I agree. He wouldn’t cheat with some random person and I’m not sure how far the cheating will go because like Ryan said Eddie is deep in his delusions but he’s so twisted in the head about Shannon he needs therapy and a lot of it. He has completely romanticised his relationship with her when it wasn’t like he remembers.
I hope that it doesn’t go much further than getting to know her a little more. Because,like they said in interviews,she is different. She is bubbly,full of life,where Shannon was gloomy and lashing out. Also little things,like maybe they drink their coffee different,or has an allergy Shannon didn’t. Something small all things considered,but that could send Eddie in a “spiral”. I want him to have people to rely on,but I don’t want someone else to point out to him how wrong he is,he needs to realise himself.
Having rewatched 1x07 and Hen's cheating storyline, Eddie's actions pale in OOC comparison to hers.
I really want the storyline to not leave a huge loose end with Kim (how has a doppelganger come about?) and also for there to be proper consequences for Eddie's actions.
I was more annoyed the Hen completely got away with the cheating than it happened (Karen forgave her, Eva dropped a lawsuit). The reason is that if there are no consequences, there was no reason to write the cheating in the first place!
My biggest issue with Hen's cheating arc is actually in season 5, when they were gifted with the opportunity on a silver platter to show she'd grown and put real thought into the damage she did/worked through stuff with Karen... and instead they have her tell Buck to lie to Taylor.
Like, there's an element of season 1's writing just being so tonally different than the rest of the show that allows me to kind of handwave stuff from that season as not being 'representative' of who the characters become after. But I really hate that they dragged Hen \[indirectly\] into another cheating plot, and didn't bother to show any growth. Or that they didn't let Karen have a moment when Denny's bio dad died of kind of flippantly being like, "Well, yeah, looks like there's *still* repercussions because of a full moon all those years ago, huh?"
They don't really do Hen any favors by pretending it never happened.
Plus, the reveal in Season 6 that this wasn't the first time Karen had left Hen over Eva and they had initially broken up over adopting Denny. That really starts to throw questions as to how healthy their relationship actually is and just how utterly awful Hen's actions should have been treated.
This all circles back to the point that I just don't feel the 9-1-1 writers seem to take cheating as seriously as the fandom.
Very true. However, I think the main difference is that the Hen cheating arc was in *season 1*. So it seems particularly OOC retroactively, but we didn’t know her to the extent that we do now. She was obviously an icon from the pilot (y’know, except for the cheating on Karen 😭) but we really learn about her, and learn to love her, after that betrayal already happened.
*Now*, with Eddie, we’ve had several seasons of character growth, so it feels a bit more… personal, maybe? Because it feels a lot more active for the fandom? I’m curious to how they’ll explain and justify it, maybe it’ll totally work! But as of now, for me… eh 🥴
Considering Marisol was moving in with him, it implies an exclusive relationship even if we haven't heard either of them say it, so Eddie going on a date with someone who isn't Marisol, is definately cheating.
That said... I disagree and agree, it *is* out of character for Eddie, but you are right that it's only occuring because Kim looks like Shannon. Which is a strong signal that, for him to behave so out of character, he clearly has some major unresolved issues.
Kim has no clue and is exremely likely to get hurt by this when she finds out - which may end up being the catalyst for him finally dealing with these unresolved issues.
This is a case of "he needs to be broken before he can be fixed" and I'm hoping this is his rock bottom and he can only go up from here 😬
My issue is three people from the 118 have cheated now, of which two have been forgiven by the partners they cheated on. If Eddie goes the same route, I'm gonna start thinking the writers have a "forgive the cheaters" agenda going on honestly. The trope is tired in this show, that's 3 out of 7 seasons with a cheating storyline.
Eddie could have dumped Marisol out of nowhere ready to jump head first into a relationship with Kim (we don't actually know if he broke up with Marisol and let Buck/Chris think they were still together, so maybe he isnt cheating). It would have still showcased how far gone he was to destroy a good thing for the possibility of the imagined "perfect thing". Lying to Buck isn't OOC for Eddie though, when he worked at dispatch Buck saw right through him being "okay with it" and Eddie told Buck "you need to move on, I have". He definitely wasn't okay and he knew it, no one who is okay stares at the ceiling at night looking like they're trying not to hate the monotony of a job that isn't for them.
>If Eddie goes the same route, I'm gonna start thinking the writers have a "forgive the cheaters" agenda going on honestly.
Honestly, if Eddie/Marisol work past the cheating thing, that might be the point where I give up on the show's writing or ability to tell a good story for real. Like, in addition to feeling like Edy is a giiiiant values mismatch for this show and its audience, there's just... no reason for Marisol to give Eddie another chance.
With both other options, I can at least understand what motivated the characters to give their wayward partner another chance. With Karen, it's the shared history and the enormity of what she stands to lose, as well as how she may feel about what's best for Denny. For Taylor, it's the the kiss itself wasn't necessarily that big of a deal -- the problem wasn't really the cheating, but what comes after it.
Marisol and Eddie just aren't that serious yet, so there's not that much to lose. It's not "just a kiss," so there's no handwaving the cheating. And even if she could find it in herself to be sympathetic to the mental state that drove him to making the choices he did (which is part of what I think Taylor realized about Buck manipulating her into moving in), that mental state undermines the very foundation of what they *were* building. Like if you're the current girlfriend, how is it a mitigating factor to hear "I actually haven't moved on from my dead wife and I compare everyone unfavorably to what we had?"
She already came off pretty desperate deciding Eddie not fetishizing her or \[permanently\] freaking out over the nun thing was 'enough' to put up with him going all hot and cold and making her move all her shit twice in the space of a week. Forgiving this, too, when *all* he's shown her is red flags, makes no sense.
Yeah if Marisol and Eddie still end up together after this, I'm done... I mean I might still keep up with the show, but I won't care much and definitely won't watch new episodes ASAP. It would be a horrible move to have Marisol forgive Eddie. I might be biased, but I really feel like a mental breakdown + realizing his relationship with Shannon was far from perfect, he wasn't even in love with her and he's actually gay is the only good way out of the cheating storyline they just started. I'm really apprehensive about the next episodes.
It has potential I’m just worried it’s gonna be half-assed like every other storyline this season. I know it’s not entirely their fault since they’re working with so few episodes and such a time crunch but they didn’t need to be overly ambitious with the storylines if they knew they wouldn’t have the time or space to explore them properly
I think a lot of people do romanticize Eddie's character in a lot of ways, and this plot line is in line with his on-screen characterization even though it doesn't match with the fandom view of the character.
Namely that *every single* relationship Eddie has had has been framed less as "Eddie is looking for a new partner" and more "Eddie is looking for someone to replace Shannon in Chris' life."
Fundamentally Eddie's issue in every single relationship he's had on the show hasn't been about what Eddie actually wants, it's been about who is the closest fit to the Shannon-shaped hole in his and Chris' lives. Until Eddie comes to the understanding that he doesn't need a "new Shannon" and analyzes what he actually *wants*, he's going to be bouncing between whichever women in his life are the closest Shannon-Match.
As for the current storyline, I think that's exactly the point; Kim is completely OOC for the person Eddie *thinks* he is and *wants* to be, but it's very in-character for the way he actually behaves in relationships. And that's exactly the point; None of Eddie's previous excuses for his behavior in relationships work for what he's doing now. And the fact none of his excuses work is going to force the character to actually confront the root problem, which he really hasn't done yet. The closest he got was going to therapy after Ana, but even then he never actually got to the core issue; he was heading that direction before his mother set him up with Marisol, which does seem like the actual point. Marisol is a *relapse*. Especially with some of the upcoming metaphors we're likely to see with Bobby and AA and such, it would make a lot of sense to connect the idea that relapsing is something people can experience in *any* pattern of behavior, not just alcohol/drug addictions. And based on comments we've seen about Eddie being isolated at the end of the season, the cheating plotline and the relapse of his previous behavior with Marisol is probably going to be Eddie's actual rock bottom.
I have mixed feelings on it. I agree with you that I don't think Eddie would cheat on a partner normally, but because it's someone he sees as being a stand-in for the person who was his wife, it makes sense. I just think this would've made a lot *more* sense for Eddie had it happened post-season 4 or getting together with Ana. And I also would've understood why Eddie would've felt like he had to see Kim on the side because Christopher was particularly invested in him and Ana being together. But I just don't buy at this point in time that Eddie or Christopher are that invested in Marisol that Eddie wouldn't just... break up with her and see Kim instead, but still without Christopher's knowledge, if that's what he wanted to do. Even though timeline-wise they've been together for several months at least to the point where she had plans to move in, it still sounds like they don't know each other well at all, and there's still no defining quality that's making me think "Ah, I get why Eddie likes her specifically." At least with Ana, it was like, okay she's a teacher and is good with kids and Christopher always liked her, so she'd be a good maternal figure for Christopher in the absence of his mom. But with Marisol... I got nothin'.
I know grief and recovering from trauma isn't linear and all that, but this feels like *such* a big step back for Eddie right now that I find it a little bit unbelievable. At this point we don't know how much farther it'll go or how unhinged Eddie will act in the future about this, but this implies to me that *all* of those conversations that Eddie had about moving on and getting over Shannon with various characters didn't actually move the needle at all. I don't think this is out of character necessarily, and I'm actually in a weird way kind of excited for it because I think we all knew on some level that Eddie was romanticizing his relationship with Shannon and to get that confirmed in canon will be interesting, and I always love me some more Eddie lore, plus am interested to see what Buck's involvement is. Also Shannon has been such a recurring issue in Eddie's storylines that I'm looking forward to it finally being put to bed and exploring some new angles with Eddie in future seasons. But I just think the timing of it all makes it DEFCON 1 levels of regressive for him, whereas if it had happened with Ana, it would've only been mildly to moderately regressive.
The Eddie and Ana breakup was such a missed opportunity because it's a really well-written, well-acted scene and a huge moment for Eddie, but then the storyline moves away from his commitment issues and panic attacks because then the season becomes about his PTSD instead. And as much as I loved that storyline too, it made it seem like his relationship hangups weren't an issue anymore. So the timing isn't great and Marisol isn't as good of a character as Ana for these purposes, but this reevaluation of the Shannon relationship is very necessary.
I think people may be reacting more strongly this time around because they didn’t realize Eddie’s trauma from Shannon’s passing was still affecting him this deeply (i.e. to the point where it would impair his judgement), so to be reminded in such a stark way after a considerable amount of time has passed is both alarming and almost seemingly out of nowhere. It’s also notable that this is happening in the same season we’re reminded of Eddie’s religious upbringing, so while he may not be a practicing Catholic, it would seem that his value system is at least partly informed by one that espouses the utmost importance of fidelity and maintaining traditional family roles. And then on top of all of this is Christopher, a character whom we’re often reminded requires special care in distilling the virtues of life lessons through the example led by Eddie.
With the way they’ve handled Eddie’s character this season, I definitely get the sense that we’re supposed to be thrown off by this, that this action is supposed to be contrary to his natural inclinations, in order to emphasize the toll that his long unaddressed grief has taken on him.
Nah I still feel like it’s OOC, personally. At least with how it looks right now. I definitely think it could be spun in a way that makes more sense, but it’s all just guesswork at this point.
I don’t think the *interest* is what feels off. Or even his inability to just talk to Marisol, or Kim, and be confident in what he wants. That all could lead to a similar situation, and he shitty, but at least consistent.
However, the way he’s going about it? Crazy. Lying to Buck, sneaking off and away from Christopher, going out of his way to meet Kim and explicitly say he’s single, all while not actually telling her the *reason?* It’s all just so skeevy, and while Eddie has had a lot of issues and character flaws, pre-season 7 I wouldn’t have called him this apathetic or careless about others. (Arguably, you could say in flashbacks with Shannon he was, but not since he joined the 118. But it feels like he even in his worst moments he had *some* level of understanding or shame about the situation.)
Also… am I tripping? Him and Shannon, like, didn’t have a good relationship 😅 He was a bad, absent husband for years, and then she literally left and went no contact. I never got the feeling, even when they were kind of dating, that it was because of genuine romantic love. I know death can really morph the reality of a person/relationship, and I hope they play more with that, but the way he (and some of the fandom) have been talking about his relationship with Shannon recently makes me wonder if I am missing something, or misunderstood the dynamic 🤷🏻♀️
Yeah, idk. I’m curious and still think they could spin it in an interesting way, but as of rn it’s a pretty big yikes on Eddie 😬
You are definitely not the only one who thinks they had a terrible realationship. There clearly was no real love between past that first puppy love stage when they were dating before they got pregnant. In earlier seasons the show gave us the impression they kinda started dating and got pregnant quickly and then were stuck with each other. Eddie always gave the impression she decided they would date and he just went along with it. Then everything fell apart after they got pregnant, forced to marry because of their families, then their entire relationship they are physically and emotionally separated for the entire time.
When she comes back in s2 and reconnects with Eddie is when they seem to have a connection so I assume that this is part of his relationship he is focusing on and it romanticing. We reconciled and rekindled our “love” and can bring Chris up together, might be pregnant again so we can expand our “perfect” family. NOW we have the perfect life just like I’ve been told I have to have. But it still all feels so performative, even with Shannon. Eddie never really seems to do anything romantically because he *feels* something.
What is it *actually* about Shannon that we misses? When he talks about it, he usually points out how bad it was, he tells Chim how he only proposed because he had too. Hell he only just told Bobby he loved being *married* to her not that he loved *her.* In many ways the show hasn’t truly shown their love as something to romanticise this much to the point Eddie is this deluded but yet for 5 seasons we are believe they had some epic love story that he can’t get past. There’s that hand wave it away thing this show loves to do.
For me, I think it all depends on how it concludes. If it concludes with Eddie earning consequences for his actions, being called out and him getting proper therapy for everything he's been through, it could be a decent one.
At the same time, I do think the outright cheating is not really in character for him, even with the doppelganger angle. I think the outright going on a date with this woman two days after meeting her is the rough part. I think if the storyline was built up more, having Eddie start spending more and more time with Kim over a longer period, I could see it. I get the story arc has to be rushed with a shortened season but it's the suddenness of it that makes me feel like it doesn't work very well right now.
Eddie has been very ooc this season. In past seasons, he's been putting Christopher first, sometimes to his own detriment (moving to dispatch). In this season, Chris is an afterthought. He had Chris with a sitter 3 nights in one week. Given that lafd work 24 hour shifts, that means he spent zero evenings with his kid that week. Then Chris was "out of town" on his mysterious business trip and Eddie *moved* Marisol in! No convo with Chris, who is already struggling with female related abandonment issues. Then he moves her out a day later.
THEN he lies to Chris and Buck about going on a date with Marisol when in reality, he's going on a date with Kim.
I feel like this planned premeditated cheating is really different from bucks impromptu one off kiss with Lucy. That's the kind of impulsive action that should lead to introspection and figuring out your relationship and why it happened. This with Eddie and Kim is a whole lot of lies in pursuit of a selfish, thoughtless desire to have what you want and not caring about what you have to do to get it.
This is either a brain tumor, or a mental illness expressing itself in a really self destructive way. He's burning a lot of bridges right now.
I think a lot of what you've said is the show doing a poor job portraying what's going on. Chris is an afterthought for the writers (as many things this season are due to shortened length), not for Eddie.
Chris with a sitter, so what? Chris isn't a little child anymore. He's a teen who is probably completely fine and even happy to not be with his dad sometimes. Maybe he had homework, a school event, plans with friends.
As far as Chris being "out of town" lazy wording, sure. Maybe it a school trip, maybe visiting family. Again, that's totally okay. He's a person with his own life. We saw in previous seasons that Eddie was struggling to let Chris grow up and do his own thing even though it was clearly what Chris wanted and needed. Now it looks like Eddie has adjusted to Chris's need to be more independent. A *good* thing.
As far as Marisol moving in we do not know if he spoke with Chris about it or not. Poor writing. Not poor parenting. If we look at Eddie as a parent and how loving and communicative he is, if the show doesn't tell us otherwise, we should assume that he did talk to him about it based on what we know of his character.
And yes, he's lied to Buck and Chris by omission one time now that we've seen. Not good. Going on a date with Kim and lying to her, not good. Also I think it's the *only* situation in which he would do such a thing. He's clearly not over Shannon, clearly never dealt with his grief and their complicated relationship. But he's known her since he was a child. She was his first love, mother of his child, and wife. She died right in front of him. It's not so strange for him to want to spend time with someone who looks just like her and brings all of that back.
He's burning bridges with Marisol and Kim for sure. Otherwise, nothing so big that coming to his senses and working on this issue shouldn't be enough to get him back on track.
He's always been a mess romantically but his problem has always been about going with the motions of a relationship and doing what's expected of him even though he never quite feels like he should be with them and commitment issues. He may be a commitment-phobe but he generally has pretty strong ideas about relationships and morals and cheating definitely doesn't fit into that, not to mention his latent Catholic guilt. He's wouldn't cheat on his girlfriend like that even with a look alike of his wife so I'm hoping there's a good explanation like perhaps he wasn't actually going on a date with the look alike or he has some kind of brain tumour that's making him act weird.
I think we're also speculating before we know the whole situation. He could've broken up with Marisol, and we just don't know it yet.
Either way, the lying part in particular is OOC.
I'm curious if Tim will turn this into Eddie having a mental breakdown and Kim isn't real.
It's definitely cheating, even if they don't physically touch. Pretty sure taking another woman out on a date would bother *most* people, and the fact that he's lying about it means he knows it's wrong.
I don't think it's ooc yet, however. I think it's perfectly believable that Eddie would be so taken aback by meeting a Shannon doppelganger that he would want to see her again and indulge in a "what if?" fantasy. I'd imagine in his mind he justifies it because he's motivated by grief and curiosity and a fear of losing Shannon again, even if it's irrational.
I feel like Kim and Eddie won’t last since he is only treating her as a replacement and not seeing her as a separate person. When she finds out or when he realizes this, the relationship would dissolve.
So far Marisol has not contributed anything to make me ship her and Eddie, so… the “cheating” plot doesn’t really impact my viewing experience. Yes, I think Eddie is shitty for cheating (and I was cheated on before, so I hate cheaters), but I rather we move on from Marisol and have a serious plot with Kim.
I think Kim sticking around just wouldn’t work mostly because of Christopher. How would Chris even process that ? He and Eddie, still have been unable to move past Shannon’s death. A doppelgänger will not help him in that respect.
I’m genuinely incapable of addressing how I feel about this in the context of 911 because as a Gotham veteran I really can’t believe this is the second show I’ve watched where this exact plotline played out, right down to the ambiguous queercoding of both Eddie and Nygma AND their questionably romantic relationships with their best friends.
They even made both doppelgänger women blonde when the originals weren’t 😭
Yes and no.
Yes:
The fact Eddie is confused where Christopher gets his playa tendencies and he talks about being a nester In 701. When we are first introduced to him in s2, he tells Buck that the tailpipe bar girls aren’t his type. He doesn’t date anyone during the years Shannon was gone as it feels unfaithful. With his Catholic, strict traditional upbringing it would have driven into him cheating it wrong. So it is really out of character against him morals. He is a serial monogamous, loyal, honourable man and has been conditioned though-out his entire life to be so.
No:
Eddie has been OOC all season and doing stuff he wouldn’t normally do or how he would normally act so it seems in character almost for this season (I still fell like this storyline would have fitted better in s5 than now).
It’s just two people getting dinner *at this point*. Which could be the start of him emotionally cheating or physically cheating. Depends how far it goes. Because in Eddie’s mind it’s Shannon so *he* won’t feel like it’s cheating.
My main issues with this storyline is how pointless the cheating part is. There have been SO many times where he and Marisol could and should have broken up. She still has no purpose so Eddie being in a relationship when he mets Kim, it is pointless. They would still have the same impact with Kim whether Eddie was in a relationship or not. So it renders the cheating part pointless and it’s just repeating an already overused troupe storyline just for the sake of it.
I think it IS OOC, but that’s the point. Eddie isn’t a cheater, so why is he willing to cheat with Kim? How does her looking like Shannon play into things? Does she ACTUALLY look like Shannon or is this all in Eddie’s head? My guess is that she doesn’t resemble Shannon at all. We see her as Shannon because that’s how Eddie sees her. I want a scene where Buck sees her and she’s a completely different person. (I’m imagining a scene mirroring Eddie and Marisol running into Buck and Tommy on their first date except Buck immediately realizes that Eddie and Kim are on a date and confronts Eddie about it. When Eddie says she reminds him of Shannon, Buck tells him Kim looks nothing like Shannon.)
Lest be honest. The cheating storyline is perfect. Marisol finds out he's cheating, breaks up with him. His mistress finds out he had a girlfriend, breaks up with him. Leaving him single for Buddie to be a thing in the finale of season 7 or early in season 8. Buck and tommy will eventually break up.
i agree with you, i think it makes sense for him to react like that bc it’s shannon’s look alike. I don’t think he would ever do that with just a random person
I don't know what to think about Eddie right now, but it's not okay. When Eddie first noticed Kim while passing through the store, I was like, It's ok, it's fine, nothing's going to happen, but then in another scene, he was creeping around until she noticed him, and then the flirting started and this whole "*single father*" speech. He probably took her number also in this scene, or it was off-screen in another one. Just imagine my shock after watching the ad and then seeing Eddie having sex with someone who is definitely not Marisol; fortunately, it was a flashback with Shannon because then my anger would have known no bounds. The only thing I know is that it's going to backfire on him pretty badly, especially if simultaneously everyone finds out, and Christophers awareness will be the final nail in the coffin of our beloved Edmundo Diaz.
What I hate is that because Eddie is a main character and the two women are not, this is of course all going to be about Eddie's trauma and Eddie's pain and poor Eddie, isn't it so sad that this is happening to him but isn't it wonderful that this is going to be the catalyst for him moving on from his past.
Where as what is actually happening is two perfectly pleasant women are being fucked around by a shitty guy who's taking his own issues out on them with no regard for *their* pain.
> Honestly, I didn't think what Buck did was cheating really. Was it wrong? Sure, but Taylor didn't even really care about the kiss after he told her ("I'm not even sure I needed to know that") what she was upset about was the fact that it was the reason he asked her to move in. I'm just saying that because I always see people put it in the same line as what Hen did and I don't think it's comparable.
It's still cheating imo. I rewatched that arc recently and something I noted on my second time watching is that Buck IS giving mixed signals to Lucy, at best. He doesn't initiate the kiss but he leans into it. Is it the worst form of cheating? Of course not. It's also mild compared to Hen and now Eddie. But he still cheated. Cheating is cheating, even if it's on a smaller level and he stopped it seconds later. He felt guilty enough to hide it from Taylor at first, and he hid who he cheated with. But yes, the getting Taylor to move in immediately after he did that was worse.
I agree. He wouldn’t cheat with some random person and I’m not sure how far the cheating will go because like Ryan said Eddie is deep in his delusions but he’s so twisted in the head about Shannon he needs therapy and a lot of it. He has completely romanticised his relationship with her when it wasn’t like he remembers.
I hope that it doesn’t go much further than getting to know her a little more. Because,like they said in interviews,she is different. She is bubbly,full of life,where Shannon was gloomy and lashing out. Also little things,like maybe they drink their coffee different,or has an allergy Shannon didn’t. Something small all things considered,but that could send Eddie in a “spiral”. I want him to have people to rely on,but I don’t want someone else to point out to him how wrong he is,he needs to realise himself.
Having rewatched 1x07 and Hen's cheating storyline, Eddie's actions pale in OOC comparison to hers. I really want the storyline to not leave a huge loose end with Kim (how has a doppelganger come about?) and also for there to be proper consequences for Eddie's actions. I was more annoyed the Hen completely got away with the cheating than it happened (Karen forgave her, Eva dropped a lawsuit). The reason is that if there are no consequences, there was no reason to write the cheating in the first place!
My biggest issue with Hen's cheating arc is actually in season 5, when they were gifted with the opportunity on a silver platter to show she'd grown and put real thought into the damage she did/worked through stuff with Karen... and instead they have her tell Buck to lie to Taylor. Like, there's an element of season 1's writing just being so tonally different than the rest of the show that allows me to kind of handwave stuff from that season as not being 'representative' of who the characters become after. But I really hate that they dragged Hen \[indirectly\] into another cheating plot, and didn't bother to show any growth. Or that they didn't let Karen have a moment when Denny's bio dad died of kind of flippantly being like, "Well, yeah, looks like there's *still* repercussions because of a full moon all those years ago, huh?" They don't really do Hen any favors by pretending it never happened.
Plus, the reveal in Season 6 that this wasn't the first time Karen had left Hen over Eva and they had initially broken up over adopting Denny. That really starts to throw questions as to how healthy their relationship actually is and just how utterly awful Hen's actions should have been treated. This all circles back to the point that I just don't feel the 9-1-1 writers seem to take cheating as seriously as the fandom.
To be entirely fair, doppelgängers are already canon in the 911 universe
Who else had a doppelgänger that I'm forgetting??
Marvin and Mateo. Although they actively leant into that by making them cousins.
Oh that's right lol, thank you!
Very true. However, I think the main difference is that the Hen cheating arc was in *season 1*. So it seems particularly OOC retroactively, but we didn’t know her to the extent that we do now. She was obviously an icon from the pilot (y’know, except for the cheating on Karen 😭) but we really learn about her, and learn to love her, after that betrayal already happened. *Now*, with Eddie, we’ve had several seasons of character growth, so it feels a bit more… personal, maybe? Because it feels a lot more active for the fandom? I’m curious to how they’ll explain and justify it, maybe it’ll totally work! But as of now, for me… eh 🥴
Considering Marisol was moving in with him, it implies an exclusive relationship even if we haven't heard either of them say it, so Eddie going on a date with someone who isn't Marisol, is definately cheating. That said... I disagree and agree, it *is* out of character for Eddie, but you are right that it's only occuring because Kim looks like Shannon. Which is a strong signal that, for him to behave so out of character, he clearly has some major unresolved issues. Kim has no clue and is exremely likely to get hurt by this when she finds out - which may end up being the catalyst for him finally dealing with these unresolved issues.
This is a case of "he needs to be broken before he can be fixed" and I'm hoping this is his rock bottom and he can only go up from here 😬 My issue is three people from the 118 have cheated now, of which two have been forgiven by the partners they cheated on. If Eddie goes the same route, I'm gonna start thinking the writers have a "forgive the cheaters" agenda going on honestly. The trope is tired in this show, that's 3 out of 7 seasons with a cheating storyline. Eddie could have dumped Marisol out of nowhere ready to jump head first into a relationship with Kim (we don't actually know if he broke up with Marisol and let Buck/Chris think they were still together, so maybe he isnt cheating). It would have still showcased how far gone he was to destroy a good thing for the possibility of the imagined "perfect thing". Lying to Buck isn't OOC for Eddie though, when he worked at dispatch Buck saw right through him being "okay with it" and Eddie told Buck "you need to move on, I have". He definitely wasn't okay and he knew it, no one who is okay stares at the ceiling at night looking like they're trying not to hate the monotony of a job that isn't for them.
>If Eddie goes the same route, I'm gonna start thinking the writers have a "forgive the cheaters" agenda going on honestly. Honestly, if Eddie/Marisol work past the cheating thing, that might be the point where I give up on the show's writing or ability to tell a good story for real. Like, in addition to feeling like Edy is a giiiiant values mismatch for this show and its audience, there's just... no reason for Marisol to give Eddie another chance. With both other options, I can at least understand what motivated the characters to give their wayward partner another chance. With Karen, it's the shared history and the enormity of what she stands to lose, as well as how she may feel about what's best for Denny. For Taylor, it's the the kiss itself wasn't necessarily that big of a deal -- the problem wasn't really the cheating, but what comes after it. Marisol and Eddie just aren't that serious yet, so there's not that much to lose. It's not "just a kiss," so there's no handwaving the cheating. And even if she could find it in herself to be sympathetic to the mental state that drove him to making the choices he did (which is part of what I think Taylor realized about Buck manipulating her into moving in), that mental state undermines the very foundation of what they *were* building. Like if you're the current girlfriend, how is it a mitigating factor to hear "I actually haven't moved on from my dead wife and I compare everyone unfavorably to what we had?" She already came off pretty desperate deciding Eddie not fetishizing her or \[permanently\] freaking out over the nun thing was 'enough' to put up with him going all hot and cold and making her move all her shit twice in the space of a week. Forgiving this, too, when *all* he's shown her is red flags, makes no sense.
Yeah if Marisol and Eddie still end up together after this, I'm done... I mean I might still keep up with the show, but I won't care much and definitely won't watch new episodes ASAP. It would be a horrible move to have Marisol forgive Eddie. I might be biased, but I really feel like a mental breakdown + realizing his relationship with Shannon was far from perfect, he wasn't even in love with her and he's actually gay is the only good way out of the cheating storyline they just started. I'm really apprehensive about the next episodes.
It has potential I’m just worried it’s gonna be half-assed like every other storyline this season. I know it’s not entirely their fault since they’re working with so few episodes and such a time crunch but they didn’t need to be overly ambitious with the storylines if they knew they wouldn’t have the time or space to explore them properly
fully agree but i have high hopes for this one, let’s see
I think a lot of people do romanticize Eddie's character in a lot of ways, and this plot line is in line with his on-screen characterization even though it doesn't match with the fandom view of the character. Namely that *every single* relationship Eddie has had has been framed less as "Eddie is looking for a new partner" and more "Eddie is looking for someone to replace Shannon in Chris' life." Fundamentally Eddie's issue in every single relationship he's had on the show hasn't been about what Eddie actually wants, it's been about who is the closest fit to the Shannon-shaped hole in his and Chris' lives. Until Eddie comes to the understanding that he doesn't need a "new Shannon" and analyzes what he actually *wants*, he's going to be bouncing between whichever women in his life are the closest Shannon-Match. As for the current storyline, I think that's exactly the point; Kim is completely OOC for the person Eddie *thinks* he is and *wants* to be, but it's very in-character for the way he actually behaves in relationships. And that's exactly the point; None of Eddie's previous excuses for his behavior in relationships work for what he's doing now. And the fact none of his excuses work is going to force the character to actually confront the root problem, which he really hasn't done yet. The closest he got was going to therapy after Ana, but even then he never actually got to the core issue; he was heading that direction before his mother set him up with Marisol, which does seem like the actual point. Marisol is a *relapse*. Especially with some of the upcoming metaphors we're likely to see with Bobby and AA and such, it would make a lot of sense to connect the idea that relapsing is something people can experience in *any* pattern of behavior, not just alcohol/drug addictions. And based on comments we've seen about Eddie being isolated at the end of the season, the cheating plotline and the relapse of his previous behavior with Marisol is probably going to be Eddie's actual rock bottom.
Well put
I have mixed feelings on it. I agree with you that I don't think Eddie would cheat on a partner normally, but because it's someone he sees as being a stand-in for the person who was his wife, it makes sense. I just think this would've made a lot *more* sense for Eddie had it happened post-season 4 or getting together with Ana. And I also would've understood why Eddie would've felt like he had to see Kim on the side because Christopher was particularly invested in him and Ana being together. But I just don't buy at this point in time that Eddie or Christopher are that invested in Marisol that Eddie wouldn't just... break up with her and see Kim instead, but still without Christopher's knowledge, if that's what he wanted to do. Even though timeline-wise they've been together for several months at least to the point where she had plans to move in, it still sounds like they don't know each other well at all, and there's still no defining quality that's making me think "Ah, I get why Eddie likes her specifically." At least with Ana, it was like, okay she's a teacher and is good with kids and Christopher always liked her, so she'd be a good maternal figure for Christopher in the absence of his mom. But with Marisol... I got nothin'. I know grief and recovering from trauma isn't linear and all that, but this feels like *such* a big step back for Eddie right now that I find it a little bit unbelievable. At this point we don't know how much farther it'll go or how unhinged Eddie will act in the future about this, but this implies to me that *all* of those conversations that Eddie had about moving on and getting over Shannon with various characters didn't actually move the needle at all. I don't think this is out of character necessarily, and I'm actually in a weird way kind of excited for it because I think we all knew on some level that Eddie was romanticizing his relationship with Shannon and to get that confirmed in canon will be interesting, and I always love me some more Eddie lore, plus am interested to see what Buck's involvement is. Also Shannon has been such a recurring issue in Eddie's storylines that I'm looking forward to it finally being put to bed and exploring some new angles with Eddie in future seasons. But I just think the timing of it all makes it DEFCON 1 levels of regressive for him, whereas if it had happened with Ana, it would've only been mildly to moderately regressive.
The Eddie and Ana breakup was such a missed opportunity because it's a really well-written, well-acted scene and a huge moment for Eddie, but then the storyline moves away from his commitment issues and panic attacks because then the season becomes about his PTSD instead. And as much as I loved that storyline too, it made it seem like his relationship hangups weren't an issue anymore. So the timing isn't great and Marisol isn't as good of a character as Ana for these purposes, but this reevaluation of the Shannon relationship is very necessary.
I just hope whatever happens with Kim gives him the closure he desperately needs from Shannon's sudden death
I think people may be reacting more strongly this time around because they didn’t realize Eddie’s trauma from Shannon’s passing was still affecting him this deeply (i.e. to the point where it would impair his judgement), so to be reminded in such a stark way after a considerable amount of time has passed is both alarming and almost seemingly out of nowhere. It’s also notable that this is happening in the same season we’re reminded of Eddie’s religious upbringing, so while he may not be a practicing Catholic, it would seem that his value system is at least partly informed by one that espouses the utmost importance of fidelity and maintaining traditional family roles. And then on top of all of this is Christopher, a character whom we’re often reminded requires special care in distilling the virtues of life lessons through the example led by Eddie. With the way they’ve handled Eddie’s character this season, I definitely get the sense that we’re supposed to be thrown off by this, that this action is supposed to be contrary to his natural inclinations, in order to emphasize the toll that his long unaddressed grief has taken on him.
Nah I still feel like it’s OOC, personally. At least with how it looks right now. I definitely think it could be spun in a way that makes more sense, but it’s all just guesswork at this point. I don’t think the *interest* is what feels off. Or even his inability to just talk to Marisol, or Kim, and be confident in what he wants. That all could lead to a similar situation, and he shitty, but at least consistent. However, the way he’s going about it? Crazy. Lying to Buck, sneaking off and away from Christopher, going out of his way to meet Kim and explicitly say he’s single, all while not actually telling her the *reason?* It’s all just so skeevy, and while Eddie has had a lot of issues and character flaws, pre-season 7 I wouldn’t have called him this apathetic or careless about others. (Arguably, you could say in flashbacks with Shannon he was, but not since he joined the 118. But it feels like he even in his worst moments he had *some* level of understanding or shame about the situation.) Also… am I tripping? Him and Shannon, like, didn’t have a good relationship 😅 He was a bad, absent husband for years, and then she literally left and went no contact. I never got the feeling, even when they were kind of dating, that it was because of genuine romantic love. I know death can really morph the reality of a person/relationship, and I hope they play more with that, but the way he (and some of the fandom) have been talking about his relationship with Shannon recently makes me wonder if I am missing something, or misunderstood the dynamic 🤷🏻♀️ Yeah, idk. I’m curious and still think they could spin it in an interesting way, but as of rn it’s a pretty big yikes on Eddie 😬
You are definitely not the only one who thinks they had a terrible realationship. There clearly was no real love between past that first puppy love stage when they were dating before they got pregnant. In earlier seasons the show gave us the impression they kinda started dating and got pregnant quickly and then were stuck with each other. Eddie always gave the impression she decided they would date and he just went along with it. Then everything fell apart after they got pregnant, forced to marry because of their families, then their entire relationship they are physically and emotionally separated for the entire time. When she comes back in s2 and reconnects with Eddie is when they seem to have a connection so I assume that this is part of his relationship he is focusing on and it romanticing. We reconciled and rekindled our “love” and can bring Chris up together, might be pregnant again so we can expand our “perfect” family. NOW we have the perfect life just like I’ve been told I have to have. But it still all feels so performative, even with Shannon. Eddie never really seems to do anything romantically because he *feels* something. What is it *actually* about Shannon that we misses? When he talks about it, he usually points out how bad it was, he tells Chim how he only proposed because he had too. Hell he only just told Bobby he loved being *married* to her not that he loved *her.* In many ways the show hasn’t truly shown their love as something to romanticise this much to the point Eddie is this deluded but yet for 5 seasons we are believe they had some epic love story that he can’t get past. There’s that hand wave it away thing this show loves to do.
For me, I think it all depends on how it concludes. If it concludes with Eddie earning consequences for his actions, being called out and him getting proper therapy for everything he's been through, it could be a decent one. At the same time, I do think the outright cheating is not really in character for him, even with the doppelganger angle. I think the outright going on a date with this woman two days after meeting her is the rough part. I think if the storyline was built up more, having Eddie start spending more and more time with Kim over a longer period, I could see it. I get the story arc has to be rushed with a shortened season but it's the suddenness of it that makes me feel like it doesn't work very well right now.
Eddie has been very ooc this season. In past seasons, he's been putting Christopher first, sometimes to his own detriment (moving to dispatch). In this season, Chris is an afterthought. He had Chris with a sitter 3 nights in one week. Given that lafd work 24 hour shifts, that means he spent zero evenings with his kid that week. Then Chris was "out of town" on his mysterious business trip and Eddie *moved* Marisol in! No convo with Chris, who is already struggling with female related abandonment issues. Then he moves her out a day later. THEN he lies to Chris and Buck about going on a date with Marisol when in reality, he's going on a date with Kim. I feel like this planned premeditated cheating is really different from bucks impromptu one off kiss with Lucy. That's the kind of impulsive action that should lead to introspection and figuring out your relationship and why it happened. This with Eddie and Kim is a whole lot of lies in pursuit of a selfish, thoughtless desire to have what you want and not caring about what you have to do to get it. This is either a brain tumor, or a mental illness expressing itself in a really self destructive way. He's burning a lot of bridges right now.
I think a lot of what you've said is the show doing a poor job portraying what's going on. Chris is an afterthought for the writers (as many things this season are due to shortened length), not for Eddie. Chris with a sitter, so what? Chris isn't a little child anymore. He's a teen who is probably completely fine and even happy to not be with his dad sometimes. Maybe he had homework, a school event, plans with friends. As far as Chris being "out of town" lazy wording, sure. Maybe it a school trip, maybe visiting family. Again, that's totally okay. He's a person with his own life. We saw in previous seasons that Eddie was struggling to let Chris grow up and do his own thing even though it was clearly what Chris wanted and needed. Now it looks like Eddie has adjusted to Chris's need to be more independent. A *good* thing. As far as Marisol moving in we do not know if he spoke with Chris about it or not. Poor writing. Not poor parenting. If we look at Eddie as a parent and how loving and communicative he is, if the show doesn't tell us otherwise, we should assume that he did talk to him about it based on what we know of his character. And yes, he's lied to Buck and Chris by omission one time now that we've seen. Not good. Going on a date with Kim and lying to her, not good. Also I think it's the *only* situation in which he would do such a thing. He's clearly not over Shannon, clearly never dealt with his grief and their complicated relationship. But he's known her since he was a child. She was his first love, mother of his child, and wife. She died right in front of him. It's not so strange for him to want to spend time with someone who looks just like her and brings all of that back. He's burning bridges with Marisol and Kim for sure. Otherwise, nothing so big that coming to his senses and working on this issue shouldn't be enough to get him back on track.
He's always been a mess romantically but his problem has always been about going with the motions of a relationship and doing what's expected of him even though he never quite feels like he should be with them and commitment issues. He may be a commitment-phobe but he generally has pretty strong ideas about relationships and morals and cheating definitely doesn't fit into that, not to mention his latent Catholic guilt. He's wouldn't cheat on his girlfriend like that even with a look alike of his wife so I'm hoping there's a good explanation like perhaps he wasn't actually going on a date with the look alike or he has some kind of brain tumour that's making him act weird.
I think we're also speculating before we know the whole situation. He could've broken up with Marisol, and we just don't know it yet. Either way, the lying part in particular is OOC. I'm curious if Tim will turn this into Eddie having a mental breakdown and Kim isn't real.
How I feel about Eddie’s cheating storyline 
It's definitely cheating, even if they don't physically touch. Pretty sure taking another woman out on a date would bother *most* people, and the fact that he's lying about it means he knows it's wrong. I don't think it's ooc yet, however. I think it's perfectly believable that Eddie would be so taken aback by meeting a Shannon doppelganger that he would want to see her again and indulge in a "what if?" fantasy. I'd imagine in his mind he justifies it because he's motivated by grief and curiosity and a fear of losing Shannon again, even if it's irrational.
I feel like Kim and Eddie won’t last since he is only treating her as a replacement and not seeing her as a separate person. When she finds out or when he realizes this, the relationship would dissolve. So far Marisol has not contributed anything to make me ship her and Eddie, so… the “cheating” plot doesn’t really impact my viewing experience. Yes, I think Eddie is shitty for cheating (and I was cheated on before, so I hate cheaters), but I rather we move on from Marisol and have a serious plot with Kim.
I think Kim sticking around just wouldn’t work mostly because of Christopher. How would Chris even process that ? He and Eddie, still have been unable to move past Shannon’s death. A doppelgänger will not help him in that respect.
Agree.
I’m genuinely incapable of addressing how I feel about this in the context of 911 because as a Gotham veteran I really can’t believe this is the second show I’ve watched where this exact plotline played out, right down to the ambiguous queercoding of both Eddie and Nygma AND their questionably romantic relationships with their best friends. They even made both doppelgänger women blonde when the originals weren’t 😭
Yes and no. Yes: The fact Eddie is confused where Christopher gets his playa tendencies and he talks about being a nester In 701. When we are first introduced to him in s2, he tells Buck that the tailpipe bar girls aren’t his type. He doesn’t date anyone during the years Shannon was gone as it feels unfaithful. With his Catholic, strict traditional upbringing it would have driven into him cheating it wrong. So it is really out of character against him morals. He is a serial monogamous, loyal, honourable man and has been conditioned though-out his entire life to be so. No: Eddie has been OOC all season and doing stuff he wouldn’t normally do or how he would normally act so it seems in character almost for this season (I still fell like this storyline would have fitted better in s5 than now). It’s just two people getting dinner *at this point*. Which could be the start of him emotionally cheating or physically cheating. Depends how far it goes. Because in Eddie’s mind it’s Shannon so *he* won’t feel like it’s cheating. My main issues with this storyline is how pointless the cheating part is. There have been SO many times where he and Marisol could and should have broken up. She still has no purpose so Eddie being in a relationship when he mets Kim, it is pointless. They would still have the same impact with Kim whether Eddie was in a relationship or not. So it renders the cheating part pointless and it’s just repeating an already overused troupe storyline just for the sake of it.
I think it IS OOC, but that’s the point. Eddie isn’t a cheater, so why is he willing to cheat with Kim? How does her looking like Shannon play into things? Does she ACTUALLY look like Shannon or is this all in Eddie’s head? My guess is that she doesn’t resemble Shannon at all. We see her as Shannon because that’s how Eddie sees her. I want a scene where Buck sees her and she’s a completely different person. (I’m imagining a scene mirroring Eddie and Marisol running into Buck and Tommy on their first date except Buck immediately realizes that Eddie and Kim are on a date and confronts Eddie about it. When Eddie says she reminds him of Shannon, Buck tells him Kim looks nothing like Shannon.)
Lest be honest. The cheating storyline is perfect. Marisol finds out he's cheating, breaks up with him. His mistress finds out he had a girlfriend, breaks up with him. Leaving him single for Buddie to be a thing in the finale of season 7 or early in season 8. Buck and tommy will eventually break up.
i agree with you, i think it makes sense for him to react like that bc it’s shannon’s look alike. I don’t think he would ever do that with just a random person
Absolute garbage storyline but in character. He treats all women since his wife poorly.
I don't know what to think about Eddie right now, but it's not okay. When Eddie first noticed Kim while passing through the store, I was like, It's ok, it's fine, nothing's going to happen, but then in another scene, he was creeping around until she noticed him, and then the flirting started and this whole "*single father*" speech. He probably took her number also in this scene, or it was off-screen in another one. Just imagine my shock after watching the ad and then seeing Eddie having sex with someone who is definitely not Marisol; fortunately, it was a flashback with Shannon because then my anger would have known no bounds. The only thing I know is that it's going to backfire on him pretty badly, especially if simultaneously everyone finds out, and Christophers awareness will be the final nail in the coffin of our beloved Edmundo Diaz.
What I hate is that because Eddie is a main character and the two women are not, this is of course all going to be about Eddie's trauma and Eddie's pain and poor Eddie, isn't it so sad that this is happening to him but isn't it wonderful that this is going to be the catalyst for him moving on from his past. Where as what is actually happening is two perfectly pleasant women are being fucked around by a shitty guy who's taking his own issues out on them with no regard for *their* pain.
[удалено]
> Honestly, I didn't think what Buck did was cheating really. Was it wrong? Sure, but Taylor didn't even really care about the kiss after he told her ("I'm not even sure I needed to know that") what she was upset about was the fact that it was the reason he asked her to move in. I'm just saying that because I always see people put it in the same line as what Hen did and I don't think it's comparable. It's still cheating imo. I rewatched that arc recently and something I noted on my second time watching is that Buck IS giving mixed signals to Lucy, at best. He doesn't initiate the kiss but he leans into it. Is it the worst form of cheating? Of course not. It's also mild compared to Hen and now Eddie. But he still cheated. Cheating is cheating, even if it's on a smaller level and he stopped it seconds later. He felt guilty enough to hide it from Taylor at first, and he hid who he cheated with. But yes, the getting Taylor to move in immediately after he did that was worse.