Kenneth Choi has praised the creator of 9-1-1 for Buck and Tommy’s romance journey.
On 2 May, fans were treated to the epic return of the show’s seventh season following its three-week hiatus.
In the sixth episode, titled ‘There Goes the Groom,’ the Station 118 team frantically search for Howard “Chimney” Han after he fails to show up to his bachelor party and wedding to Maddie Buckley (Jennifer Love Hewitt).
Amid the city-wide search, Chimney is shown dealing with life-threatening visions of Maddie’s kidnapper, Doug Kennedy, which is due to him having a mysterious case of amnesia.
Fortunately, the beloved firefighter is found by his late foster brother’s parents, who bring him to a hospital to treat him for viral encephalitis.
Ultimately, Chimney and Maddie have their wedding in the former’s hospital room.
In addition to the aforementioned storyline, the exciting episode dived deeper into Buck and Tommy’s budding romance.
After Maddie and Chimney say “I do,” Buck excuses himself to meet up with the LAFD Air Operations pilot, who was on call during the whole ordeal.
“Sorry I’m late, that fire was a beast,” Tommy exclaimed as he walked into the hospital. In response, Buck gave his love interest a passionate and steamy kiss.
However, when the pair return to Chimney’s hospital room, their relationship is inadvertently outed after the Station 118 crew notice the same spot on Buck’s face.
View this post on Instagram
The moment was an immediate hit with fans, who took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their excitement.
One fan wrote: “The way Buck and Tommy’s relationship was revealed is so HILARIOUS like that’s such a classic 911 chaotic silly storyline.”
Another viewer echoed similar sentiments, tweeting, “Buck accidentally coming out AGAIN. He’s the definition of disaster bi.”
Fans weren’t the only ones to embrace Buck’s adorable coming out moment.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Choi gushed about the scene, praising the show’s co-creator, Tim Minear, for bringing a romantic comedy element to the reveal and the pair’s relationship.
“I think it was the brilliance of Tim. Even introducing the storyline of Buck and Tommy, he said, ‘I don’t want it to be this very special episode of 9-1-1. I’m going to make this a f***ing romantic comedy, man. You won’t see it coming. It’ll come out of left field,'” he explained.
“And I think that’s the same thing he did with the revelation. There’s no sit down, there’s no big discussion or talk about it. It’s what it would be. This guy has found love fin[ally]… well, I think love finally.”
View this post on Instagram
Choi went on to praise the subtleness of Buck’s second coming out moment, adding that it was the perfect example of Minear’s one-of-a-kind storytelling ability.
“That’s the beauty of Tim Minear’s craft. He knows how to convey a story, and he doesn’t clobber you over the head at it. He comes in a different way where you don’t expect it,” he concluded.
Choi’s recent statement comes a few weeks after Stark opened up to GAY TIMES about Buck’s critically acclaimed coming-out journey, which started in the show’s milestone 100th episode.
“There have been different emotions. At first, it was really lovely and then it got a bit overwhelming, almost. I felt a lot of… It’s just a lot of emotions that have come with it, right?” he explained.
“I’m so happy that the response has been as positive as it has and obviously there are a few people who want to speak against it, as you get with any storyline anyway, but it’s almost been overwhelming.
“It’s been a lot to take in, but for the majority, it’s been really lovely and positive and I’ve been really proud of it.”
Click here to check out Stark’s full interview.