Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers for 9-1-1: Lone Star’s Season 3 episode “Spring Cleaning.”
9-1-1: Lone Star has seen a lot of trauma in its third season, from Tommy figuring out how to move on after the loss of her husband to T.K.’s sobriety struggles after being drugged by a stalker/murderer to Owen confronting his father (and fear of clowns). But in the episode leading into the season finale, the Austin crew was dealt possibly the most tragic hand yet, when a gas leak caused an explosion in a building right after one of our heroes walked inside and got into the elevator. What does this mean for the first responders, and will everyone survive for a possible Season 4?
“Spring Cleaning” focused a good bit on the still-budding relationship between Judd (Jim Parrack) and his son Wyatt (Jackson Pace). Judd tried his best to help Wyatt prepare for a big internship interview, buying him a new suit and showing him how to speak with confidence. Unfortunately, interviewing for a tech billionaire in the modern era doesn’t require the job interview skills (or suit-and-tie uniform) of decades past. After Wyatt blew the interview, Judd was confident he could smooth things over for a second attempt, and he walked into the office building just as the gas company showed up to investigate a possible leak.
In a matter of seconds, a whole section of the building exploded, leaving Wyatt choking on dust as he dialed 9-1-1 outside. The season finale will show the 126 responding in an attempt to save Judd and the other occupants of the building. Check out the official synopsis (via Futon Critic) for next week’s episode, “A Bright and Cloudless Morning”:
Captain Strand and the 126 come together when one of their own is trapped after a building explosion. Meanwhile, Owen reflects on his 9/11 experience, T.K. and Carlos come to a decision and Tommy and Julius decide on their future.
The episode title could be a reference to the 2001 terrorist attacks, as the description implies the explosion is going to unearth some tragic memories for Owen.
The captain showed tremendous growth this week, after the past couple of episodes have seen him going back to therapy to deal with his anger issues and then confronting his father (as well as his own past and the role he played in his brother’s death). When faced with an abusive father while out on a call in “Spring Cleaning,” rather than letting his anger get the best of him, he merely provoked the man until he punched Owen in the face, allowing the police to arrest the guy and prevent him from possibly hurting his children.
It wasn’t the perfect strategy, but definitely an improvement for Owen, and I’m hoping all of this growth and redemption isn’t a swan song for Rob Lowe on the series. Fox has not yet announced whether 9-1-1: Lone Star will be renewed for a fourth season, but it’s a good bet that the Austin spinoff will continue, especially with its new time slot that puts it back-to-back with its predecessor 9-1-1. Check out the preview for next week’s season finale:
The preview appears to show that Judd was not killed in the initial explosion, so hopefully that leads to his rescue. We do see Owen being carried on a stretcher, as his voiceover ominously warns that, “Death is a hazard of this job” and nothing is guaranteed.
Tune in to see what happens when 9-1-1: Lone Star returns to Fox at 9 p.m. ET Monday, May 16, for the Season 3 finale. Check out our spring finale schedule to see when other shows are wrapping up, and use our 2022 TV schedule to find out what new shows are coming to fill those spots.