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On paper, a road trip featuring Buck (Oliver Stark) and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) sounds like an unmissable escapade. Imagine endless conversation, meaningful exchanges, shared snacks, and spontaneous karaoke sessions. Yet, in the world of 9-1-1, what begins as a dream can quickly veer into a nightmare, as evidenced in Season 9, Episode 13, titled “Mother’s Boy.”
Following an exhilarating crossover with 9-1-1: Nashville, where Buck and Eddie head to Music City for the National Firefighter Games, their return flight to Los Angeles is unexpectedly canceled. Buck proposes an impromptu cross-country drive instead. “The crossover was a chance to blend Nashville with 9-1-1, but I wanted it to impact our show significantly,” co-creator and showrunner Tim Minear shared with DECIDER over Zoom. “Plus, who wouldn’t jump at the chance for a road trip?”
This journey allowed Minear, who penned Episode 913, to delve deeper into the beloved Buck and Eddie dynamic. “I wasn’t constrained by having to weave multiple character arcs and emergencies. I could focus entirely on their chemistry, which is immensely enjoyable for me,” the showrunner remarked.
Their car ride provided a window into the natural camaraderie between Buck and Eddie. They debated Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, reflected on past escapades like the Lone Star crossover, indulged in cheese balls, and repeatedly sang “Carry on Wayward Son” by Kansas—though it wasn’t meant as a nod to Supernatural.
“I had a few songs in mind initially, though I don’t recall which ones,” Minear recounted. “I wanted something that felt like a quintessential guy anthem. Brad Buecker, the 9-1-1 EP and director, suggested ‘Wayward Son,’ and it fit perfectly. I wasn’t sure if the actors, being younger, would know Kansas, but Ryan Guzman was actually considering that song too. It worked out great. Kristen Reidel, another EP and writer, pointed out the song’s significance in Supernatural, a show I haven’t seen. Apparently, they use it every season. Critics might read into it, but honestly, I just thought it was a great choice.”
In true 9-1-1 fashion, what started as lighthearted excursion quickly turned dark. The firefighters got lost and started bickering like an old married couple, a truck ran their car off the road, Eddie landed in the hospital, and Buck got kidnapped by a grieving mother (Melinda McGraw) in a horror story inspired by the 1990 film Misery, adapted from Stephen King’s novel.
“I think [writers] James Leffler and Molly Green had mentioned, ‘What about Misery?’ So I just took that and ran with it. It needed to be a story that you could tell economically, because we only have 43 minutes… I just really wanted to put Buck and Eddie on the road and then have them have a disaster,” Minear said.
While writing the epic adventure for 9-1-1‘s best friends, Minear also got to team up with his own pal, director Jonathan Lawrence, who he grew up with in Whittier, California. “We’ve been making Super 8 films together since we were about eight years old. And Jonathan went off and did a lot of independent stuff, but he’d never directed television. So I figured, I’m powerful enough now. I can afford to hire my childhood chum,” Minear said. “The fact that he directed this episode was perfect. It really felt like we were 12 years old again. It’s me and Jon, but it’s also Buck and Eddie, and it’s Ryan and Oliver. So it’s that best friend thing. It was kismet.”
Observant 9-1-1 fans may recognize Lawrence’s name as director of Season 8, Episode 17, “Don’t Drink the Water,” which featured a heated Buck and Eddie kitchen fight. So is Lawrence the official Buddie Fight director? “I think now he will definitely have cemented his place in the lore with that, because there’s more bickering in this one,” Minear mused.
The Buddie fight in “Mother’s Boy” climaxes in a roadside diner booth, where Buck dramatically shouts, “We get a little lost, a little off track, and suddenly you’re all dark, and gloomy, and I deserve to die? Here’s a fork, put it in my neck! Put me out of my misery. Kill me, Eddie! Kill me now, why not?!” The outburst draws attention from nearby tables, including a man who tells Eddie, “We don’t get a lot of your kind around here” and calls him “princess,” implying that he believes Buck and Eddie are a couple.
In Season 8, we saw Buck’s ex Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) question his incredibly close relationship with Eddie, too. After talking the idea of possible feelings for Eddie through with his sister Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Buck said, “As much as everyone seems to want me to be hopelessly pining for my straight best friend, it just isn’t like that.” But could the diner interaction inspire Eddie to consider the idea?
“I don’t think it’s something that’s on Eddie’s mind, particularly. Or even Buck’s. The fact that that just keeps happening, I don’t know if that’s maybe the writer?” Minear said with a chuckle.
As far as Minear is concerned, the major concern right now is Buck’s wellbeing. The “Mother’s Boy” kidnapping drew an emotional, almost primal response out of the firefighter — one that had the showrunner praising Stark. “Oliver was fantastic. I could not be happier with what he delivered. When he first wakes up in that room and he’s trying to figure out who the hell this woman is, that was a beautiful marriage between the way Jonathan directed and the way Oliver and our guest cast performed it. [They] put you into Buck’s head. So you were really with him.”
In exploring parent/child dynamics for the second week in a row, 9-1-1 also pushed Buck to confront his grief over Bobby (Peter Krause) and admit that sometimes, he doesn’t know who he is without him. “The whole thing kind started in the previous episode, when Buck realized, once again, that his real family is the 118, and that even Bobby knew Eddie would be back,” Minear said. “All season, I’ve been trying to put a spotlight on individual characters and their grief about Bobby. And now it’s time for Buck.”
Since Buck and Eddie spent the episode fighting to get back to each other, Minear promised they’ll emerge from the experience “closer.” But lingering trauma, grief, and possible medical complications will also follow Buck home.
“How does he come out of this? Not all injuries are visible on the outside and there will be ramifications to what has happened. And we actually we start to pick that up in the next episode. And it is not over right away.”
Stay tuned for more 9-1-1 Season 9 teases when the second part of our interview publishes.
New episodes of 9-1-1 premiere Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu.