Evan ‘Buck’ Buckley (Oliver Stark) has had quite a few love interests since9-1-1first aired in 2018. He memorably dated dispatcher Abby Clark (Connie Britton) in Season 1, death doula Natalia Dollenmeyer (Annelise Cepero) in Season 6, and now has a brand-new love interest with hisburgeoning romance with Tommy Kinard(Lou Ferrigno Jr.) this season. But none of these past loves were as interesting (or perhaps as controversial) as Taylor Kelly (Megan West). Taylor joined the series in Season 2 as a tough-as-nails investigative reporter who would stop at nothing to land a story.Her questionable ethics could have made her a captivating antagoniston theABCseries. But instead of making her a long-term frenemy of Buck or the members of the 118 Firehouse, the9-1-1writers immediately made her Buck’s girlfriend.
The series does have a history ofkeeping its main characters romantically involved. Characters like Buck and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) are rarely without a significant other for very long. This does create some compelling storylines, but in this case, it resulted in Taylor’s character not being well-developed (and eventually being written out of the show entirely in Season 5). Because Taylor fell into the ‘love interest’ category, her character arc was ultimately predictable and didn’t allow for exploration of the many intriguing qualities she possessed. It’s likely that thewriters wanted to keep Buck single, sothey ended up making Taylor virtually undateable, which sealed her fate in the world of9-1-1.
Explores the high-pressure experiences of the first responders who are thrust into the most frightening, shocking, and heart-stopping situations.
Taylor Would Do Anything For the Job in ‘9-1-1’
Taylor was first introduced to audiences in Episode 6 of Season 2 when she wasinvolved in a helicopter crashwhile reporting on the traffic. After she was rescued by the 118,Taylor decided to film future interviews by following the crew. She was desperate to avoid going back to traffic reporting and wanted to finally land a story that would make her well-known. Despite Bobby’s (Peter Krause) reluctance to give her unlimited access to the team and the calls they went out on, Taylor wormed her way into the firehouse. During this episode, Bobby accidentally ingested LSD-laced brownies. Taylor began filming him as he revealed intimate details abouthis dead daughter.
Taylor called the police once Bobby made his way onto the roof and seemed as though he was going to jump. However, she was determined to get the story, and continued to film, even though Bobby was in no shape to consent to the interview. Taylor later confessed to Buck thatshe would have used the footage on the air, but that the news station was worried about getting sued by the fire department and wouldn’t allow her to.Taylor defended her unethical actions by saying that she had worked hardsince age 14 to get where she was, and she wouldn’t apologize for the choices she made in order to bring important stories to the public.
The incident was a fascinating look at how Taylor’s brain worked: she didn’t mind putting other people’s safety ormental health at riskif she thought the story was one worth telling. She had no qualms about how Bobby would have been affected if the story aired; she was on a quest to broadcast and preserve the truth for the greater good. Buck and Taylor began dating soon after, which didn’t make a lot of sense to some9-1-1fans. Why would Buck date someone he knew had put Bobby’s future at risk? But the9-1-1writers seemed committed to the two being a couple (albeit a toxic one), even thoughthe far more interesting choice would have been to keep Taylor as an adversaryfor the 118 crew. In fact, Taylor would stick around for Season 4 and 5 as Buck’s girlfriend, only breaking up after she ran another story she told Buck she’d keep under wraps. She reminded Buck that he knew who she was when they started dating, but the series writers finally decided thatTaylor’s ambition and drive would be the death of her relationship.
The 10 Most Underrated ‘9-1-1’ Episodes, Ranked
Because not every episode can have Buck rescuing Christopher from a tsunami.
‘9-1-1’s Taylor Could Have Been a Provocative Antagonist
There are a lot of reasons Taylor wasn’t such a great person, but that is what made her character stand out from all the other do-gooders on the series.She could have been a villainwith some redeeming qualities, who would do anything to chase a story (including getting in the way of the first responders). Every episode has some type of bad guy, butTaylor could have popped up throughout every season to play a part in larger arcs. She was technically not a bad person, so she wouldn’t have taken the place of the true villains on the show, but her actions would have created plenty of ongoing conflict.
Taylor’s character was also wasted on the series because she didn’t have time to fully develop before she was immediately attached to Buck as a mere love interest. Yes, Taylor displayed some pretty gross behavior (much of whichcrossed a journalistic line), but she was reduced to just being Buck’s girlfriend fairly quickly. She was given some backstory (which is more than many love interests get on procedural shows), butTaylor deserved to represent a powerful woman who was fiercely dedicated to her craft. It also would have been an interesting choice for the9-1-1writers to continue with Taylor’s perspective as a journalist. The series represents many aspects of the first responder world (9-1-1 operators, firefighters, paramedics, police officers), so following Taylor as she tried to report on the unfolding events would have been an unexpected and enthralling choice.
No one is holding Taylor Kelly upas a hero; she was definitely the worst. But she did have a serious goal, and it was admirable that she was willing to sacrifice everything (including her relationship with Buck) in order to achieve her dreams. There were a few storylines that even allowed Taylor’s role as a reporter to help save the day, including the time when she helped distribute unused COVID-19 vaccines and when she assisted in the investigation into who caused the hit-and-run of 9-1-1 dispatcher Sue Blevins (Debra Christofferson), both in Season 4. Taylor wasn’t all bad, which is why she would have made for an unparalleled adversary for the series going forward. By labeling her asa simple love interest, Taylor lost some of her uniqueness as the writers forced her into the role of a cookie-cutter ‘good guy.‘What made her special was her ambition and her moral ambiguity, and9-1-1is worse off without her character and without what she could have become.
New episodes of9-1-1air on ABC on Thursday nights and are available to stream next day on Hulu.
Watch on Hulu
