The Buddie System: A 9-1-1 Yapathon

"Time may change me, but I can't trace time"
Han, Cil, and Rachel do our best Maury impression for Season 9, Episode 17 — "I Got You Babe" — in which one Evan Buckley is confronted with a Disney protagonist origin story, dead parents and all. You are NOT the father! Except, kind of, it's complicated.
We get into the full episode review this week — why the Buck and Theo storyline is earning its place, how Eddie and Hen converging in a hospital hallway to try and keep people from slipping through the cracks is the show at its best, and why Athena's cliffhanger had us rewinding multiple times as we had war flashbacks. We also talk about the Maddie subplot, what it was going for, where it landed on rewatch, and why the Eddie, Hen, and Athena storyline deserved more time and breathing room than it got. And because Han posted a take on Twitter and the discourse found her, we take some time to make the genuine case for why this storyline is worth your patience before you write it off.
Then we get to Eddie, who has been doing something very specific all season. This episode is where Cil's ongoing thread comes together about his frustration with how every institution, every system, every structure fails the people he's made promises to — from Theo and the migrants to Abigail. Last but certainly not least we talk through what Theo's arrival means for the Buckley-Diaz family dynamic this show has never been subtle about constructing since season 2.
Grab your toy robot and take our hand — we're walking you through a world of changes.
"Turn and face the strange — ch-ch-changes — don't tell them to grow up and out of it"
Episode title inspired by "Changes" as performed by David Bowie

Episode title inspired by "Changes" as performed by David Bowie

📔 Articles & References From This Episode 📔

🫂Connor & Kameron Were Always Weird About Buck – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!
📰 9-1-1 Cast Talks the End of Season 9 and Wishes for Next Season, Whitney Evans with TV Fanatic
🐤 Cil’s “Eddie Losing His Faith in Institutionalized Systems” Thread, stellar_cil on Twitter
📖 Courtship Behaviors of the Southern Coastal Husbro, by Mad_Lori on Archive of Our Own
🎬 Sign of the Times Buddie edit, by imgonnagetubuck on Twitter
🎞️ Split Screen 9x17 & 2x17 Parallel, by bluegreytan on Twitter
🎧 Oliver Stark of 9-1-1, I’ve Never Said This Before With Tommy DiDario

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Watch The Buddie System podcast episodes and our live reactions to the most recent 9-1-1 episodes on YouTube!
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The Buddie System is a Nerdvergent Media production.
Music by DIV!NITY

Chapters
(00:00:00) Previously on 9-1-1…
(00:00:58) Welcome to Dispatch 🚨
(00:01:40) 9x17 “I Got You Babe” Review
(00:26:27) Eddie Wasn’t Supposed to Be Here?!
(00:30:02) Was This the Right Time for Maddie’s Storyline?
(00:38:03) Um, Actually ☝🏼
(00:39:09) Um, Actually “It’s Bioessentialism”
(00:41:51) Um, Actually “It Was Cruel to Kill Connor & Kameron”
(00:48:34) Um, Actually “It Doesn’t Move Buck Forward”
(00:51:29) Um, Actually “It’s Not Realistic”
(00:54:56) Um, Actually “It’s On the Nose or Shoehorned In”
(01:02:59) Supernatural Parallels (Yes, Again 😅)
(01:06:38) Athena – Trusting Crooked Cops and Taking a Bullet for It
(01:08:38) Maddie – Drawing the Line: Boss, Not Peer
(01:10:24) Hen – Fully in Her Advocate Era
(01:11:36) Chimney – The Speech Buck Needed to Hear
(01:13:36) Buck – Confronted With Theo and What He Thought He Couldn’t Be
(01:17:44) Eddie – Showing Up, and Not Leaving Anyone Behind
(01:20:49) Queer Eddiemaxxing
(01:23:21) Eddie Protecting Buck at the Bridge Crash
(01:24:42) Hen Sees Right Through Eddie About Buck
(01:27:01) Buddiemaxxing
(01:29:38) “I Got You Babe” – Buck Hands Theo to Eddie
(01:32:15) Shannon, 2x17, and History Repeating
(01:35:47) Buck Protecting Theo (Tsunami Parallel)
(01:37:02) The White Striped Shirt of Doom Returns
(01:38:57) That 9x07 Call Was Foreshadowing?!
(01:41:36) All Roads Lead Back to “Stuck” (2x04)
(01:52:22) Connor, Kameron… And That Throuple Energy
(01:57:47) Season 9 Finale – Where This is Going 🔮
(02:05:59) Eddie NDE (What We’ve Been Waiting For)
(02:10:40) Buck & Theo – The Start of Something Bigger?
(02:22:25) Our Wi$h Li$t
(02:38:37) Take a Buddie with You & Outro!

A priest watched Eddie Diaz pick up a juice box, put it back down, and said, “My gay brother in Christ.” We have never recovered and neither has Eddie, frankly.
Han, Cil, and Rachel present: a revisit of our completely unserious, extremely serious, Season 8 forensic examination of everything single thing Eddie Diaz has or has not put in his mouth. And we do mean everything. The man sucked on a ring pop right in front of Buck Buckley while maintaining direct eye contact… mind you Buck’s almost ex-boyfriend was watching this happen in 4k. He shoved an entire scone in his mouth to hide his move to El Paso, and get those baked goods while the getting’s good amiright?
There was allegedly a glazed donut in a deleted scene and we definitely have some thoughts about that. Helena Diaz cornered a grown man in a parking lot about his groceries and it somehow explains his entire personality. We picked up every crumb from Season 8 and then Season 9 came out and handed us dozens of cookies and we are choosing to perceive that as a personal gift.
This episode contains: juice, ring pops, scones, crumpets, protein cookies, one glazed donut we'll never fully see, and more repressed yearning per square inch than should be legally allowed in a network procedural.
Bring a cookie with you, you’re going to be hungry.

📔 References Mentioned
🫂Can Buck Actually Bake? – Check out our Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!
🐤 Behind the Scenes Photos On the Set of 8x05 Masks, rguzmanHQ on Twitter

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) Intro
(00:01:15) Welcome to the Juice Bar
(00:02:05) What’s on the Menu - Juice Theory 101
(00:04:44) Fruit Leather & Cupcakes - 8x01
(00:10:08) Ring Pop & Glazed Donut - 8x05
(00:22:03) Juice, Water, & Joy - 8x06
(00:27:47) Buck’s Baking Spiral Commences - 8x07
(00:31:53) Protein Chocolate Chip Cookies - 8x10
(00:36:17) El Paso Coffee & Energy Drinks - 8x12
(00:40:36) Helena Diaz’s Sugar-Free Groceries - 8x13
(00:47:28) The Last Hurrah’s Crumpet - 8x16
(00:53:09) Avoidance Coffee & Tia Pepa’s Cooking - 8x17
(00:58:12) Just Desserts - Juice Theory Beyond Season 8
(01:02:31) Take a Buddie With You & Outro

Season 1 Episode 3 of Heated Rivalry, “Hunter” is the Skip episode, but you will not be skipping it, sit down and respect your queer hockey elders!
Han, Cil, Rachel, and Niki are here to walk you through Scott Hunter's gay little disaster of an episode where we have a lot of thoughts, zero restraint, and one bone to pick with an art gallery that did not deliver. We dig into why Scott and Kip are freak for freak, crazy for crazy, and U-Hauling at a speed that would give the rest of us the ick — except the show makes you believe it, which is a magic trick we fully break down. We also get into the serial killer conversation that somehow passed for flirting, why Maria is our in-universe fujoshi and we love her for it, baby’s (Shane Hollander’s) first chirp, the grown (not actually) 45-year-old man it spiritually destabilized, and the heartbreaking symbolism of covering up your gay ass socks.
We get into the ongoing fandom debate about whether Scott and Kip were still dating during those three years (one of us has a thesis) plus how this episode is doing something genuinely important: cracking open queer conversations with straight audiences who feel it but don't fully get it yet.
Come for the rom-com, stay for the yearning, and ugly cry with us and Scott at the window.

📔 Articles & References From This Episode 📔
🫂 Eddie Diaz and Ilya Rozanov Parallels – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!
💦🐤 Our Reaction to Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams Read Thirst Tweets – Patreon Exclusive!
📰 Heated Rivalry Cast & Crew Press, thoroughly compiled by _mika60_ on Twitter 🫶🏼
📰 'Heated Rivalry': What Happened Between Scott and Kip Off-Screen Before Episode 5? (Exclusive), Swooon

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) Puck Drop – Intro
(00:04:28) Post Game Highlights – Our Favorite Moments
(00:15:54) Line Change – Our Reactions & Review
(00:34:26) Chirp of the Week – Loving Roasts 🔥
(00:44:42) Scott Serves Shane a Low Blow Chirp
(00:49:46) Man in the Crease – Production Appreciation
(00:54:22) Why Scott & Kip’s Story is Episode 3
(00:58:36) Differences Between Hollanov & Skip
(01:02:16) RomCom Lighting
(01:08:43) I’ll Believe in Anything – Needle Drop Music Discussion
(01:13:42) Mirror Watch – Symbolism
(01:17:14) Faceoff – Book to Show Adaptation Comparisons
(01:22:54) Did Scott & Kip Break Up?
(01:34:25) Sin Bin – The Opinion Penalty Box
(01:46:18) Game Changers Didn’t Start as Fanfiction
(01:49:37) Wrap Up & Outro

Whether you're registered for your first RescueVerse convention or just starting to think about going, this episode is your one-stop resource for everything you need to know before you get there. RescueVerse is Creation Entertainment's convention for 9-1-1 fans — Hen, Chimney, Buck, Eddie, and Buddie lovers alike. Han, Cil, and Rachel do our best Clipboard Buck impression as we regale you with our experience, spreadsheet and all.
We walk you through how Creation Entertainment conventions work and what sets them apart from a standard Comic Con, break down every type of guest interaction — photo ops, autographs, meet and greets, and selfies — and discuss why we recommend trying all of them at least once before deciding where to focus. We also explore how to plan your schedule, discuss budgeting your weekend, and answer all the questions our listeners sent in.
And throughout, we're sharing our own stories from RescueVerse Chicago, including what it's actually like to meet Oliver Stark, Ryan Guzman, and Kenneth Choi for the very first time, which interaction we'd choose if we had to pick just one, and a few moments from the weekend we're pretty sure we'll never stop talking about. If you're heading to New Jersey, Nashville, or Austin, this one's required listening. Come find us!

📔 Articles & References From This Episode 📔
🫂 Our Autograph Stories From RescueVerse Chicago – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!
📰 Creation Entertainment, Official RescueVerse Convention website
🛍️ Shit Anna Makes, RescueVerse Vendor – buy merch here!
🛍️ BrittsGeekBoutique, Fandom merch we love!

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) Welcome to RescueVerse Cons! – Intro
(00:02:10) Our Convention Credentials
(00:04:09) What Makes Creation Entertainment Cons Special
(00:12:27) What You Can Expect at a RescueVerse Con
(00:14:23) Intro to Photo Ops 101
(00:25:51) Buying Your JPEGs
(00:28:25) Our Photo Op Stories
(00:45:23) Selfies
(00:48:27) Autographs
(00:52:06) Meet & Greets
(00:57:35) VIP Experience
(00:58:20) More Activities Offered at RescueVerse!
(01:05:21) Know Before You Go! – Budget & Expenses
(01:07:34) Ticketing Tier Breakdown
(01:13:06) Travel Tips with Your Buddies
(01:16:35) Don’t Forget to Pack These!
(01:23:25) Snapshot of a Day at RescueVerse
(01:32:42) Our RescueVerse Chicago Experience
(01:46:38) Outro and Take a Buddie With You!

"What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and walk out on me? Lend me your ears, then I'll sing you a song, I will try not to sing out of key."
Han, Cil, and Rachel put on our Sherlock Holmes hats for 9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 16, "Where There's Smoke," in which the 118 goes full Scooby Gang to clear Chimney's name, a review board uses every questionable call his team has made this past year as ammunition against his captaincy, and Eddie Diaz is literally a light in the darkness, a thread we trace all the way back through Día de los Muertos.
We explore why this episode is doing something genuinely different with its direction — the shaky handheld mob sequences, the extreme closeups that make you feel like you're being let in on the secret, the kitchen brainstorm where the camera moves the way your eyes actually would in a conversation — and why the ensemble structure here is a perfect foil to "Mother's Boy." Same cinematic ambition, completely opposite genre. Where 9x13 was a two-person thriller, this one is a mystery with the whole found family playing detective, and it works because everyone has a role, everyone shows up, and the whole thing is threaded through with the same core idea: we do this because we love you, not because we owe you. We also get into the red herring of Sam the people-pleaser and why dispatch becoming the Avengers compound for one episode was everything we didn't know we needed.
Then naturally, we talk about Eddie and unpack the marigold theory in full — why Eddie being the first face the migrants see lands with the specific symbolic weight it does when you put it in conversation with Día de los Muertos, Abuela's monologue, and what a marigold actually means as a beacon. We document the married behavior on full display in the Diaz family kitchen, which Buck and Eddie appear to be co-hosting as though that is simply the arrangement now. We track what "did Cap say when Buck's coming back" reveals about where Eddie is emotionally, pull the thread on why he's the only one we see eating Buck's baked goods, and draw the through line from Eddie’s "not everything" line in the season 2 finale, all the way to a Pyrex full of milk at breakfast.
We close out with our theories for the final two episodes of the season — what the titles might be telling us, where we think this is all heading for Eddie, and why safe/sane clowning is the only responsible way to get through the final stretch of this season.
So, grab a cookie, pull up a chair in the dispatch war room, and celebrate the 118 finally all being in the same room solving a mystery together with us!
"I get by with a little help from my friends. All I need is my buddies..."

Episode title inspired by "With a Little Help from My Friends" as performed by Joe Cocker

📔 Articles & References From This Episode 📔
🫂Buck’s Continued Recovery – Check out this week’s Patreon-exclusive Best Buddies Mini-Segment here!
📰 Oliver Stark Talks Season 9 of 9-1-1 and How Buck Will “Make Bobby Proud” – INTERVIEW, by Sophia Soto for Nerdtropolis
❤️🌻 Eddie interpretation of “Hearts and Flowers”, by mandi on Twitter

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 🚨
(00:01:44) 9x16 “Where There's Smoke” Review
(00:08:12) Direction & Cinematography Praise
(00:14:17) Por Que No Eddie Hablo Espanol?
(00:20:51) A Smorgasbord of Parallels & Callbacks
(00:40:54) Athena – Serving Motherly Support
(00:41:41) Harry & May – Part of the Team
(00:43:40) Ravi – Fully Integrated in the 118 Family
(00:44:24) Maddie – No Repayment Necessary
(00:46:26) Hen – Judgy McJudgerson At Her Best
(00:47:40) Chimney – #1 Dad and #1 Captain FOR REAL
(00:49:08) Buck – Assembling the Gayvengers
(00:52:31) Eddie – The Light in the Darkness
(00:56:41) Queer Eddiemaxxing
(01:05:26) Breaking Buddie News – Codependent Husbands
(01:10:50) Buddie Forecast 🌤️
(01:15:10) I Got You Babe?? – What’s Next 🔮
(01:20:00) Bridge Emergency Theories
(01:30:12) Calm Down About Sperm Donor Baby Plz
(01:35:14) 4x14 Reversal Feelings Realization Theory
(01:40:36) Hearts & Flowers – Eddie Interpretation
(01:47:09) Your Theory… Is Just a Theory It’s Not Canon
(01:53:11) Wi$h Li$t
(01:56:30) Outro & Take a Buddie With You!