9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 11 Review: Double Trouble
Jasmine Blu
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Well, that was an experience.
If you can make any initial statement about 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 11, it's that it is unforgettable and will have people.
Whether they'll be talking for good or bad reasons is up for debate, though.
Evidently, they've been playing around with some different stylistic choices and plot points for 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4. In that sense, four seasons into this series, some credit is extended for ingenuity.
Sometimes, they take big swings that pay off; other times, they do not pay off. You can count the series veering into a genre-bending sitcom throwback for impossibly longer than necessary as the latter.
The thing about 9-1-1: Lone Star is that most of the viewers crave background and character exploration for two-thirds of the cast so much that when there's a hint of a tease in the synopsis for an episode, it's hard not to get a bit excited.
Mateo is an underdeveloped character compared to many others, so the opportunity to have an episode centered on him a bit was exciting.
"Double Trouble" could have literally explored some of anything about Mateo because other than the fact that he's a DREAMER and has learning abilities, we still don't know very much about him.
We knew that because Justin Works once played a troubled criminal on 9-1-1 Season 2 Episode 2, they could have fun with Mateo having an identical cousin in LA named Marvin.
And the hour leaned into that heavily, albeit in the most bizarre manner. And within that strangeness, we got to the heart of their connection and a nugget of background.
We learned that Marvin wasn't the troubled cousin Mateo's entire life. Instead, it was Mateo, who was the more popular with a penchant for trouble, and it wasn't until Marvin covered for him, taking advantage of their similar appearance, that Marvin got pulled into the crime life.
And it's reasonable to believe that a previously good kid who got tossed into juvie would leave it with a whole new skill set for crime and on a different path in his life. It's not unlike stories we've heard of or seen before.
Because we got this scenario presented to us via an alcohol and concussion-fueled dreamscape ripped from a 50s sitcom, things got murky.
Previously, we learned that Mateo didn't even know about his immigration status until he was 17, but this incident happened when he was 13. Did Marvin know something Mateo didn't, which prompted him to cover for Mateo out the gate?
I pose the question with the full knowledge that I could've missed a tidbit supporting that aspect of Mateo's backstory because this entire skit had to have lasted eight minutes, five minutes longer than it needed to be. By the midway point, it threw me off by the sheer ludicrousness of it that I mentally checked out.
Mateo: I need to go to the police station.
Nancy: The police station, Why?
Mateo: I need to report a crime.
Owen: What crime?
Mateo: Vandalism, arson, I guess. It's what they arrested him for, but it was me.
Owen: Mateo, are you delirious or are you still drunk?
Mateo: Well, I'm not not drunk, but it's true. I burned down my school. It was me and these guys; I was 13. I was staying with my cousin and my family. They treated me so good, and I ruined their lives. They don't know it, but they need to know.
Owen: Mateo
Mateo: No, he didn't want me to get deported, so he said it was him. He went to juvie for me, and it changed him.
I'm human; forgive me. It wasn't to my taste at all.
Credit where it's due; all the actors truly committed to the bit and enjoyed it. The prospect of Owen and Tommy playing a married couple in this dreamscape was amusing. The other cameos seemed pointless.
It was long enough to contain all the primary cast, even if their parts were senseless just for the gag, but the bit fell short of doing that. We missed out on Grace, Paul, and Nancy.
The crazy thing about this information is that it was utilized to explain why Mateo was constantly indebted to Marvin. It's a hold that outsiders couldn't understand.
But if anything, it was more of a reason Mateo should have put his foot down with Marvin long ago. Marvin saved Mateo's life many years ago, sparing Mateo from getting deported after his arson incident.
If Mateo wanted to pay Marvin back, he'd steer him toward the right path and stop enabling him and his bad behavior.
Marvin wasn't on a path he couldn't get back from; he could get into so many other avenues after this. Frankly, for those of us who watch 9-1-1, we've seen what Marvin is capable of, and he had the perfect setup for a character who could find redemption.
And perhaps that's why it's so disappointing that we got this storyline instead. And now Marvin is senselessly dead, killed in an accident after mere hours of Mateo bailing him out for $25 grand because he jumped right back into the auto theft.
Owen: I'm sorry you lost your cousin. But I don't want to lose you.
Mateo: Thanks, Cap.
Owen: You bet, son.
It was so frustrating. In some ways, it dampened the sacrifice Marvin made for his cousin years ago and his death in the present.
Suppose Marvin made such a sacrifice for Mateo out of love for his cousin. Why would he throw all of that away so soon after his cousin, who he knows wouldn't have had $25K lying around, no sooner than he got out, potentially costing Mateo his hard-earned savings and leaving him on the hook?
It's essentially the same reason it would've been foolish for Mateo to cop to an arson years before, making Marvin's sacrifice and subsequent path afterward all in vain.
What little of Marvin we knew essentially got sacrificed for trauma porn for Mateo, and it still wasn't the type of arc that was appealing for the character.
Interestingly, Owen was there to provide some reason to Mateo when he was desperate to help Marvin, even if it was beyond his means. And that paternal relationship that Owen has with Mateo is always endearing.
That bond is one of the strongest examples of how the other characters can benefit when Owen shares screen time or a storyline with them.
It's a trickle-down benefit.
And Nancy was essentially there to enable Mateo, even loaning him over $20k for this. Nancy and Mateo have had cute moments since they got together, mostly offscreen, but with the more serious stuff it definitely exposes some issues with that particular pairing.
It was notable that Mateo completely shut Nancy down and out when all of this transpired, and he wasn't exactly kind. And Nancy's gesture, while well-intended, is absolutely nuts.
Who loans their relatively new spouse $20K and does not anticipate problems on the horizon? Embarrassment and pride are among the things that could seep their way through and destroy this fledgling relationship.
Now, Mateo's cousin-brother is dead; he feels guilty about it and owes his girlfriend and coworker $20K. Either the series bypasses all of this, which wouldn't be entirely out of the norm for them, or we head into even darker territory, to which I'm left wondering if we should have been careful about what we wished for with Mateo.
Mateo going on a bender was alarming as well, and it served as a reminder that we don't know much about him or what his "darker" side could consist of here.
These things should spell trouble for Mateo and Nancy because things feel unsettling, but who knows if the series will head in that direction?
Julian Works got the opportunity to step forward for this hour that was heavily Mateo centered, and he even got to play double duty, but overall, it was frustratingly underwhelming.
And that leads us to how the show finally delivered some Ryder time and checked in on Wyatt.
It feels like Judd and Grace have taken a backseat for much of the season or got relegated to supporting roles to everyone else.
At one point, they felt like the heart and soul of the series, and now, they're too often forgotten, which is criminal.
Much like their storylines in 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3, this recent arc heavily revolves around Wyatt.
It's been interesting how we were so eagerly awaiting the moment when the Ryders would become parents so we could fully see that in action.
But for the most part, they got unusually thrust into parenthood with the Wyatt curveball. Suddenly, parenting a teenager has surpassed the adjustment period of parenting an infant and toddler.
Tommy: If your biggest problem is that Wyatt turns out just like you, you don't have a problem.
Judd: He ain't like me, Tommy. He ain't like me.
Wyatt is a good kid, and it was sweet when we saw that he and his new girlfriend, LeAnn were there to have dinner with the Ryders so Wyatt could catch them up on his life and they could meet her.
But most of us know that those dinners rarely go well, and Wyatt decided to take the "ripping off the bandaid" approach and told Judd that he's dropping out of college, trying to be a firefighter and LeAnna's pregnant. They're keeping the baby and possibly getting married.
It was one hell of an information dump, and it's a mystery how Wyatt thought Judd could process all that information at once, take it well, and proceed to ask someone to pass the bread.
As someone who has always had mixed feelings about the introduction of Wyatt, it took a minute to come around to the idea of him. But just as soon as we got accustomed to this secret illegitimate love child coming out of the woodwork, we now have a Ryder grandchild on the way.
Respectfully, I loathe this.
The storyline presents it as if Judd was in the wrong for his reactions, reluctance to help his son get into the academy, and everything else.
The only thing Judd was wrong about was the implication that HE, as a blue-collar man with no education, didn't amount to anything, and that's why he wanted better for Wyatt.
Judd's disparaging view of himself is upsetting because he's easily one of the best men in the series, and he didn't require a degree or college to be that way, nor is Wyatt a failure for following in Judd's footsteps.
However, as a man who knew how hard it was, who battled his own insecurities about his upbringing, who faced the type of scrutiny and judgment from Grace's father, and so forth, as a father, one can understand why he truly hoped that Wyatt was on a different path than he was.
Wyatt is an intelligent kid who seemed to love school and has big plans. It would be frustrating if they went through all of this to get him to this point, and he abruptly changes his mind about all of that and wants to pursue a career that he didn't seem to express any interest in before.
Wyatt's experiences with Judd, from that explosion at the building to the time he had to save Judd in the wilderness, could have piqued Wyatt's interest.
And there's heaps of potential for Wyatt if he ends up a probie at 126, giving us another father/son duo in one house.
Tommy: He wants to be a firefighter.
Judd: Did you call Grace?
Tommy: No. No, I see the way he idolizes you. It's not surprising, Judd. He's got a great role model.
Judd: He got a big blue-collar lunk who got another girl in trouble for a role model. This kid, Tommy, Wyatt, he's so intelligent. He can go out there in the world and really do something. He don't want to do that. He wants to throw it all away to become bumass Judd Jr, and I just don't want him to make the same mistakes I made.
But I understood where Judd was coming from about all of it. He's also a man with PSTD about losing his entire squad before. He knows better than anyone how dangerous this job is and how worse off it is if you have someone who may not be ready for it.
It was harsh of him to call Wyatt "soft," but I can't say he was wrong in his assessment either. Wyatt seems far too sensitive of a kid to get into this field, and I can't envision him as a firefighter. It feels like it falls outside of the scope of what suits him.
I would've been more intrigued by his opting to become a dispatcher.
It also didn't bode well that Wyatt instantly wanted to cash in his father's connections. He wanted Judd to put in a good word for him with the Chief, and the whole nepotism baby component of it was offputting.
But at least Wyatt dropped that after he and Judd got into it, and he went to the Chief himself, without mentioning Judd, and fought for a spot in the fire academy the following week.
Wyatt proved that he doesn't always take no for an answer, and he has grit, which is great. But should we be concerned that it was more of a rebellious streak than a real display of Wyatt showing initiative and drive?
With Judd helping Wyatt get into shape, he should be ready for the academy and do well. We'll probably have firefighter Wyatt.
And he gets to juggle all of this with a pregnant girlfriend in school for teaching as they prepare for a baby on the way, which Judd and Grace promise to help him out with, too.
Grace: What?
Judd: I think you might be about the wisest woman I ever met.
Grace: OK, I'll try not to be offended by that, thanks.
Judd: And I also think you're going to be the finest grandma in these parts.
Grace: Excuse me? I know you didn't just call me grandma, I know you didn't.
Judd: You want granny, or mee maw or?
Grace: Keep on, Grandpa or you're going to be sleeping on that couch.
It was also offputting that Wyatt kept throwing in Judd's face that he wasn't there for him and he'd basically be a better father and do things the right way as if Judd had any say in the matter.
Anyway, is everyone ready for Papa and Grandma Ryder?
We only had one emergency call, and it was one freak accident that can amuse us.
The neighborhood kids shooting an arrow through the grouchy lady's neck was a wild sight to behold, but was anyone else irritated with the father who insisted that it was an accident, copping an attitude, and showing no sympathy?
I don't care how mean they thought this woman was; his son just shot an arrow through her jugular and could have killed her. It at least warrants some concern!
Perhaps it speaks to me getting older, but it didn't seem like this lady was as horrible as everyone made her out to be, and taking the kids' balls when they kept having them sail over into her yard, disrupting her trees and plants, seemed reasonable.
It sucked that in the end, she couldn't even be rightfully upset about some kids shooting her in the neck with an arrow because had they not done that, she wouldn't have discovered that she had a mast in her throat.
And now the "mean old lady" flipped a switch and will likely become the sweet grandma of the neighborhood who invites the kids over for juice and cookies.
Margaret: So the cancer just saved my life?
Tommy: I think those boys saved your life by pointing an arrow right at the problem.
It certainly was an entertaining opener.
Over to you, Lone Star Fanatics.
Are you excited about Grace and Judd becoming grandparents? Are you disappointed that Marvin died?
How do you feel about the future of Mateo and Nancy's relationship after all of this? Did you love or hate that sitcom sequence?
Hit the comments, and let's discuss it all!
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.
