Is it Queerbaiting? It’s Time to Talk about Buck and Eddie on ‘9-1-1’
What do Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, Rizzoli & Isles, and 9-1-1 have in common? Besides being mainstream popular TV programs, these shows all have queer coded characters that strung fans along for the duration of the series.
Queer coding characters and not definitively defining their sexuality becomes an issue because it allows fans to ship, or place characters into a relationship, and hope for representation they desperately need. This becomes problematic when it happens over and over again causing fans to feel lied to and used for promotional purposes.
The characters of Buck and Eddie on 9-1-1 are falling into the issue of queerbaiting after three seasons. 9-1-1 would do well to either define these characters’ sexualities and officially pair them up — or else pull them further apart.
What is queerbaiting?
So, what is queerbaiting? Well, according to PinkNews queerbaiting is defined as “a term which refers to authors, writers, or showrunners (etc) attempting to attract an LGBT audience by hinting at same-sex relationships between characters, though they’re never actually consummated.”
This means creators are aware that their target audiences contain members of the LGBTQ+ community and they use that to get these viewers more invested. Most often, the characters that are queerbaited fall under the main character umbrella because it makes marketing them that much easier.
In the past decade examples such as Regina/Emma from Once Upon A Time, Derek/Stiles from Teen Wolf, and Dean/Castiel from Supernatural have gained notoriety for the negative effect this method of marketing has had on the fan base. These shows saw declines in viewership as well as negative press due to their casual disregard for the feelings of their loyal fans.
I’m recent years, shows like Schitt’s Creek and Love, Victor have proven that queer stories are widely received and loved — by all audiences, not just the queer ones. It shows that queerbaiting as a marketing ploy is no longer necessary, and in fact, it is harmful to the wider acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.
Buck and Eddie: A Couple?
The latest addition to this terrible trend is 9-1-1’s Buck and Eddie. Their queer coding starts off slowly. In fact, for the first full season they share a screen, it is almost non-existent.
During Season 2, when Eddie is introduced, the queer coding mostly falls on Buck’s shoulders. Between the way the audience is presented to Eddie as a character and Buck’s lack of correction when someone calls them a couple, we are left convinced that at least Buck has some feelings for Eddie.
However, come Season 3, Eddie starts dropping some hints about the feelings he may have. There are longer, meaningful glances between the two characters and Eddie is more inclined to touch Buck’s shoulders or arms regularly.
It starts with Eddie’s declaration that he trusts Buck with his son more than anyone else. In fact, the show seems to start using Christopher as more of a connector between these characters starting in Season 3.
They do outings together, such as building Christopher a skateboard, and they have movie/game nights just the three of them. Buck becomes more and more a part of the Diaz mold as time goes on. Christopher even starts to regard him as a reliable grown-up figure in his life.
If the pseudo-family vibes aren’t enough, the chemistry between the actors really starts to heat up the more time passes as well. They are always paired up together on emergencies, and honestly, they only interact with one another outside of work. There seems to be a major disconnect between them and the rest of the team — as though they are one entity.
Then, Buck sues the department and he can’t talk to Eddie or Christopher. This leads to a hurt vibe between them that seems to cut deeper. Buck fully betrayed Eddie, and from how Eddie yells at him, it comes across as a hurt lover more than a scorned friend.
Eddie talks to Buck as if his actions have destroyed their family, which going off the bond the writers have built between Buck and Christopher, he has. Then once that issue blows over it’s like they move forward no problem, Eddie forgives him entirely.
When Eddie’s life is in danger during the collapsed well story, Buck is inconsolable. He’s running around begging everyone to keep digging, even going so far as to dig himself — with his bare hands.
Buck is not one who shows his emotions much at all, but at the thought of losing Eddie, he can’t contain himself. Sure, we get upset when our friends are in danger but not to the level of risking our own safety to get to them, that is a romantic level of concern.
Even the rest of the team can only stand by and watch him. It’s like they don’t know how to react to this side of Buck, proving once and for all that Buck has gone out of his mind with grief and worry.
Throughout Seasons 3 and 4 there are other minor moments that show their closeness and bond — i.e. Buck having ease of access to Eddie’s house. However, the biggest moment that really spells them out as being more than just friends comes in the final episodes of Season 4.
When Eddie is shot, the moment is slowed down so as to emphasize the emotionality happening between Eddie and Buck. They don’t break eye contact until Eddie passes out and Buck reaches his arm out to Eddie as if trying to touch him.
Then, once Eddie is recovered he sits Buck down to tell him about making Buck Christopher’s guardian. This in itself isn’t above and beyond friendship, but the way the scene is set takes it further.
Eddie starts off by saying he needs to tell Buck something, there is a pregnant pause in which they hold each other’s attention, and then he tells him what he’s done.
It simply solidifies the already strong vibe of family between them and Christopher. Eddie has essentially said he trusts Buck with his kid over his entire extended family who are big influences in his life.
It’s easy to see why fans ship them together. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.
#Buddie As Queerbaiting Explained
In numerous interviews both Tim Minear, the EP, and Oliver Stark, who plays Buck, have been asked about #Buddie and their thoughts regarding it. In fact, during an interview about the season finale, Minear was asked about it being queerbaiting.
He re-enforced his position that Buck and Eddie have a Band of Brothers type of vibe. When answering about the queerbaiting, he stated the following:
Minear: I’m actually not sure how to respond to that, to be honest with you. The show is not deliberately queerbaiting the audience, but what I also don’t want to do is to not keep writing these characters the way I see them, and whatever it is they’re taking out of the portrayals of these characters is being generated somehow on the page and the way that the scenes are being performed. Like I said before, it’s almost got a little bit of a life of its own, and I don’t want to strangle that because I think there’s something that’s kind of alive about it, and in a way, I don’t apologize for it either.
While he does say that the show isn’t deliberately queerbaiting the audience, he also says that they aren’t going to stop writing the characters the way they see them.
Coming from an LGBTQ+ viewer’s perspective, I do believe they are queerbaiting. However, it wouldn’t do Minear any favors to outright admit that is what they are doing.
His answer to the accusation basically puts it on how the viewers see the characters and interpret them, which is exactly what shows and movies do when they queer code these characters. They intentionally blur the lines between friends and something more in order to keep their queer audiences hooked, hoping the characters will canonically become something more.
Some shows take the baiting to extreme levels and string the audiences along for a decade (here’s looking at you Supernatural). While 9-1-1 hasn’t achieved that level yet, the stepping stones are all there.
Buck and Eddie don’t act like the other friendships we see on the show, which pushes them into a category all their own and really drives forth the idea that they could be together.
For example, Hen and Athena really do have that extremely close friendship bond Minear claims Buck and Eddie also fall under. The major difference between them is that Athena and Hen have established long-term romantic relationships that they talk about at length and gain advice from each other on.
The only time Buck and Eddie were ever remotely close to that was in Season 2. During that season, Eddie had his wife and Buck had a relationship with a woman he’d met on an emergency. It clearly defined the lines between them and there was no blurring or ambiguity.
Stark has also been candid about knowing where the audience stands on their feelings regarding Buck and Eddie. Stark didn’t outright deny it; he simply stated he didn’t know where things were going.
“The truth is, I don’t know where the story is going,” Stark stated on social media. “I have always spoken openly about how amazing I think it is that you are invested in these two characters, and I totally support that. But I feel uneasy about RT’ing stuff, because I know it can sometimes come across as me confirming something is going to happen. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up.”
Considering both the EP and one of the actors are aware of this issue, let’s hope that things are going to become a bit clearer as we move forward with the show.
What can 9-1-1 do?
First and foremost, 9-1-1 can define these characters more accurately when it comes to romantic relationships. I’m not saying we need a specific sexual identifier, but if they don’t plan to put Eddie and Buck into a romantic relationship, then they need to give them meaningful ties to other people.
While Buck and Eddie do currently have romantic entanglements with women in their lives these relationships don’t come off as solid or meaningful.
For one, Carla has called Eddie out for possibly only being with Ana because his son likes her. That’s not a good sign — especially considering Eddie didn’t strongly defend his romantic choice in response.
Secondly, Buck’s current relationship doesn’t make any sense. He was previously with this girl and they both agreed it wasn’t for them and parted ways. Then, when Taylor came back this season they developed a deep friendship which was great to see — TV doesn’t give us solid male/female friendships very often.
Her sudden move to take them beyond friendship is out of nowhere and feels as though it’s only a device to keep fans from pushing the Buck/Eddie agenda.
Another way that 9-1-1 can fix what they’ve started is to establish that maybe everything is one-sided. As I mentioned above, Season 2 established early on that perhaps Buck has feelings for Eddie that aren’t necessarily returned as strongly.
It could be simple to establish Buck as a queer character and not put him with Eddie but show that the feelings are there.
Any other move on the writers’ and creator’s part will continue to be problematic for their LGBTQ+ audiences. It’ll strengthen that feeling that they are aware of our feelings and don’t care enough about them to give us what we crave.
Choosing to queerbait is detrimental because it continues to tell the world that heterosexual stories are more important and that we are fools for believing otherwise. I’ve lived through it with Teen Wolf and Supernatural, I don’t want to live through it with 9-1-1 too.
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9-1-1 returns for Season 5 this Fall on FOX.
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Where’s the Emergency? ‘9-1-1’ Has a Glaring Issue with Follow-Through
Mads Misasi
Mads is a part-time entertainment journalist and full-time marketing content creator. They love any and all TV Dramas with a few sitcoms mixed in. Join in the fun talking about TV by following them on Twitter: @dorothynyc89.
28 comments
Thank you for writing this, but i hope you’re prepared for the social media backlash from certain fans. That being said you’re absolutely on point with this article. I mean i began watching 911 this year so i knew about Buddie before i even watched them and i was like don’t fall in love with them the show is doing the queerbaiting thing. But after just a few episodes with them interacting i was gone, totally in love with them despite knowing what this would mean for me. In a twisted way the show portrays their relationship so very special, it‘s simply beautiful to say the least (even if that sounds cringey).
You know if it really is going to be this slowburn lovestory with a happy ending i kinda would be ok with the way they tell their story here, but the thing is we DIDN‘T know that and sadly tv writers these days are mostly too afraid of telling a good lovestory if it comes to LGBT people. I don’t know why it is this way, but sadly it is. That is a fact you cannot deny and happened before so often. Therefore we don’t trust the show and the writer‘s because the queerbaiting thing happened before and a lot of LGTB people are just tired of the same thing happening again.
I‘m glad you wrote this article because i‘m so sick and tired of being called whiny because i am a Buddie fan. I’m not whiny. I also got bullied because i called the current love interests for Buck and Eddie bland and boring and a way for the show to play it save. The way they write Buddie every love interest simply fails in comparison to them. It’s just this way. If people can’t handle that leave me alone. And funny sitenote even my friends (who i would describe as casual viewers, because they aren’t doing fandom things or follow the show on the internet) are rooting for Buck and Eddie. So if the casual viewer is okay with Buddie happening what else do you need i ask?
I also don’t understand why they seem so hesitant to let Buddie happen, i mean it is 2021. The show would really set a great example for other mainstream tv shows to give their fans what they want instead of going down the same old same old tv troop route they always do if it comes to LGTB people. Wouldn’t you want something like that as the show creator? They literally have gold with Buck and Eddie and yet so far they’re going for silver? I don’t get it.
I still am going to watch Season 5, but i hope we are going to get a clear sign in which direction the show is heading, because the LGTB fans deserve this instead of being played once again. Maybe it’s wrong to have some hope that this time things are going to change, but i remain hopeful (because i‘m hopelessly romantic and want my happy ending for Buck and Eddie). So Tim if you somehow read this, don’t be afraid, Buddie has more people rooting for them than you may know. Go for the making history option.
Thank you so much for your kind words. I agree, I too will be watching Season 5, but I hope I won’t be made a fool yet again by doing so. It’s time 9-1-1 takes a long hard look in the mirror and makes some changes to how they approach these characters. Otherwise, I worry they will fall on the wrong side of the spectrum when it comes to telling proper and respectful LGBT+ stories.
Buck is CLEARLY into women, and so is Eddie. Just proves the person who wrote this doesn’t actually watch the show.
You have a right to your opinion. However, I did want to clear up that I have been the resident reviewer for 9-1-1 since the show premiered. So, I have in fact watched the entire show. Thank you for taking the time to read my opinion.
So wrong. Those two are so in love with each other it’s so obvious. I love their relationship, they make a beautiful couple. 2 hot dudes what’s better than that😍
So true
Bisexual is an orientation.
Buck and Eddie may not act like a regular friendship on the show, but that’s because they are co-parenting a child in a somewhat stable nuclear family. Season 1 established Buck was ready to do so with Abby & her mom when he lost them. The bittersweet spin on a tragic love story was that Buck filled the role Eddie & Christopher were ready to accept Shannon back as when she got killed on season 2. The most responsible thing Eddie and Buck have ever done is to embrace such a role, if only because Christopher needs a family now that he’s still a child grieving his mother and coping with a global pandemic, not when it’s suited for the adults in his life. Any solution that calls for them to walk away from Christopher would be against character. Buck and Eddie are so committed to this, the only way for them to disappear is being shot to death.
Oh good lord, why is this something that is needed to be discussed? Queerbaiting? What the heck is that? The dynamic of these 2 characters are they are best friends on a TV show. So, why make it a gay issue? Is it because the LGBTQ agenda is required for all TV shows and movies? Give it a rest already.
Okay – so I too have watched faithfully since the premiere. I am a fan of Peter Krause and I will watch anything he’s in – he reeled me in, but I stayed for the characters. Buck capitivated me from the get go – I am ashamed to admit I was totally team Buck/Abby. As bad as she hurt him, I really do think he grew from it immensely furthering the amazing human he is. I was thrilled when Ryan joined in Season 2 because I love him and while I thought they had chemistry and a great friendship in Season 2 – it soared for me in Season 3. I really felt like they made a decision long term by killing Shannon and yet here we are entering Season 5 with questions. I can’t even fathom them not being end game – like the way they have been written outside of just blantant queerbaiting is 110% something more. I think 9-1-1 has an amazing chance to showcase something like pansexuality because I am not even sure if they are Gay or Bi, but their connection is out of this world and it’s a story that needs to be told and has never been more of a slam dunk than it is with Buck and Eddie as well as the chemistry between Ryan and Oliver. Also, the end of season 4. Carla all, but saying Eddie isn’t into Ana. The shooting, the framing, Buck taking care of Chris. COME ON. These two are in love – let them have their happy ending and little family! Do it!
Couldn’t agree more. This is very informative. The thing is that when Tk said something to Buck in the cross over saying “I have a boyfriend and its pretty serious” This puts more ambiguity on Buck’s sexuality and it doesn’t help the fact that Ronin, Tk’s actor, mentioned/hinted at this at the live Instagram interview they had with Oliver Stark. And I quote Ronin said “There was a scene in the show that I hinted at your *laughs….” then he jokes about Disney being outside his door. Further putting an ambiguous label on Buck.
Ryan Murphy is openly gay. Why would he need to queerbait? 911 Lone Star has a gay couple prominently featured. I think both Buck and Eddie are sexy as hell, but I would be disappointed to find them in a sexual relationship. TK misread the situation in the scene referenced by several. It was his mistake, not Buck’s.
Just because a creator is openly gay doesn’t mean that they won’t resort to creating situations that will bait their own community to watch a show. As for TK and Carlos, yes they are a defined front runner couple on Lone Star. However, even they aren’t given the respect they deserve and are also baited a little bit in order to get more views. Carlos has no story outside of being TK’s boyfriend and they still don’t get the same level of attention that the captain and his female love interests or even Judd and Grace get. The balance is completely off on both shows with how they portray straight characters and the LGBTQ+ characters.
As for the scene with TK and Buck. No one is referencing that Buck misread it. In fact, everyone who references is referring to how Buck reacted to TK’s mistake. He didn’t deny it in anyway and he paused to consider it. Therefore, many viewers see that as coding Buck as a queer character instead of coming out and defining him as one.
Are you saying that the other queer people of the show don’t count? Because that would be unfair to them…
Also, as an aro-ace person I feel a little hurt that you dismiss their strong relationship as not making sense outside of a romantic one. We are in the LGBTQIA+ community too, you know.
While I do love than ship, there current relationship is also valid.
Hello, I am so glad you commented. I am not saying the other queer characters don’t matter on this show. I am merely pointing out that I believe these two characters are specifically being baited within the LGBTQ+ fanbase for more views and attention to the show. A show can have queer characters and still use other characters to queer bait. The way I see it, the show also isn’t effectively using their established queer characters as it should, but that is a matter for a different think piece.
I personally identify as asexual so I completely understand that Aro/Ace individuals are part of the community. I am sorry if this made you feel like I was dismissing them as valid identifications. It is merely a matter that I didn’t feel as though Buck or Eddie fell into those identifiers. I could be wrong and I will never dismiss someone else’s opinion. However, I feel no matter what way the show goes with their story they need to more clearly define them or stop being wishy washy with the level of romantic/strong feelings between them.
I am all for a friendship continuing with them, but I feel like the show then needs to stop baiting fans with implications that these two could ever be more than friends. I am all for strong friendships, it’s how I go through this life. What upsets me more is when our community is used to try and gain more attention for a TV show.
Thanks for the answer.
Well, to be fair I just don’t see the romantic signals you seems to see, so I don’t feel bait and just enjoy the strong relationship between them.
Also I am pretty sure that that kind of baiting is very common with not queer characters. The difference being that for not queer characters the viewers often get what they want by the end. And rarely before the end because of the “Moonlighting Curse”.
For my aro-ace comment it is mostly concerning this part of your post “Sure, we get upset when our friends are in danger but not to the level of risking our own safety to get to them, that is a romantic level of concern.” Because not every one works that way. There are different kind of love and the strength of it is not related to the kind. Buck could very well have a very strong love for Eddie while not being in love with him.
I completely understand where you are coming from in your Aro/Ace perspective, but I guess I was going off my own experiences and levels of love for my friends. I felt like their bond goes much much deeper than that, even as someone who is asexual and never wants a physical relationship with someone. I will try to word things better in the future then.
Baiting is definitely something that happens with all kinds of characters, but my point with this whole piece was to point out that I feel these two are being specifically coded as queer even if the writers aren’t specifically writing them as such. Therefore, by baiting fans to watch for them, the showrunner is essentially using the queer community to gain views and notoriety. Therefore, it is considered queer-baiting.
I can understand that you don’t agree with what I am seeing as romantic connections between but that is the beauty of TV we are allowed to all have our own opinions about it and then discuss those opinions with others. So I am grateful to you for responding to my article and challenging me to think of this situation from other sides of things.
“I can understand that you don’t agree with what I am seeing as romantic connections between”
Sorry, I did not meant I was disagreeing, just that since I was not seeing the same thing it had a different impact on me. I am sure that I often miss romantic cues so this really does not means they don’t exists, it just explain why I see it in a different way.
Would I be ecstatic if these two became a couple? Sure. In fact, the fan videos on these two are what got me watching. Is it necessary? Tbh, no, it isn’t. I think these two developed a crazy strong relationship with one another. Buck losing it over the possible loss of Eddie has happened before. I think if my best friend was shot and almost died I’d have a hard time dealing with it. There’s so much emphasis on close friendships having to actually be something more. They can be but it can also be that two men are allowed to be exceptionally close without it being a romance.
Why can’t it just be a slow burn? Calling it “queerbaiting” implies that gay people hop into bed with each other at the drop of a hat. Is that really what you want? Why can’t they be like, say, Tempe and Seeley on “Bones” and take several seasons to finally get together? Hasn’t it always been the goal to be seen and perceived as “normal”?
I completely understand where you are coming from and yes, you are correct we want to be seen and perceived as normal. However, the issue lies within the show’s inability to clearly define where they are on the spectrum. By not clearly defining whether or not they even find the same sex attractive it’s blurring that line. A slow burn is beautiful and wonderful, when we know that both parties could be attracted to each other. By continuing the assumption that Buck and Eddie are perceived as straight and yet putting them in situations where they are coded as otherwise really blurs that line and makes it more about baiting audiences. Baiting and slow burns are a fine line of difference and the differentiation between them definitely comes from how the characters are defined. Thank you for your thought out response to my piece.
I like the article and I agree with what it is saying
Most of those characters were specifically told to be straight, Repeatedly, Dean Winchesters liked food, women and his car. In OUAT Regina had lost a great love, and then kind of rape this other guy she liked, Emma has multiple great romantic loves in the storie, all men.
Buck, was enthusiastically straight in earlier seasons, Eddie couldn’t stop kissing his wife when she came back.
Sure, some people sexuality is fluid but also some people aren’t, they are just what they are. And when the narrative keeps telling this character is straight, maybe it’s a viewers problem, and they should look for the characters they want to like , instead to get offended when the character they like don’t get molded in what they want.
Hi Mary, Thanks for an excellent, balanced, and thoughtful article. I never picked up any of these brick-like hints during all the seasons of Eddie and Buck’s relationship. I thought they were good friends, period. I am not averse to gay relationships. When Athena’s husband came out early in the series, it felt natural. The actor played it well and it all flowed seamlessly into the storyline. Hen is depicted as a lesbian right away and she is such a lovely character that you can only want her to be happy. Her story also is seamlessly incorporated. So, now one has a gay and lesbian couple, what is the idea of suddenly turning two characters on their heads and making THEM fall for each other when there is absolutely nothing to suggest it, except for producers either wanting to be woke, seeing how far they can push the audience, or as you say, hoping to cast the net even wider. I have stopped watching 911 and I am very sad. I love the series but now I know where it is going, I just cannot watch it any longer. It does not feel right. The whole thing feels like the audience is being manipulated. I am not gay but I feel it is an insult to gay people as well.
As a member of the general audience with no agenda either way (I’m Ace), I never once in 15 years of watching Supernatural caught a hint of a romantic vibe either btwn Dean/Cass and only saw intense fraternal devotion btwn the brothers, but 911 does give of the possible romance vibes.
Can two men just be friends? Why is it that two men being friends mean they have to be together romantically. Trying to force the writers to give in to what you want is not the way to go, you mentioned once upon a time, Swan Queen shippers constantly harassed the writers and the actors. It’s not your show, you dont write it, if you want Buddie write fan fiction.
It’s really sad that two men or two women can’t love each other platonically anymore without people trying to insist they must be gay. When I was a girl I used to hold all my girlfriends hands. Now I guess people would assume that innocent action meant we were all lesbians rather than just really good friends.
I worry how the term Queer baiting is now misused in the media. Queer baiting has been a method used by cops and thugs to arrest or harm gay men.
Using the term where a TV show is accused of appealing to queer people seems lazy and misinformed.
That said, perhaps it would soothe the critics if Buck and Eddie bring it up sometime.
“You gay?”
“Nope. You gay?”
“Nope.”
I doubt it would, especially if the two characters are that drawn to each other.
One might ask if the other if they are bi. Again, I doubt that would soothe the critics.
It might be better to show than tell, as far as good writing.