Recap: Step Into the History of Grace and Judd in ‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ Season 2, Episode 9 “Saving Grace”

Lindsey
13 Min Read
Jordin Althaus/FOX

After a month and a half of waiting, 9-1-1: Lone Star is finally back! March’s midseason finale was rough all around, but the most devastating moment was the unbelievable cliffhanger, in which Judd and Grace were in a car accident that sent their truck flying off of a bridge and into the water below. Keep reading to find out what happened in this week’s episode, which is aptly titled “Saving Grace.”

The episode opens with an emotional flashback to a 12-year-old Judd in the year 1995, in which he and a friend take a car for a joyride and end up getting into an accident. His friend Cal doesn’t survive.

The next scene takes us back to the present, showing the span of time leading up to Judd and Grace’s accident in episode 8. They’re getting ready to go and have dinner with Judd’s dad for his birthday, finally able to see him after almost a year now that he’s received his second vaccination, but he calls and tells them not to bother because of the weather. They opt to go anyway, though, and discuss the looming subject of potentially having children on the drive. And then, without warning, a car comes flying toward them and their truck plummets off of the bridge.

Next up is a flashback to 2012, and Judd is leading a classroom visit at Station 126. The teacher leaves Judd with a stack of business cards for a church prayer hotline, which she hopes that the firefighters at the station can use if they’re in need. The alarm at the station goes off and the crew heads out, meeting Captain Tommy Vega at the scene. An older woman inside the house has fallen and is unable to get back up, and when Judd approaches her to transfer her to the stretcher, she demands that he get out of her house. It’s Cal’s mom. Later, Judd revisits the scene of his childhood accident and hurtles down the street in his pickup truck, heading straight toward the same tree. He slams on the brakes at the last second.

Jordin Althaus/FOX

Trying to catch his breath and calm down, he sees that the Prayer in Crisis business cards have spilled all over his front seat. Judd dials the number, but he doesn’t speak right away. The voice on the other end of the line is patient as she waits for him to be ready; it’s Grace. This is how they met. Though he’s hesitant to open up at first, Judd eventually tells her what happened on the call at Cal’s mother’s house. We then finally learn the meaning behind Judd’s hand tattoo that he would later end up getting, as Grace recites Psalm 31 to him over the phone.

In the present day, Grace frantically calls out Judd’s name until he finally comes to, and the truck continues to fill with water. Though Judd is ready to spring into action and knock a window out, Grace informs him that her legs are stuck and she can’t move. Grace repeatedly tells him that he needs to let her go, but Judd refuses to leave his wife behind.

Back to 2012, Judd calls Prayer in Crisis again to thank Grace for her help. A montage then follows of Judd working to fix up Cal’s mom’s house, while also repeatedly calling the hotline, often times for no reason other than the fact that he just wants wants to chat with Grace about anything and everything. After many days with no sign of Cal’s mother besides her peeking out the window at him while he works, she finally invites him inside.

Unfortunately, the next time that we see Judd call Prayer in Crisis, he learns that Grace no longer volunteers for them. Dejected, he heads back into the bar that the 126 have gathered at. However, he then hears a familiar voice that stands out from the murmur of the crowd in the building … Grace. She’s sitting at a table with friends nearby. Tommy is quick to pick up on Judd’s lovestruck stare and forcefully drags him over to Grace’s table. As soon as she hears his name, Grace knows it’s him. She remarks how tall he is, and Judd, in turn, tells her that she’s beautiful.

Jordin Althaus/FOX

They move to the dance floor, and Judd informs her that he finally had a breakthrough with Cal’s mom — she forgave him. He tells Grace that she changed his life. Grace explains that the reason she quit the hotline is because she was accepted into a grad school in Georgetown, and she’s moving at the end of the summer. Judd doesn’t let this phase him; he simply asks her out on a date.

In the present day, Judd wakes up in the hospital with Tommy and Owen at his bedside. He immediately asks where Grace is. She was stuck underwater for six minutes before they were rescued. Tommy tries to calm him down as he grows frantic, and she reassures him that Grace is still alive. She’s a fighter.

Back in 2012, Grace and Judd are having dinner with Tommy and Charles, during which the latter couple reveals that they’re pregnant. While he and Charles are doing the dishes afterward, Judd tells him that he put in applications for some firehouses in D.C. so that he can potentially move with Grace. Over the course of the past two months that they’ve been together, Judd has fallen in love with her.

In the present, Judd and Grace’s parents are at her bedside in the hospital as she sleeps. The 126 and Carlos surprise them at the hospital with a buffet of food. Two of Carlos’ fellow police officers arrive and we learn that they’re at the hospital to see a drunk driver … who might just be the person that caused Judd and Grace’s accident. Judd assures his friends and coworkers that he’s okay after overhearing that bit of information, but they don’t look convinced.

Back in 2012, Judd arrives at Grace’s parents’ house to pick her up for a date. As he and her father wait for her to finish getting ready, they have a heart-to-heart, and Judd admits that he loves his daughter. Benjamin then veers into talking about the Williams family legacy, and proceeds to ask Judd — point blank — what he’s willing to sacrifice for Grace. He tells him that their family has been working toward their destiny for generations, but it can’t happen with Judd in Grace’s life. Judd mistakes this for Benjamin insinuating that he doesn’t want his daughter involved with a white man. However, Benjamin clarifies that that isn’t the issue, it’s the fact that he’s a blue-collar worker. He doesn’t want Judd to hold Grace back from the great, big things that she’s capable of in life.

As they arrive at their destination, the two sit in Judd’s truck, and Grace tells him that she’s thinking about staying. She reassures him that it’s been something she’s been thinking about for a while, before she and Judd even met. Working the crisis hotline inspired her. Judd, however, firmly tells her that she’s going to go to Georgetown and be something. As he goes to get out of the truck, Grace cuts in,

“Judd, I love you. I loved you before I met you. And I happen to know that you love me, too.”

He tells her that she’s wrong, but Grace refuses to believe him. She tells him to look her in the eyes and tell her that he doesn’t love her. Judd chokes down his own feelings, turns to her, and does just that. Later, we finally see Judd get his Psalm 31 tattoo. At the hospital in the present day, Judd steps into the room of the drunk driver …

Back in 2012, Judd and the 126 arrive at the scene of a fire, and Judd ends up punching a man who left his car parked in front of a fire hydrant. He’s arrested, and his dad has to come bail him out.

At the hospital in the present day, Judd grills the drunk driver, Caleb. As the conversation veers to Grace, Judd begins to get aggressive and starts to choke him, but Owen and Benjamin step into the room to intervene. Judd leaves and goes to Grace’s room, where she’s finally awake. A doctor comes in and she assures them that “both seem to be in perfect health.” Both? Grace is pregnant. Judd steps out into the waiting room and tells everyone the wonderful news.

Jordin Althaus/FOX

In 2013, we see Judd arrive at the hospital to visit Tommy and Charles; the twins have just been born. Grace is already there in the waiting room, flipping through a magazine. Based on her cool reception to his arrival, they never patched things up after the conversation in his truck. And Grace didn’t end up going to Georgetown. She notices Judd’s hand tattoo, and he finally admits that he lied when he said that he didn’t love her. She knew that it was a lie. Grace tells him that she’s training to be a 9-1-1 dispatcher. Judd asks if she’s seeing anyone, and Grace says she is. He remarks that that’s a lucky man, and Grace concedes that he is … he’s just too dumb to know it, though. Or stubborn. All she knows is that he hasn’t called in six months.

Charles steps into the waiting room, and Grace and Judd learn that he and Tommy have chosen them to be the godparents. Charles walks away, back to Tommy’s room. Grace and Judd lace their fingers together and aren’t far behind him as they walk hand in hand.

Catch next week’s episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star at 9 p.m. EST, following a new episode of FOX’s 9-1-1 at 8 p.m. EST!

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By Lindsey
Lindsey joined the Nerds and Beyond team in 2018. If she's not writing or out and about with her camera, she's probably watching anime, nerding out over Star Wars, reading manga, and definitely forgetting to water her plants. And waiting for the Genshin loading screen to pop up. Contact: lindsey@nerdsandbeyond.com
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