I honestly didn't think I would ever write a review for an episode of a show I watched, and yet here I am. After watching the latest episode I just felt the urge to add my two cents and that's already telling enough. Take this from a casual viewer. One of the people who always tune in but go on with their lives after watching, not really engaging in fandom or fan theories. I only watched every episode of 911 once. No rewatches or overanalyzing any scenes. I'm more like the person from the outside looking in, pun intended.
Anyway, I was really looking forward to 5b after 5a felt like it was a whole different show. It felt oddly disconnected and I was hoping we'd get the missing pieces back this half of the season. Especially after watching the first promo. I was really hyped up but then I watched the first episode and everything went up in smoke. There are still a few episodes coming, so it could change and fuel my excitement again.
Don't get me wrong, it overall wasn't a bad episode. It had a lot of good scenes and writing too. Especially the action ones. There were some incredible stunts! The homage to the movie 'Speed' was great. I loved the acting, everyone did a fantastic job. The passion they portrayed the characters with was outstanding. Also the setting of the scenes, the angles and the lightning were amazing. The scene with Eddie and Christopher- perfect.
BUT I had really high hopes for the new female character Lucy Donato (played by an incredibly talented actress whose work I love), only for her to be reduced to yet another love interest or whatever she's supposed to be- being all over one of the main male characters within like five minutes of her introduction. Can't say I'm a fan of that, if anything I'm greatly disappointed by how that played out. I mean, seriously? That's the route you're going with her? I was looking forward to having more rep of badass female firefighters without them being tied to any male character immediately or at all. Especially in the way you did with her storyline here. It's safe to say I'm not amused.
We didn't even get to know her a little bit better and she didn't even have more than a few lines before everything went down a road I'd rather have avoided. Can't women be their own person just for once, having a separate storyline? Do they need to have a sexual attraction to the males all the time? What happened to women and men just being platonic pals? That's not uncommon, you know? You claim that two male characters (with undeniably crazy chemistry I might add) can just be platonic friends, so why can't a man and a woman too? Just asking for a friend.
And no, I'm neither a Buddie shipper nor do I ship BuckTaylor. I'm not that much of a shipper, but if I had to ship anyone, it would probably be Bobby and Athena. Not that it's important to my review but I felt like I needed to clarify.
Anyway, back to the episode. I really wish you had introduced Lucy differently. There's no doubt she would have been received way better by people if you had taken another direction with her character. You didn't even give her a chance to grow on and be liked by the audience. I'm sure she could have been (she still can be) a great addition to the show. Maybe her rocky entrance does serve a higher purpose I don't know of yet, but it still doesn't make the storyline any better. At least not for me. Of course, everyone else is entitled to have their own opinion and I'm sure there are people who might like what you did with her character so far.
Lucy and Buck kissing while he's still in a relationship with Taylor Kelly and then lying about it definitely killed the vibe. I don't know why you chose to do that, but I feel like it wasn't the best choice character-wise. Not for Lucy or for Buck.
Buck has grown so much as a character throughout the show and now it feels a little like his whole character development went down the drain just within a few minutes. Believe me when I say that I get that he isn't okay. He has a lot of trauma going on with everything he went through and yeah. Sometimes people who are in a dark place make mistakes, regress to old ways, or even do something out of character.
And yet, I feel like it still didn't have to be this way. There were other possibilities to make him realize he isn't happy with his relationship or his life in general at the moment. I know he's feeling adrift with all the changes and the people he's missing. And I also know it's a drama show but there are other ways to create said drama. It didn't have to end in a cheating arc that hurt a lot of people. It also felt kinda rushed and unnecessary. Or I just don't get the greater picture yet.
It's a good thing I'm a firm believer in second chances. People make mistakes, sometimes really bad ones. And while I think what he did isn't okay by any means, he's still redeemable. I don't give up on anyone that fast and I won't give up on Buck even though I don't like his actions.
Also it's your show and you can do whatever you want and yes, I'm still going to watch until the very end, no matter where you take it. I won't quit a show just because I don't like every single storyline. I'm aware that you can't please everyone.
That, however, doesn't mean I can't hope that you won't drag this storyline out forever because that would be something I'm really not looking forward to. Lucy and Buck being friends? Yes. I would love to see that. But Lucy and Buck becoming a thing? No, I'd be so not here for that. They don't seem to be the right fit. The possible potential gone after that introduction. And no matter what you might have in store for those two, I just can't see it going anywhere anymore. This just wasn't a great start for a possible, healthy relationship. Well, maybe that's just me again. But it just doesn't feel right for them to become a couple now. Besides, Buck dating the female version of himself- that would be kinda weird.
I feel like you always write yourself into a corner when it comes to Buck's love interests. Abby left, Ali too, Taylor Kelly doesn't make him happy even though she stays, Lucy isn't good for him, making him turn back to old ways- maybe it's a pattern and just not meant to be or there is another reason they just never work out.
At this point, I feel like you either need to write in a complete new love interest who finally completes him in all the good ways or let him stay single for a while to heal- or maybe the right person for him has been right there all along? You know who I mean. And yes, I might not be a shipper but I must have been blind not to see it. I could name countless scenes (and I only watched everything once) where I thought- wait a minute? Could there be more? Did they really just do that?
And looking back on it now, I actually think it would be a good opportunity to possibly create the greatest slow burn in history. At least it would finally be something meaningful after all the failed relationships. Maybe that's what's been missing before? Just a thought.
Who knows. I'm not the writer here, you are. But quite a lot of times it felt like it was implied that there was something deeper, something more going on between them.
Anyway, like I said. The episode wasn't all bad but there were quite a few things I thought weren't beneficial to the plot and characters and made me not overly enthusiastic for more. But again- that's just me. I don't really know where you're going to take it from here because it's only the first episode of 5b and maybe everything you did will make sense as soon as the finale airs. I really hope so.
Because right now? The show really isn't the show I used to love so much. But it doesn't have to be like that. Here's to hoping I'm gonna love it again.
Anyway, I was really looking forward to 5b after 5a felt like it was a whole different show. It felt oddly disconnected and I was hoping we'd get the missing pieces back this half of the season. Especially after watching the first promo. I was really hyped up but then I watched the first episode and everything went up in smoke. There are still a few episodes coming, so it could change and fuel my excitement again.
Don't get me wrong, it overall wasn't a bad episode. It had a lot of good scenes and writing too. Especially the action ones. There were some incredible stunts! The homage to the movie 'Speed' was great. I loved the acting, everyone did a fantastic job. The passion they portrayed the characters with was outstanding. Also the setting of the scenes, the angles and the lightning were amazing. The scene with Eddie and Christopher- perfect.
BUT I had really high hopes for the new female character Lucy Donato (played by an incredibly talented actress whose work I love), only for her to be reduced to yet another love interest or whatever she's supposed to be- being all over one of the main male characters within like five minutes of her introduction. Can't say I'm a fan of that, if anything I'm greatly disappointed by how that played out. I mean, seriously? That's the route you're going with her? I was looking forward to having more rep of badass female firefighters without them being tied to any male character immediately or at all. Especially in the way you did with her storyline here. It's safe to say I'm not amused.
We didn't even get to know her a little bit better and she didn't even have more than a few lines before everything went down a road I'd rather have avoided. Can't women be their own person just for once, having a separate storyline? Do they need to have a sexual attraction to the males all the time? What happened to women and men just being platonic pals? That's not uncommon, you know? You claim that two male characters (with undeniably crazy chemistry I might add) can just be platonic friends, so why can't a man and a woman too? Just asking for a friend.
And no, I'm neither a Buddie shipper nor do I ship BuckTaylor. I'm not that much of a shipper, but if I had to ship anyone, it would probably be Bobby and Athena. Not that it's important to my review but I felt like I needed to clarify.
Anyway, back to the episode. I really wish you had introduced Lucy differently. There's no doubt she would have been received way better by people if you had taken another direction with her character. You didn't even give her a chance to grow on and be liked by the audience. I'm sure she could have been (she still can be) a great addition to the show. Maybe her rocky entrance does serve a higher purpose I don't know of yet, but it still doesn't make the storyline any better. At least not for me. Of course, everyone else is entitled to have their own opinion and I'm sure there are people who might like what you did with her character so far.
Lucy and Buck kissing while he's still in a relationship with Taylor Kelly and then lying about it definitely killed the vibe. I don't know why you chose to do that, but I feel like it wasn't the best choice character-wise. Not for Lucy or for Buck.
Buck has grown so much as a character throughout the show and now it feels a little like his whole character development went down the drain just within a few minutes. Believe me when I say that I get that he isn't okay. He has a lot of trauma going on with everything he went through and yeah. Sometimes people who are in a dark place make mistakes, regress to old ways, or even do something out of character.
And yet, I feel like it still didn't have to be this way. There were other possibilities to make him realize he isn't happy with his relationship or his life in general at the moment. I know he's feeling adrift with all the changes and the people he's missing. And I also know it's a drama show but there are other ways to create said drama. It didn't have to end in a cheating arc that hurt a lot of people. It also felt kinda rushed and unnecessary. Or I just don't get the greater picture yet.
It's a good thing I'm a firm believer in second chances. People make mistakes, sometimes really bad ones. And while I think what he did isn't okay by any means, he's still redeemable. I don't give up on anyone that fast and I won't give up on Buck even though I don't like his actions.
Also it's your show and you can do whatever you want and yes, I'm still going to watch until the very end, no matter where you take it. I won't quit a show just because I don't like every single storyline. I'm aware that you can't please everyone.
That, however, doesn't mean I can't hope that you won't drag this storyline out forever because that would be something I'm really not looking forward to. Lucy and Buck being friends? Yes. I would love to see that. But Lucy and Buck becoming a thing? No, I'd be so not here for that. They don't seem to be the right fit. The possible potential gone after that introduction. And no matter what you might have in store for those two, I just can't see it going anywhere anymore. This just wasn't a great start for a possible, healthy relationship. Well, maybe that's just me again. But it just doesn't feel right for them to become a couple now. Besides, Buck dating the female version of himself- that would be kinda weird.
I feel like you always write yourself into a corner when it comes to Buck's love interests. Abby left, Ali too, Taylor Kelly doesn't make him happy even though she stays, Lucy isn't good for him, making him turn back to old ways- maybe it's a pattern and just not meant to be or there is another reason they just never work out.
At this point, I feel like you either need to write in a complete new love interest who finally completes him in all the good ways or let him stay single for a while to heal- or maybe the right person for him has been right there all along? You know who I mean. And yes, I might not be a shipper but I must have been blind not to see it. I could name countless scenes (and I only watched everything once) where I thought- wait a minute? Could there be more? Did they really just do that?
And looking back on it now, I actually think it would be a good opportunity to possibly create the greatest slow burn in history. At least it would finally be something meaningful after all the failed relationships. Maybe that's what's been missing before? Just a thought.
Who knows. I'm not the writer here, you are. But quite a lot of times it felt like it was implied that there was something deeper, something more going on between them.
Anyway, like I said. The episode wasn't all bad but there were quite a few things I thought weren't beneficial to the plot and characters and made me not overly enthusiastic for more. But again- that's just me. I don't really know where you're going to take it from here because it's only the first episode of 5b and maybe everything you did will make sense as soon as the finale airs. I really hope so.
Because right now? The show really isn't the show I used to love so much. But it doesn't have to be like that. Here's to hoping I'm gonna love it again.
