9-1-1 Season 8 delivered another haunting, hilarious, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful Halloween episode — one that allowed Oliver Stark to eagerly embrace his silly side.
While Episode 5, “Masks,” gave Hen (Aisha Hinds), Karen (Tracie Thoms), and Denny (Declan Pratt) a serious scare, the show also got extremely unserious when the mummy that Buck (Stark) rented from a prop house turned out to be…a corpse.
Once Buck became convinced that the late outlaw, gunslinger, and bank robber, Billy Boils, cursed him with a face full of boils, the firefighter set out to make amends with the dead. Along the way — as is often the case in 9-1-1‘s world — he managed to find deeper meaning amidst the madness.
“[The storyline] is a little bit silly, but in the way that 9-1-1 does silly, which I think is one of its strong suits. We can dip into silliness, but it can end up quite grounded and teach these characters something of a lesson,” Stark told Decider over Zoom. “For the late Billy Boils, Buck still wants Billy to feel like he has been treated with honor and that he’d done right by him. Buck is always going to put himself out there to make sure everybody feels comfortable. In this particular case, it just happens to be with the dead.”
Nearing The End Of The Mustache Era
Before Buck’s show-stopping prop shut down the 118’s haunted house, he was happily serving up tricks and treats dressed as a cowboy — but not just any cowboy! In a comedic nod to his co-worker and best friend Eddie Diaz’s (Ryan Guzman) famous Season 8 mustache, Buck’s costume featured a big old bushy ‘stache.
“It felt fun to get in on the mustache action. I don’t think I would be able to grow one with quite the thickness of the one that Buck wears for the costume,” Stark said with a chuckle. “It was fun having the stick-on one, because it kind of alters how you talk a little bit and you can’t smile too much. I didn’t actually mind if it started to fall off in a take… I thought it would actually be quite funny if suddenly we cut to Buck and the mustache is halfway hanging off his face.”
Because 9-1-1 never goes small, Buck wasn’t the only character sporting facial hair this Halloween. When Stark watched the episode back and realized a fake ‘stache was 911 supervising dispatcher Josh’s (Bryan Safi) entire costume, he thought, “That’s a lot of mustache action!”
Since Guzman debuted his fresh facial hair ahead of Season 8, Stark said, “The mustache became a character in itself to the online community.” While showrunner Tim Minear confirmed that Eddie’s stache is “a manifestation of something that’s going on within him” and will be shaved in a pivotal upcoming episode, Stark noted that the return of Guzman’s clean shaven face wasn’t as big a deal on set.
“I think at the beginning we made something of a big deal out of it, but because it suits him so well, it became just normal day-to-day. I forgot that it was anything different from what he used to look like. And then when he did eventually shave it, I was like, ‘He’s going to look so weird without it,’” Stark said. “It turns out, he’s still just really handsome.”
Who Exactly Is The Third Wheel?
Speaking of Guzman, Episode 5 also let Eddie spend some more quality time with Buck and his boyfriend Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.). They say two’s company and three’s a crowd, but Stark told Decider he and Guzman enjoyed welcoming their new scene partner into the mix.
“It’s always nice to have more energy to bounce off of. Me and Ryan have been doing scenes for a number of years at this point, so we’re very much in step with each other,” Stark explained. “It was nice to have a fresh new energy come in and another actor to bounce off of and kind of play around with. I love those scenes between the three of them. And as I think typically happens when you have two partners and a third in a situation, one of the partners ends up being a part of most of the jokes. In this particular scenario, that is Buck’s role to take on.”
The episode shows that Eddie is so used to Buck’s antics and personality that he’s actually able to finish his sentences. Meanwhile Buck’s superstitious side was a bit of an eyebrow raiser for Tommy, who visibly struggled to accept the Billy Boils fixation and buy into the curse. By the end of the episode, however, Stark believes Tommy successfully showed up for his boyfriend.
“I think it’s pretty reasonable as a partner to be a bit taken aback if your other half is sure they’ve been cursed,” Stark laughed. “It’s understandable that he doesn’t jump right into the saddle with him and say, ‘Let’s fight the demons!’ But by the end of the episode, he’s absolutely showing up for Buck. And even if he isn’t quite onboard with it, he’s humoring Buck, at least to an extent, where he is being supportive.”
What Does 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 6 Have In Store?
Though Episode 5 ends with Buck and Tommy literally suiting up and visiting the cemetery to honor the late Billy Boils in hopes of getting the curse lifted, Stark teased hurdles ahead for the couple in Episode 6.
“It’s a case of being in a new relationship with someone and there’s more and more stuff to learn about them. Some of that stuff can be jarring and make you have to reevaluate where you are. I think that’s true of any relationship, whether that’s on television or in real life,” Stark explained. “So it’s just a reflection of those two people figuring each other out, learning more about each other, and then working out if the relationship is worth navigating those issues and fighting to stay together for.”
While Buck will likely lean on loved ones like his sister Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) for comfort and clarity, Stark also teased big changes for Eddie ahead and confirmed that he and Buck will find ways to show up for each other despite their individual struggles.
“Obviously we’ve seen Eddie be there for Buck in some sense, and in some senses also very much making fun of Buck, which I guess is in certain circles a way to show support and love,” Stark laughed. “The Eddie storyline is going to take over a little bit moving forward. Buck is going to have his own challenges to deal with. But I think what’s nice is being able to see a friendship as close as this where they can still show up for each other even though they are dealing with their own troubles and difficulties.”
9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 6 premieres Thursday, November 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC with next-day streaming on Hulu.
The post ‘9-1-1’s Oliver Stark Unpacks Buck’s “Silly” Halloween Storyline And Teases “Challenges” Ahead appeared first on Decider.
