Did 911 season 9 just tease Buddie with a stealthy reference that went over everyone's heads? Thanks to some Eagle-eyed fans, the most recent episode might have dropped an Easter egg that hints toward a development for Buck and Eddie that you might have missed.
In 911 season 9 episode 15, the entire crew rallied around Buck with support as he suffered through the side effects of detoxing through opioid dependency. Obviously, Eddie led the pack in making sure Buck was cared for and wasn't alone as his condition worsened before it got better. One particular moment appears to reference Buck's connection with his best friend and caught fans' attention.
During the episode, Buck plays cards with Christopher as Chimney, Hen, and Eddie look through Buck's belongings in search of hidden drugs. There's a closeup on Buck's hand of cards, which reveals he's holding a 3, two 4s, a Jack, and another 3. The order of the five cards looks an awful lot like they are meant to be spelling out E-D-D-I-E. Could this be a good sign for Buddie?
As fans have pointed out since realizing the symbolism in Buck's cards, it's highly unlikely that there would be a closeup on Buck's cards if it wasn't important for some reason, but these particular cards appear to have some meaning. The order looks deliberate, and the fact that the numbers and letters on the cards spell out Eddie's name simply can't be a coincidence.
Depending on what card game Buck and Christopher are playing, it's not like Buck has an impressive hand anyway. So, we can pretty much deduce that this is a wink and a nod toward Eddie. But what does it mean? Well, it can mean a number of things about Buck and Eddie's relationship, like Buddie could be finally happening, which would be music to shippers' ears.
This season, Buck and Eddie's lives have seemed to become more enmeshed together. They have regular dinners together with Christopher, and let's not forget, they took a cross-country road trip together (which is how Buck got into this mess in the first place). When Buck was in the throes of his drug dependency, Eddie was the first one by his side to help him through it.
While there have been instances where their platonic relationship wasn't looking so platonic, as far as how much attention they pay to each other, 911 still hasn't crossed the line in making their relationship romantic. And just because Buck was holding cards that spell out Eddie's name, that doesn't necessarily mean that the show will be making that leap.
The symbolism of the cards, which we have decided was an intentional choice, could just underscore how Eddie is always there for Buck, as his person. Whether it's in reality as Eddie tears through Buck's kitchen or an innocent card game that Eddie's not even playing, they are connected. But how much longer can 911 get away with teasing like this without actually doing something?
Buddie shouldn't be a tool that the show uses to toy with fans through Easter eggs, especially not if they aren't actually planning on moving forward with the relationship. These teases can be fun to pick up on, but at the end of the day, that's all the are: teases. There's a deep connection here for the show to work with, and now all eyes are on what happens in season 9's last three episodes.