The wait is finally over, 9-1-1: Lone Star is back! Following the events of the season 2 finale, the 126 is splintered and scattered across various temporary assignments in the wake of the closure of their firehouse. While some have accepted the reality of the situation, others (aka Marjan) refuse to give up. However, another urgent problem soon takes precedence — a dangerous winter storm has arrived in Texas.
Bad news for the 126
We open with a flashback to May, in which Owen was subject to a disciplinary hearing for punching his not-quite-deputy-chief-yet Billy. The purpose of the meeting is to determine what sort of disciplinary action Captain Strand will be subject to, but he’s more concerned about what’s going to happen to his team at the 126 now that the firehouse has been shut down. “You’re not just closing a firehouse, you’re breaking up a family.” The meeting doesn’t end on a good note, because Owen is suspended for an undetermined amount of time, the rest of the team is told to remain at their temporary postings, and … it’s revealed that Station 126 is red-tagged for demolition.
The joys of temporary postings
Captain Vega, Nancy, and T.K. are all currently working as paramedics for a company called Paragon. Captain Vega is called into a meeting with her new boss, who isn’t pleased that she didn’t up-sell unnecessary medication to a patient in the ambulance en-route to the hospital on a recent call. Ah, the wonders of working for a privately held EMS! Meanwhile, Nancy and T.K. are planning a get together for the 126, and it seems that there’s trouble in paradise for our favorite lovebirds, because T.K. is concerned about the fact that Carlos is invited.
Later, Nancy and T.K. are cleaning out the back of the blood-spattered ambulance after a harrowing but successful call (in which they rescued a man that was nearly decapitated by a chunk of ice while he was attached to the back of a pickup truck skiing). She asks him why he and Carlos broke up, but T.K. won’t tell her what happened.
Demolition day
A demolition crew is ready to get to work on tearing down the 126, but Marjan refuses to let the firehouse go. She handcuffs herself to the building and begins live streaming for her followers. Carlos shows up to arrest her, and the crew calls it quits for the day when snow flurries begin to fall on the city. As Carlos drives off with Marjan in the back of his cruiser, it appears she’s been hard at work doing things like pouring sugar in a bulldozer’s gas tank and cutting a crane’s hydraulic lines. Carlos talks about how it’s important to realize when something is over and when it’s time to move on, but is he talking about the 126 or T.K.?
Captain Strand’s pride gets in the way
Marjan is annoyed when Billy is the one that bails her out of jail. She berates him for refusing to reinstate Captain Strand, and in return he shows her the real reason that Owen is still suspended. Furious, Marjan heads over to the 122 (where she’s stationed with Judd and Paul), and she tells them that Owen could have returned to work immediately if he had just signed a letter stating that his attack on Billy was “unprovoked and cowardly.” Paul and Judd don’t blame him for not wanting to swallow his pride and back down, but Marjan doesn’t agree. It doesn’t help that she’s also upset that she’s the only one still fighting to save the 126.
Despite the storm, she takes a trip to Owen’s cabin to pay him and Buttercup a visit. She tries to change his mind, but Owen reminds her that the 126 is done no matter what anyway. And he’s tired of playing the hero. Defeated, Marjan leaves, but she ends up driving into a ditch after swerving to avoid another car. Meanwhile, Owen and Buttercup find a man that has collapsed in the snow.
A dangerous collapse
Carlos responds to a call about looters at a furniture store, but when he goes to investigate, he finds that it’s just a pair of veterans trying to keep warm. He brings them to a shelter, but the building collapses soon after from the weight of the snow on the roof. This creates a huge problem for the people that had been inside, because it’s freezing out and all of the other warmer centers are filled up. Carlos has a brilliant idea, and he coordinates with the owner of the furniture store to let the displaced citizens take up refuge there for the time being.
An awkward moment ensures between former lovers when T.K. arrives on the scene, but it doesn’t last long, because Carlos realizes that one of the volunteers is missing. She’s still trapped inside the gymnasium. Judd, Paul, and Mateo are among the firefighters that are tasked with climbing through the dangerous wreckage of the building to attempt to rescue her. However, disaster strikes when another piece of the building collapses on Paul.
The next episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star will premiere on FOX on Monday, January 10 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Stay tuned for our continued coverage on the series, including episodic recaps and more!
