Thinking about writing a Christopher side quest fic where he, Denny, and Harry try to solve a mystery and force May to drive them around Southern California because none of them are 16 yet hmm
okay something serious now though i want to talk about hen and karen. there was so much growth in them as foster parents. the fact that this journey started with how their first journey with their baby girl nia ended, and they were fine. they saw it as a good thing that the baby girl they wanted so badly get to stay home, and they were head strong together in their decision to move forward with mara. i love the way they wanted to give all the care and kindness from the very start to mara, but how they were also very honest with their fears and doubts, and talked to each other about it. how no matter what they wanted to put denny top of mind first
they were together through the whole thing, communicated through the whole thing, used their community, their best friends to help them through the whole thing and i adored that. they were the epitome of what it means to be good parents, and not only did we get to see that with their efforts with mara, but with also how denny was when it came to the whole experience. he was so careful and kind with her, followed his moms' lead. when he got 7 stitches, he wasn't even upset, understood that she didn't mean it. and that is just the compassion, love and understanding he has learned from and through his moms coming through
the world is a better place because of hen and karen wilson are in it. we are so lucky to have them
Everything about Mara’s backstory is absolutely heartbreaking but damn this little girl has hit the jackpot of families, baby girl you don’t know it yet but you are going to be so loved and supported and protected, and it is going to be amazing to watch you grow ❤️
Can we talk about how Denny is a national treasure too. Like, this precious baby boy, lost his little sister and was so upset by it. But he still said yes to his moms to foster more kids even though he knows none of them would stay AND is so super sweet to them as their temporary older brother 🥹. Most kids don't have empathy like he does. Denny is such a gem.
I finally got caught up on s7 of 9-1-1 and can I just say . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I'M SO GLAD FOX CANCELLED IT SO THAT ABC COULD SAVE IT!!!! Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed the show, I still loved the characters and wanted Buddie before but I feel like in a way FOX stopped trying or caring and the show started to feel different. Even after so many minutes in the first episode of s7, it felt different in the best possible way. Two episodes in and the show is the best it's been in a while and I'm so happy it was picked up by a network that saw its potential and cared. The show was starting to feel kind of stifled in a way and it wasn't the actors fault, now it feels like new life and energy was breathed into it. It reminds me of a time when 9-1-1 was at its best, s7 is already so freaking good and I can't wait for what the rest of the season and series has in store on ABC!!!!??!!!!
In season 6, both Chris and Denny were looking for their dads.
Full Disclosure: Before I delve into this parallel, I have to admit that I ABSOLUTELY LOATHED the way the Hen, Karen, Denny and Nathaniel storyline was handled and I mentioned it several times in my Season 6 -Constructive Criticisms posts (main one about stereotypes linked here). I don't believe the show did a good job of capturing most of the things they attempted to illustrate for the audience throughout the season but it's over now and there's nothing that can be done about it. Thankfully, TM is back as the ONLY SHOWRUNNER FOR SEASON 7 so he can fix the mess that was made by KR for seasons 5 & 6.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...
Over the seasons, I've found many instances where Buddie and Henren were paralleled and so were their sons, Chris and Denny. They're friends and they have been for years just like Eddie and Karen (post linked here) but they're barely shown together anymore. Was it on purpose, maybe but they along with Harry were the youngest of the 118's children until Jee-Yun was born in season 4.
IIRC, the last time Chris and Denny were shown talking to each other was in 5x10 when Hen arrived with Denny and he ran over to talk to Chris.
In season 6, they weren't shown together at all but their lives were paralleled A LOT with regards to their dads!
Reminder, Eddie calls himself Chris' father when he talks to Buck about Chris (post linked here). Even though I completed a post about the way Chris was looking for Buck in 6x11 during Buck's coma dream (linked here), I didn't notice the parallels between Chris and Denny that I'm including in this post until recently but they've been there hiding in plain sight. I think I missed them before because their scenes happened in different episodes starting in 6A and they continued through 6B.
In 6x9, Denny went off on his bike looking for his dad but he didn't tell Hen or Karen where he was going. When he arrived and Nathaniel opened the door, Denny introduced himself and said, "I think you're my dad."
Reminder, for his birthday, he asked Hen and Karen if they had any information about his birth parents and they gave him a folder. Later in the episode, he overheard Hen talking to Chimney on the phone after Eddie and Buck dropped off their four-way call and he started looking for him.
Fast forward to 6x11 and Chris was looking for his "dad" (Buck), not his father (Eddie) in Buck's coma dream. He asked Buck, "Can you help me find my dad?" but Buck told him he wasn't real which means he didn't believe Chris is already his son too even though he's been coparenting him with Eddie for six years.
Reminder, Chris already knew where Eddie was but he asked Buck to help him find his dad because Chris is the son Buck's been searching for since 3x1 - 3x3.
Both Buck and Nathaniel were in the hospital in season 6 and Chris and Denny were both upset by it. In 6x11, Chris insisted Carla take him to the hospital so he could see Buck and in 6x13, Denny and Nathaniel were in a car accident but Hen and Karen didn't know Denny had been spending time with him. Denny got upset and stopped talking to Hen and Karen because he thought they didn't care about the fact that Nathaniel might die.
In 6x10 Buck did die but Nathaniel didn't in 6x13. Chris asked Buck to come back and he did but Hen and Karen went to see Nathaniel in the hospital after Toni had a conversation with them.
The scenes above are similar for two reasons. First, they both happened in 6x13 and second both Denny and Chris were spending time ALONE with their dads. The difference is Eddie KNEW Chris was with Buck and I always wondered why he just dropped Chris off and dipped so they could bake cookies for Chris' whole class (post linked here) but it wasn't the first time he did it (and it won't be the last). The first time was in 3x1 before the Tsunami.
In the scenes below, Chris asked Buck, "Can you help me find my dad?" but after Denny knocked on Nathaniel's door and he opened it, Denny said, "I think you're my dad."
Why is this important?
It's important because Chris has always considered Buck to be his second dad/parent while Denny was looking for his dad. Buck is the one who hasn't realized he already has a son even though Nathaniel did. Reminder, Eva told Nathaniel about Denny and she showed up with him in 2x5 even though she lied to Hen and said she didn't know who his father was.
Also, Nathaniel made an agreement with Hen and Karen that he would follow their lead. He broke the agreement, they didn't.
Eddie put Buck in his will and named him to be Chris' legal guardian but he waited a whole year to tell him about it. One major difference between Buck and Nathaniel is Buck WAS ALREADY COPARENTING CHRIS WITH EDDIE! But Nathaniel was not in the picture and he hid the relationship he wanted to have with his son from Denny's mothers.
Let's be real for a minute because KR did a horrible job of making sure these parallels got recognized and it might have something to do with the fact that there was so much BS included in season 6 that it made everything EXTRA messy. From the sperm donor storyline; to interim captain to Buck wanting to be happy, Hen working towards completing medical school, AA sponsors that were created out of thin air, dating storylines that came out of nowhere, characters acting out of character... just everything overlapped and it was too difficult to determine what they were trying to do.
Will things finally be better in season 7? I hope so but only time will tell.
I was dreaming of being a doctor, but I don’t think I really considered the reality of what I’d have to give up or miss out on. Being a firefighter, being a mom, being your wife? That’s what matters to me.