Season Three: The Tsunami Arc:
Yes, I know that we got to see how Buck and Eddie became fast friends over the course of their first meeting in the season 2 premiere episode, “Under Pressure” when Eddie joins the 118; but it’s the beginning of season 3 that really cemented their status as “Buddie” – namely over the first three episodes that dealt with the tsunami and its aftermath. “Kids Today”, “Sink or Swim” and “The Searchers” showcased Buck and Christopher’s relationship as the two of them stuck together once the tsunami hit the pier, with heart-racing scenes of Buck losing Christopher and then spending every second after that doing his very best to find him, even without realizing when he was injured, Buck just kept going. And it’s only at the very end when Eddie comes across Buck does he find out what happened, but the scene culminates in Christopher being brought to that same location where patients are being treated and they’re all reunited together.
It’s the aftermath of this disaster that really drives the importance that Buck has in both Eddie and Christopher’s lives though. When the father-son duo show up at Buck’s loft the very next day, Eddie is quick to reassure Buck that there’s no blame on his part at all. Christopher remembers Buck saving him in the face of a natural disaster that no one had any control over. He’s Christopher’s real father and he has failed him countless times, but that doesn’t mean Eddie doesn’t love him any less or will stop fighting for him, and it’s something he knows is true for Buck as well. He basically says they’re equals when it comes to their son. The entire scene between Buck & Eddie is filled with countless quotes that people still can repeat verbatim all these years later, one of the most heartwarming ones being – “Buck, there’s nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you.”
Season Four: 4.12 and 4.13 – “Suspicion” and “Survivors”:
And of course it’s an unspoken obvious thing that Buck will be the one who has to tell Christopher about his father – the two of them sharing a tender moment when Buck breaks down – all of which leads to the moment when Eddie is getting discharged from the hospital, that he tells Buck about naming him as Christopher’s guardian should anything ever happen – not his family, not Christopher’s grandparents, but rather Christopher’s second father. And that’s not even the icing on the cake! Eddie changed his will a year ago after he had been trapped in the well in season 3 – another emotionally charged moment when Buck had literally clawed through the dirt trying to rescue him. He spent the rest of the year keeping this a secret from Buck, choosing to reveal his truth after Buck said that he wished he had gotten shot instead.
It’s then that Eddie realizes he needs to tell Buck that he is worth more than he sees himself as – the truth of which Buck, Eddie and we the audience learn in “Buck Begins”, but he goes even further by calling him by his first name, that left everyone more shaken than they were in the previous episode! “Because, Evan… you act like you’re expendable, but you’re not.”
Season Five – Buck was in the room:
It’s an incredibly vulnerable scene for Eddie, not just to have unleashed his pain and anger and sadness to let it all out, but to sit in front of Buck afterwards and tell him his deepest fears that he couldn’t even be honest about to Frank or anyone else, not even himself. Until that moment.
“What are you afraid of?” “That I’m never going to feel normal again.”
Of course, we see in the next episode itself that not only is Buck taking care of Christopher while Eddie is still processing everything he went through, Bobby also checks up on him; plus we get to see Buck taking Eddie to meet Charlie – the kid that he had saved in the season four finale, someone who survived and is getting better day by day. It’s a quiet moment where Buck tells Eddie that because of him Charlie is getting to have a second chance at life.
Season Six: The lightning strike:
And even after he gets discharged and the two of them go for a round of underground poker to show off Buck’s newly acquired math skills, a lighthearted moment for Buddie leads to something even more poignant when Buck shows up to Eddie’s house, and we see that for the first time, he falls asleep on Eddie’s couch within seconds, because he’s safe, he’s home, and he doesn’t have to worry about any nightmares. Which then leads to the two of them a chance to really talk about what they both have been through over the years, a conversation that has been seasons in the making. Buck has avoided answering any questions about how he’s doing, brushing off both Bobby and Maddie’s concerns, but not with Eddie, whom he trusts enough to be open with, he can say that he doesn’t know. “The best way is to allow yourself to feel it.” Buck died and he isn’t alone when it comes to figuring out how to move forward from there.
Season Seven: Buck’s Bi Arc:
There’s two episodes left in season seven, but an entire full season eight ahead for their story to continue and maybe even more in the future! Who knows where Buddie will go in that time or how they’ll end up, but one thing’s for sure, they’re each other’s person and that hasn’t changed and never will.
