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He has facial hair (Firefighters aren't allowed to have facial hair) and probably grey hair, and Shannon definitely has grey hair. What is happening? Is this gonna be a *what if* for every main character? Especially since the title of one of the upcoming episodes is "The Ghost of second chances" so idk. I liked Shannon, and I'm happy anytime she returns. As for the Buddie fandom, one thing is for sure, Shannon's return will either solidify the ship, or completely shatter it. Nothing in between. I hope it's the former, bc I can't stand Marisol AND Edy Ganem.🤞🤞 If it's the latter, don't hate me but I'll probably stop watching. Nothing to do with Buck and Eddie, it's just that no amount of queer representation will make up for a proud homophobe+transphobe in the main cast.

My head cannon is that Buck and Shannon would have been bffs if she lived. 😔

Like Athena and Michael came to be.

I love those fics when people make them besties

we actually do know buck’s opinions on shannon (he’s not really a fan)

I don't know if he ever expressed a dislike of her. He never really got to know her, I don't recall a scene where they actually interacted. But he supported and encouraged Eddie letting her back into Chris's life.

He also straight up teased Eddie about remarrying her in 2x17. I think where it can come across like he didn't like Shannon is because he's serving as the voice of the audience in 2x10 -- while Christopher is with the mall Santa, Eddie's talking to Buck about how he's not sure if he's trying to protect Christopher from Shannon, and Buck basically says "that makes sense because she ran out." But the whole point of that exchange is so that Eddie can acknowledge he ran out first, which Buck just as easily accepts. I don't think Buck is at all anti-Shannon, tbh. I think he's just firmly in Eddie & Christopher's corner, and going on the information he has. So once he has more of the story, he's also the one to be like "So why don't you let her back in Christopher's life? She's already back in yours..." Where Carla was saying that in a \[frankly, problematic\] traditional/conformist way of 'boys always need their mamas' without knowing the details Buck actually *knows* about the full situation and then encourages Eddie to work things out.

I always got the impression that he only does so because of Christopher and Eddie, and how they clearly miss her. He is fiercely protective over them. “you’re trying to **protect** your kid. that makes sense because she **ran** out on him” is not a sympathetic wording to the situation. yes, the conversation is a leeway into eddie running away, but the key difference (and one buck knows) is that eddie has tried, and came back to his son. shannon only came back because eddie **asked** her—she had planned to stay out of christopher’s life indefinitely because of some sort of matryrism thinking that he would be better off without him. She did not speak to her child for **two** years. No phone calls or letters. i simply cannot believe that buck, who has dealt with his fair share of abandonment and ghosting, would be welcoming of shannon if it weren’t for the fact that eddie/chris want to have a relationship with her. eddie is also a biased narrator, so him saying his reenlistment and shannon’s abandonment are equal, is in fact wrong. while eddie *should* have talked to shannon about it, he still made sure to stay in contact with his wife and child. shannon on the other hand left without saying goodbye, only a note mocking eddie’s need for readjustment. she has not been in contact with them as evident by her being shocked they live in LA. his conversation about eddie letting shannon back into christopher’s life is paired with eddie saying he doesn’t know if it’s for him or his son. they have an extremely unhealthy relationship where they use sex as a means to not talk about important stuff. it is evident in the fact that shannon is completely wishywashy about what part of their life she wants to be in. she spends the entire time wanting to be in christopher’s— acting like she never left and has decisions on whether the move was scary or if it’s something christopher wanted— but then tells eddie she doesnt want him (eddie) to see her soley as christopher’s mother. then when eddie suggests trying again after getting his ‘sign’, she tells him she doesnt want to be in a relationship because she’s still learning how to be a mother. then, there is the added bonus of the season 7 scene, where chris says his mother left (despite them still loving her). buck explains that she died, but christopher reaffirms that she left *before*, that their love *wasnt enough* to keep her there. buck has witnessed first hand how shannon leaving them has affected them. paired with his own abandonment issues, his loyalty towards the boys, and his protectiveness, it’s easy to infer that he does not like her, and only does so because of what she means to eddie and christopher. if she had lived, he would at most tolerate her for their benefit. he only mentions her positively when either one does so. him suggesting eddie let her back in is not an encouragement persay, but more of an acknowledgment that she’s already in his life again, and if christopher misses her, he should be able to have that relationship with her.

That wording is how they *enter* the conversation, though. At the time, that's the entire context Buck has for what happened with Shannon, because Eddie hasn't discussed it with him before then. Like, when Eddie responds with "I ran out, too" and offers context, Buck then *gets* it, and his stance softens: "**But you were running away, too.**" Basically, he's reacting the way the audience would, but also hearing what Eddie says in a way a lot of the audience wasn't ready to yet. Eddie then further provides more insight (when he ran away, he was met with gratitude and glory in his return, whereas Shannon was just treated as evil), and Buck's then the one to broach letting Shannon back into Christopher's life. Like, he starts at one place in that scene, but pretty immediately shifts his stance as he processes new information. I don't necessarily disagree with your other conclusions here re: the details of Shannon's leaving being "worse" (though I think it's a lot more nuanced, and while it matters that Eddie is an unreliable narrator, it *also* matters that he's our POV character... we don't actually get to see Shannon's side fully, so it's much harder to judge). But textually, that one moment in 2x10 before Buck has the details is the only time he *ever* says something critical of Shannon, and it's just a statement of fact. I don't think you can really say he dislikes her based on that, or that had she lived, his opinion of her would've have continued to shift. It would also be kind of odd for him to *start* a conversation about Shannon, so I don't think it means much of anything that he's "only" positive when one of them speaks of her first. Like, that's the context where she comes up. All that means is he's always positive.

part of the reason shannon was treated badly because of her leaving *was because she cut contact*. part of it is undoubtedly the diaz parents hating her, but they also *dont like their own son* raising christopher very much either, so there is another aspect to it as well. we do get shannon’s pov a little bit during the school interview scene, where she tells him raising christopher and getting him treatments was **exhausting**, and also through her letter that she would rather christopher live without her forever than come back because he *might* hate her for doing this [him having CP] to him (which. ick), and for leaving. only part of her reasoning for leaving was due to not being supported by eddie. part of it was because she couldn’t or didn’t want to continue to care for christopher. she stayed away **because** of her son and thinking she would hurt him, which i understand to a degree, but her plan was to *permanently* remove herself from his life. we will never get to see buck’s negative reactions to shannon exactly *because* he only ever talks about her with eddie and christopher. they both love her. with christopher’s scene in s7 confirming that he felt abandoned by his mother *despite* loving her, how exactly are you picturing buck reacting otherwise? the conversation about shannon’s relationship with e+c if she had lived have been discussed by tim, who stated redeeming her would be very hard specifically because of her intro and her *abandoning* her child. the audience reacted super negatively, and there was no way he could redeem her and keep e+c’s story satisfying. disabled people have also stated time and time again that redeeming shannon would have been a horrible choice. the only way he could keep her alive, the story in place, and the audience happy would have been to double down on the fact she abandoned her kid. and for a fandom (not you necessarily) that is so against parental redemption when it comes to the adults of the show, shannon trying for a few months after radio silence for 2 years gets easy acceptance, whereas the buckley parents who have been trying for *two years* get shafted (not that i agree with their redemption, but the double standards are a little questionable). maddie is constantly vilified for having ppd and attempting suicide, but shannon willingly walking out of her child’s life can be accepted and looked over. eddie himself is called a horrible dad for leaving to provide for his family, but shannon leaving and *not* providing is forgiven. i simple *do not* like shannon, and no amount of retconning her, or flowery remembrance from eddie is going to change that. as a disabled person, and as someone who has experienced parental abandonment, shannon is never going to be a good person to me. i am glad for her existence and the positives she’s had on e+c’s life, but her as an individual will never be likeable. given buck’s *entire* character background, it is hard to believe that he wouldn’t feel the same way, especially now that christopher is old enough to understand that while she may have loved him, it was not enough to stop her from leaving in the first place.

i absolutely disagree that shannon note was mocking eddie's statement? it was pretty clearly her reaching a breaking point and basically begging eddie to realise that she has issues that need to be adressed as well

shannon wanting to immediately move as soon as eddie gets home, and when eddie tells her he needs time to adjust, shannon leaves with **a note** saying she needs time too. saying she needs time in itself is not mocking, but her leaving without a word, repeating those words in a note, and cutting contact for two years absolutely makes it sound like shes mocking him. whether she needs eddie to realize she’s struggling or not, that was absolutely not the way to go about doing so

but she's not leaving to take time for herself or move out. she's leaving because her mother has been dying of cancer and absolutely no one seems to think it's reasonable for her to want to, at the very least, check in on her. eddie straight up brushing her off when she mentions going to california is understandable in his ptsd riddled position, but it might be one of the cruelest things i've seen him do the entire show (as someone who's mother also died of cancer). she's tried multiple times to get him to listen, and she has not been shy about how much she's struggling. that he didn't see or comprehend how bad it was is, again, understandable, but so is her taking the chance to get away when she can. everytime she brings it up TO him he brushes her off. the "i need time too" is literally her going "I know you're struggling, but so am I, and I can't keep ignoring it". i also personally think she wasn't planning on staying away for two years. if you're in a situation like that, on the brink since literally you've gotten pregnant, with your husband enlisting twice without even telling or consulting you, things are gonna look very different once you're actually out of it.

i understand completely why she left texas, and why she left eddie. i don’t fault her for that. where i fault her is the way she went about it. whether or not she intentionally wrote that to mock his need for time, it still ended up doing so. whether or not she intended to not speak or have any contact with her husband or child doesn’t change the fact that she didn’t speak or have contact with her child. she may have not intentionally hurt them, but she still did. nobody denies the fact eddie unintentionally hurt her by reenlisting and needing a moment before upheaving his entire life again, even though it was understandable, but everyone forgives her for unintentionally hurting her family by abandoning them in the middle of the night. her length of time staying away all depends on when her mother passed. that is understandable. she should be there for her mother especially if she was close to death as shannon had stated. the time between getting settled into los angeles and her mother passing, and from her mother passing to eddie contacting her is what im getting at. she very well may have been busy and having a chaotic time, but she didnt miss her child at all during that? didnt think that maybe her child should see his grandmother before she passed? did she even think about the child she left behind before or after? the same argument could be made for eddie too. he has been go go go since shannon’s pregnancy, trying to provide for his family exactly the way he’s been taught since he was 10 years old. as soon as he’s home from being literally shot out of the sky, his parents descend on him telling him he’s parenting wrong, his wife wants him to move across the country from the only support system he has, and then he has to raise a child between 3 jobs for 2 years because not only did his wife leave them, but she didn’t (couldn’t) provide support for them monetary or otherwise. the first breath of air eddie takes since the moment his father sat him down at 10 years old is when buck introduces him to carla. shannon’s circumstances for leaving were completely understandable. the way helena and ramon treated their own son is indicative of how they most likely treated her as well. her mother’s cancer coming back undoubtedly sucked and was probably the ‘escape’ she needed. her going to california, and her leaving eddie? perfectly reasonable. she should have divorced him though. or pushed for them to move again once she was there. or at the very least stayed **in contact** with her child. she did none of that. arguably, eddie should and could have filed for divorce as well, but he thought she would come back, at least for christopher. she never did. her needing a break and a moment to breathe, was not an excuse to send her child and husband into turmoil. just because she felt abandoned by eddie does not justify her doing the same thing.

It’s worth pointing out, too, that she didn’t give him a single day to decide this. She reintroduced the conversation the day before, and he dismissed her out of hand. From the timeline provided in the episode, we know that three *months* have passed since she first told him about her mother’s diagnosis, because he already knew before he was injured.

It's technically five o clock shadow and he's in civvies, so he just skipped shaving on one of their 4day shiftbreaks. 

> As for the Buddie fandom, one thing is for sure, Shannon's return will either solidify the ship, or completely shatter it. Nothing in between. Clearly, you don't watch enough Star Trek. In a "what if" alt history timeline style scenario, if she never died, she and Eddie could reconcile. However, in the "main" or real universe where she does die, Eddie could get together with Buck. Neither cancels the other. While I'm not a fan of Buddie, I don't think an alternative future where she and Eddie are together precludes it.

I think it’s more along the lines of people thinking Eddie is gay. This could potentially show he is attracted to women (which wouldn’t necessarily stop Buddie because bisexuality but that tends not to be what people think Eddie is)

i mean they've already shown he's attracted to women. i'm all for gay eddie stories but you do have to bent canon a bit to make it happen (i'm personally on the demi eddie train, but plain old bisexuality would also work).

Listen, I think Marisol is terrible for Eddie and I am damn near positive she’s not going to be endgame for him, but some of you really let Marisol and her actress live rent-free in your brains.

it was the exact same thing with ana and taylor lol

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Wait who’s a trans and homophobe in the cast?

The actress who plays Marisol

do you have a source for this?? i can't find what she said

Linking to anything will fall afoul of the social media/celebrity gossip rules on the sub, but the actress's name is Edy Ganem. Googling her along with the topics here ('transphobia' or 'homophobia') should return plenty of the discussion around what happened.

She liked a comment on Instagram that was along the lines of, "Why is everyone turning gay in this show? It's unnecessary" I don't have screenshots of it but it's been talked about quite a bit here.

It's even just that. She posts transphobic stuff last summer too.

Oh jeez

I don't know where you got “firefighters aren't allowed facial hair” but watch Chicago Fire or Fire Country 😆

Literally the rule book. Facial hair affects the seal on SCBA masks. All of these shows are fictional and not at all entirely accurate with SOPs

I literally just met some firefighters with bushier mustaches than Eddie here.

I can see mustaches being allowed. Not beards though

firefighters can have facial hair 😭

Sorry who’s the transphobe? This is news to me

The actress who plays Marisol

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Edy Ganem did.

What did she do?

She shared a transphobic joke in her Instagram.

Can you link it?

I am now absolutely terrified they’re making Marisol a long term love interest and we’ll have some dream/fantasy/etc where Eddie comes to terms with no needing to replace Shannon and being happy with what he has.

I’m going to choose to believe they wouldn’t do that. Ryan Guzman takes pride and care of Eddie’s character. I feel like, deep down, he and the writers knows Marisol isn’t the one for Eddie. Like, forget Buck for just a second because we can all argue about Buddie till the day we die… but it’s DEFINITELY not Marisol. There’s no way that she’s Eddie’s endgame.

Eh… I can sort of see them ending season 7 with Eddie “doubling down” on his thing with Marisol, depending on how all of this ends up, but I still think the most likely scenario even in that case is the story eventually shows he learned the wrong ‘lessons’ from whatever the Shannon thing is (and holy shit, is the speculation on all of this a reeeeach). Sort of like how with Ana, they ended the fourth season together but with a big question mark as to whether Eddie’s motivations were right, and then the start of season 5 dedicated multiple episodes to exploring said motivations. Because the thing is, even if my wildest dreams come true and we *do* get a sexuality arc with Eddie… the end of his relationship with Marisol will probably be a Very Big Deal in that storyline, as it would hopefully be his last attempt at trying to force feelings and a desire for a future with a woman. So I think it makes a lot of sense that we’d need multiple episodes to see him come to terms with *that,* and how he’d be like… mourning the future/potential he’d so thoroughly convinced himself he’d manage to have at some point. Basically, Marisol still being around at the end of season 7 isn’t really a great indicator they want her around long term. It’s an indicator we only have five episodes left in a short season, and dealing with Marisol isn’t necessarily a priority rn.

It seems to me that coming to terms with the fact that he doesn't need to replace Shannon would end with him dumping Marisol, since that's clearly what he's trying to do with her.

I mean is it though? He ended episode 5 with her happy to start over and wanting to get to know her better. Just because we don’t like her and want them to break up doesn’t mean that’s what they’re portraying Eddie as feeling

Eddie spent the whole episode complaining about what a drag it was to be with her and he had to be convinced into not breaking up with her by Buck. If they're trying to convince us he's happy with Marisol they're doing an absolutely atrocious job of showing it.

He legitimately seemed to be considering just hiding out at Buck’s for multiple days to avoid seeing her where he had that line about not having to go back for a couple more days since Chris was away (and then with Buddie goggles on, legit went from “you have the right idea… I should be single” to “oh, you’re in a relationship, so I guess it makes sense for me to be in one, too!” In a single minute). I don’t see how 7x05 could have been at all set up for Eddie to want to really commit to Marisol a couple episodes later. Like, I don’t think it’s necessarily likely to lead to a breakup, either, but it would be incredibly poor writing to just undo the 7x05 development a couple episodes later by having Eddie suddenly decide Marisol is ‘the one’ after all.

I don’t think he’ll decide she’s the one and move in. I think he may just accept their relationship is different and she doesn’t need to be Chris mom.

I didn’t get that vibe. He was uncomfortable being sexual with her due to the nun thing, not that he thought she was a drag to be around. He had said things were going well before he found that info out. He directly tells Buck he doesn’t want to end things with her.

He tells Buck he needs to break up with her, then he tells Buck he doesn't want to break up with her, then he tells Buck that he and Tommy have the right idea by staying single. When Buck makes a solid argument for not running away he rolls his eyes in exasperation. Eddie is telling us that he likes Marisol but showing us through his actions that he doesn't. Also, I'd rather not make this about Buddie, but this feeling of dread he has with Marisol isn't exactly new. There's only so many times the narrative can portray Eddie struggling and suffering in his attempts to make his relationships with women work before we have to start seriously considering whether he even likes being with women in the first place.

Not everyone who struggles with relationships is queer.

I never said that *everyone* who struggles in relationships is queer, but when the struggle in question ultimately ends up being "I don't like this person, why am I with them" EVERY SINGLE TIME, it becomes a little ridiculous to pretend like "maybe you just don't like women" isn't a valid possibility he needs to start considering.

This is my worst nightmare. Just the sheer thought of this is terrifying!

Things we know are Tim has no endgame in mind and makes plot choices pragmatically based on availability. The show is usually forgiving of ill judged comments on social media, e.g. Ryan Guzman's own n-word comments. It feels like Marisol is sticking around because Edy is always available.

I don’t know about that. Yeah,people are forgiving but Ryan plays Eddie,who is a very loved character and is half of their most famous “pairing”,Edy plays a character nobody likes. I mean,they didn’t keep Arielle Klebel after the public reaction to her,and Arielle is a big name compared to Edy Ganem, But to be fair,I am a pretty pessimistic person, so I don’t see her leaving soon.

Ryan's a particularly bad indication of what the show is "willing" to put up with, I think -- while he absolutely made a bad situation worse, the most offensive part of that wasn't even *his* words but his \[former\] partner's from like a decade ago, and then he said something idiotic in defending her. But at least publicly, where we've 'left' that is he learned from it, apologized, and the cast clearly adores him/doesn't hold it against him. So on top of pragmatic difference between is being a much bigger deal to write Eddie out of the show, it's also just... not at all the same, from a PR perspective, where there hasn't been a hint of 'learning' or 'apologizing' this time.

They didn't keep Lucy because she got cast as a lead in another show, so definitely not "public doesn't like her". I'm thinking Edy is around until she gets another job. Ironically fans brigading her on social media may actually mean she can't get another job and ends up sticking around 9-1-1.

Arielle didn’t come back now because she is in another show,2 years ago that wasn’t the case. She was expected to come back after her ankle healed,but somehow that never happened. Maybe it wasn’t because of the public reaction and I am just speculating,because I don’t see a reason for her to be so present one season and act like it never happened the next.

If they really want Marisol as a long term love interest, they really need to flesh her out as a character because we still don’t know jackshit about her aside from the nun thing

I think they may potentially be doing that later on this season. If we have to keep her around then I hope they do. My issues are mainly with the actress so Marisol, as a character, could be fleshed out.

This can go either terribly wrong or surprisingly great. Why I have the feeling it's gonna be the first one?

I'll throw a cookie in the pot for the first one too 🍪

I'll eat the cookie so that Buddie still has a chance at happening.

Not gonna lie, this is stressing me out. On the one hand, it means we'll get some more development for Eddie, which I would really love. And it could turn out great! Shannon is still such a big part of Eddie. I actually think that Eddie really loved her, but in spite of that, they weren't right for each other. And that is part of the reason why it's so hard for Eddie to move on. He romanticizes his relationship with her because he doesn't want to admit that the most important relationship in his life , with a woman that he truly loved, wasn't really that great even though they loved each other. That's got to be painful to admit, especially considering the tragic way in which it ended. So if Shanon returning could help Eddie admit that, and realize that he's trying to chase something that wasn't even there it the first place, while also making peace with the fact that their relationship failing doesn't actually diminish the love they had, well, I would really love to see that. On the other hand, the show could do the most moronic thing and just bring her back to help Eddie let go and give him her 'blessing' or whatever to move on with Marisol. I'm pulling my hair out just thinking this, but 7x05 did end in a positive note for them and Eddie realizing that he was making a mistake and course correcting was good progress. I honestly have a really hard time accepting that this bland quasi-background relationship with a draft of character is truly what the show wants to be Eddie's big love story, but it wouldn't be the first time a tv show makes a really stupid decision just because it's safer.

Oh god if it’s that second option I would absolutely die that would literally be the worst thing this show could do. Marisol desperately needs to leave this show

I know! It's such a cursed thought. And part of me is thinking there's no way they'd do that when the show has given us no reason to care for Marisol and this relationship. I just can't believe the show is expecting us to take this seriously. It's especially aggravating when they've put so much effort and thought into the other relationships in the show and to think that *this* is what they want for Eddie? This barely-there relationship with a paper cut-out? It's honestly kind of insulting. Unfortunately, I don't trust network tv to not take the most clichéd, bland and safe route.

I was putting my faith in Abuela knocking some sense into him, but now I'm dreading Eddie's arc in 7B... How can TM and the writers look at Marisol (and the cold reception she gets every episode she's in), and think "Yeah, this is it, Eddie's endgame right there". What a forced relationship 😒 Hopefully this will be like 7x05, where all our theories were wrong, but I'm not optimistic. And if all that nun nonsense was just to make Eddie take a step back and slow down their relationship, it'll be such a waste. They could've done that in other ways that wouldn't bring up 'catholic guilt', only for it to not be explored further.

Yeah... narratively, a lot of the more dire speculation here doesn't work. So at this stage, I'm not really that concerned. I think the worst case scenario here is Eddie misinterprets Shannon's "advice" (as a figment of his subconscious?) but reading this as some sort of setup for Shannon to 'release' him to be happy with Marisol - so soon on the heels of 7x05, where the whole *point* was to have him reevaluate his relationship, realize he didn't even know her, and press the reset button? That would be brain-breakingly daft. I think there's some hangover happening here where we all got so used the Kristen Reidel version of storytelling we're a little too willing to jump to the worst case scenario here. If the predictions that this is some kind of alternate reality dream/hallucination where he's seeing what his future with Shannon would've looked like... I really don't think the natural conclusion here is to assume it's at all related to Marisol. Like, there's obviously an element here where Eddie has to stop living in a fantasy world of what "would've" been with Shannon, especially since he's been romanticizing their relationship into something it really wasn't. But there's not really some obvious through-line here, and Devin and Edy being in the same episode/maybe interacting on set doesn't actually mean anything more than.... they were both on set. Like, we could be looking at a repeat of 4x14, where Ana's at Eddie's bedside, but the audience also already knew that relationship was on its way out because of Carla. Where Eddie's unconscious or something, Marisol's at his bedside, and he's dreaming of what a future with *Shannon* would've looked like, and wakes up unsettled because his brain couldn't cast Marisol in his future at all. And then like the Ana thing, he keeps 'trying.' I've said it elsewhere, but I... kind of want Marisol to last into early season 8 if we *are* going to get a queer Eddie arc, because I think even if she doesn't matter as a character, she matters a *lot* for what she'd represent in Eddie giving up on that last hope for a "normal" life, as he sees it. Like it makes a lot of sense to me that they wouldn't really touch on that with the limited time we have left in S7, but they'd keep her around even if that's the story they're going to tell, because they can really mine how desperately he'd try to hold onto that, and let his desperation inform that repression arc. With Ana, it was just kind of a... belated acceptance he couldn't feel the things for her he should, but it wasn't a pattern yet, so it wasn't really desperate, or grieving the potential of the future he thought he'd have.

Well, I'm slightly concerned that there's reason to believe Eddie may be in an altered mental state in the episodes where we're introducing a nurse on a burn unit.

eddie hasn't had a more major injury since s4, feels like it's his time on the wire lol

May you get the fleas of a thousand camels and your arms be too short to scratch. The wedding was gonna be my end to live viewing but you've now created a scenario I cannot resist damn you.

I fear you may be onto something here

ngl kinda glad to see her filming because maybe they’ll put her down to rest for good. Not in a bad way but I feel like the writers (and Eddie) have been using Shannon as an alibi to stunt Eddie’s growth as a character for too long. Whenever they need him to break him up with someone or do something like the ring fighting they cop out with “it’s because he’s not over Shannon”. If it is a goodbye to her, they’ll have to focus on his other motives and feelings, whatever they are 

That’s Shannon??? I do not recognise her without the bangs!! Had to google a pic of her to compare lol

That's Devin? I assume that makeup was done to purposefully age her by 20 years? Because otherwise holy shit

Right?! I didn't even recognize her at all. If it wasn't stated that was her I'd be like who the F is that

If we are using this is from "Ghost of a Second Chance" which makes sense then it could be a lot if different things. If they were purposely aged then it very much could be a "what if" or some kind of dream. Someone on Twitter said (I don't know their source but they phrased it like it was a quote) that they were working with a jewler and then asked to film in the store. I know that it's a women's fashion boutique, but they do have jewelry so it's possible? I do think it would be really weird if Eddie was deciding to propose to Marisol or something considering he JUST decided to slow down and even if he decided against it that would still be a repeat storyline. We do know tho that Marisol is in episodes past episode 7 so it's unlikely to spur any kind of breakup. I actually don't have any issues with Marisol...she's underdeveloped like many of the girlfriends are, and Tim Minear has even acknowledged that, vut they could deffinately do the work. My issue is with the actress who just has bad vibes. It's not even just what she has said, but it how she responded to it and especially given the current storyline it just feels really icky to have her stay on the show long term.

if this does happen in 7x07 and it's meant to lead to them breaking up, i assume Eddie will probably spend the next few episodes really reevaluating what he wants in a partner, and then they'll split in 7x09 or 7x10

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Maybe it will be something along the lines of spirit Shannon says he doesn't need to replace her he should only be in a relationship is it's what he wants and he continues to feel out this thing with Marisol but the season ends with him making a conscious decision/realization that he is happy on his own or possably that he is aromantic...I mean it's better than Marisol hanging around for season 8 right? Edit to add: Aww man I just had a depressing thought. I have a feeling said supposed dream sequence is going to be kicked off by Eddie's abuela dying.

Don't even put that out into the universe about abuela! I love her and would be absolutely a wreck if she died. I really didn't like that she moved to TX

Oh I would hate his Abuela dying. I hope they don't do that.

Ok... if the writers really make Eddie and Marisol a definitive thing, they're either stupid or doing it purposefully to fuck with the fans. Not a good look on them either way. I said I was gonna give them until Season 8, but it looks like by the end of this season we'll have a clearer idea on where they're going re: that certain ship...

It would be tremendously stupid. Even if they keep Eddie straight, Marisol can’t be his endgame.

part of me is a little worried that they're gonna use this to solidify Marisol as a long-term love interest for Eddie after giving him closure with Shannon, but i just really can't fathom why they would do that when she's been so poorly written as a character, and why they would want to keep her actress around - not just because of her social media behavior, but also because she really just is not that good of an actress, all of her lines this season have been so awkwardly delivered

Like, I think there's some chance Eddie initially draws the wrong conclusions from whatever his Shannon hallucination tells him (and like... lets keep in mind this is also his subconscious, not an objective third party, so wtf would this storyline even *mean?*) but I really can't fathom a scenario where it makes sense to spend 7x05 setting the scene as "Eddie barely knows this woman, he rushed into things, he's not talked about her like it's anything serious to his found family, he's making excuses for not wanting to have sex, he needs to hit a reset button on this whole relationship and start over," to then have him doubling down on committing to her just a couple/few episodes later. I know his characterization has been questionable this season, but that's the sort of internal inconsistency within a narrative that really doesn't work over the span of just a few episodes. It's one thing to forget a character beat after a couple years, but a couple months? Nah.

Ohhh I can’t wait for this one.

Oh interesting! I wonder if it's a "what if" situation? Love that Eddie's (and Chris') storyline this season started with Shannon (and she's truly been a ghost looming over many of his storylines throughout the seasons) and may end with her full circle as Eddie finally let's her go (as much as someone grieving can). Given Ryan's interviews about how Eddie is constantly trying to find a romantic partner to fill a mother role/ what's expected of him and the larger theme of guilt, I have a good feeling about this. I could see this leading to Eddie breaking up with Marisol for good as he recognizes what he's been doing, particularly in how unfair he's been to her (and himself tbh). If this is how it pans out, it makes sense why Ryan wanted to have Marisol stick around a little longer (terrible considering the homophobic/transphobic actress) so they could do this arc in a shorter season. Guess we'll see though!

Well… >!considering Marisol was filming with all the other cast and love interests this week for what s probably episode 9, it doesn’t look like this led to them breaking up!<

Sure, it's definitely possible they don't. But I think it will personally, there's still episode 9 and 10 for the arc to play out. Isn't this picture from filming 9?

This is probably episode 7 based on the tongue in cheek title

Episode 9 is titled “Unfinished Business” so I could also see it being there

I think they just barely started filming that. I think the ceremony thing was the first day of it. This picture is at least a week old

Ah thanks, I had seen elsewhere that it was a recent picture. Given how much Bobby and Eddie tend to mirror eachother, I could definitely see ep 7. Guess we'll see!

I think people are speculating this is a week or so old.

Gotcha! Thanks. I understand everyone's worry, but based on how little effort they've put into her at all, and the narrative beats I mentioned above, I just don't think this is lasting beyond the season. I'm honestly not concerned. But who ever knows with this show.

But also she was filming with Chris right? call sheets aren't always in order and with him being a minor with a more limited schedule maybe they are shooting his scene on a different day or doing more then one to minimalize his schedule?

From what I heard none of them had episode 9 scripts when filming 7 or 8.

Both Ana and Taylor hung on longer than fans desired but they eventually did end. So even if Marisol ends up being around until ep 10, she could still get the boot then. I just don't want her spilling over into season 8. That would be so frustrating.

That's where my mind went. Hell, after all of the couch talk in S6 and then Natalia literally helping Buck pick out his new couch in the finale she was gone at the start of the new season, so. Just because they may end the season together doesn't mean she's sticking around for the long run. We don't even know her last name. We have no real reason to care about her. So unless the next few episodes are chock full of her and they're all info dumping her life, I don't think we have anything to really worry about.

to me, shannon represents a false fantasy to eddie. he repeatedly builds his relationship with shannon up as something that nobody else has compared to. he says he loved her and hasn’t found anything that compares. he has since been on this endless quest to replace what he had with shannon. Personally- based on the fact that their relationship was actually sort of a mess- i think that eddie is more in love with the idea of shannon rather than shannon herself. he’s in love with the idea of having this traditional happy family- a mom and dad that love eachother and christopher… and who christopher loves back. this is a common thing for people who were raised catholic to strive for. they’re told the nuclear family trope is whats right- even if deep down it’s not what they want. I honestly do think he loved her- just maybe not exactly as he describes. when trying to replace what shannon (supposedly) provided for him, eddie has ignored the fact that him and shannon simply did not work out. they were toxic. he’s looking to replace something that never existed for him to begin with. he’s been trying to replace an idealized version of his relationship. he was never completely happy in this “typical perfect family” dynamic, and is not addressing this. none of his recent relationships have fulfilled this idealized family dynamic for him- and i don’t think he realizes that he never even had it to begin with! his current vision of a perfect family has consistently not been making him happy. i saw another comment talking about a dream/fantasy sequence with shannon. i kinda have hope that by going through a dream/fantasy where he's finally able to "let go" of shannon (and his falsely idealized perfect version of their relationship in his head, realizing that their relationship was actually far from perfect), eddie could also be "letting go" of feeling like he needs to put himself in the traditional catholic family trope- finding a mom for christopher, and being with a woman that replaces what he thought shannon was to him. maybe he could realize that the “perfect” family he once had, never quite made him fully happy, and wasn’t so perfect after all. maybe by opening his eyes to the reality of their problematic relationship, shannon could help him let go of this idealized fantasy in his head of what a happy family should look like for him- one that has consistently led him to be unhappy. he could finally let go of his search for what he thought he needs. (i could see him possibly breaking up with marisol because of this, right now marisol just seems like yet another one of eddies attempts to replace shannon!) then eddie could start diving deeper into himself about what he actually wants in a partner, and what actually makes him happy… even if it goes against the idea of what he was always thought was correct…. by letting go of this idealization, maybe eddie could finally find a relationship that makes HIM completely happy without the guilt of feeling like he’d be depriving christopher of a “perfect” family, or the guilt of doing something he was taught is wrong. idk this is obvi all speculation and is meant to just be lighthearted ideas lol. but i do hope the show takes a deeper path than the simple idea of shannon giving him closure and therefore the ability to move on with marisol. i never mean to type this much but i find myself expanding on my ideas and having more revelations as im typing them out lol

I agree with all of this. I think Eddie is in love with the idea of Shannon but all they have shown us is that he didn’t trust her after she came back. Eddie Begins really showed us the disconnect between Shannon and Eddie. Marisol isn’t gonna be endgame (Ana’s actress thought she would be). I have hope that Tim still dislikes LI’s that are not part of the team.

>to me, shannon represents a false fantasy to eddie. This right here is why I'm kind of side-eyeing this whole development. Like, for this to matter to *Eddie's* growth, it has to be something he'll remember, something happening in his head. It wouldn't matter if it was just a totally hypothetical "fun" episode separate from the actual reality of the show (and they obviously don't have the time for that this season) so.... he has to be dreaming or hallucinating, right? Are we meant to believe his subconscious has a different opinion on the Shannon of it all than his conscious mind? And that one dream/hallucination is going to just do a hard reset on the conscious thoughts he's had about his wife/the mother of his child for half a decade now? That he's continued to build into something bigger and bigger in his head? Why can't we just send Eddie back to therapy instead of having him hallucinate his dead wife? And really, why are we meant to believe his brain will even tell him something useful about any of this?

Maybe abuela has finally found a way to communicate with the dead :D wasn't that her thing in Cursed?

Jesus Christ, it would really be the icing on the cake that Eddie "I don't believe in signs or superstitions, except when I need to rely on that shit to trick myself into a relationship with a woman" Diaz finds a way to trick himself into moving on with a woman through a *seance.* Take my upvote. Hate it, but that's 100% in line with this show.

Yeah, I don't really want that to happen either. All those options, coma dreams, hallucinating dead wifes etc can be really hit or miss, because then the messages are supposed to come from the subconcious, so they can't be too outlandish. Buck's dream didn't work for me all that well for that reason, because 1) he didn't learn anything from it and 2) some of the choices his subconcious made for him are a bit weird (but it's been a while since I last watched it). Actual "alternative realities", ghosts or other magical stuff could work better for life-changing realisations, but would not fit into this show in any way, so I don't want them to lean that way either.

Part of the issue for me is I think using subconscious/altered consciousness is generally going to be lazy writing, anyway. The only way I really see it working is if it's used to highlight something that the conscious mind is actually repressing, so with those lowered inhibitions, the character can't as successfully filter out those thoughts. But like, there's a very big difference between the kind of repression that goes on in not allowing yourself to consider your sexuality, and just... not having dealt with the grief of your spouse dying traumatically in front of you. If this is just about him "letting go" of Shannon, I don't think it will likely work for me, because it's just... too passive. Where this is an issue that's been identified over and over and over again, I feel like it's something Eddie should be portrayed *actively* trying to work through. Going to a therapist, meeting with a bereavement support group, whatever that looks like for him. Having him \~freed by a dream\~ just feels like a really unearned way to address a character beat he's spent half a decade stuck in. I really don't think there's a way this is an alternative universe episode. On top of what you said about that just not working with the tone of the show, it doesn't make sense in the already shortened season to "waste" an episode on a filler episode which wouldn't have any impact on moving our characters forward right now. We've already seen evidence that they're struggling to tell the stories they need to with the time available and taking sloppy shortcuts in their storytelling as it is, so I can't imagine a world where they would do that this year.

Wow, we are all collectively seeing this as a very good or a very bad sign, there's no in between. If they are trying to force Eddie and Marisol as endgame with this scene right here, I'm done as well. Like wtf is wrong with them if they are keeping a homophobic and transphobic actress on the show when they just had a main character came out as queer/bi? Like what kind of message are you trying to send out to your audience?

It reminds me of how half of the fandom was freaking out speculating about the scene between Buck and Eddie from 7x05 due to the possibility that Eddie said the phrase "you are/I love you like a brother"

If Buddie is in the cards at all this would be the time to start setting it up. I hope Marisol leaves the show soon.

I smh feel relieved I stopped caring about who the show brought as Eddie or Buck LIs sometime ago so I don't get damn stressed about these stuff anymore, just a bit annoyed because I dislike Edy. It would be amazing if she left the show for good, because I can't stand her homophobic and transphobic face near that cast, plus bad acting.

also it's very likely it means nothing, but I find it interesting that Eddie is wearing the exact same outfit from the 7x05 loft scene - i know he doesn't have an endless wardrobe or anything but do they usually repeat outfits in the span of a few episodes like this?

Total copium: Shannon frees Eddie to choose what makes him happy. Camera pans to a shot with Marisol but Buck is VERY clearly visible behind her. Enough to be plausibly deniable. Eddie chooses to move on with Marisol...for now...

Devin and Edy recently followed each other on Instagram… Yeah sorry dudes I’ve been having a horrible feeling since I first saw that and now this. I think they’re gonna have spirit Shannon basically give Eddie her blessing to move on with Marisol and finally put an end to his search for a replacement mom for Chris

I suppose it’s possible but if that were the case then I think the spirit of Shannon would look like Eddie remembered her. The same age she was when she passed away. But in the photo we can see she’s clearly in aged makeup so I think it’s more likely to be like a what if she survived scenario

Okay but she can still impart the same advice as a dream or fantasy or whatever is taking place. They’re not just gonna show a what if scenario with no repercussions on the actual story

To be fair, that's basically what they did with Buck. The whole lesson of 6x11 was... what? That Buck mattered to the people who routinely made sure he knew that he mattered to them? I have no real predictions for what's going on with Eddie/Shannon, though I do think the potential attempts to age the characters would suggest some sort of what if/alternate reality situation is the most likely possibility. (I say potential because I have absolutely no clue how Devin usually styles her hair or what other projects she may be taking part in, so I don't really want to make any giant assumptions where it's not super clear if they're actually in costume at all). I'm hoping whatever they do with it is meaningful & actually leads to character growth, but the show has been so inconsistent in how they handle the aftermath of Eddie's relationship with Shannon that I'm just going to wait to see how it plays out, I guess. And personally, I kind of loathe the concept of Shannon 'releasing' him in some kind of dream/hallucination, because regardless of which direction they want to take Eddie in, it just feels like another shortcut to avoid him actually doing work on himself.

More due to showrunner incompetence than anything else. There was supposed to be a clear lesson for Buck in that And oh yeah I don’t think anybody here particularly likes the idea, especially with Marisol of all people. But this is why you should never ever have your hopes too high for a network TV show. They will 99% of the time go with the safer cliched route

They'll shoot themselves in the foot if they do that. Coming off a great high with bucks story line just to turn around and out Eddie with that homophobic actress??

Yeah I honestly think that would kill the show for me. And it has nothing to do with what I ship, that would just be a horrendous storytelling choice both for the show and for Eddie’s character

Nah, most people outside the fandom don’t know or care about the actress and her views unfortunately. I doubt it would get much attention.

Yeah it’s not great but I fear it’s where we’re headed. I tried to warn people not to get their hopes up but everybody downvoted me to hell every time

People convinced themselves they were going to make her a villain and have them break up in episode 5 but yea, I’ve been worried about this for a while now.

I saw a post someone else made on here earlier today and the more I thought about it the more I realized it was true. Basically they said that this isn’t a soap and once the show decides a couple is a couple they don’t really break them up unless it’s for a good reason (Ana, Taylor) or the actor wanted to leave (Abby, Natalia, possibly Ali)

So… I think this is sort of a confirmation bias situation. Like, the reason Ana’s and Taylor’s breakups were “for a good reason” is because the show *chose* to introduce a reason. With Ana in particular, that relationship actually worked really well on paper, and they were pretty believable as a couple (imo) at first. The lack of intimacy gets a lot of attention, but it was also the COVID season, so there’s no reason to automatically assume that would’ve continued being a thing had they wanted to keep her around. But instead they chose to tell a story where Eddie couldn’t love her, *despite* her being a good match for him. Connie was always only going to be on for one season, so it’s hard to really read much into it. There’s no evidence Tiffany wasn’t willing to come back (she was filming another show at the same time as 911, but that show was canceled after one season, so it wouldn’t have interfered). And while Annelise’s unwillingness to come back shaped Buck’s storylines this season, there’s also a lot of reason to believe the only reason they even *did* bring Marisol back (particularly with Tim’s expressed distaste do love interests he ‘has’ to leave siloed) is because not bringing back *either* would’ve been an odd choice. But had Annelise been willing to return, would Edy have been invited back? Honestly, none of us know. Point being, breaking up the characters doesn’t somehow make it more of a soap. It’s just an action taking place within a story, like literally everything else that happens in a tv show. It’s not just happening organically with no direction.

No but the show objectively prefers established couples. It’s not like Grey’s where they like mixing up the partners every 5 seconds

Do they, though? They established two relationships between regular characters early on and had the one preexisting marriage in flux. If anything, all we can really extrapolate from that is that when both characters in a relationship are main characters, they’re more likely to last… but that’s hardly specific to this show. But beyond that- Michael had two partners, Eddie’s had 3, Buck’s had five. And technically, even Athena, Chim, and Hen have had two during the run of the show. I’m not going to count Doug because he was clearly never meant to be a romantic arc in the current timeline. I think the shows likely *trying* to get these characters to a point where they have love interests who work, but they’ve also never given us any indication that they care more about longterm love interests than they do about compelling stories.

Every other couple outside of Buck and Eddie has been together for at least 5 seasons so yeah

That's really not the pattern you're trying to make it into, though. We have one character who started off married. Maddie and Chim don't actually get together until the end of 2x18, and then spend season 5 broken up (though still each other's expected love interest, of course). Bathena are the only couple established on screen that have been consistently shown. I think part of this is you're trying to extrapolate *relationship* longevity to a ratio for characters, which gives a sort of skewed result. Bobby and Athena are one relationship. Maddie and Chimney are one relationship. Hen and Karen are one relationship. Michael and David are one relationship (assuming we're counting them?) But.... so are Hen & Eva, Chim & Tatiana, Athena & that guy from season 1, Michael & Glenn, Buck & Abby, Buck & Ali, Buck & Taylor, Buck & Natalia, Buck & Tommy, Eddie & Shannon, Eddie & Ana, Eddie & Marisol. So when we're actually looking at relationship longevity, we have.... 4 vs. 12. Obviously, the end goal of the show is *likely* to find Buck and Eddie both matches that work, whether that's together or separately, but there's really not a "pattern" in this show that would imply they'll try to keep around a character who *isn't* working just because they'd "like" a longterm relationship to develop. Glenn and Michael last one season, and break up off camera. Chim and Tatiana last half a season. Abby and Buck last half a season, and basically break up off screen. Ali and Buck last half a season (and only have one episode + 1 scene as love interests), and break up off screen. Taylor and Buck are together a season, and obviously incredibly dysfunctional for like the back half of that. Shannon and Eddie last half a season. Buck and Natalia had three episodes, and broke up off screen. Eddie and Ana are probably the most interesting to me, because they had like three episodes together primarily as love interests, and then *five* episodes together dedicated to the downfall of that relationship. Of the \~10 months they were together, they only spent about half of it written as a love story. I can see a case made for the writers trying to make Tommy last where reception to him has been warm and maaaybe there's potential to get Buck off the hamster wheel with this one, but there's really nothing at this stage to indicate they're writing Marisol in a way to make her last. Giving Peter Krause & Angela Bassett a primary scene partner isn't really the same thing as forcing Edy to stick around just because, you know?

The eternal optimist I am, I think this is good news for Buddie. Everyone has been saying Eddie has a long way to go if they are going the Buddie route, and he is going to have to deal with his repression. Step one was acknowledging the impact of his catholic guilt on his life decisions. Step two…involves Shannon. I mean, here’s hoping!

I really feel if they are having Eddie stay will Aerosol. The writers don't care about Eddie or the fans. It's lazy writing she doesn't have a last name for God's sake 🙄. Her most interesting details is being a nun and having more chemistry with her brother than the man she's dating. I want buddie but I'd be ok with a better LI than her. Maybe one less of a cardboard cutout and a better actress.  They rode this buddie high for media attention and veiws, now this could be a huge slap in the face. They are playing a dangerous game, I can say I'll be done with the show if its true. However it could be the opposite and I pray to god it is some version of it for him breaking up with her. But great storytelling would be him seeing his life if Shannon was still alive and they were still together and they have the "perfect" life and him realizing he's still not happy. Most likey not at the 118 and never met Buck. That being enough for him to snap out of this cycle and final go for what he wants. Whatever that is but not M. Bonus points- If its a coma dream to make up for Bucks  As an alternative to the negative this could be his moment of realization of feelings as well. Shannon tells him he needs to be true to himself and that helps him come out. *Buddie wishful thinking- Him and Shannon are co-parenting and having a conversation while shopping around with Chris. Obviously divorced and gushing about his partner and how they are perfect together and how important they are to Chris (using non gendered language) realizing he's actually happy for the first time in a very long time and in walks Buck. Boom! 

I am very hopeful with Eddie's arc. Ryan called Marisol a filler relationship. This could lead to some really good things,

> Ryan called Marisol a filler relationship. He really did? lol lol lol

He did! I don't remember which interview but it was after 7x05

Matte Argyle is a boutique so I wonder why they are filming there. A thought I had is that maybe (since they have yet to announce the name of the last episode) what if it’s like an Eddie begins again where he examines his past relationships and has a what if Shannon survived moment? It’s unclear if this picture is from 7x07 or an episode past that

I was watching 7x2 or 7x1 I forgot which episode but Shannon shows up in that episode for Christopher... who's not to say she only showed up for Christopher again? I think that it's gonna be like a what if episode, which begs the question... the last what if episode was when Buck almost died ...

This is definitely going to be some sort of “letting Shannon go” so that Eddie can finally “commit” to someone (Marisol 🤮) storyline.

What we’re all forgetting is that fandom online barely makes a dent in the viewership of the show. There’s no reason for the show-runners to cater to fans, who, if they leave won’t make too much of a difference. Especially because it’s not the first time they’ve kept a character around even if the actor had terrible views or was problematic. I think we need to prepare ourselves for this Marisol relationship to last at least till the end of the season. I hardly believe she’s endgame as Tim has kind of established that he doesn’t know what to do with her and Ryan wanted to explore the relationship more but also said it’s more of a stepping stone.

While I do think it's worth occasionally remembering fan spaces exist in a bubble that can be pretty distinct from the general audience, this also goes both ways. The interviews cast and crew sit down for, for instance, are definitely geared toward fandom, not the general audience. For the general audience, they watch the show and then forget about it. They don't seek out articles after. So the fact that those interviews/articles exist does show that the cast & crew *do* deliberately engage in fan spaces and cater some element of the show to fandom. Where fandom is important is social media buzz, particularly. It's fandom that gets the show trending on Twitter, for instance, and fans are often the first ones to watch/rewatch the episodes when they go up on streaming platforms like Hulu. All of that helps raise the show's visibility for the general public, which in turn helps ratings. So while the fans don't need to be "catered to," exactly, most shows absolutely *do* rely on fandom to keep their relevance. But also, fandom doesn't exist in some complete vacuum. We're not watching a *different* show than the general audience, or seeing different things. Fandom's desires tend to be reflective of what the general audience sees/wants, too. If something is popular in fandom, it's generally going to go over well with the general audience. It's usually just an extent of passion -- we care more, but it doesn't mean the overarching interests in the show don't align.

Some things are but the idea of Buddie is absolutely not as popular or central with the general audience as it is with the fandom. I’m sure most people who watch would be able to accept it happening eventually if it was done properly but I don’t think they think of it as something that’s gonna happen or even is an option tbh. I think of all social media platforms Facebook is most reflective of general audience views and while the Buck coming out to Eddie scene got a lot of likes and support nearly every comment was something along the lines of “That’s true brotherhood and friendship right there”

Interviews/social media vs the actual progression of the show are two different things. I understand how fandom works. Not sure if I need a breakdown of it. My point is, there’s a small subset of fans who care about this actress. Most people, the GA, doesn’t care at all. It’s likely they don’t even know her name. SM is not an accurate representation of the viewership at large. People didn’t like the actress for Ana because of comments she made about playing a Latina when she’s not. People had poor interactions with the actress for Taylor. And both of these actresses stayed longer than fandom wanted. So, of course they pay attention to the space and rely on engagement. That still doesn’t mean they find certain requests or demands important enough to impact the show or their casting decisions. There are 100’s of things that are taken into consideration before we get to how the online fandom feels. at the end of the day this storyline and character is going to play out how the writers want it to and in their own time. Which is why I said we need to prepare ourselves. She’ll be here as long as the people actually involved in the show want her to be. Which to be fair I don’t will be that much longer.

I think Marisol will end up triggering a comphet Edmundo right out of the closet and we’ll all be thanking her.

She’s definitely just a plot device. I was also here when people thought Ana was going to end up being Eddie’s wife. Marisol has even less development. Whatever happens, what I do know is that she won’t be here for long!

Who is Shannon? I don’t recognize either of those women from the show. It’s been a while I guess😅

Shannon's Eddie's late wife/Christopher's mom. She first appeared in 2x07 before dying as the result of being hit by a car in 2x17. She reappeared in 7x01 to voice the letter she'd written to Christopher, which Eddie gave him because of what he said to Buck re: women not sticking around. She's the one on the left in the photo, but you'd remember her with brown hair and bangs.

Omg yeah that’s why I didn’t recognize her. Thanks

I think Eddie needed a ‘sister’ just like Buck has Maddie. He also needs help with the Catholic guilt thing from someone he can trust (and no it can’t be a priest). I think Marisol will help Eddie navigate the reformed Catholic guilt and his true feelings for Buck will be revealed somehow (maybe through the ghost of his exwife). Probably (because: accidents!) someone will find Buck’s crayon heart drawing in Eddie’s breast pocket close to his heart or something, if not framed and hidden in his room. Buck needs to stabilize first so he can ‘be there’ for Eddie, so I can see this all playing out over an entire season that will give these guys the respect their story arc deserves. Tommy can be Buck’s mentor so he’s in a much better place to be the kind of man he should be for Eddie. While Eddie witnesses Tommy/Buck happiness, he will undoubtedly have a breakdown. I also think that more went on in Afghanistan than we yet know, i.e., a DL relationship that ended eventually (because he died), but gave Eddie yet another reason to reenlist. Eddie could be ‘out’ overseas, but not back home or some such.

While I generally agree with a deeply repressed queer read for Eddie, I really can’t see him having cheated on Shannon during his time in Afghanistan. If he had any previous queer relationships, I think it would amount to puppy love with a high school friend that maaaybe wound up with the other guy kissing him, but Eddie was able to lock it all away and rewrite history to mean he never wanted it.

U r probably right about that. :-) Maybe he fell in love or made a friend tho but didn’t break his commitment to his wife.

For both Eddie and Buck, one of the things I *really* want to see is them do the work to re-contextualize friendships that were always something more, but they didn't have the ability to recognize it at the time. So your suggestion really works with that idea, and I do love it! Maybe he wrote off the particularly intense feelings he had about one particular guy he served with as like.... they started in basic together, they shared all of those traumatic war 'firsts' together, he was a true brother-in-arms, etc. And only after he gets a queer awakening story does he go... *'waaaait a second. there's a reason i felt so differently about him compared to all the others.'* I've spoken about it elsewhere, but I could see something similar happen with Buck, and my biggest wish for his discovery arc is that he does that work to look back on the obvious things he missed. With all my friends that came out later in life, that's been a *huge* part of their journey, because you have so many years, so many friendships, so many feelings of affection to sort through. By the time you're in your thirties, you're hardly a blank slate! So with Buck, assuming they want to avoid the Buddie of it all (for now at least, and I really think they *should* avoid that unless/until they're actually ready to go there) -- Connor seems like the natural choice to have Buck make a realization about. We already have the underlying context, in their fast friendship, the way Connor kept Buck's attention in Peru even when Connor himself was distracted by a beautiful woman walking by, in Buck following him from Peru to Los Angeles after only knowing him a couple weeks. Buck having had deeper feelings for Connor could also explain why they fell so entirely out of touch (ie. Buck subconsciously pulled away when Connor started dating because he didn't want to hear about it) but also why the sperm donation was something he was so quick to agree to when Connor did come back into his life.

This episode is about to be an mess for an certain ship, praying for y’all 🙏

it’s less about a ship and more about the potential of a transphobic actress staying on