It’s already been a whole week sincethe tragic death of Bobby Nash(Peter Krause) on9-1-1, but it is still tough to process that this has actually happened, and to imagine where the show goes from here. Bobby has been at the center of not just9-1-1, but the 118 as well, since the very beginning of theseries. He is the heart of the show, bringing people together through love, care, and some delicious-looking food.
Bobby has a number of really incredible dynamics that will be missed, like with his wife, Athena (Angela Bassett), and his stepkids, May (Corinne Massiah) and Harry (Elijah M. Cooper). There is also a really incredible pseudo father-son dynamic between Bobby and Buck (Oliver Stark) that has been a major part of9-1-1, since the pilot episode where Bobby actually fired Buck. This made their goodbye last week all the more devastating. These are the 7 best Bobby and Buck moments in9-1-1, ranked.
7Bobby Gives Buck a Second Chance with the 118
Season 1, Episode 1
Buck is first introduced inthe pilot episode of9-1-1as an impulsive probie who, as Hen (Aisha Hinds) sums up, “lacks discipline.” As a result, Buck steals the fire engine twice, once to hook up with someone he met on a call. Fed up with Buck’s behavior and his inability to take the job seriously, Bobby fires Buck. Later, Athena (Angela Bassett) needs help with a call when nobody at the 118 is available, so Buck gets to assist her.
It is here that Buck gets the chance to redeem himself, and he does, literally using the fire truck’s hose to take down a criminal who is about to shoot Athena. When Buck goes to return the fire engine to the station, Bobby tells Buck that Athena filled him in, but he isn’t ready to give Buck another chance. Buck tells Bobby that he made the right call in firing him, and that he is still a punk, but now,“I’m a punk who understands what he lost.“This gets Bobby to rehire Buck for good.
6Bobby Opens Up to Buck About His First Loss on a Call
Season 1, Episode 2
Buck starts off the second episode of9-1-1ready to pour himself into the job after getting a second chance from Bobby. After witnessinga brutal loss on a call,Buck has a really hard time coping, and he keeps blaming himself. In order to help Buck move on from his first loss on the job, Bobby tells Buck about his own first loss on the job, and how much of a toll that it took on him.
Even after all these years, Bobby remembers all of the specific details about the first patient he lost on the job, including her full name and the drawings she had on her shoes. Season 1 is very deliberate in the scenes that it uses to build Bobby and Buck’s relationship, and this one is a perfect example.Bobby supports Buck as both his Captain and his father figure,using his own pain to help Buck work through his pain.
5"You Went Full Buck”
Season 4, Episode 14
In theSeason 4 finale of9-1-1,the 118 are shaken after Eddie (Ryan Guzman) is shot by a sniper who’s targeting firefighters. Buck is absolutely distraught after witnessing Eddie being shot and being unable to help him, so he takes an especially bold risk the next time that he’s on the job, putting himself right in the potential line of fire. Bobby is angry at Buck for doing this, so Buck goes to talk to him.
Instead of giving Buck his usual speech, Bobby tells Buck that he’s accepted that Buck is going to make risky decisions on calls, and that he’s not trying to change him anymore. Bobby then tells Buck,“I know whatever actions you take, no matter how dangerous or impulsive they may be, they come from your heart because you care.“Bobby then points out how that wasn’t the case in this situation, and he’s upset that Buck intentionally put himself at risk. This scene shows that even when Bobby is mad at Buck, he really cares about him, and he can still see things from Buck’s perspective.
4Buck Has a Hilarious Cut-Out Made of Bobby
Season 3, Episode
One of Bobby and Buck’s funniest scenes occurs shortly after the 118 tends to a group of figure skaters who got injured while performing a routine. Bobby casually mentions that he was a competitive figure skater as a child, and in true Buck fashion, Buck doesn’t let this go. He reaches out to Bobby’s former figure skating partner from childhood and then gets ahold of a photo of Bobby back then.
As if that weren’t enough,Buck has the photo printed as a life-size cut-out and brings it to the firehouse. It is an absolutely hilarious scene, and Bobby is a great sport, having a good laugh and defending his hairstyle back then. In spite of working such a dangerous and often emotional job, Bobby and Buck have a number of comedic moments, and this ability to joke around with each other is an important part of their relationship.
3Bobby Ties Buck’s Tie Before a Big Date
Season 1, Episode 7
Although Buck and Abby (Connie Britton) were not a good fit as a couple, their relationship was a significant part of Buck’s character arc in Season 1. As such, their first big date on Valentine’s Day is a huge deal for Buck, so Bobby helps him get ready. Bobby ties Buck’s tie for him, and then he gives Buck advice when Buck is worried about messing things up during his date with Abby.
Bobby advices Buck to take things slow and focus on getting to know Abby, and while it’s a funny moment between the two of them, it is so sweet to see themacting like such a father-son duo here.Buck credits Abby with a lot of his transition away from being Buck 1.0, but this advice from Bobby is a big part of that, and Buck takes it with himin all of his future relationshipsafter she leaves him.
2Buck and Bobby Talk After Buck’s Coma Dream
Season 6, Episode
Looking back on Buck’s post-lightning-strike coma dream now, it’s an absolute Buck punch to see Buck imagine a worldwhere Bobby has died,as well as to see him conclude that he can’t bear a world in which that happens. In Buck’s coma dream, he meets a deceased Bobby, who gets him to realize that he’s in a coma. It is this push from Bobby in his subconscious that makes it possible for Buck to later escape, while quoting his Captain himself:“There is not a locked room anywhere, that with the right tools and enough time, you can’t break into.”
After Buck finally wakes up in the hospital, he and Bobby get a moment alone to talk while Bobby is sitting at his bedside. The two play cards while Buck tells Bobby some of the details about his coma dream.Buck can’t bring himself to tell Bobby that he had died in it,because it was too painful for him to put to words. Still, Bobby listens and helps Buck work through what everything in the dream meant. When Bobby says he can’t believe Buck chose to leave a world where he could fix everything, Buck says, “Not everything,” making it clear that Bobby being alive is the most important thing to him.
1Buck Expresses Concern for Bobby’s Health
Season 3, Episode 10
Another storyline that is absolutely devastatingafter watching “Lab Rats"is Bobby’s exposure to radiation in Season 3. Bobby has to wait a while afterward to see if this has given him cancer, and one day, while at work, his nose suddenly starts bleeding. Buck is really worried about the nosebleed, which makes sense now, because a nosebleed was involved in what actually killed Bobby. Back then, though, it’s a touching moment where Buck just worries about Bobby.
Buck then tells Bobby how important he is to him, and that “I don’t know what I would do if anything were to happen to you.” It’s so heartbreaking now,knowing that Buck will have to deal with losing Bobby just five years later.On its own, though, this scene is the perfect combination of funny and emotional, and it shows just how much Buck and Bobby mean to each other.
Keep Reading:“I Will Miss All My ‘9-1-1’ Family”: Series Star Shares Devastating Letter Following His Season 8 Exit
