thinking about mother's boy again, as one does, and i love so much buck's desperate bargaining for eddie's life, because it's not out of character at all. he's not giving up or giving in or admitting defeat. it's an absolutely calculated, clear-eyed assessment of the situation: eddie is alone, almost certainly unarmed, expecting no danger from bonnie or earl. if buck screams for help, she'll put a bullet in his head and then go out and do the same to eddie. if eddie knows he's there, he won't leave. bonnie can make him leave, and she will, as long as buck plays on her sympathies just right.
buck does not at that point realistically expect to survive. but his chances - of talking bonnie around, of another opening to escape - are better if eddie leaves now. and even if he doesn't make it out alive, he can make sure that eddie does. so that's what he tries to do.
(and yeah, of course eddie realizes he's there, of course they save each other in the end - but they were lucky, and it easily could have gone the other way.)
idk! i feel like it often gets treated as this Dark Night Of The Soul moment for buck where he gives up in despair because he doesn't think he's worth saving, but i don't think it is! i think it's the exact same ruthless pragmatism that drives a lot of buck's risky choices, and for that reason i actually also think that eddie, if he ever found out, would understand even if he hated it.
