Buddie 507 meta
The first thing that struck me about Buck and Taylor’s “detective” interaction is how much their lack of communication is spelled out. Buck and Eddie, as well as Buck and others from his chosen family (like Chim in this very ep or Maddie in 504) are shown to be bonded to such a degree that - even when it happens off screen - the show makes sure we know they share everything significant. And in this ep we have Buck and Taylor explicitly talking on screen about what they’re not communicating with each other. We already saw a glimpse of Buck not telling Taylor everything he witnessed on a call in ep 506, now it’s actually acknowledged between them. More than that, Taylor refers to him as a “source,” which shows he’s right not to share with her. After all, first responders are obviously free to talk about what they’ve been through with loved ones so they can carry on doing their difficult job, but not in order to expose and broadcast this info to the world. If Taylor has used info confided privately from Buck, it’s in that grey area we call “it’s kosher, but it still stinks.” That kinda adds to the moment where she grabbed Buck’s phone (which I mentioned in my 501 meta) as showing how limitless she is in pursuit of a story, causing her not to pay attention to other people’s boundaries. And then the ending makes it clear that Taylor’s drive in regards to her work comes from some personal history she hasn’t told him about, despite them being together for what, 4-5 months now? And despite supposedly being friends before that. IDK, but this does not feel like the friends to lovers, 200k, slow burn romance that shows love giving their popular protagonists. ~~~
I had to make this gifset when I saw Taylor working on her case and Buck serving basically as a soundboard (which is further emphasized by Athena, in her exchange with Lou, being a more active contributor). Buck also came across as troubled and reserved. It immediately reminded me of what Buck was like when he was playing detective with Eddie in 404: he was the one who initiated posing investigative questions, Eddie went along with him, and they played off each other. In other words, Buck felt like an enthusiastic partner in that case, more than with his actual girlfriend. It could be implied from the end of the ep that the reason for the difference is his concern over Taylor risking her life, but he only learns about the risk Taylor takes later on. It continues a theme I highlighted in almost every meta post for this season, where their relationship feels a bit off even during moments that should make it seem to grow stronger. ~~~
I found it curious how they handled Taylor in conjunction with the ep’s main call. Lou def doesn’t trust her and says he’ll leave a guard outside Edgar’s door because he’s sure she’ll try to sneak back in. In fact, her brush with Lou tells us the criticism is right, that she does go overboard when compared with others in the same profession, ‘coz Taylor’s not the first reporter Lou has had to handle, yet she manages to get a reaction out of him. Now the thing is, a lot of times this sort of mistrust is grounds for change and growth. Taylor could have somehow proven herself to Lou during her work on the case in parallel to him and ended up being invaluable to solving the case. Think, if you will, of Buck in 101. He annoys Athena right away, but ends up saving her life by the end of the ep. We learn she’s even said some kind things about him to Bobby… That’s not what happens with Taylor, she contributes nothing to the case, Lou’s impression of her at no point is disproven or changed. And let’s not forget, Lou’s presented as a good guy with sound judgment (NGL, I loved how he helped Harry in this ep). It’s clear to me that Taylor was turned into a part of the case as buildup for whatever her backstory is, but they could have used that as an opportunity to show us she’s better than how she’s perceived. But the show chose not to take that route. I point this out, ‘coz I think this has relevance for how her r/s with Buck will unfold. ~~~
An interesting moment is when Buck confronts her at the end of the ep, asking if her job’s worth risking her life for. He adds he knows he’s basically the same. The thing is, they’re not. And I’m not talking about the saving lives aspect. Clearly, to Taylor telling a story is no less worth it than to save a life. And that’s a totally valid POV. But the thing is that with firefighting, putting one’s life on the line is a given. It’s built in. Sure, you wanna minimize the risks, but you know they exist no matter what, and that there’s an unavoidable risk you take that you might not return from a call. That’s not journalism, though. Especially not when you’re just a TV reporter for a local station. You can easily do the job without any significant risk. In my 506 meta I mentioned the difference between Ali’s concerned reaction to the risk Buck’s in vs Taylor’s far more subdued one. With this ep, it’s Buck who ends up in Ali’s position, and he also has a pretty subdued reaction (especially when compared to how worried he was about Eddie in 501 and 502).
The thing is, when you start dating a firefighter, you know you’re dating someone who’s constantly risking their lives (even if it might take you a while to figure out whether you can handle it). Not so when you start dating a reporter. It’s clear we’re going to get Taylor’s backstory. Now what they do with that back story, that’s another matter. Maybe it’ll make Buck understand her more and stay with her despite the cracks we have seen in their r/s, at least for the time being, or maybe it’ll drive home the point that they’re not compatible. Either way, I find it interesting that based on the build up, her secret being revealed seems to be tied in with whether Buck and her can stay together for now. That says something about how even showing her past isn’t making her a character in her own right. Because in contrast, every other ‘begins’ story has been about the character itself, even Josh’s, not about their current romantic relationships. And without being a character in her own right, her time on the show is bound to be limited. ~~~
Another interesting point to me is that the most attention Buck and Taylor’s r/s has gotten is in an ep filled with stories about people being without their partners (Chim going after Maddie, Buck’s detective game being lackluster without Eddie), doubting their partners (Karen dealing with the ongoing effects of Hen’s cheating) and being enraged by their partners (the call). It sets a certain tone. Out of all of these, I couldn’t help focusing on Eddie’s absence. It’s almost like the place Eddie has in Buck’s life is so big, Taylor mostly gets to take up space when he’s not there.
In this context, I really wanna highlight Karen and her r/s with Hen, because there’s proof there that Taylor’s lack of development in her own right isn’t about being a minor character. So is Karen, but she has constantly been a wonderfully developed character, her r/s with Hen has been consistently invested in since s1 so people care about what happens with the two of them, and Karen has volume as a character including little quirks (turned on by… frugality? OK, Karen, I guess you get to, because you’re too damn cute), struggles (depression when they failed to get pregnant) and small yet significant contributions to the plot (for example, being the character who solves the mystery of the blackout). So far in s5, Taylor has had none of these things, she’s barely been there. And even when starting to get a backstory, it seems to be tied into whether she’ll even stay with Buck, so it still doesn’t feel like she’s really getting a spot of her own.
~~~ Thank you so much to the wonderful @judsonryder, who’s a star for always making my meta come to life so vibrantly! If you like my perspective on Buddie, you can find more of my meta, gifs, humor posts and fics here. Thank you for reading and for any like, comment and of course reblog! A lot goes into these posts and it really matters when you show them any kind of support. xoxox
