We’ve been waiting a very long two weeks to find out the fates of Marjan, T.K., and Owen, who were left in perilous situations in the second episode. Let’s dive in to season 3, episode 3, “Shock & Thaw.”
Not Everything Is As It Seems
A sheriff’s deputy on patrol discovers a wrecked van, with evidence of injury and cut plastic handcuffs. (This is obviously the van that was carrying the coyotes that Elena and the others fought.) After searching for any stranded people, the deputy leaves to continue his vehicle patrol. Meanwhile, Marjan is about 20 yards away in her crashed car. She hears the deputy yelling, and she runs up the hill as quickly as she can to reach the voice she hears. But she is too late and watches him drive off.
Later, one of the folks from the barn has left out on his own, believing he can reach help without being dragged down by the others. As he walks through the blinding snow, he runs up on the deputy out on his patrol and yells for help. The deputy walks up to him, but someone on the other end of his radio reveals that the cartel are in communication with the deputy. He tells the helpless man, “Wish you hadn’t heard that,” pulls out his gun, and kills the man. Marjan happens to see this take place and runs away, followed closely by the deputy.
Marjan eventually finds a temporary place to hide and tries to call Owen. She leaves him a message, telling him about the so-called deputy who is looking for her and is dangerous. She tells him that, no matter what, to just stay away from him. And she then continues to make her way to Owen’s cabin.
Just A Dream
T.K. wakes up in bed, the sun shining in on a warm spring day. He walks downstairs to his mom, Gwyneth, making tea. (This is clearly a hospital-grade drug-induced hallucination.) T.K. asks her where Owen is, and she says that he is probably at work. T.K. starts to tell her that he is currently in between jobs but is interrupted by the beautiful weather outside. “Hmm, the storm must have passed.”
After spending some more time with his mother, T.K. hears a high pitched, shrill beeping sound. He doesn’t know what it is, but we see that it’s the heart monitor in the ICU beeping to alert the hospital staff that his heartrate is dropping. (The sound wakes up a sleeping Carlos, who is in a chair by T.K.’s bed.) Back in the kitchen, Gwyneth is now making T.K.’s favorite cookies. He says he loves being together with her again and asks how long they will be together, and Gwyneth says they can’t be together forever. T.K. objects, stating that everything right now is perfect and that “perfect things should last forever.” The timer for the cookies dings before the cookies are even made, which confuses T.K. Gwyneth explains that things don’t always make sense. “The longer you stay here, the harder it is to get back.” T.K. says he understands. The scene ends with another shot of T.K. in the hospital bed, unresponsive but still alive.
Later, Carlos, Tommy, and Nancy are being informed of T.K.’s prognosis by his doctor. He could potentially suffer multiple organ failure, so he must remain sedated to hopefully rest enough to begin to heal. When Carlos asks if he will be ok and if that plan of action will work, the doctor explains that it is possible he could recover. But if his vital signs continue to worsen, “We could lose him,” Carlos finishes.
A Rewarding Career
In another part of the hospital, a recovering Paul is visited by Judd and Mateo. They are joking about the possibility of Marjan punching Owen if he doesn’t sign Billy’s apology letter. Then, the parents of Lindsey (who was saved by Paul and who also saved Paul) enter Paul’s room to thank him for saving their daughter. The father throws very expensive gifts at Paul’s feet, including a special order lamb’s wool blanket and Rolexes (plural). He then asks Paul if he would like a Maserati. Paul thinks he is joking, but the father is not. Then, Mateo tries to score some sweet swag from the dad, telling him that he and Judd were also on the scene. But Judd reminds him and everyone that the reward of being a firefighter is the job itself and that no gifts are necessary.
A Dangerous Trek
In the barn, the armed man, who we now know is named Manuel, is trying to reach his contacts via radio and reveals their location. Owen tries to negotiate with Manuel, and through Elena’s translations, he tells him that he’ll leave cash with them. In return, he will leave the barn and not report them to the authorities. But as Manuel reaches for the cash, Owen knocks him out, ties him up, and is back in control of the situation. However, the radio crackles, and the person on the other end confirms that he’s received everyone’s location and they’re on their way.
Owen and the others pack up and leave the barn, hoping to make it to Owen’s cabin. Manuel is tied up to prevent his escape, and another man is suffering from severe frostbite. So he is being dragged on a wooden door. The trek is slow, but progress is being made. They eventually make it to Owen’s cabin where Sadie greets them. Once everyone is inside and starting to warm up, Owen tries to call for help on the ham radio but gets only static.
A few moments later, the dangerous deputy pulls up to Owen’s cabin, and because Owen hasn’t received Marjan’s message yet, this is very bad news. Marjan makes her way to the cabin as well, but is not able to warn Owen and the others. Inside, the deputy questions Owen about the other folks with him. He explains that many of them need medical attention and that they really should get some sort of advocacy group involved to help the folks with their immigration status situation. It becomes clear very quickly that the deputy despises the immigrants and wants to play no part in helping them. When the ham radio crackles, Sadie walks over to answer it, but the deputy pulls out his gun to stop her. When she asks what’s going on, Owen explains that the deputy works for the cartel. The deputy responds that he is “more of a private contractor.”
Outside, Marjan comes up with a brilliant plan to get the deputy away from Owen and the others. She sets off the sirens in the police cruiser, which draws out the deputy. He forces Owen to shut off the sirens, not knowing who else is out in the snow. When Owen gets to the cruiser, he sees a long piece of cloth stuck in the gas tank and looks over to see Marjan hiding with a box of matches. Owen shuts off the sirens, and as he walks back to the cabin porch, Marjan sets a match to a line of gasoline that runs to the cruiser’s tank. When the car explodes, Owen uses the opportunity to attack the deputy, and Elena comes to assist by knocking him out cold with a swift kick to the head.
Finally, the deputy is taken away in a police cruiser, and the injured folks are treated by EMS. Later, Owen and Marjan (and Buttercup!) are driving, and Marjan asks Owen why he really won’t sign the apology letter. She says that it’s not too late for him to return to the job, but Owen is adamant that he is not returning. She calls him “so stubborn,” and Owen turns up the radio to change the subject. Tom Petty’s “Breakdown” begins to play on the radio, and Owen and Marjan sing the all-too-appropriate-for-the-current-situation lyrics to each other.
Breakdown
At the eerily silent call center, Tommy is bringing Grace up to speed regarding T.K.’s prognosis. She tells her that things don’t look good, and Grace reminds her that “with God, all things” and to keep the faith. Tommy says she will try to do just that. She then laments that she should not have let T.K. go after the drowning boy in the frozen pond. Otherwise, he would be healthy right now. Grace reminds her that, because of him and her, a little boy is home with his family right now.
After a not-so-surprising surprise party for Grace (because coworker Bree gave Grace a head’s up to prevent any premature labor), Grace goes home to work on painting the nursery, when there is a knock at her door. She opens it to Billy, who brings sandwiches and an offer for Judd: the captain’s position at the 125 is going to open up, and he thinks his best friend would be a great fit. Grace reminds Billy that he torched their friendship when he destroyed the 126. Next, in what could be a TED Talk titled “How to Destroy a Grown Man Using Only Words,” she then calls him out on what’s really motivating him: “I’ve read that there are two reasons we do anything. There’s a good reason, and then there’s the real one.” She knows that he is jealous of Owen Strand’s success running the 126, and that is the reason he couldn’t resist shutting down the firehouse. Unfortunately, her stress levels cause her water to break, and Judd cannot be reached.
Grace tries her damnedest to get Billy out of her hair, to no avail. She tells him that if he really wants to help, he’ll find Judd and bring him to the hospital. Grace is determined to drive herself to the hospital without his (or anyone’s) help. She won’t listen to Billy’s pleas to let him drive her in his truck, and as she drives away, Billy jumps in the moving car.
On their way to the hospital, Billy admits that Grace is right about her calling him out for being jealous of Owen’s success. Grace then begins to scream as her contractions continue, and Billy reaches for her hand. She bats it away and tells him that he is neither a friend nor family and that he should not touch her. While Grace continues yelling at Billy, we see them get stuck in unyielding snow. Grace isn’t able to make it to the hospital after all.
The next episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star will premiere on FOX on Monday, January 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Stay tuned for our continued coverage on the series, including episodic recaps and more!
