In this week’s episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star, “Spring Cleaning,” sparks fly as relationships develop, Judd attempts to help Wyatt with a job interview, and Captain Strand finally learns how to get his anger under control.
Letting go
It’s been over a year since Charles passed, and Tommy has begun the difficult process of clearing out his drawers with some help from Julius. She convinces him to take a pair of Charles’ shoes, and Julius asks her to come to his upcoming gig. Tommy obliges, bringing her daughters along as well, and she finds herself wrapped up in the lyrics to Julius’ serenade. Later that night, Tommy puts the girls to bed, and she’s surprised to see that Julius skipped out on the afterparty. They kiss (again), and Tommy momentarily pushes him away, only to fall back into his arms moments later.
Tommy brings flowers to Charles’ grave and settles down on the ground to have a chat with him. She admits that with Julius around, she feels alive right now, and she wants to ask him to stay. Rather than expressing regret, Tommy says that she feels in her heart that Charles has already given his blessing for her to move on.
Tommy comes home to find Julius sitting and playing his guitar. She tells him that she doesn’t regret what happened between them; she actually really likes him. Julius admits that he’s in love with her … which is why he has to leave before he messes everything up. Despite the fact that Charles’ shoes are a perfect fit, he doesn’t feel that he’s near man enough to fill them.
“Into the garbage chute, flyboy!”
A couple that’s separating is sorting through the belongings in their home and divvying them up. Unfortunately, they end up changing their minds about one of the items that they drop down the garbage chute. A valiant rescue unsurprisingly turns to disaster as the man falls in, and the 126 shows up on the scene to begin a dumpster diving extravaganza. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the power to the apartment building was shut off, the trash compactor turns on. Captain Strand channels his inner Han Solo for a temporary solution, but Mateo ultimately comes to the rescue when he pulls the plug.
Mateo and Nancy’s secret
Owen waltzes through the house, none the wiser to the fact that Nancy is currently tucked into bed with Mateo. Based on their conversation, this isn’t the first time that they’ve done this either. Nancy suggests that perhaps it’s time they just come clean to everyone, because sooner or later, they’re going to slip up with all of this sneaking around. Mateo wearily agrees to it, but when Nancy brings it up later at the firehouse, he begins making excuses. (Meanwhile, Paul is exasperated over everyone’s obsession with eating their chili with corn chips.)
Later, the 126 (and Carlos) are having a Catan game night — a competitive board game with a tendency to ruin friendships … or budding relationships. Mateo ends up leaving their game night early, annoyed by his disagreement with Nancy. When Nancy arrives for their next game night, she’s surprised by the somber mood in the room and learns that the crew is staging an intervention to figure out what’s going on with her and Mateo. They admit to their friends that they have been sleeping together, and the mood in the room immediately becomes awkward. Nancy gets up to leave, put off by Mateo’s hesitance, but he stops her and tells her that he’s not over it. He admits that the problem isn’t her; he was afraid that people would laugh at her because of how short he is. Their friends watch them reconcile from the couch with smiles on their faces. Nancy and Mateo then excuse themselves from the game so they can go and grab “coffee.” (Yeah, they’re not getting coffee.)
Mind games with Captain Strand
A woman’s attempt to flee an abusive relationship turns disastrous when she exits her car to run back inside of the house, placing it in neutral instead of park while her kids are still in the backseat. The car begins to roll down the street, and because the doors are locked, she can’t do anything to stop it. Panicking, she uses her own body as a speed bump to stop the car. When the 126 arrives on the scene and begins to extract her, she warns them about her husband. She begs them not to let him take the kids. Carlos is there, but because she’s never reported her husband for domestic abuse, he can’t stop him.
However, just as the father begins to walk away, Captain Strand’s infamous temper begins to kick in. His team watches on with bated breath, prepared for what’s about to happen next … but Owen uses his brain instead of his reactionary nature this time. He starts saying things to rile the other man up and bait him, which leads to him getting punched in the face instead, giving Carlos cause to arrest him for assault.
Wyatt’s internship
It’s a full table at the Ryder household as Wyatt, his mother, and her fiancé join Grace and Judd for dinner. Wyatt is disappointed when he receives a message that the internship he applied for is no longer a remote job, because he won’t be able to afford a place in Austin. Judd and Grace quickly tell Wyatt he can stay with them. Despite the fact that Wyatt initially wants to pass on the interview altogether, no longer feeling confident about the job, Judd won’t let him give up quite yet. He takes him out to get fitted for a suit and tries to help boost his confidence along the way.
Wyatt arrives for his interview, and he’s uncomfortable as he realizes he’s the only person who showed up wearing a suit (despite Judd’s insistence that he needed one). Judd feels terribly guilty for not just pushing Wyatt to be himself, so he brings him back for another shot. Judd makes his way into the building (on his crutches) to plead Wyatt’s case while his son waits in the car. Meanwhile, a security guard comes out of the building to report a gas leak. The building explodes, and Wyatt crawls out of the truck and dials 9-1-1.
Catch the season 3 finale of 9-1-1: Lone Star on FOX on Monday, May 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Stay tuned for our continued coverage on the series, including episodic recaps and more!
