Oliver Stark Teases Buck's Alternate Reality In New 9-1-1 Episode

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for the March 6th episode of 9-1-1.Buck has managed to survive plenty of near-death experiences throughout 9-1-1's run, but Season 6 Episode 10 created cause for concern. When the 118 is called to a scene in the middle of a thunderstorm, the fan-favorite character is struck by lightning at the top of a ladder. Thankfully, he's caught by his harness, but Buck is left dangling and unconscious as the storm continues to rage around them.

In an emotionally-charged scene, the team rushes to help their fallen comrade, with Eddie shouting for Buck as he ascends the ladder. While they do manage to lower him safely to the ground, Chimney is forced to perform R after failing to find a pulse. In the final seconds of the episode, Buck is loaded into the back of the firetruck, leaving his fate unknown to viewers.

Following the highly-anticipated spring premiere, Oliver Stark chats exclusively with Screen Rant about finding Buck in a state between life and death and teases 9-1-1's storylines.

Oliver Stark Teases An Alternate Reality For Buck

Screen Rant: Episode 10 left off on a major cliffhanger. Can you tease anything about 11?

Oliver Stark: It picks up right where 10 leaves off. We have all that chaos at the end of Episode 10 and that's certainly going to carry into the beginning of Episode 11. We're going to find Buck in this weird space between life and death, where it could really go either way. We're going to get to see what that might mean on the outside for the rest of the 118 and how that would affect them.

We know from the synopsis that Buck dreams of a world where he never became a firefighter. How was playing this alternate version of him?

Oliver Stark: It was really fun to get to play these scenes where he does, at various points, cross paths with different of the 118, but to play those relationships in a whole different sense. So to have these scenes with these actors that I have come to know so well, but get to completely change the dynamic between the characters—it was a really fun challenge and something that I think we all got to really enjoy.

Buck really is the heart and soul of the 118. He's the one who rallies the troops. How is the team going to handle him being down?

Oliver Stark: He's obviously very important to all of them and in different ways. I think we've seen over the years, and over the seasons and the episodes, they all have a deep care for him. So him being in a position of such peril, I think is really going to affect them, and is really going to bring out all kinds of emotions, and even from characters that we don't necessarily get to see that emotional side of so much. When it's one of their own in trouble, it's a whole different story.

How much of the storm scene did you shoot, and how much was your stunt double?

Oliver Stark: It's a mixture. I've been on top of the ladder hundreds of times over the years, so it's always fine for me to be right at the top of the ladder. Once he takes a little tumble over the edge, and he's dangling at the very top, that's a double, just the nature of filming these things—the safety. Towards the end when he's closer to the ground, that's me there suspended in the air under the freezing cold fake rain. It's a combination of myself and a double, which is often how these things come together.

On another note, do you think Buck’s childhood and his strained relationship with his parents affected his decision to be a sperm donor?

Oliver Stark: Absolutely. I think his childhood and the reason that he was born has influenced so much of his life, even to the point of being a firefighter. He was born to save someone, and it didn't necessarily work. I think he's spent much of his life, maybe on a subconscious level, trying to fix that and trying to be the hero. Now that this has presented itself as an opportunity to do that again, he's thrown himself into it.

Is there anything you can tease about that storyline?

Oliver Stark: It doesn't move in the way that people I think are expecting it to. I think there's a lot of fear around it that he's going to be hurt, and he thinks he's the dad. I don't think he thinks he's the dad. And we certainly see that in Episode 10. He says to his mom, "I'm not the dad, I'm the donor." That's going to continue. I think he's getting to a point in his life where he's taking real ownership of his decisions and understanding the consequences and the weight of them. I think he totally understands his role and made this decision with a clearer head than people have maybe anticipated.

Buck is close with everyone in the 118, but is there a relationship that's really emphasized in the second half of the season?

Oliver Stark: In the earlier episodes, [we see] Bobby being a real pillar of strength for him. I think as we go on, certainly post-lightning strike, we see all of the 118 in various different ways being there for Buck. I think it's almost a little bit overwhelming for him at times, and he needs to back away from it and learn to not depend on anybody else—or find a balance between knowing when to ask for help and knowing when you need to develop the strength to be there for yourself.

Do you have a favorite episode of 6B?

Oliver Stark: I think 6x11 is obviously an immediate standout for me, but I almost feel like it's such an obvious answer that it's almost a boring answer. I really like something that we're in the middle of right now. I think the finale is a really fantastic episode. I think it's really, really high octane but really offers a lot in of moving these characters forward and putting them in good places. I think the finale is something that people are really going to respond to.

I particularly loved this fan question. What song would you use to describe Buck's storyline in the second half of the season?

Oliver Stark: So here's the thing about me. Anytime anybody asks me to name a song, I instantly forget every song that's ever been written. Like completely blank...I have one! [Laughs] So there are two. One has been quite meaningful to me while shooting some of this story for Buck. It's been very useful for me as well to help get into these headspaces. I actually put it on my Instagram yesterday.

It's called "Stay in My Dreams" by Daniel Leggs. And the other one is a song called "Keeping Me Alive" by Jonathan Roy. It's a song that I actually discovered while shooting "Buck Begins." There are these lines in there [that go] something like, "This fire is what's keeping me alive," and it just felt so applicable to where Buck was at and where I was at. That is a forever Buck song in my head.

How do you think past Buck would look at present Buck given all of his growth?

Oliver Stark: I think he'd be really proud of himself. Kind of like what I touched on about how he's getting to a point where he's just okay with who he is, and he's okay with his decisions. I think he's much more of a leader than he was a few years ago. I know at the top of the season, we saw him being told that he wasn't ready to be interim captain yet and that he had to go out and live a little more life.

I think he's been doing that throughout the first half, and now the second half of season six, he's been experiencing a lot. I think he's becoming a better firefighter, I think he's becoming a better leader, I think he's becoming a better friend. So I think past Buck would be and should be very proud of where Buck is now.