9-1-1 Season 4, Episode 5 recap: Buck Begins
By Ariba Bhuvad
9-1-1 Season 4 dives deeper into Evan Buckley’s (Oliver Stark) past with this week’s episode, “Buck Begins“. Up until now, not much had been revealed about his past nor did we know much about his upbringing.
The little we did know was through his relationship with his sister, Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) which always painted a difficult upbringing with their parents.
However, after last week’s reveal that Buck and Maddie had a younger brother, things really took a turn in his life as he came to know more about his deceased brother.
Maddie explains that their younger brother, Daniel, passed away from juvenile leukemia and that Buck was conceived in hopes of being a match for his older brother. Unfortunately, while he was a match, it didn’t stop Daniel from having more issues with his health which ultimately led to his death.
It was a startling revelation for Buck to learn that his entire life has been based on a lie of omission. In fact, even his very existence was conceived out of ulterior motives. But it does help him understand why he has always felt so detached from his parents, who never really got over the grief of losing Daniel.
In an effort to put the pain behind them, Maddie tells Buck that they moved to a new place to get a fresh start in life. It didn’t do wonders for Buck’s childhood, however, as he always served as a constant reminder of the son his parents lost.
9-1-1 Season 4, Episode 5: Looking back at Buck’s past
Upon hearing what Maddie had to say, Buck is in emotional turmoil over how to process everything. But more importantly, he’s upset with Maddie, even more so than their parents, because they were always a team.
They promised to be there for each other through thick and thin, and her hiding this from hurt more than he could ever really describe. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that Maddie has always been on Buck’s side and even attempted to tell him the truth a handful of times but one thing or another always prevented her from doing so.
Despite keeping such a big secret from him, Maddie was truly the person that always looked out for him. At one point, young Buck decides he’s had too much of their parents’ disapproval and urges Maddie to leave with him after she offers her Jeep and some money to him. At the time, she is still in a relationship with her abusive partner, Doug, and is unable to convey to Buck how it’s nearly impossible for her to leave.
Yet she does, for a brief moment, believe she can escape her horrendous life until Doug finds out her plans and beats her to a pulp. Instead of facing Buck, she leaves a note for him saying she can’t join him but is always there for him.
In the months and days that follow, Buck experiences life in various places doing all sorts of odd jobs. Eventually, his path led him to Los Angeles and to a profession of a firefighter. And the rest, as we know it, is history.
9-1-1 Season 4, Episode 5: Buck tries to move on
When looking back at his past, Buck can feel nothing but anger and frustration over the secrets that were kept from him. Even looking back at the moment Maddie decided to “ditch” him is still something he hasn’t quite processed, but he never knew the reasoning behind it.
In an effort to have Buck see Maddie’s perspective, Chimney (Kenneth Choi) tells Buck what happened with Maddie when she decided not to join him way back then. It’s all Buck needs to understand his sister is his ally always and forever.
Things are far from healed as far as Buck goes, but he is certainly on the path to recovery. It’ll take time to forgive and move on, but finally knowing why his childhood was the way it was is the first step.
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What an emotional episode of 9-1-1 Season 4, am I right?
What did you think of this week’s episode of 9-1-1? Tell us in the comments below!