9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 14 Review: Tongues Out
Jasmine Blu
at
.
The best detective on 9-1-1: Lone Star isn't even a cop; he's a lovable firefighter.
One of the best aspects of 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 14 was that the series remembered Paul's particular skillset as one with excellent observation skills and deduction.
We saw hints of it a few times this season, but they leaned all the way in to clear Kendra's name.
The notion of Kendra as a Black Widow wasn't the most engaging arc they could've presented us on paper. If there are grumblings about some of the personal arcs this season, Owen's married girlfriend needing to get cleared of murder definitely leans on the side that garners criticism.
By now, Owen's disastrous love life can feel redundant. It's like he can't simply meet a nice woman and have a normal relationship, but it's what we've come to expect.
Nevertheless, things with Kendra have been a nonstop ride since he met her.
Because of the way they met and the series of miscommunications between the two, it was certainly plausible that she could've killed her husband just to be with Owen.
My advice, if you want to make it to your son's wedding, stay away from her. Kendra Harrington is bad news.
Gabriel
Gabriel did Owen a favor by giving him a head's up, as that's what you'd expect to do for family. Unfortunately, Owen took advantage of that and poured all his energy into trying to protect Kendra without any care as to the repercussions of that, and it was quite annoying.
Gabriel had every right to be irritated by Owen's actions. It was natural for Kendra to be a primary suspect once they realized that toxins were in the mix, and it was perfectly reasonable and protocol to reach out to and track her down.
Kendra avoiding the cops at every turn only made her look more guilty. In this case, she would've eventually gotten cleared anyway if Owen had given the cops the time to follow their case perfectly reasonably.
It was no real reason for Owen to butt into the investigation other than to speed up the process of clearing Kendra's name and because he can't seem to help himself when jumping feet first into anything that's trouble.
But Lone Star veering into Elementary territory with Owen enlisting Paul's help was entertaining. It's the second time Paul got drafted to solve something, and he's two for two this season.
The opener of him going through an entire spiel to deduce that Carlos stole his last pudding cup was amusing, and it was a fun warmup for everything that transpired later as he figured out what really happened to Brett almost play-by-play.
Paul usually has a modicum of sense compared to most, but the allure of solving the case got to him, and he was all in with Owen's request.
And Paul is definitely good. In fact, he's so good that it makes you wonder why he didn't get into something like private investigation or law enforcement. He'd be excellent at it.
Like it or not, you and me, we're going to be related soon so let's get one thing clear. The next time you decide to go behind my back, you better have the cajones to do it to my face. See you at the wedding.
Gabriel
He's certainly gotten a leg up on many of the other law enforcement officers and agents we've seen over the years.
Brady, the dog, was key to figuring out where the toxins came from, and knowing that the poor thing had also gotten some of the pesticides on him, making him sick, was upsetting.
He seemed like such a sweet dog, and it was hard enough to see him so sad that Brett was gone and he'd never be coming back for him.
Interestingly, so much of figuring everything out relied on Kendra's honesty and information.
Taking them to Brett's horticultural hideaway on the ranch broke the case open.
Paul's assessment of the area told him much of what he needed to know, from the specific pesticides that Brett poisoned himself with to how he went about doing it since he was struggling to use his left hand because his right arm was still in the sling from the tire rotation incident.
It could've easily been wrapped up with Paul's initial theory that Brett accidentally poisoned himself in his sanctuary. It was just this tragic accident that Kendra wouldn't have to feel guilt over.
But they took it a step further to possibly make us sympathize with Kendra even more and maybe even justify the love story between her and Owen.
Taking steps further, Paul deduced from more information that Brett didn't just accidentally kill himself.
He was also actively trying to kill Kendra because he was tired of sharing her with other people, knew she had fallen for Owen, and didn't want her to leave him.
It fell in line with Brett's actions. Paul was right about how odd it was for a billionaire to rotate his wife's tires alone when he has no experience.
All of Brett's attempts to kill Kendra kept falling through. And the one time he almost succeeded was posthumous after accidentally killing himself.
She would've died from the pesticide laced-gin if Owen hadn't saved her. And it's typical of Owen to play hero, but he was an idiot for putting himself at risk, poisoning himself by giving her CPR.
One can't even imagine what was going through T.K. and the others' minds when they heard Owen violate their advice and give Kendra CPR until he, too, succumbed to the poison.
Ultimately, it's good that he and Kendra are taking some space apart. And Owen deserved every bit of that tongue-lashing from Gabriel.
On the other side, Tommy is such a badass, and she handled that situation with the church ladies perfectly.
She initially had reservations about what other people would think, but she composed herself quite well and took everything that came out about her well.
It was funny to see that Grace was more worked up about all of this than Tommy was, considering Grace encouraged Tommy to forget what others thought in the first place.
Of course, that was before she had to sit by and listen to the gossip all around her about her friend and the judgment directed at Tommy.
The friendship between Grace and Tommy is one of the highlights of the series, and they delivered on that during this installment.
Grace was trying her best to determine if Tommy and Trevor had slept together, especially since she knew Tommy's desires and needs.
And surprisingly, Tommy and Trevor have remained celibate despite how close they've gotten in the past few months.
But sadly, none of that can matter if people want to gossip and assume whatever they want about what Trevor and Tommy are up to outside of the church.
Tommy's approach to everything is admirable, she could rise above it and not care what other people thought, but it was also understandable that Trevor had a different experience about the ordeal.
I believe Reverent Parks is filling her with more than the Holy Spirit.
Parishioner
It triggered some memories about why he had to leave the church in Kansas in the first place. It sounded like a hell of a scandal, with his wife carrying on an affair with the choir director.
Church scandals can be on a whole other level. And it's absolutely terrible that the elders convened and got rid of Trevor, forcing him out of the position of the pastor because of the actions of his wife and this other person.
The implication that his house not being in order precluded him from running a church is ridiculous.
The real shame of this all was Tommy almost missed out on a relationship with a man that she clearly loves because he didn't want to deal with the gossipers and any ramifications that could mirror his previous experiences.
Tommy took a significant stand, not letting them run her out of her church home, and when she walked through those doors donning scarlet red, leaning into the controversy, I couldn't help but giggle.
It was also peak Jessica Pearson energy, and that reminder of one of the most fantastic characters on Suits was very much appreciated.
She turned the shame back on the parishioners and, in the interim, earned their respect and their acceptance as she and Trevor smooched in front o the entire congregation.
We were due to check back in with the development of their relationship, and it's great to see Tommy genuinely happy in a relationship.
Having more screen time for Tommy and the Ryders is also nice. The friendship among that trio is adorable.
With all of this going on, there were approximately zero calls during the hour, so we missed out on any type of action and emergencies.
While, on the one hand, it's great to have so much focus and exploration of the personal lives of these characters, the season has been light on the emergency calls that may appeal to the majority of the fanbase.
Over to you, Lone Star Fanatics. Did you enjoy Paul playing detective? Were you surprised Kendra didn't kill her husband? Did Tommy make the best choice? Sound off 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.
