The Buddie System: A 9-1-1 Yapathon

“The price of your greed is your son and your daughter
What you gon' do when there's blood in the water?”
This week Han, Cil, and Rachel trust no bitch as we side-eye Season 4 Episode 13 of 9-1-1, "Suspicion," the penultimate episode of the season and the setup for one of the show's most notorious cliffhangers. Everyone has something to squint suspiciously at in this episode: Hen goes head to head with a dismissive ER doctor to save her mom Toni, Maddie insists she's fine while Chimney takes her at her word, Athena goes full detective mode on Bobby, and Eddie follows his gut about a single mom poisoning her son straight into the wrong end of a sniper scope.
We dig into Hen's storyline and how the medical system fails Black women, and women and people of color more broadly, and celebrate Hen rounding up her med school study group to advocate for her mother's health when no one else will in a very House MD montage. We sort through Bobby's avoidance and lying to Athena and unpack the tit for tat in Bobby and Athena's marriage underneath it all. We also talk about how devastatingly well the show sets up Maddie's postpartum arc, and how a rewatch really twists the knife with Chimney unknowingly saying the worst possible thing.
From there, we sit down with Carla to clock Eddie and his feelings (or lack thereof) for Ana: "nice and easy" is not how anyone should describe their girlfriend. We have a genuine question for the general audience (if you know any please ask them for us) about what exactly they think is happening here. We follow Rachel's thought journey and chat about Sheila and Charlie as a warped mirror of Eddie and Christopher, and lay out our theory that the universe is punishing Eddie for everything he refuses to look at.
Bobby and Athena apparently can't have a fight without Buck and Eddie inheriting the script, so we trace their kitchen argument line for line to 7x09 and 8x17. And when Sheila laments that a single mom has nobody to pull her out after she falls through a balcony, we can't help noticing that Eddie has someone who always shows up to try, because all roads lead to Buddie, after all.
“Beg me for mercy, admit you were toxic
You poisoned me just for another dollar in your pocket”
Episode title inspired by “Blood // Water” by grandson

❤️‍🔥 Who Is The “Bridezilla” of The Buddie Wedding? – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!

📔 Articles & References From This Episode 📔
📰 '9-1-1's Peter Krause on Obstacles in Bobby & Athena's Marriage, Plus Is [Spoiler] Dead?, by Meredith Jacobs for TV Insider
📰 9-1-1's Peter Krause Talks Bobby And Athena's Big Fight, Says Cast Was 'Speechless' Over That Final Shot - TVLine, by Andy Swift for TV Line
📰 '911' Renewed For Season 5 At Fox — 'Lone Star' Returning Midseason, by Andy Swift for TV Line

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:
TikTok
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!
Support us on Patreon for perks and extra content like access to our exclusive Discord, Early Access to Episode Live Reactions, Behind the Scenes Podcast Content, and more!
Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters
(00:00:00) Previously on 9-1-1… 🚨
(00:00:42) Welcome to Dispatch
(00:02:11) 4x13 “Suspicion” Review
(00:09:18) Jaws of Life – Production Deep Dive
(00:16:39) Flashover – Episode Themes
(00:21:33) Hen – The Best Advocate You Could Ask For
(00:35:09) Athena & Bobby – Trust Issues: His, Hers & Theirs
(00:45:58) Maddie – Losing Trust in Herself & Shutting Everyone Else Out
(00:51:17) Eddie – Is He Following His Heart, or Christopher’s?
(00:55:04) How to Watch Eddie With Straight Goggles? 🤔
(01:05:49) Eddie Imprints on Charlie
(01:10:51) Slow Burn – All Roads Lead to Buddie
(01:20:21) Take a Buddie With You & Outro

“What died didn't stay dead, you're alive, you're alive in my head”
Our 9-1-1 Season 9 wrap up is here, and with Season 10 about to erupt, Han, Cil, and Rachel are taking one last space walk through the season of perpetual grief before it's laid to rest (at least until our rewatch). This week we give three rounds of applause and all the props to what might be the strongest season-wide writing this show has ever pulled off (perhaps some of the best storytelling we've seen on TV, period). Then we step onto our soapbox about 9-1-1 finales, which somehow turns into a thesis on what Supernatural taught us about cliffhangers (and how we'd love more on 9-1-1).
Athena, Harry, Maddie, Chimney, Buck, Eddie, Hen, May, and Ravi get handed some very scientific superlatives, followed by a Buddie System style full-season arc breakdown from the space launch all the way to the hospital lockdown, before we get to the part you're really here for.
Buck-le up for a Glee-inspired "that's what you missed on Buddie" in our Season 9 Buddie Breakdown. Buck still hasn't realized his feelings and Eddie hasn't even realized he's gay, but between Buck being jealous over Hen and Eddie's friendship, the tension at the Nashville Firefighter Games, and a face cradle in New Mexico that should be studied by queer coding scholars, we still had a veritable Buddie feast.
We also crown our favorite episodes and moments including a certain road-trip montage set to a Kansas song that finally healed the Supernatural trauma it used to hold for us, and we will not be apologizing for how many times we've rewatched Eddie bleeding out. Then we hop into the confessional booth to talk about our new fears from this season, including a game of tug of war we will simply never recover from. We nerd out over the production side too, from the neon lighting and a split diopter shot that made us feral in 9x13, Mother's Boy, to how an airing schedule with more starts and stops than Buck's love life shaped our viewing experience. Finally, to wrap up the wrap, we dig up our old wish lists and break down which ones the writers granted (a surprising number of unhinged demands, child acquisition included).
“If I didn't know better I'd think you were still around
I know better, but I still feel you all around”

Episode title inspired by “Marjorie” by Taylor Swift

🫂 What Would We Change About Season 9? – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment!

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:
TikTok
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!
Support us on Patreon for perks and extra content like access to our exclusive Discord, Early Access to Episode Live Reactions, Behind the Scenes Podcast Content, and more!
Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters
(00:00:00) Previously on 9-1-1 Season 9… 🚨
(00:00:20) Season 9: The Season of Perpetual Grief™
(00:12:15) 9-1-1 Finales Are…Fine
(00:20:02) Season 9 Superlatives – Most Likely to…
(00:22:14) Hen – Chronic Illness and Identity Crisis Can’t Keep Her Down
(00:28:33) Chimney – Captain Commitment Issues to Captain Confidence
(00:35:03) Maddie – Plot Twist: She’s the Boss Now
(00:39:55) Ravi – Bitchless to Disney Simp: A Love Story
(00:44:24) May – Finding Her Own Way to the Family Business
(00:49:27) Harry – Growing Up Grant, One Fire at a Time
(00:54:41) Athena – From Floating Away to Finding Her Way Forward
(01:01:27) Buck – Learning He Doesn’t Have to Do It Alone…Just in Time for Theo
(01:14:33) Eddie – Looking for the Light, Becoming It Instead
(01:33:56) Here’s What You Missed on Buddie – Season 9 Unhinged Edition
(01:37:35) The Episodes That Owned Our Hearts
(01:44:00) Season 9 Hall of Fame – Our Top Moments
(01:56:24) New Fears Unlocked 🔓
(01:59:18) Behind Season 9 – Production Retrospective
(02:08:00) Dear ABC: About That Airing Schedule…
(02:17:54) Production Said: Let Us COOK 👏
(02:23:36) Season 9 Wish List – Ask and You Shall Receive?
(02:34:46) Take a Buddie With You & Outro

“I've got the brains, you've got the looks, let's make lots of money”
This week Han, Cil, and Rachel get out our magnifying glasses and try to find the character work in Season 4 Episode 12 of 9-1-1, “Treasure Hunt.” Spoiler alert: there isn’t much. We discuss how everyone except Buck is pretending that they’re too smart to go looking for hidden treasure, and what led them all to be at the scene of the crime at the end anyway. Eddie’s playing not-so-third-wheel to Taylor, Hen and Chimney are coasting on Karen’s coding skills, Ravi’s in it solo for the love of the game, and then we have Bobby and Athena, dancing around a fight that’s been simmering their entire relationship.
We dive into our thoughts on the episode (a fun romp without much substance) and how we would have improved on the latter. Then strap in, because the running theme of this episode is us slowly descending into madness, trying once again to connect the dots on why Buck and Eddie’s love interests are more underwhelming than an empty treasure chest.
Some light armchair psychology pops out when we examine Buck’s relentless need to be wanted and how we’re very, very tired of him not loving himself anyway. Then for a Buddie System happy ending we talk about how easy Buck and Eddie are for each other, and how at the end of the day, they really just wanted to do it with their best friend… the treasure hunt that is. Ahem.
“I'm looking for a partner, someone who gets things fixed
Ask yourself this question: Do you want to be rich?”
Episode title inspired by “Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)” by Pet Shop Boys

📔 Articles & References From This Episode 📔
🫂 Taylor Kelly Clocking Buddie – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:
TikTok
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!
Support us on Patreon for perks and extra content like access to our exclusive Discord, Early Access to Episode Live Reactions, Behind the Scenes Podcast Content, and more!
Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters
(00:00:00) Previously on 9-1-1… 🚨
(00:00:50) Welcome to Dispatch
(00:03:14) 4x12 “Treasure Hunt” Review
(00:12:41) Jaws of Life – Production Deep Dive
(00:20:05) Narrative Echoes – Parallels, Callbacks, and Foreshadowing
(00:22:15) Flashover – Episode Themes
(00:29:35) Athena & Bobby – $5 Million Worth of Unresolved Issues
(00:39:45) Everyone On The Hunt – Dangerous, Reckless, Stupid… We’re In!
(00:54:16) Buck, Eddie, & Taylor – Eddie’s Self-Inflicted Third Wheel Problem
(01:15:56) Slow Burn – Romance Is Complicated But Buck Time Is Easy
(01:38:32) Take a Buddie With You & Outro

This week Han, Cil, and Rachel celebrate our favorite Josh storyline in Season 4 Episode 11 of 9-1-1, "First Responders,”, flashing back fifteen years to see how a freelance stenographer became L.A.'s best dispatcher.
Josh gets his origin story and we explore what makes him so perfectly built for dispatch, and the journey he went on to discover that. We also break down Buckapedia Buck rolling out first responder facts and somehow landing on the galaxy brained "9-1-WUH" theory.
Hen and Athena have one of the most important conversations of the season. We trace how it echoes back to the "Rage" pullover and discuss Athena calling out how differently the police would treat the case she was on if it was a missing white woman.
May drops the bomb that she wants her own apartment, and we unpack Athena fighting every parental instinct not to hold on too tightly for fear of becoming her mother, Beatrice. We love growth!
Finally we dissect the parallel between Eddie's date with Ana and Buck's lunch with Taylor, both of them using these women to help someone they actually care about instead of really seeing them.

📔 Articles & References From This Episode 📔
🫂 Parallels Between Eddie and Athena – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:
TikTok
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!
Support us on Patreon for perks and extra content like access to our exclusive Discord, Early Access to Episode Live Reactions, Behind the Scenes Podcast Content, and more!
The Buddie System is a Nerdvergent Media production.
Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters
(00:00:00) Previously on 9-1-1… 🚨
(00:00:52) Welcome to Dispatch
(00:02:46) 4x11 “First Responders” Review
(00:12:04) Jaws of Life – Deep Dive
(00:20:34) Narrative Echoes – Parallels, Callbacks, and Foreshadowing
(00:29:30) Flashover – Episode Themes
(00:35:07) Josh – From SexyBack to Saving Lives
(00:50:03) Josh Learns to Be Somebody’s Sue 🥹
(01:04:14) Athena – Fighting Her Instincts While Internally Screaming
(01:17:53) Buck – Buckapedia Won’t Sit This One Out
(01:27:15) Buck & Taylor – Can They Actually Just Be Friends?
(01:40:24) Slow Burn – Sorry, the Partner Position Has Already Been Filled 👀
(01:56:07) Take a Buddie With You & Outro

“And even though you want to
Just try to never grow up”
This week Han, Cil, and Rachel feel the growing pains as three different families experience the epic highs and lows of loving their children in Season 4 Episode 10 of 9-1-1, “Parenthood.” Hen, Karen, and Denny say goodbye to Nia, May fights with Athena over making nice with her high school bully, and Chimney and Maddie are ships passing in the night as they learn how to raise their newborn baby Jee-Yun… and Albert.
We dive into our thoughts on the episode ranging from, “oh my god can we get a break on the crying” to “is there a reason Buck and Eddie’s love interests are always so underdeveloped?” But underneath our many opinions, this episode delivers some incredible character work, starting with Hen and Karen.
Our girls have big hearts and love fully, which is why it’s so hard to watch them let go of Nia and struggle over potentially fostering again. We explore the way they both process this and communicate, highlighting what makes Hen and Karen so special as both partners and parents.
Find out why we’re on Athena’s side in this round of mother-daughter fighting, and how both she and May make huge strides towards understanding each other better, which only grows with time leading to one of our favorite moments in Season 9.
Chimney and Maddie are sleep deprived, just like us for real, but making the most of this special time with their daughter. Unfortunately, Chim sticks his foot directly in his mouth when he accidentally implies that Mrs. Lee is a stranger to Jee-Yun. We discuss the difference between “it takes a village” for Maddie and Dispatch and Chimney and the 118 and how Madney finally lean on their found family at the end.
Finally, we dissect what it means when two best dude bros co-parent so hard they accidentally start finishing each other's disciplinary sentences, and why their synchronized “NO!” to “can’t you both be good cop?” might be the most married thing either of them has said all season.
Episode title inspired by ‘Never Grow Up” by Taylor Swift

📔 Articles & References From This Episode 📔
🫂 How Little Buck & Eddie’s Love Interests Are Developed – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!
📰 '9-1-1' and 'Lone Star' Showrunner on What's Next for Bobby and Owen's Teams, by Jennifer Maas for The Wrap

We are @buddiesystempod everywhere:
TikTok
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!
Support us on Patreon for perks and extra content like access to our exclusive Discord, Early Access to Episode Live Reactions, Behind the Scenes Podcast Content, and more!
The Buddie System is a Nerdvergent Media production.
Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters
(00:00:00) Previously on 9-1-1… 🚨
(00:00:53) Welcome to Dispatch
(00:02:12) 4x10 “Parenthood” Review
(00:23:23) Jaws of Life – Production Deep Dive
(00:30:44) Narrative Echoes – Parallels, Callbacks, and Foreshadowing
(00:39:48) Flashover – Episode Themes
(00:48:06) Hen & Karen – Heartbroken But Still Openhearted
(01:03:10) Athena & May – Seeing the Person Behind the Parent
(01:16:23) May Hears Athena at Her Most Vulnerable
(01:25:47) Maddie & Chimney – Running On Empty and Everything! Is! Fine!
(01:33:30) Is Dispatch a Village?
(01:38:10) Madney Ask for Help, FINALLY 🙌🏻
(01:46:17) Slow Burn – Good Cop, Bad Cop: Buckley-Diaz Edition
(01:58:23) Take a Buddie with You & Outro