911: Lone Star returns to FOX with “The Big Chill” and “Thin Ice,” two episodes that are putting Lone Star on an upwards trajectory towards its best season so far. These episodes, while seemingly two parts of a three-parter, still tell a wonderful and put-together story.
Several things are happening at once, and almost none of it feels out of place. Would anyone like to guess which story does feel out of place?
Let's break it down.
TK, Tommy, and Nancy
Unfortunately, since the 126 has been shut down, TK, Tommy, and Nancy are left to work as paramedics for a private company. It's curious why only they weren't just shifted to other firehouses, but this keeps them together, so we'll take it.
Because of the private company, sometimes TK & Co. are able to go places -- and do things -- others aren't.
This does, however, lead to more risky situations, such as TK falling into an icy pond and not receiving treatment right away.
TK, Tommy, and Nancy save the child trapped under the ice, because of course, this is 911: Lone Star, but also, this is 911: Lone Star, at the same time, TK falls in. Given the temperature, he almost immediately becomes hypothermic.
On its own, not a terribly unlikely thing to happen to a firefighter. In Texas? Well.
Before the tragic fall, Nancy pesters TK about his breakup with Carlos, and oh boy. It's the beginning of the storyline, so I may eat my words by the end of this season, but this is... dumb.
Maybe they broke up for a valid reason, but when we last left them, they were on fairly good terms. Maybe not the best, but definitely not breakup level bad terms.
I have hope in the writers given what we've seen so far, but the way Carlos speaks about it makes it sound like the possibility of them reconciling isn't likely.
Carlos
Poor Carlos. There’s a small chance that the writers have broken up Carlos and TK to give Carlos his own identity.
I would support it, but… it’s really not necessary if that’s why. There’s no reason why Carlos can’t grow on his own while in a relationship with TK.
It’s a bit frustrating, but since we don’t have the full picture yet, I’m trying to be patient with my judgments of storylines so far.
Carlos has phenomenal detective skills, as he should, obviously, but getting to see them in action for things other than arresting people he cares about is always the best part of watching Carlos.
Judd, Grace, and Mateo
Judd and Grace remain the best couple on television in the return of 911: Lone Star. Their mutual respect towards each other, even when it comes to something like cleaning up after himself at her work, is the best thing about them.
They never push each other too far, and they know there’s a time to open up to each other and they almost always take that opportunity. Judd doesn’t want to stress out Grace, understandably, which is why he doesn’t want to discuss the 126 being torn down.
Grace is still at work, which is interesting given that she seems very, very close to her due date.
Judd does what he does best though; he goes to work and he puts his heart into it.
Mateo is still at the firehouse that was previously treating him like garbage, so hopefully, in the next few episodes, we’ll get some flashbacks to what happened in the several months we missed.
Owen and Marjan
Marjan seems to be the only person taking the shutdown seriously, at least to her.
She’s live-streaming herself getting construction shut down, which is unbelievably cringey, and later, she demands to know why Owen won’t just apologize to Billy.
She’s right, actually.
Owen is spending time away in a cabin in the middle of nowhere because he doesn’t have any more hope in the world, I guess?
It’ll be interesting to see why that happened, what really inspired that, but instead of delving into that, he’s now… [checks notes] helping a group of undocumented people get to safety.
Sure. That’s not out of absolutely nowhere.
Paul
It seems as if 911: Lone Star is finally recognizing that Brian Michael Smith is capable of a lot more than what they’ve given him. Thank god.
Having him opposite our teenage hero is the perfect combination, as his vulnerability is relatable to Lindsey, but his softness is there when she needs it.
Brian Michael Smith plays Paul like he really is Paul, which is exactly what you want in a fictional character.
There are questions about TK and Carlos, questions about Mateo’s spot within his firehouse, questions about Owen being in the middle of nowhere.
Hopefully, these will come in the next few weeks!
What did you think of “The Big Chill” and “Thin Ice?” Let me know in the comments below!
