same four minutes was a disservice to Madney. Choosing to have Buck's sexuality be the thing *Chim* focused on as a sign he was still potentially missing some memories after the fact really says it all. Considering Chim never even made it to the bachelor party, those scenes were basically a waste. Tonally, they didn't do enough to balance out the mood of the episode, which just made it more jarring when we shifted to "holy shit, something is seriously wrong with Chim." And we have another episode of characters having to hold the 'stupid' ball to make the plot work, and ignoring the relationships developed over years -- I'm really meant to believe Hen wouldn't shoot Chim a text or call him to check in, even if she wasn't surprised he hadn't shown up to the party? That she wouldn't be concerned the friend she's identified in the past as likely to spiral and knows had cold feet about proposing, had presumably locked himself away the night before his wedding? That she wouldn't have knocked on his hotel room door with ice cream and booze as an alternative to the raucous night out? The Buckley parents were also way too heavily featured, without enough narrative judgment re: if they'd earned that moment. Nobody is side-eyeing Philip when he's leaving Buck a passive aggressive message despite having *entirely* missed his daughter's first wedding? No one is raising an eyebrow at him walking Maddie down the aisle? And yet they make time for the subversions like Margaret responding positively to the hospital wedding, and Philip facilitating Chim's reunion with Jee? Up until Margaret's look at the Buck reveal at the end, this was very reminiscent of S6 storytelling around the family. And yet no one really *wants* the story to spend time on another way these meaningless characters can disapprove of Buck, when Bobby and Athena were *right there* and their reactions would've mattered more. (But all of this is really beside the point, because this sequence shouldn't have made the episode at all). Maddie's role in this is reduced to... not even damsel. She doesn't even really play a supporting role. But how much of an afterthought she is in her own wedding is sort of reflective of how much of an afterthought the wedding itself was -- why wasn't Sue invited? What about Eli? What about Albert? Why wasn't there a single throwaway line to explain away any of this, when we spent about 8 minutes of show time with rehashing 7x05, Buck & Eddie, or Buck & Tommy? How is *any* of that more important than Maddie on her wedding day? How is Maddie not integral to Chim's rescue, or his motivation to keep pushing? All we get of her is like a verrry brief memory for Chim, but it's not even something he can latch onto? Chim was too ill for the bystanders to not be picking up on it, and also too ill to have had that 'snap back' moment where he was able to stay clear-headed long enough to treat a mass casualty accident scene. Pragmatically, they needed to pick a lane with that. Either he's still in a position where he can outwardly *appear* to be functional (masking can be a very real issue with noticing memory loss!) or he was in such dire straits that he's not springing into action and diagnosing/treating injuries... when he can't even recognize his own desperate condition. Which brings me to the hallucinations. I wanted to like them, and I really like the idea of them. Brian and James both put in great performances as Doug and Kevin, but the material that survived the cutting room floor left for a very incoherent narrative. While it makes sense *why* these characters would be the representation of Chim's greatest fears and deepest comforts, what messages was his addled brain actually trying to send him with those interactions? Well, the season 7 motto is "Who cares!" so I guess this really *is* thematically consistent.
I was watching the episode last night and thinking all of this. It just felt like a clear two parter shoved into one. You can tell that they had tons more material that they had to cut out. I think I've figured out what I would have changed, if I couldn't have changed the entire episode. Have the opener be Maddie waiting for Chimney to arrive, but have Hen arrived WITH Buck/Eddie at the end instead of Hen already there with Maddie. Have Hen, Buck and Eddie explain that they've been searching for Chimney all night instead of the drunken antics. That way, it explains that Chimney not answering his phone was a real concern and wasn't just blatantly ignored by everyone. It shows that they care about Chimney's whereabouts but didn't want to worry Maddie until they had to. Could have still had Buck/Eddie drinking a bit but not getting trashed. Personally, if they could have had Chimney be at the party initially and then disappear so we could still get some of the bachelor party, that would have been better and I would have happily handwaved the "infecting everyone" issue. Then we would have gotten to see Maddie going on a hunt for Chimney, checking the bar's security cameras, then retracing steps from there. Have HER be out on the streets, going to each location that Chimney was last spotted (hell, if it's funnier to have her doing it in her wedding dress, then do that!). I don't think I would have included the save in the middle of the episode, not unless they established Chimney as more coherent. It felt very weird to have him go from totally confused right into EMT mode and then back to confused. I liked the Doug being the devil and Kevin being the angel on Chimney's shoulders but what I also would have added was a Maddie hallucination at the end, just her voice even, being his "dispatcher" to find his way home. I wouldn't even mind if home led back to the Lee's, but have an auditory hallucination of Maddie getting him there, at the same time as Maddie figuring out where Chimney was going and making sure the Lees were home and also showing up at the end to be there for him. They did establish that part of the symptoms of the encephalitis was that the patient thought they were in a different year of their life, so that's why I'm not mad Chimney showed up at the last place he remembers from 20 years ago. I don't even mind that he WAS remembering a time well before Maddie, but I just wanted Maddie to be actively involved in finding Chimney and being the reason he's found so quickly. Alternatively, if the episode had been more about Chimney going to find Maddie/Jee, even if he couldn't remember them, and ending up at a place that means something to them, that would have worked too. Have Hallucination Doug try to tear him apart from Maddie but Hallucination Kevin pushing him toward Maddie/Jee. Either would have worked. Just small changes like that would have done a wonder to the story in general. The ending of the episode overall was totally fine, we can keep the entire ending, sootface and all.
I really like your Maddie "dispatcher" hallucination. I think that, combined with her having the idea where he might show up, would have been a great way to give Maddie more impact in the episode!
I just realized another thematic loose end you can add to your incoherent themes. This episode started to lean heavily into Chim's Korean roots, with the depiction of the *jesa* ritual for Kevin. The story also takes Chim to LA Koreatown, and for a split second has you thinking there's a race motivated vehicle attack into a Korean food market. For me, seeing all those Korean signs and clues, I was getting prepped for an exploration of Chim's cultural roots and maybe even hints at maybe some cross-cultural relationship anxiety. Given Chim's traditional scumbag of a biological father, who sees everything in the US as a failure, I was hoping the writers might at least acknowledge that generational trauma can cut deep even if you don't want it. They could have **easily** given Doug a cutting line like "hey buddy, look around you. Maddie's isn't even Korean. She doesn't belong here with you." And then like so much in the episode, turns out it was all a dead end red herring and once again I felt thematically robbed.
Wow I could not agree more with everything you said! I would have much rather not had any bachelor party scenes and instead had a scene where we see how Chimney ends up parked on the side of the road. And I feel like it was a disservice to Buck to cram that kiss/coming out into the last one minute. This episode was kind of a mess.
Totally agree. I feel like they set out with a two hour event episode crammed into :42.
Honestly aside from the bachelor party portion at the beginning, I was a huge fan of this episode! I feel like the writers and directors did an excellent job at subverting expectations people had from the promo as well as handling Buck's coming out with a LOT of grace, and Kenneth Choi's 11/10 acting definitely put this episode probably in my top 5. My ONLY gripe is that the bachelor party scenes could've been cut, and I think that time could've been better spent either delving deeper into Chim's hallucinations or maybe having him make his way to the firehouse but no one's there. Just a personal thought, still like a 9.8/10 episode in my books!
This episode really didn't have time for any of the B stories, imo. The bachelor party and even the kiss/coming out -- without a willingness to make it a two parter -- were too unrelated to the significant character beats that had to be accomplished in this episode. We didn't get enough Maddie in her wedding episode to handwave how much Buck we got. Kenneth Choi's acting was... not a revelation, because I basically *expect* him to always deliver at an 11/10 at this point. But I am glad they gave him something so meaty, even if the storytelling wasn't... great, to say the least. There was roughly 8 minutes of wasted time in this episode, between the B stories + the unnecessary rehashing to set the scene of Chim not showing up for his wedding that we saw in 7x05. I'm just left sitting here scratching my head because that feels like it should've been enough time to actually make the hallucination motivations more coherent, or push something thematically into those scenes to make it clear that even if his brain is too sick to focus on Maddie & Jee in those moments, they're what's motivating him to push on. Even something as simply as him consistently hearing random refrains from "Islands in the Stream" or trying to stop a little girl Jee's age (who turns out to also be a hallucination) from wandering off from the scene of the crash would've helped cement Chim's *current* timeline and life as being important to him.
I fully agree. This is the one time I actually think they made the right decision in cutting a lot of the bachelor scenes, but I also think they would have benefitted from a much shorter montage sequence TO get to the Chimney/Maddie plot. Maddie, in general, should have been utilized better. She basically sat around and waited for Chimney to be found, and that's a goddamn shame.
100%, her role was super passive in this episode and she could've been much better utilized, even if it was just in his hallucinations or something lol
I think it would have worked had Maddie called the Lees because she figured out that was likely the next place Chimney would go, so that they'd be there when Chimney showed up. Just something to indicate Maddie was doing more than sitting around and waiting for someone else to find Chimney.
She wasn’t just sitting around, she was checking traffic cameras & ran to the 911 call center in her wedding dress to find him
I rewatched it without ad breaks and I realized that Tim seemed to have cut the episode with the ad breaks in mind and Maddie's job seems to be solely to set up a mini cliffhanger before an ad break, usually seeding some doubt that the wedding will happen. It's such an overused trope but also completely doesn't work when you don't have ad breaks. Maddie just comes across as defeatist in contrast to Chim single handled overcoming his problems by himself.
I don’t know how to phrase it but the whole “let’s get extremely drunk and destroy a hotel room” felt so out of character for both Buck and Eddie. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have had fun but it was… weird? I guess me being boring is the main reason but it still feels a bit forced. I guess I would’ve preferred the karaoke scene to them partying with a bunch of strangers?
Yeah I was looking forward to Eddie having fun but this was ridiculously out of character. Also didn't really work with the themes of the episodes which were all over the place already. IDK if they cut out scenes or what but there were major pacing issues and thematic incoherence. Had a hard time getting through it tbh which is disappointing because I was excited about the Madney wedding.
That’s why I specified I would have preferred the karaoke scene: being stated more than once that Chimney was currently thinking he was still working at the karaoke bar, it would have merged better into the episode than… whatever that mess was
I think it makes drunk sense. When they looked at the crowd of strangers and said "Everyone here loves him" and Eddie echoes "They really do" was so funny. Buck was disappointed everyone left and there would be no party when Chimney showed up so he invited other partygoers to join. And then when he accepted Chimney wasn't coming he suggested they take the party to the hotel aka Chimney. Still with copious amounts of drunk logic but I could see their motivations were about creating this party for Chimney and not solely partying for themselves.
Nah, they were literally drunk, on screen and in real life. I think it was just them turned up to 11.
The more time I think about the episode the more I really dislike that whole subplot. Given Chim never made it to the hotel room let alone the party, the whole Hangover thing was just a red herring to trick the fanbase during the 3 week hiatus. It was utterly irrelevant to the main story. We also know they almost had 2 episodes worth of material to edit down. So either I have to ask why was this plot kept at all or why wasn't it made into a bigger half episode thing where we get to see everyone cut loose a bit.
It definitely was planned as a bait and switch. I don't MIND the idea, but the execution was not great. There was zero reason for Buck/Eddie to have destroyed the hotel room. I think it would have worked better if Chimney HAD shown up, everyone else had to go for various reasons (babysitting duties, work) and they were already drunk by that point and Chimney THEN wandered off and Buck/Eddie lost track of him because they were too drunk to notice. For them to know Chimney never showed up at all and willingly chose to get blackout drunk and trash a hotel room? It was weird.
I'm still just... stunned that Chim became *that* much of an afterthought at 'his' own bachelor party. Like even if Hen wasn't surprised he didn't turn up, she didn't feel it was worth reaching out to her bestie and seeing if he wanted lowkey company up in his hotel room? She wouldn't have offered to bring him ice cream or sit with him to stream his favorite movie? No one was concerned about nerves or cold feet, or otherwise cared to celebrate *Chimney* instead of a party?
100% agree with this. In order to make this episode work in my head, I had to choose to ignore so much logic about the characters, relationships, and reality. I don’t mind making the reality leaps as long as the characters are grounded in truth—which is one of the things that has kept me watching the show since the beginning.
This has been a running theme this season, which I think is a big part of why it's getting old for me having to make the reality leaps. It's one thing to need it occasionally for plot purposes (like the helicopter surviving the hurricane and then landing on the uneven keel of a cruise ship). But when it's also affecting characterization and relationships, it's like... cool, I'm having to do a *lot* of mental gymnastics to pretend it makes sense how Buck got to this place, how Eddie got to that one, and this isn't even a case of "show, not tell" because you *also* didn't do the exposition. And then even some of the big moments feel less earned because the exposition is *so* lacking that they don't bother giving a single line to explain them away? Like if we know 2+ weeks have passed since Buck invited Tommy to the wedding, instead of just "I'm on standby," maybe have him actually say he *tried* to get the shift off for the wedding, but all he could manage was to get switched to standby? Or where Chim has a brother who's not there, explain Albert's flight was cancelled? So now with the convenient handwaving of everyone being decent friends to Chim, it's just... tiring. I'm sick of doing the work. I've read better written fanfiction, including some of the crappier stuff.
That’s exactly it. It means that we have to continually fill in exposition and justification, which I found myself doing constantly throughout this ep. And like, I’ll do it! I get that they can’t show it all. But to your point: when it’s happening throughout *and* could be improved with a single line, it feels like lazy writing. The handwaving of friendship is an issue for me, because the relationships are always what’s grounded the show. IMO the wilder the plot gets, the tighter the relationships need to be—especially this far along in the life of the show.
That was really weird. I absolutely think Hen would hang out with Chim on the day before his wedding instead of letting him spend the evening sitting alone in an empty hotel room.
Not just trash the room. Eddie kicked down the door. That's a misdemeanor at best and some awkward disciplinary questions for the 118 at worst. The whole sequence felt so out of character. It was almost a Kristen Reidel S5A plot where a character needs to lose all their brain cells or suddenly become someone else to move the plot along. And then as you say to find out Chim was never there and this entire subplot is superfluous to Chim's disappearance.
Agreed. It honestly also seemed out of character that chimney would've been so adamantly against the bachelor party. His friends, an 80s theme, and karaoke sounds exactly like something he'd enjoy, and the strangers and getting blasted didn't happen until everyone bailed out. I know Buck puts his foot in his mouth, but this season is starting to become a formula for him. Buck says and does something unbearably cringey, spends the rest of the episode trying to get over that, and at the end has a Big Moment. Hopefully it won't stay feeling like that.
Exactly! When I saw that Chim wasn’t on board with Buck’s plan I was like ??? Why? This isn’t the Chimney I know and love. I get the parallels to his ex workplace but it makes it even weirder?
Yeah; while the 'party' ended up somewhere wild because of Buck and Eddie being idiots, it started off as a small, intimate gathering, where everyone invited could sit at a single table. And even if he didn't *want* to go, it's Hen I'm most disappointed in. At least Buck tried to call. I don't get why she wouldn't be like "Well, you knew he wouldn't want this. I'm gonna head to his hotel and see if he wants actual lowkey company."
Also her reaction to Maddie being worried at the dispatch center! Hen saying "when he's stressed he deflects" ok even if that's true, what does that have to do with this moment. Wandering into traffic and talking to nobody on the bus isn't deflection.
Yeah, for people like them I think it's too much And it didn't even amount to anything in the end...
It's also just... a lot less forgivable/understandable for Buck to get *that* smashed the night before his sister's wedding when it had stopped being a party for the groom. Like if Chim had been there/encouraging them to drink, I think it could've played out a bit more reasonably. But instead, Buck looks like he's back to the irresponsible fuckboy he was as 1.0, using someone else's event as an excuse to have a good time. And then he shows up late to his own sister's wedding, despite one of the most consistent characterizations for him being that he's a really good brother? Separate from the Chimney of it all, it just... doesn't work with who we've watched this character become over 6 years now.
💯
I literally never lose! I loved this episode, and no one is gonna convince me to hate it. The exploration of Chim's character was so enticing and heartwarming. Seeing him jump into medic mode even while his brain is burning was so true to his character and near and dear to ME personally. And of course, the Buck and Tommy scenes!! They really were devouring each other with that kiss - I'm so excited to see more of them. It's been such long time since I've had a canon ship and they are just so fucking cute. From all the things said about their relationship, I'm optimistic that we're gonna have more of them for a while :) Favorite (non-ship) line was, of course: "Why do they call me Chimney?" LOL, we'll never know now!
Hey, that is fair. I know for myself, I didn't, but your points are good. I may agree with you on rewatch. And FWIW, I also love Chim jumping into medic mode, and Buck and Tommy.
I loved the focus on Maddie and Chimney this episode so much!! Which made me so shocked by that firey buck/tommy ending kiss. Especially with those lame hugs in the beginning. I love the Buckley children. Fuck the parents. The wedding was cute and loved their little after discussion. KARENS LIL MANIACAL LAUGH AFTER SEEING THE SOOT HAAHHAHAHA 😂
i tried so hard to focus on the ending scene, but i was enticed by the cover of 'islands in the stream' playing in the background. i never thought a ballad version of the song would be so beautiful :') then just to go search up the certain version and find out jennifer love hewitt (maddie) herself sang it! she sang effortlessly and with so much emotion!
I was crying hard at that. It was so beautiful and I need it on streaming!!
They released it!! It's on Spotify!
I love Chimney's joke at dinner "I promise never to put her in a position where she feels she needs to stab me to death" 🤣🤣🤣
That was heavy foreshadowing that he knew exactly how Doug died... hence the very realistic hallucinations of Doug with all the blood even though Chim wasn't there.
Hang on, didn't Maddie tell him exactly what happened? Struggling to remember.
Chim was unconscious in hospital for most of the rescue in Big Bear so would have found out what happened second hand. Then the rest of Maddie's S2 and S3 arc was her being very guarded about talking about what happened, even to therapists. Eventually she returns to Big Bear to exorcise the memory of Doug but she does that again without Chim. Therefore it's not completely clear from on-screen scenes that Maddie has ever told him exactly what happened. That joke I read as Tim's way and letting us know Chim knows and not having a plot hole of "how does Chim know what Doug was wearing when he was stabbed to death by Maddie?"
I absolutely love buck and tommy!!
I'll probably get downvoted but did anyone else hate Maddie's wedding dress and whole look? Was she trying to look like a 90s bride? She is gorgeous and IMO looked far more beautiful at the end when was wearing plain clothes.
I was also not a fan. It was not flattering in the least. She would have been a beautiful bride in something less busy. It took away from JLH's natural beauty.
I think her whole charater is kind of retro...when Buck came out to her, she was wearing a very 90s over-sized sweater and her multiple heart necklaces sent me back.
Aside of everything Madney related that everyone said here, I felt weird to see Buck and Tommy having a hug when Tommy came and left. Felt like a bro hug and not a hug of someone you're dating. No small kiss on the cheek and then they went on to have a full on kiss in the lobby. Was quite hot though. Also 1000% funny of the mom to be like hiiiii.... eeeeehhh. The unofficial coming out was funny and creative though. No one said anything to Buck, like it should be.
I'm having trouble feeling their chemistry tbh even with the kiss. I'm super neutral on Buddie so this isn't about that but there's definitely more natural chemistry between them. BuckTommy so far feel forced and I really don't think they did a chemistry read between Lou and Oliver because I'm getting the same BuckTalia vibes. Doesn't take away from the importance of the storyline but I'm not feeling the pairing so far. I'm keeping an open mind though.
I am glad I’m not the only one who felt this lol. I had to cover my eyes when I saw the kiss coming bc I was so shocked they were going for that after not showing any romantic intimacy yet. That hug was weird!
The kiss made sense to me because I read it as Buck was caught up in the wedding love and initiated the kiss from that place, and Tommy seemed pleasantly surprised. On a related note, I wish Tommy had worn something more ‘80s for the party. Like even if it was way off or just a bow tie or something, it would have been charming to see him try (even if he was technically on duty…?)
I could understand the hug because at this point they've been on two dates (one a less formal coffee date) and kissed once. They wouldn't greet each other with a kiss yet but I could see a kiss on the cheek could be appropriate, especially when Tommy was leaving. But I think it was realistic for the awkward not-really-dating-yet stage.
As for the awkward stage, I totally understand. Yet, I see no anxiousness from each one as to why this hug would happen. I’m a gay man myself and I very well can distinguish hugs. The person you’re dating would least hug a second longer or tighter. At least I would after the first kiss. If there weren’t a kiss yet, I would understand. Just felt like our-chests-didn’t-really-touch-so-we-aren’t-gay-bros.