So given that David and Michael got engaged during Defend In Place and had to then be written off the show mid-season, I am fairly confident that the 5x18 wedding was originally meant to be theirs. The fact that the 911 writers decided they needed a wedding anyway means that much of the season’s emotional payoff is tied to getting the 118 together at a wedding.
There are a lot of ways a wedding - any wedding - might promote storylines for other characters. We already have bts info that Bobby and Athena are going to finally take a honeymoon (and potentially set up the season 6 opening disaster), what better place than a wedding for Chim and Maddie to decide they want to give it another shot, if the BT breakup doesn’t happen in 5x17 then a wedding could be exactly what Buck needs to realize he DOESN’T want a future with Taylor, etc.
HenRen does not have any narrative urgency for a recommitment - their relationship has been strong and steady all season. There are other couples on the show who could conceivably gotten married. They could have reworked the Madney timeline so that a finale wedding made sense (admittedly, I am glad they didn’t chose this because they are doing such an awesome job of putting time and care into how Madney’s story is being told). They could have done a Toni and Clive wedding, because the 118 is tightknit and codependent enough that Hen inviting all her coworkers to her mother’s wedding would make sense for them (and it WOULD have fit season-long themes around renewal and choosing to move forward joyfully rather than getting stuck trying to make up for lost time.)
So the fact that they chose a HenRen recommitment suggests to me that a *queer* wedding specifically was necessary to wrap up this season’s storylines.
The fact that the wedding is not necessary (or originally planned for) for Hen and Karen’s storyline means that the wedding *is* necessary as a backdrop for another storyline.
The implications of the fact that the finale apparently *hinges* on a celebration of queer love has me going absolutely bonkers about Eddie’s arc this season genuinely becoming a coming out story.
Eddie is the only one of the core 5 at the 118 who DOESN’T have a relationship to reflect on at this wedding. Which means it’s likely that he’ll be thinking more about his relationship to himself - a continuation of his season-long journey that has included rejection of a heteronormative “ready made family”, a literal heart doctor telling him that he’s repressed, and going back to his family in Texas shortly after his therapist told him to confront his “first trauma”.
What I’m trying to say here is: holy forking shirtballs, we might actually be getting queer Eddie for real in the next 2 episodes.
I just want to say, I am very disappointed that we didnt get a Hen/Karen kiss last night. The conversation about having another baby should have ended with a kiss and the fact that it didn’t but we got seven thousand Buck/Ali kisses makes me livid. It barely counts as queer representation if you refuse to allow them the same level of affection that the straight couples get.
Hen & Karen Wilson being cute wives in love, in shades of bee-yellow for the most amazing B @liesoverthec!!! I am so happy you like them and I really enjoyed making these for you <3
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