9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 16 Review: A House Divided

A house divided cannot stand.

Families fight, and Judd and Tommy put that to the test during 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 16, after they disagreed on a call, kept spiraling so far out of control that the entire house was in on the spat.

And thankfully, Owen and T.K. got great news regarding their health, but Robert put Owen in the most devastating position by the end of the hour.

Tommy and Judd are the epitomai of best friends, and that dynamic has made for some rich screen time together when it’s shown and some of the most enjoyable aspects of the series in these recent years.

They’ve been each other’s family, and while families sometimes get into a dispute, something about those two felt untouchable.

As a result, it was almost surprising that their disagreement over the call escalated how it did. It’s hard to believe that it turned into an argument in the first place.

But what resulted was pure entertainment nonetheless. One of the sweet spots of this series is the Ryders and getting to spend more time with them.

And that’s why the back half of the season has been so strong: they’re finally getting more storylines and screen time.

While we’re still spending more time on personal arcs than emergencies and calls, these characters know how to carry the storylines that they get and make them endearing.

Interestingly, we’ve seen Judd acting as captain on the scene of a call multiple times, especially this season. However, with the more official title as he stepped in for Owen, it’s like it caused more friction for him and the other team members, and he got lost in his duties and trying to take the gig seriously.

The Mill fire was disconcerting. Judd did his due diligence calling the shots during it, and fortunately, he trusted his team’s word when Marjan and the others said that the noises were worrisome.

Judd: Let me put it this way, then. What I would like is for me to have some confidence that my goddaughters’ mama is gonna make it home to them, especially since they just lost their daddy.
Tommy: You know what? You don’t get to play that card with me.

Pulling them out of that fire immediately was the best call. Otherwise, it would’ve blown up and taken goodness knows how many of them with it.

The poor man penned in the machine didn’t stand much chance. But it’s expected of Tommy to give it a go. She knew things were harrowing enough that she needed to send T.K. and Nancy out of there when Judd gave the orders.

However, she didn’t want to leave that man behind. To which I say, Tommy, my love, WTF?

They didn’t have the time to get that man out of the machine. The amputation was the quickest way to go about things, but the odds of him surviving that when he was already in a dire state were pretty slim.

Tommy was on a suicide save by staying behind like that, and it was frustrating to see her be insubordinate and stubborn. As tragic and difficult as it was, the best call was for her to leave that poor man behind and get out of there.

Tommy also knows her best friend. She also knows the things that he’s experienced. An unexplored aspect of this entire storyline was that Judd literally lost his entire crew, people Tommy also knew, worked with, and loved, to a similar situation at a factory when it exploded.

It wiped out everyone he cared about, and he would not let something like that happen to him again, especially when he was the captain calling the shots.

He was also not going to lose another best friend in an explosion. It wasn’t even Judd the Captain acting when he ran in to retrieve Tommy; it was Judd, the man who loves his people and will put his own life on the line for them.

Tommy put him in that position, forcing him to go after her and get her out, even if it meant he’d have to take her kicking and screaming.

He helped her resolve the pressing issue, using the ax to hack that man’s arm off in one fell swoop, and carried him out in the nick of time. And after all that, the man died anyway.

Tommy is my girl, but her overreaction to Judd discussing the call and her behavior was unfathomable. She spent more time quibbling with him over semantics and him pulling rank, despite his attempts to discuss the issue as delicately as possible.

Perhaps it was too soon to approach her about it after she lost a life, but given that he had some pressing paperwork to do, even that made sense.

However, Tommy was not being sensible, and her response to Judd bringing up her kids and Charles felt blown out of proportion.

Out of everyone there, Judd is in perfect standing as her best friend to point out how her choice was reckless and potentially harmful to her kids if something happened to her.

He wasn’t wrong. The twins have already lost their father, so they can’t have their mom out there taking unnecessary risks on a job that’s already risky as hell.

Judd bringing that up as her best friend and their godfather, as well as someone who knows all too well the pain, loss, and grief of losing someone on the job and the devastating effects on the family, wasn’t out of line at all.

She wouldn’t listen to him or have a reasonable conversation without storming off, so he was right in pointing out that she didn’t handle their conversation maturely despite his attempt to be respectful and navigate things carefully as her friend.

In a way, it was like Tommy took for granted that Judd would roll with whatever she did because of their relationship, and that wasn’t fair or right.

But then, maybe she’s also accustomed to Owen playing hero all the time and behaving recklessly himself, so she didn’t think much of it.

Things could’ve gotten resolved if they had talked before Judd went to H.R. about the whole thing. And it sucked that he brought Asha in for that situation.

Tommy: This house may have two teams, but we are one family, act like it! Am I clear?!
Judd: Hey, fire, Captain Vega just asked y’all a question.
Marjan: Yeah, clear.

The 126 has precedence established with how they’re unnecessary risk-takers on the job. However, it was Judd’s call as captain to do things how he felt most comfortable and try to do the job right.

It escalated the situation more than necessary when he brought in H.R., but I also couldn’t be too upset at him either.

It was funny that the two went from having a family game night with Trevor, Grace, Wyatt, and Leanne to getting kicked out of the fancy restaurant they had waited months to get into because everyone was arguing.

Grace and Trevor were so hilarious. They only wanted to mend fences between their loves and eat at the best restaurant in town.

Their motives were clear, and they put in the work to get to that restaurant. As a foodie, I can appreciate the sacrifices.

But by the time they got to the table together and things were still chilly between Tommy and Judd, it was obvious that things would get out of hand and poor Trevor and Grace would get dragged into the spat too.

The whole dinner scene was hilarious. Grace and Trevor trying to pass the mediation gig onto one another because of their respective professions was amusing.

Trevor started well, but he was going too hard on Judd while letting Tommy off the hook, too intimidated by her death stare to piss her off any further.

Please don’t get Biblical on me, Preacher Man.

Tommy

And one thing Grace isn’t going to do is to let anyone disrespect her husband, even a man of God. Her getting protective of Judd was so adorable because the Ryders 1000% ride for one another as sure as the Sun will rise and set.

Trevor getting a bit snippy and tossing in some digs was so unexpected, but he fits right in with this group. And Judd not letting Pastor Trevor disrespect Grace was so on brand for him that all you could do was laugh.

It’s too bad those people in the restaurant were too stuffy. Why would you complain when you get the best food in town and a free show?

As usual, all it ever takes for a family to set their differences aside is a crisis. Sadly, Wyatt getting seriously hurt was what it took for them to set differences aside.

It sounded like Wyatt was doing so well in the Academy. He was the star pupil, breaking records, and had all the other stations clamoring to recruit him.

But now all that could end since he sustained spinal injuries after someone hit him with a car.

We didn’t get much of an update beyond Tommy telling Judd that he had the best surgeon working on him. It’s an upsetting development, for sure.

Outside of the spat spilling into the teams and them forming sides defending their captains, we didn’t get much happening with the other characters.

But we did get some bittersweet developments with Owen, Robert, and T.K.

Owen chose a hell of a time to keep his promise of being open and honest with T.K. It was heartbreaking when he sat him down to tell him about Robert’s Huntington’s Disease and the possibility that they could have it too.

T.K. went from enjoying his grandfather’s journals to being angry at the man for this genetic death sentence he could’ve given them at a time when he was happiest.

It may seem hypocritical given how often I critique the series for focusing on Owen at the expense of other characters, but if there was ever a time where we should’ve had an exploration of where his head was, it’s him learning that after beating lung cancer he could possibly have Huntington’s.

It felt like he never got a chance to actually react to the news and how it could affect him specifically or the idea that his only son could face the same fate as his brother.

Owen notoriously internalizes things and exudes so much compassion and love in those scenes with his brother, but the idea of what it meant for him never settled.

Nevertheless, we got the full breadth of emotions and worries from T.K., which led to some beautiful scenes with Carlos.

We had to see T.K. react to this devastating possibility without him knowing for certain if it was what was in store for his future, and he spiraled a bit.

Without even knowing if he had the gene, he was prepared to put the wedding on hold, giving Carlos an out on dealing with him and a life he may not have planned.

But, as Carlos said, he’s in this in sickness and in health. He’s taking that vow seriously, and nothing will impede him from marrying his soul mate.

It was one of the most intimate, sentimental, and sweetest scenes this pairing has had in the series.

Even after they’ve been together this long, they still have these moments and little things about how they see each other and the relationship they share with one another that brings them closer.

TK: You might be going through it alone because as it progresses, I might not remember anything. I might not remember who you are.
Carlos: Then I’ll just have to introduce myself to you every day. I’ll say, “Hi; you’re TK. I’m Carlos, and we’re soulmates.”
TK: Soulmates? I never heard you say that before.
Carlos: It’s true.
TK: how long have you thought that?
Carlos: Since the first night I took you home.
TK: Me too. What?
Carlos: you’re such a liar. You couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
TK: Well, why do you think I ran?
Carlos: Well, I’m not running TK. I’m right here, no matter what, baby.

Sure, we all knew that one of the reasons that T.K. probably ran the night they were together was because he knew he could fall for this man. It’d be something real, but there’s something about him actually saying it in response to Carlos’ soul mate admission that gives a person the feels.

We always knew where Carlos stood with T.K. in that regard.

For the sake of the intimacy between them and the solidification that they’re in this and intend to be there for one another through all their hardships, it made tossing another quickly resolved obstacle in their path worth it.

What’s upsetting is that Owen faces a difficult task. Robert still can’t work up the nerve to tell his children that he’s dying, and it’s heartbreaking.

But he promises that he’ll manage to do it by the wedding. I can’t say I believe him. Even with Owen’s urging and advice, it’s clearly too hard for him.

But the prospect of Robert dying in Texas after the wedding when his kids are headed home is too much. And he wants Owen’s help doing it.

It’s such a big ask of someone he hasn’t spent nearly enough time with or knows as well. Understandably, he doesn’t want to burden his wife with something like that, and he probably feels that Owen is close enough to him not to want to see him in pain but distant enough to be able to do it without backing out.

But he also wants to die in Texas, which is not a state that does assisted suicide. California, where Robert is actually from, is, though.

Robert: Now that we know that you’re in the clear, I want to ask one more favor. It’s the last one, I swear.
Owen: Sure, anything.
Robert: I was thinking that I may stay on after they leave so that we can have more time together, just the two of us.
Owen: That’ll be great. I don’t know if I can drive you home again. Robert: You won’t have to. I don’t plan on coming back. Owen: What do you mean?
Robert: I want you to help me die, Owen.

Owen’s love and compassion for his brother could land him in so much hot water if he agrees and follows through with it.

It sounds like the Tarlos wedding could be bittersweet if we have the high of this coveted couple getting married but the low of Owen having to do something like this for his brother shortly after.

Over to you, Lone Star Fanatics.

Will Owen agree to Robert’s request? Did you agree more with Judd or Tommy?

Are you relieved Owen and T.K. don’t carry the gene? Sound off below!

You can watch 9-1-1: Lone Star online here via TV Fanatic.

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