Buck is quite possibly 911's most beloved character. We'll admit, it's hard to outright say who that honor belongs to for the show has such an adored cast of characters, but there is no doubt that Evan "Buck" Buckley is one of the biggest fan-favorites. From the compassion that he shows towards his fellow 118 colleagues to his endearing friendship with Eddie Diaz, he's at the heart of 911 and there are no signs of that changing anytime soon.
The ABC show's eighth season was a big one for Buck, as he struggled with both the idea that Eddie would be moving away for good and what his best friend truly meant to him. He also struggled with the loss of his beloved captain Bobby Nash, which impacted all of the 118 (and the show's fans all over the world). It's impossible to imagine how Buck could try to move on from the tragedy of Bobby's death, but you know that he'll try to be there for everyone else along the way.
So what does the next chapter of his story look like? Well, actor Oliver Stark has ideas.
Oliver Stark wants Buck to become a mentor in 911 season 9
Oliver Stark recently sat down with Principle Magazine for an interview to discuss his career, the success of 911, and the future. During that conversation, the topic of 911's upcoming ninth season came up as the star was asked about how he would like to see his character evolve going forward. He responded by saying that he hopes to see Buck take on more of a mentor role, particularly to the younger firefighters, in a way that would pay tribute to their late, great captain Bobby, saying:
"Bobby was so instrumental to who Buck was on the show, and I really wanna see him carry that proudly and feel like he’s doing justice to all the things that he learned through Captain Nash. I want him to carry the banner and help the younger firefighters around him. We have a couple on the show, and so to almost step into that mentor role that Bobby was for Buck, I think it’s time for him to maybe start doing that for some others."
It's true that Bobby has been a huge influence in Buck's life. Back in the pilot episode, Buck was the hotshot, chaotic new addition to the team who didn't often follow the rules and came off as quite disrespectful, but the captain had faith in him, giving him a much-needed dose of tough love which ultimately set him up for success. They went on to become an incredible duo, being there for each other at every turn throughout the show. Bobby's emotional "I love you kid" before his own demise is proof of how far their relationship had come and how much love there was between them.
You can already see Bobby's influence on Buck throughout the course of the series. All you have to do is look his newfound bond with Ravi. The two often struggled to get on in previous episodes, be that down to Buck's overzealousness when he was in charge of certain roles or Ravi's understandable frustration that the 118 kept calling him "Eddie" after Eddie's departure from the team. But in the back half of the eighth season, Buck was there for him, telling him that he can't quit the 118 after making a mistake and referring to his own mistakes to prove that we can all grow from failures That was an incredibly Bobby-like thing to do.
Although it's unclear who the new captain of the 118 will be, there are plenty of ways to carry on the legacy of Bobby Nash, and it would be wonderful to see Buck do that in a way that meant so much to him. Bobby was essential for Buck's own growth as a character and now he will hopefully get the chance to do the same. And hey, this is just more evidence that 911 season 9 needs to promote actor Anirudh Pisharody to a series regular role so that Ravi can play a bigger role.
Although this is the journey that Stark hopes to see for Buck, it's clear that some of this has already been reflected in the writing when it comes to Buck and Ravi's growing bond, so hopefully it will continue to come to fruition throughout the ninth season. And honestly, this would be a great character journey for Buck - one that would also ensure that Bobby's legacy would remain alive and well.
More from GeekSided: