9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 9 Review: The Bird
Jasmine Blu
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You cannot say 9-1-1: Lone Star isn't coming for our emotions this season.
Paul's prognosis during 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 9 was as heartbreaking as it was shocking, and Owen's seemingly light storyline with Gwyn's bird took a dark turn.
Grace, Carlos, and Nancy's absence from the hour also was notable, and it's remarkable how much levity they bring to the series when they're on it.
They went there by making almost every incident a nerve-wracking one. The military homecoming from hell was insane. One minute the wife was thrilled that she'd get to see her husband, and the next, she had run him over, and he nearly died.
They damn near gave us a heart attack when he coded, and there was a genuine fear that he wouldn't survive or meet his daughter for the first time. It seemed like a hell of a stressful case for T.K. .to be one, too, since it had been maybe a week since his mother died.
Tommy: We've hardly spoken since your mom passed. I want to know how you're holding up.
T.K.:Well, she's dead, what other option do I have but to move on, right?
You would think that a vehicle accidentally mowing the man down and him not getting to his infant daughter would be vaguely triggering for T.K., but he handled the call as well as can be expected, and he had Tommy by his side.
T & T were the primary paramedics during the hour, and you could feel Nancy's absence, but the bond between Tommy and T.K. was touching. She didn't give him any flack about the narcotics incident.
I hope that T.K's near slip-up isn't something they'll handwave away. Still, it's a significant step that he was so open to Tommy's suggestion about grief group therapy, accompanied her, and participated.
Sadly, loss is something that has brought them together. Tommy isn't Gwyn; she'll never replace what Gwyn was in T.K.'s life, but she's such a nurturing, loving, and supportive woman.
The almost maternal energy that she radiated with T.K., taking him under her wing, checking on him in the wake of Gwyn's death, and trying to offer her unending support, was enough to make you tear up.
Judd: You tell me MeeMaw did all this?
Tommy: Don't underestimate Meemaw in a motorized cart.
The season has done wonders with all these little dynamics that sneak up on you, and it's great to see them play around with the cast chemistry.
Those moments were the ones where we got some follow-up and how T.K. is doing after the heartrending 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 8. It wasn't as much as you would've imagined, but it was great content all the same.
Ironically, we spent a bit more time on Owen's experience post-Gwyn's death. She left him her Macaw in her will, and to say there was mutual disdain between the two would be an understatement.
What seemed like a light, comical storyline turned into something else entirely. Noticeable this season, Owen gets some of the random side storylines that feel like a totally different tone than the rest of what's happening during the hour. A great deal of this screentime his season has been geared toward the comical.
The bird name-calling Owen was an amusing bit. He seemed to get along with everyone but Owen, which only made Owen's frustration with the bird greater.
However, when Owen opened up to Judd about their past, it put things into perspective. Owen's present annoyance with the bird probably wasn't warranted when he explained their history.
Owen recalled how Gwyn got the bird when he was at his worst and when the two of them were at the end of their marriage. It was a source of comfort for Gwyn and her protection when Owen was deep in the throes of his alcoholism and unpleasant. Hell, Owen wasn't only verbally abusive and mean to Gwyn, but he was the same with the bird.
He shared that the bird overheard him say some terrible things, and all the mean words it parroted to Owen were his own. It seemed the bird had a long memory, and Owen had much of that coming.
Paul: The front door is solid oak.
Marjan: It wasn't going to keep me from my best friend.
He mused that he didn't get the chance to apologize to Gwyn for the bad things he said back then, but it was a bit odd because he had ample time to do so. They were divorced for some time, and he probably had to make amends while recovering, yes?
Sadly, the bird was alive long enough for Owen to get some form of closure before he and Catherine returned to the place to it dead in the cage. It felt needlessly bleak. Somehow, that death hit like a sledgehammer almost as much as if one of the humans died.
The Paul prognosis was the most significant blow of the hour, even though it didn't take up as much of the hour as one would've expected.
It was to be expected that Paul would probably face some longstanding repercussions from the hypothermia and other things he sustained during the ice storm.
Like a typical guy, he seemed to avoid going to the freaking doctor when his symptoms worsened. If Marjan weren't around, I wonder how long he would've postponed that doctor visit?
He instantly regretted the trip when he learned that he had a cardiac condition, and he'd probably be dead if he didn't get a defibrillator instilled in him. Paul has worked so hard to become the man he wants to be. He's doing the job he loves, reestablishing relationships with his mother and sister, finding this family with the 126.
Life hasn't been better for Paul, but now this diagnosis threatens his happiness and purpose, firefighting. He couldn't fathom spending the rest of his career on desk duty, or worse, forced to retire early.
Your heart ached for both Paul and Marjan during this storyline. The news is a colossal blow to Paul, and frankly, I don't know how the writers can scribe their way out of this corner they boxed themselves into with this diagnosis.
Your life is not over just because you can't run into burning buildings anymore.
Marjan
Will they really bench Paul? What else can they do?
It was hard on Marjan, too, who had to deal with watching her best friend hear this terrible news and then refuse to take the necessary precautions to keep himself safe and healthy.
The hilarious call with mean MeeMaw on her motorized scooter raising hell became stressful when she almost died, but also, Paul jumped into over-exerting himself.
It's not safe for Paul to ignore all the advice of his doctor, and it's now good for Marjan that she can get distracted on the job by worrying so much about Paul.
Of course, now there's no way that he can hide what's happening to him now. After his terrifying collapse in his apartment and Marjan's heroic save fueled by adrenaline and fear, Paul got that defibrillator placed in him whether he wanted it or not.
He's pissed about it, and he chose to lash out at the woman who has stood by his side through it all since they arrived in Austin. It was devastating to see Paul lash out at Marjan like that. As she said, they're ride or dies no matter what, and nothing ever comes between them.
It's unfair that he's punishing and blaming her for having the audacity to love him and not want him to die.
And he's holding her responsible for something the doctors had no other choice to do. She didn't have any recourse in the situation, so no one would've listened to her even if she did share Paul's wishes.
What the hell will he do now? He's pushed Marjan away, and he can't go back to active duty right now.
The others will find out about him, and he'll have to adapt to what's in store for him at the 126 with these new changes.
Hopefully, we can have some more follow-up on this in the impending installments, and it doesn't get pushed aside until down the line.
And maybe we'll get some more headway with other arcs, like whatever is happening with Judd's son, Carlos' potential pursuit of a detective position, and more.
Over to you, Lone Star Fanatics. Are you shocked at how serious Paul's condition is? Did the bird storyline get too dark? Did you miss Carlos, Grace, and Nancy? HIt the comments below.
You can watch 9-1-1: Lone Star online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
