9-1-1 it finally gave Buck a formal origin story on Monday – and it was even darker than we could have imagined.
Still recovering from the discovery that he and Maddie had an older brother who died of cancer, Buck also learned this week that he was only conceived in the hope of being compatible with Daniel’s bone marrow. The Buckleys’ distorted (and very common!) Plan worked for a short while, until Daniel finally relapsed and died, when the family moved out and never spoke about the tragedy again.
A series of flashbacks from Buck and Maddie’s childhood and youth expanded their close relationship, including how Maddie almost told Buck about Daniel when he left home to attend Boston nursing school with Doug. (ECA, Doug.) We also saw that the brothers almost ran away together years ago, but an abusive Doug made it clear what he would do to Maddie if she left. (Again … Ugh, Doug!) She did, however, present Buck with his beloved Jeep so he could leave town and start again – a gift that took him to Los Angeles.
Below, Oliver Stark reviews 9-1-1the long-awaited episode “Buck Begins”, including the moment when he looked in the mirror and thought: “Oliver, you made a big mistake”.
TVLINE | I was starting to wonder if Buck would ever have an episode of “Begins”. He was so young when we met him, I didn’t know if he would have enough of a backstory.
[Laughs] I agree, right? Buck had just started at the fire station on the pilot, and we were discovering everything through his eyes. So I didn’t know if [a Buck origin story] it would be a necessary thing, but then [showrunner Tim Minear] it was like, “I had an idea for that.” I understood why it was necessary. It immediately made a lot of what we know about Buck make sense.
TVLINE | What was your reaction when you saw everything unfold in the script?
More than anything, in fact, I was impressed that [the writers] we were able to invent something that encompassed so much of what we’ve seen from Buck over the years. The more I thought about his past behavior, the more I thought, “Oh, now it makes sense because he’s always doing these things, and because he has this hero complex. ”I thought it was brilliant. I also didn’t know that some families actually have babies for that reason. It was very revealing.
TVLINE | Yea! I had to search Google to see if that was true, and they really want it!
The way Tim told me was, “They basically have a baby as a play.”
TVLINE | Before the truth was revealed, fans had some crazy theories about Buck’s family secret, including that Maddie was actually his mother.
[Laughs] Yes, I’m not sure why so many people have clung to this one. She really isn’t much older than him, so there would be a lot of darkness to explore there. It is safe to say that this would never be the secret. … I saw some people absolutely getting it right, and then I asked myself, “Who in the writers’ room has a secret Twitter account?”
TVLINE | Did you meet any of the actors who played Young Buck?
I met the middle one, the skateboard. He’s 14, so he’s just a nice kid who would probably be skating anyway. The coolest part of seeing this [younger versions] I was seeing my birthmark on all of their faces. Like, “There you go. Now you and I. ”Because it has been talked about so much on the show, it would have been quickly flagged if we had left it out.
TVLINE | How will this experience affect Buck in the future?
It is important to know what is holding you back, so that the fact that he can begin to understand why his relationship with his parents has always been so tense and why he has always felt this lack of belonging, he can finally begin to overcome and heal and fix those relationships and reestablish those connections. As devastating as it is to know the news, it will only be good for him. We will see a new and more talented Buck because of that.
TVLINE | He will have a lot to talk about at his next therapy session.
Yes, and I think this is really a very important thing for the series to play. Whoever you are, whatever is going on, if you have the privilege of being able to do therapy, it is a beneficial thing. It is nothing to be ashamed of. We saw him keeping it a secret in the first few episodes, but I love that the entire fire department knows that he is in therapy now. It is a good message to spread.
TVLINE | I always liked that about Buck, he is strong but sensitive.
Absolutely. They are not mutually exclusive. You can be one thing in one moment, and another thing in the next, and they don’t move away from each other. People have many facets in their being.
TVLINE | One of these facets is Buck’s incredible Peru 2015 look. Can we talk about this for a minute?
[Laughs] I was very interested in pushing the boat towards this and making it an extreme phase in his life. But as soon as I got everything on – the tanned tan, the strands in my straightened hair – I looked in the mirror and thought, “Oliver, you made a big mistake.” But I think it got what we were trying to do there. He was trying to find himself, literally trying on different hats throughout the episode to find his place and his purpose.
What do you think of Buck’s twisted story, now that we have the full picture? Rate the special episode below, then leave a comment with your ideas below.