Warning: this article contains SPOILERS for 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 12.The series finale of9-1-1: Lone Starskipped 5 months into the future to reveal where the main characters ended up, but the time-jump ended up hurting one character’s ending more than it helped. Rob Lowe led the9-1-1: Lone Starcastfor 5 years as fire captain Owen Strand, and he ended the Ryan Murphy procedural with one last near-death experience. Meanwhile, paramedic captain Tommy Vega (Gina Torres) went into the9-1-1: Lone Starfinale with days to live, according to her doctor. The two leaders, along with the talented ensemble cast, navigated a nuclear threat following an asteroid.
Although Judson“Judd”Ryder (Jim Parrack), Marjan Marwani (Natacha Karam), Paul Strickland (Brian Michael Smith), and Mateo Chavez (Julian Works) were wounded during their search for the nuclear reactor, all members of the 126 survived9-1-1: Lone Star’s ending. The series finale flashed forward to the future to settle its final storylines, but not everyone got a perfectly happy ending. While Tommy and Owen especially benefited from the time jump,Judd’s unresolved plot with his absent wife Grace(Sierra McClain) was only exacerbated by the creative decision in the9-1-1: Lone Star’s finale.
9-1-1: Lone Star Ends With A 5-Month Time-Jump
The nuclear reactor call may have been one of9-1-1: Lone Star’s most intense rescues, and it left off on a particularly dramatic note with Owen’s unconscious body. The screen then cut to black with a card that read“Five Months Later.” 9-1-1: Lone Starthen began establishing what happened to the main characters, but it left Owen’s fate ambiguous. It let viewers believe Owen died all the way up to the closing scene, where it was revealed that Owen recovered from his wounds and moved back to New York to be the NYFD’s Fire Chief.
Miraculously, Tommy’s cancerous tumors didn’t just shrink over the course of 5 months; they disappeared entirely and put her into official remission for her breast cancer.
On the other side of the aisle, Tommy was visibly winded from her work in the field during the nuclear crisis. Paired with her doctor’s devastating prognosis, Tommy’s fate during the time jump was precarious. Miraculously, Tommy’s cancerous tumors didn’t just shrink over the course of 5 months; they disappeared entirely and put her into official remission for her breast cancer.Tommy even resumed her role as paramedic captain in9-1-1: Lone Star’s series finalewhen she went to a ceremony to swear in Judd as the new fire captain of the 126.
How The 9-1-1: Lone Star Finale Time-Jump Makes Grace’s Story Worse
Such A Big Moment For Judd Was Overshadowed By Grace’s Absence
While Judd assuming the role of Fire Captain was undoubtedly a happy ending for him, the celebration felt hollow with the confirmation thatGrace has still yet to return home after 5 months. When9-1-1: Lone Star’s cancelationwas announced, Grace’s absence quickly became a major concern for the show’s ending. Many hoped9-1-1: Lone Star’s finale would fix Grace’s disappointing exit, but the final episode only twisted the knife of Judd’s solitude. While nearly everyone else ends the series finale with their loved ones, Grace’s missionary work left Judd without his spouse for at least a year.
Jackson Pace
Wyatt Harris
Grace was crucial to9-1-1: Lone Star’s first four seasons, as she was the voice of Austin Dispatch. When Sierra McClain left the show, it was a palpable loss for9-1-1: Lone Star’s most important storylines. Her disappearance even had a negative impact on Judd’s final act, leading to his struggle with alcoholism in9-1-1: Lone Starseason 5. After finding sobriety, Judd and Grace remained unresolved. During what should have been Judd’s most triumphant moment of the series, it felt as if he and Grace were just as distant as they were when9-1-1: Lone Starseason 5 began.
9-1-1: Lone Star Could Have Still Done The Time-Jump Without Further Vilifying Grace
It Was As Simple As A Single Line Change
It was established long before9-1-1: LoneStar’s finale aired that Sierra McClain wouldn’t appear in the last episode, which should have been all the more reason for the procedural to find a clever way to resolve Grace’s storyline. Jackson Pace’sWyatt may have taken over9-1-1: Lone Star’s dispatcher role, but Grace’s character— or lack thereof— shouldn’t have been ignored so flippantly. Despite being a core member of9-1-1: Lone Star’s cast for the majority of the series, Grace is only mentioned once in the finale when Tommy says Judd’s ceremony was recorded to send to her.
9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5, Episode 12 Recap: 10 Biggest Moments & Reveals
9-1-1: Lone Star’s finale picks up after the penultimate episode’s cliffhanger, with the team racing to save the city from a nuclear meltdown.
In a way, mentioning Grace just to clarify that she’s still gone stung more than total absence. There were many avenues9-1-1: Lone Starcould have taken to give Grace and Judd a hopeful ending, even without McClain having to be on-screen. Something as simple as a line from Judd talking about seeing Grace at home or someone asking Wyatt about what it’s like to work with Grace would have been enough to give an outline for the future.9-1-1: Lone Starfailed to give Grace and Judd the ending they deserved, but it wasn’t an impossibility.
