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callmebrycelee · 1 year

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9-1-1 REACTION

This reaction is for the season 6, eleventh episode "In Another Life" which originally aired March 13, 2023. This episode was written by Lyndsey Beaulieu and directed by Joaquín Sedillo & Jann Turner. Spoilers ahead!

***LAST TIME ON 9-1-1***Maddie and Chimney prepare for the arrival of Margaret and Phillip Buckley at their new home. Albert surprises Chimney when he brings their father all the way from Korea. Bobby investigates the death of his sponsor, Wendell, with the help of Athena and May. Buck gets struck by lightning while responding to an emergency.

Now that we're all caught up, let's chat about episode eleven - IN ANOTHER LIFE.

We begin the episode at Maddie and Chimney's house. We see Maddie making tea and talking to her mother, Margaret Buckley (Dee Wallace). The latter offers to go shopping for flowers and plants with Maddie. It seems like she is really trying to have a better relationship with her daughter. Reading some of the comments on Reddit this evening, a lot of folks aren't into the whole parent redemption storyline. I don't mind it because it seems like Maddie and Chimney's primary motivation for bringing the families together is for their daughter to have grandparents.

While Maddie goes to check on Jee-Yun. There's a knock at the door. Margaret goes to answer it and we don't immediately see who is there. Margaret calls out to Maddie and when Maddie comes to the door we see an officer. Maddie sheds her first tear of many in this episode when she asks him, "Which one?". Speaking of which one, we see the ambulance arrive at the hospital with Buck. Bobby, Chimney, Hen, and Eddie are working on Buck, trying to get a pulse which they get. Bobby tells the doctors that Buck is prone to having blood clots and that he has an allergy to naproxen. As they wheel Buck away, the rest of the 118 look beyond miserable.

Title card (sort of)!

Buck wakes up in a hospital room. His doctor (Aaron Staton) tells him he fell off a ladder and hit his head even though Buck's memory tells him otherwise. Maddie arrives and she's sporting the cutest pigtails. She calls the doctor Daniel. Maddie is Buck's nurse? The doctor tells him he is free to go home. Maddie tells Buck about family dinner and he asks, "Whose family?"

Buck arrives home with Daniel (his doctor and also his older brother). Buck is fascinated to see his parents doting on him. We learn via Margaret and Phillip (Gregory Harrison) that Buck is a school teacher in this reality. It totally makes sense that someone like Buck, who has compassion for everyone, especially children (as evident through his relationship with Christopher Diaz). is a teacher. Buck, however, is shocked by this revelation. He then sees a toy ferris wheel which reminds him of the tsunami that hit the pier back in Season 3. We even hear Christopher's screams. Buck sits down to watch a game with his dad and older brother, Daniel. He seems content with his new reality.

In our next scene, Buck and Daniel arrive at Maddie's house. Buck sees a painting of a winterscape which reminds him of the time Maddie was abducted by her ex-husband and she ended up fighting for her life in Big Bear. We (and Buck) learn that in this reality Maddie has a daughter named Genevieve (Autumn James Hallisay) and Chimney is not the father. Turns out, even in this idyllic fantasy world, Maddie is married to Doug Kendall (Brian Hallisay). Buck, like me, is very confused.

Back in the real world, Buck remains in critical condition and has been placed in a medically-induced coma. Maddie arrives at the hospital with Margaret and Phillip. Bobby tells them that the lightning strike sent Buck into cardiac arrest. Maddie sees Chimney and tells him she's worried about Buck. Chimney feels extremely guilty because it was supposed to be him on the ladder until Buck asked to swap places with him.

Back in Buck's fantasy world, Doug is talking incessantly about being a surgeon. It appears that Doug Kendall is an asshole in any reality. Maddie seems annoyed and uncomfortable especially when Doug says her food was salty. Everyone goes into the living room to play cards giving Buck the opportunity to confront his sister. He asks her what she's doing with Doug and tells her that he's not a good guy. Maddie assures him everything is fine but Buck sees the bruises on her arms. She tells she had an accident but he's heard that line before. Maddie gets upset and walks away from him just as Daniel comes into the kitchen. When Buck asks him about Doug, Daniel seems oblivious although he encourages Buck to stay out of whatever's going on between Maddie and her husband. Buck asks Daniel if someone in a coma can have dreams but Daniel says he doesn't know. Bucks asks him if he can take him somewhere.

Buck goes to see Chimney who doesn't recognize him. In this reality, Buck never became a firefighter so he never got to meet Chimney. Chimney shuts the door in Buck's face but decides to invite him inside when Buck says he knows the meaning behind his nickname. Naturally, we, the viewer, do not get to hear the meaning behind Howard Han's nickname. Well played, writers! Buck sees a toy firetruck which reminds him of being a firefighter. Chimney likens Buck's situation to the film It's a Wonderful Life which I should see at some point since it always seems to be in the cultural zeitgeist. Chimney believes that like the main character in the movie, Buck needs to learn a lesson in order to return to his real life. Buck thinks he needs to fix Maddie's issues and tells Chimney that Maddie is with him. Chimney asks him to leave and Buck decides he's going to go see Bobby. A dark look falls over Chimney's face. He tells Buck that Bobby died five years ago. Bobby Nash is dead. The news is enough to stop Buck's heart and he collapses on the floor.

Back in the real world, Buck is having trouble breathing and Chimney calls for help.

In the next scene we see May talking with Athena. The former asks her mother about Bobby. Athena tells her that Bobby's not doing great and that he blames himself for what happened to Buck. May thinks that's ridiculous. It's not like Bobby has the power to control lightning. Athena reminds her that Bobby will always feel responsible for his team - especially Buck. May says she wishes there was something more she could do to help him. Athena believes that Bobby seeing her face will be enough. May worries that with Bobby dealing with the death of his sponsor, if something happens to Buck, it's gonna send him spiraling. I have the same worries, too, May. Buck's nurses and doctor (Ana Dela Cruz) arrive in his room. Back in the fantasy world, we meet Dream Hen who has been summoned by Dream Chimney to help Buck. In the real world, Chimney, Maragaret and Phillip watch as the doctors manage to stabilize Buck. Back in the fantasy world, Buck appears to be okay.

In the hallway, Real Chimney talks to Albert and updates him on Buck. Chimney makes a comment about how it's easier handling your kid dying when you're a thousand miles away. This is clearly a dig at his father, Sang. Eddie and Real Hen arrive and the latter tells Chimney to go home and get some rest. Chimney points to Bobby who has been at Buck's bedside the entire time.

Back in Buck's fantasy world, Dream Hen tells Buck about the plane crash (Season 1). Neither she nor Dream Chimney knew about Bobby's addiction prior to him dying. It makes sense. Back in Season 1, Buck tries to sneak a peek at Bobby's black book which causes the latter to lash out at Buck. It is Buck and Hen who head over to Bobby's apartment after he fails to show up for his shift at the firehouse. They find Bobby and this is where Bobby tells them about his drug and alcohol addiction. Bobby then asks them for help. Since Buck became a teacher, he never got to meet Bobby and therefore he never had a chance to intervene. Buck asks about Eddie and Chimney tells him that Eddie went off the deep end when he lost Christopher. It was at this moment that my heart stopped. Thankfully, Chimney quickly clarifies by saying that Christopher was taken by Eddie's parents. Because Bobby died, by the time Eddie showed up at the firehouse, there was a new captain. The new captain wasn't as accommodating as Bobby when it came to Eddie having a child with special needs. Oh, and because Buck never became a firefighter in this reality, he never met Abby (Connie Britton) which means he never met Carla Price which means he never got a chance to introduce Carla to Eddie and Christopher.

Back in the real world, Carla (Cocoa Brown) brings Christopher to the ICU unit. While Carla distracts a nurse, Eddie sneaks Christopher in to see Buck. Poor Eddie looks so sad in this scene. Christopher tells Buck that he's going to be okay. He asks Buck to come back.

Meanwhile, Buck, Dream Hen, and Dream Chimney arrive at the hospital. Buck feels like he's running out of time. Dream Hen tells him that the hospital is connected to Buck.

We then see May bring Bobby food. She tells him to eat and Bobby teases her by saying she reminds him of a certain person. Bobby says there's no change in Buck. May says it must be hard not being able to do anything. She reminds him that her mom brought two kids to their marriage and Bobby brought one - Buck. May says that Buck is stubborn and that he will find his way back to them. She tells Bobby she loves him. I love their relationship so much.

Buck's doctor tells the Buckleys they are gonna check to see if Buck can breathe on his own. They take him off the ventilator. Now it's up to Buck. Back in the fantasy world, Buck sees a toy plane. He has flashes of the plane crash from Season 1. Buck thinks he sees Bobby and goes after him. I thought it was cool how the hallway kept getting longer and longer. Buck finds Dream Bobby in a medical supply cabinet filled with drugs. Dream Bobby is serving some serious junkie realness. Buck thinks he's in purgatory. Dream Bobby tells him to relax and warns him that if things become too real in his dream world, he will end up getting stuck there. Dream Bobby sees the real Bobby in Buck's hospital room. Dream Bobby tells Buck he could be dying or he could be fighting for his life. He has to choose. Dream Bobby believes Buck can fix things. Buck says his parents never really saw him when he was growing up because they were too caught up in their grief over losing Daniel. For the first time, even if it isn't real, they are seeing him the way he has always wanted to be seen.

Back in the real world, Bobby has his rosary in hand and is keeping a vigil over Buck. Athena arrives and tells him to take a break. Now that Athena is alone with Buck, she reminds him that he never gives up. She reminds him that Bobby has lost two children and won't survive losing him. She tells him to wake up.

Back in his fantasy world, Buck yells at Athena and tells her he's trying. I thought it was a nice Easter egg to show all of the pregnant women in this scene. It reminded me of the scene in Season 1 where a bunch of women in a yoga class all go into labor at the same time and Buck and Bobby have to deliver three babies. Dream Bobby reminds Buck that he can't fix everything. Buck tells him that he fixed the real Bobby. We get flashes of Buck and Bobby over the years. Dream Bobby reminds him that he is Buck and that's enough. He tells Buck to go and Buck starts running. He runs past Chimney and Christopher (who is looking for his dad) and his parents. When he gets to his room, he is stopped by Daniel who tells him he can't leave. Buck tells Daniel he loves him but he isn't real. Daniel blocks the door. Buck manages to get through the door but Daniel tells him it's too late. Buck sees himself in his hospital room being removed from the ventilator. His oxygen levels are dropping and if he doesn't take a breath, the doctors will have to reconnect him to the ventilator. Buck takes an axe and breaks the glass separating himself from the room. Daniel turns into Buck or as RuPaul would say, his inner-saboteur. Buck does manage to breathe on his own which releases him from his dream world. Buck regains consciousness and is told he needs to take two weeks off from doing any heavy lifting or rigorous work. The doctor tells him he has visitors and the entire 118 including so rando firefighters enter the room. Buck hugs Christopher.

We then see Buck relaying all of his dream to Bobby while they play cards. Bobby tells Buck that his parents do care about him. Buck tells Bobby that he saw him sitting next to his bed with his rosary beads and honestly, if I were Bobby I would've been so confused as to how Buck knew that. Buck tells Bobby that he is the one who helped him find his way home.

In our penultimate scene, Myung-Soon (Jenny Baek) talks with Chimney. She tells him that his dad is sorry. She tells him that his father was ashamed and he felt like a failure. Everything about being in the United States reminded him of his failures. He couldn't save his business nor his marriage which is why he left the country. His ultimate failure was not being able to convince Chimney to come back to Korea after his mother died. Myung-Soon tells Chimney that he and his father have a lot in common. They're both prideful. Chimney sees his father, Sang (David Young Lee) playing with Jee-Yun. He asks if he and Myung-Soon can stay longer. I thought it was funny that even with Buck being in a coma, he was still helping his friends.

In our final scene, Buck comes home to his apartment. He has so many flowers and cards and Maddie tells him there's even more at the firehouse. Margaret and Phillip offer to buy Buck a sofa since he no longer has one. While they go off in search of a tape measure, Maddie kisses Buck on the forehead and he hugs her back.

While others may disagree (I'm looking at all you bitter Redditors out there who are acting super pissy about there being no 'Buddie' in this episode, I think this is one of the best episodes of the show. I first binged this show back in 2020 when we were all in lockdown and I've rewatched every available season at least four times a piece. What makes this show so special to me is how well-written each of our main characters are. Buck is the heart of this show. At first glance he is a bit of a loose cannon who likes to go off half-cocked. But, upon deeper exception, he is also very loyal to those he calls a friend. He would move heaven and earth if it meant keeping his sister, his best friend, his teammates, his captain, and his mother figure (Athena) safe. I love how this episode was a celebration of the very thing we all love about Buck.

I thought this episode was well done. I like the bouncing back and forth between the real world and Buck's fantasy. I love that we got to not only see Daniel, we got to see him as an adult. I thought they did a great job of casting someone who looked like he could be related to both Oliver Stark and Jennifer Love Hewitt. The biggest complaint I've seen about this episode is how little Eddie we got. It is pretty obvious what the writers are doing this season. There has been very little interaction between Eddie and Buck which is so funny considering they are best friends. I've been a fan of their friendship since Eddie's introduction in Season 2 and as a queer man, I never thought there was anything romantic about their relationship. I find it baffling, honestly, that this show has had multiple gay and lesbian characters, most of them POC, yet a very vocal part of the fandom would rather ship the two straight-coded characters. I get it though. Buck and Eddie are extremely attractive and their friendship is free of toxic masculinity which is a breath of fresh air. Plus it's very rare to see two men, two straight-coded men, co-parent a child on-screen. But at the end of the day, what I wish Buddie shippers would realize is that these two are not a couple and it would be way more revolutionary if they remained as is. Unfortunately, the writers, who are most likely as weary of these shippers as I am, have gone out of there way to ensure that Eddie and Buck never get together (which I'm perfectly okay with) but it's at the expense of not having them on screen together (without Christopher serving as a buffer) and that honestly sucks. This is the reason we can't have nice things. Sigh.

Anywho, as I mentioned before, this was a perfect conclusion to the events of last episode. I'm happy our beloved Buckeroo is safe and it won't be long before he's back in action with the rest of the 118. Until next time ...

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