One 911 Character The Writers Messed Up From The Very Introduction
This was a disappointment larger than the whole Buddie arc.
Summary:
- 911 is a procedural drama that focuses on the professional and personal lives of first responders in Los Angeles.
- Portrayed by Arielle Kebbel, the show's first female firefighter, Lucy Donato, first appeared in season 5.
- However, her appearance was immediately ruined by her involvement in a cheating storyline with Buck.
When you are a fan of a show, one of the worst things that can happen is to get excited about seeing a new character, only to be utterly disappointed.
Depending on the genre and storyline, this can be a matter of total miscasting, bad character design, or just good old-fashioned false advertising.
This is exactly how fans of 911 felt when they were first introduced to Arielle Kebbel's Lucy Donato when she appeared in season 5.
No matter how much the promotion tried to sell the character on the fact that she was the first female firefighter on the show, all hopes and dreams for her would soon be dashed.
To this day, many believe that there is no way to save her as a character in the eyes of the fandom and that Kebbel's potential was wasted by the writers.
What Happened Between Buck and Lucy In 911?
No matter how happy the audience was that the first woman joined the firefighting team, it couldn't change the fact that she was yet another woman added to mess up Buckley's love life. Every time the writers of 911 do this, it feels like torture to every Buddie shipper, but this time even non-shippers had to agree: the plot was a mess.
Having Buck cheat on Taylor by kissing a random woman from another station, only to find out that she was transferred the next day, was not only a very clichéd way to create an awkward situation but also ruinous for both characters.
Unfortunately, all the communication Lucy had with Buck only pushed him to take a step back in his character development, while Lucy herself was never really given a chance to develop at all.
Instead of a badass firefighter the audience was promised and ready to root for, the audience got a poorly written setback for another character.
The decision to promote her character so heavily in the media, only to introduce her through the affair of one of the fan-favorite characters, backfired badly, and the reaction ended up being overwhelmingly negative.
It was nice to see Lucy back for the last two episodes of season 6, just to get some closure. However, the majority of fans did not care that much about her absence, and that says a lot, considering how much the fanbase of the show focuses on the character's interpersonal relationships.
If you want to see where season 7 takes the team now under the ABC umbrella, you can tune in to the premiere episode on Thursday, March 14.