9-1-1′s Oliver Stark Reacts to Tommy’s Insane Reveal, That ‘Profound’ Glee Reference and Buck’s Last Scene With Eddie

Andy Swift
·11 min read

Thursday’s episode of 9-1-1 was called “Confessions,” and boy did several members of the 118 have quite a bit to get off their chests.

Let’s start with Eddie, who kicked off the hour with a traditional Catholic confession about how badly he’s messed up his life. Unfortunately, his first meeting with a (very flirty!) priest didn’t grant him the absolution he needed, so he left church unsatisfied. Like some sort of angelic stalker, the priest later bumped into Eddie at the gym, where he broke what we assume is every rule in the priest’s handbook by being like, “Hey, I recognize you from confession! Mind if I sit down?” Sensing the aggressive flirtation in the air, Eddie let the guy down gently, informing him, “I’m straight.” (The accuracy of that statement is, of course, up for interpretation.)

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What followed was an undeniably gay coded conversation about Eddie not seeing himself as worthy of forgiveness or joy, admitting that his “handsome” new mustache is a type of “disguise.” In fact, if large beards weren’t banned by the LAFD for being too flammable, Eddie would have gone “full mountain man.” (Disguise? Beard?! Flammable?! It’s all too much.)

Speaking of too much, let’s segue into the reveal that Buck’s boyfriend Tommy was engaged to Abby (aka Buck’s ex-girlfriend, played by Connie Britton) before Buck and Abby got together in Season 1. Buck knew how much Abby’s fiancé had hurt her, and he couldn’t believe that Tommy could be capable of such cruelty. The much-too-muchery continued when Josh explained to Buck that he should cut Tommy some slack because — wait for it — Tommy grew up in a pre-Glee world, when exploring your sexuality wasn’t nearly as accepted and celebrated as it is today. (Was it absolutely wild for 9-1-1, a show co-created by Ryan Murphy, to make this statement about Glee, another show co-created by Ryan Murphy? We can’t say. That’s for God to decide.)

This actually gave Buck a deeper appreciation for Tommy; he realized only comfortable being his authentic self because he has Tommy’s confident example to follow. So Buck asked Tommy to move in with him, and Tommy said… drumroll please… no?! That’s right, he said no. Even worse, he ended their relationship so that Buck could be free to play the field and figure out what he really wants. Tommy has enjoyed being Buck’s first boyfriend, but he doesn’t see himself being Buck’s last. (Oh, so he’s a firefighter and a psychic? Cool.)

Which brings us to the episode’s incredible closing moment. Having been instructed to do something that brings him joy, Eddie shaved his mustache and went full Risky Business in his living room — the underwear, the popped collar, the “Old Time Rock & Roll,” all of it. That would have been enough for us, but imagine our delight when Eddie’s me party welcomed a surprise guest: Buck, and he brought beer! Exchanging no words, only beers, Buck entered Eddie’s house for a night of “talking.” Sorry, we didn’t mean to use quotation marks. They’re really just “talking.” Damn it, why does that keep happening?

This week’s C-plot involved Chimney and Maddie agreeing that they want to add another baby to their family, and we’re thrilled for them, but how are we supposed to focus on Jee-Yun’s new sibling when all of the above just happened?

Fortunately, Oliver Stark was happy — Glee-ful even — to speak with TVLine about this week’s eventful episode of 9-1-1. In the following Q&A, Stark offers his thoughts on Tommy’s past with Abby, Buck’s next steps after Tommy (#LetBuckF–k!), and how much we should read into that final scene between Buck and Eddie. Read our interview below, then drop a comment with your own reaction to this episode. And there’s a lot to react to.

TVLINE | My jaw still hurts from how hard it hit the floor when Tommy revealed that he was engaged to Abby. I imagine you had a similar reaction?
So, [showrunner Tim Minear] called me prior to writing the episode. He basically explained that we had this great opportunity here, because Abby did reference a fiancé named Tommy in the first season. He felt like it would be silly to not use that, and I thought it was genius. More than anything, it was a happy coincidence, and it gave us a great opportunity to stir up Buck and Tommy’s world.

TVLINE | I also think Tim might just love the name Tommy, because we also have Gina Torres’ character on 9-1-1: Lone Star.
It’s a great name.

TVLINE | And Abby certainly has a type, I’ll give her that.
And what’s that?

TVLINE | Hunky firefighters who haven’t figured out their sexuality yet?
[Laughs] Yes, exactly.

TVLINE | I understand where Tommy was coming from, worrying that he and Buck might be moving too fast, but breaking up feels like an extreme decision on his part, no?
I try and look at it from an outside perspective. Tommy is trying to protect himself. This is coming from a place of him not wanting to get hurt. The way the conversation goes, it feels to me like maybe he’s experienced this before and doesn’t want more heartbreak. So I’m not judging Tommy for making that decision. Obviously I have sympathy for Buck, but everybody’s just trying to figure out life as we go.

TVLINE | And in Tommy’s defense, he’s not wrong. Buck hasn’t gotten to play the field and see what else is out there. Is that something you think would be fun to explore?
I think he’s got to have a period of grieving [this relationship], but at some point, yes, that would be great. I have texted Tim [Minear] on a number of occasions. … Wait, am I allowed to curse?

TVLINE | Yes, please curse.
OK, I text him all the time and just write “hashtag Let Buck F–k,” because I do think he should go out and have some fun. I think he deserves it. He should figure some things out and see what he likes.

TVLINE | In these divided times, I believe that #LetBuckF—k could unite this country. It’s a sentiment we can all get behind.
I think one time when I texted Tim I referenced the opening montage of Wedding Crashers where it’s just the two of them bedding different women. I was like, “Can we just do that?” Buck is bisexual, so we’ll go guy, guy, girl, girl, guy, guy … I don’t know, maybe that wouldn’t work on this show.

TVLINE | I think that would work extremely well on this show. 9-1-1 loves a good montage.
Yes it does.

TVLINE | Does that mean Buck has accepted defeat, or is this a relationship he can still fight to save?
He’s going to have conflicting thoughts on that. I think any time you’re broken up with, there’s a bit of, “Do I chase them? Do I call them? Do I block their number?” He’s going to have pendulum-like thoughts, swinging between those extremes.

TVLINE | Well, no matter what happens with Buck and Tommy, there will always be people beating the Buck and Eddie drum.
Oh, really? People?

TVLINE | I mean, yes, I wanted it to happen. I still want it. I’ve just accepted that it might not be their path. When I wrote about Buck coming out to Eddie, I called Eddie a “good ally,” and I was ripped apart in the comments section. In this episode, when Eddie thinks the flirty priest is hitting on him, he says very plainly, “I’m straight.” Do we take him at his word? Are we to accept that Eddie is straight?
Listen, people are going to interpret characters, and they should, however they want to. I have no doubt that some people will interpret him saying that he’s straight as him hiding his true self. I don’t know where the story’s going to go. Maybe that is the case. I think the whole point of making any kind of entertainment is for the audience to interpret it however they want to. So he’s saying, as clear as he can, in that scene, “I’m straight.” But it’s open for interpretation, as any form of art should be.

TVLINE | That last scene where Buck interrupts Eddie’s Risky Business moment is certainly open to interpretation. Is this a friendly hangout, just two bros getting together to talk out their problems?
Actually, I think it’s beyond that. It’s them not talking. That was the real thing to me when I read it. Buck looks Eddie up and down — he’s in his underwear and a shirt with the collar popped, the mustache is gone, there’s obviously something happening with him — but they don’t need to talk in that moment. It’s like, you’re going through something and I’m going through something, so let’s just have a drink and be in each other’s space in a supportive way. I’m guessing they did exchange some words at some point, but I imagine they didn’t talk for a while. Just being there for each other was enough.

TVLINE | Switching gears completely, I’m not surprised that Buck hasn’t seen Glee. He doesn’t seem like he watches a lot of TV in general. But have you, Oliver Stark, never seen Glee?
I have not seen it start to finish, but I’ve seen clips and episodes. I wan’t living [in the United States] when Glee was airing. Don’t get me wrong, it was a big deal in the UK too, but I was also in my late teens. I just wasn’t watching a lot of TV. It was definitely on my radar as a show that people loved. Maybe it needs to go on my to-watch list.

TVLINE | It definitely does. I laughed a little bit when Josh gave his speech about growing up in a pre- or post-Glee world. I was like, is this a Ryan Murphy show talking about another Ryan Murphy show?
[Laughs] Well, the great thing about that scene is that Josh is making quite a profound point there, but he’s doing it in a somewhat humorous way. I think it’s more far-reaching and will hit more people than if he tried to be too deep. I think it’s quite a clever way of making a real intelligent point.

TVLINE | And I’m really just being a jaded TV journalist, I know that Glee did have a huge impact on kids who grew up while it originally aired.
I think so, yeah. And that’s a huge part of what entertainment does. It tells us what is quote-unquote OK, and it tells us what we as a society should look like. So I have no doubt that there’s a whole generation of people who grew up watching Glee and thought, “That’s me,” which is a really lovely thing.

TVLINE | Did you know that one of your 9-1-1 co-stars was on an episode of Glee?
Yeah, of course. Kenny [Choi]! He’s been on every show that’s ever been made.

TVLINE | That’s so funny, I thought I would stump you.
No way, that man is everywhere. My favorite Kenny role is in Halloweentown. It was his first role. It’s this little Disney movie from way back when. He plays a broom salesman, and he’s so good at it.

TVLINE | If you think I didn’t just rewatch Halloweentown last month, you’d be wrong.
[Laughs] I’m glad. He’s great in it.

TVLINE | OK, we’ve established everything that has happened to Buck. Is there anything coming up for him that you can tease?
You know, I’m really happy with the way that he deals immediately post-breakup. He looks into some really healthy outlets that are also somewhat funny. There are also some Buckley family difficulties ahead, as there always are. In the world of 9-1-1, there’s always trauma ahead, and opportunities for Buck and the others to be there for each other, which is what they do best.

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