Last week on 9-1-1 Lone Star, we saw Marjan come frighteningly close to being killed, but the guys at the 126 saved her just in the nick of time. This week’s episode was less hairy but still dramatic, as Tommy, Nancy, and T.K. become concerned about losing their jobs. Also, Owen becomes Austin’s latest gigolo … at least, according to Mateo.
Read on to find out what happened on “Sellouts.”
A $100,000 Misunderstanding
Captain Owen Strand is the keynote speaker of a local Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser. After his stirring speech, he and his crew mingle amongst the crowd of very wealthy potential donors. Judd tries to schmooze the owner of a Houston football team with stats and features about a ladder truck, Marjan talks to some folks about being stabbed and shot, and Mateo scores a donation by repeating some lines he heard from Owen about Dostoyevsky.
But Owen finds himself having a different conversation, with a gorgeous woman at the bar. He orders a drink from her, and while she prepares it, they get to know each other. Owen then learns that she isn’t the bartender, but in fact Kendra Harrington, of the Permian Basin Harringtons; yes, she’s one of the potential donors. But they are able to overlook their massive difference in annual incomes and head back to Owen’s house.
The next morning, when Owen wakes up in bed and Kendra isn’t there, Owen asks Mateo and Nancy if they saw a hot blonde leave. Nancy says they did and that Kendra left Owen a note on the counter. He reads the note, which is short and not that sweet, but then he sees something else: a check made out to him for $100,000.
At the firehouse, the others give Owen a hard time about becoming Richard Gere (not the Pretty Woman Richard Gere, but the American Gigolo Richard Gere, Mateo explains to everyone). Owen believes that Kendra made the check out for charity, but everyone is confused about why she made the check out to him personally. Then, Kendra texts Owen to ask about having another date. He agrees immediately and tells everyone that he’ll get to the bottom of this confusion immediately.
Add Another $40,000 for Good Measure
Owen tells Mateo that Kendra is coming over for dinner and that she’s bringing with her “Austin’s best cuisine.” This leads Owen to believe that their new relationship isn’t just about sex after all, which relieves him because she wouldn’t spend tons of money on dinner for them if it were. Mateo tells Owen that he should just straight up ask Kendra directly the motive behind the check instead of beating around the bush. Owen says he won’t need to do that.
A few minutes later, Kendra shows up at Owen’s with a bag of her favorite burgers, and this concerns Owen. So he invites her to a fancy art show to see if she wants to be seen with him, but she declines and says that she’d prefer to stay in for the night. As Owen tries to come up with something else, Buttercup arrives, and Kendra is smitten. Owen explains to her that he adopted him because of their health bond.
The next morning, Mateo is interested to learn what happened between Owen and Kendra. Owen explains that she left at 2 a.m. and no monies were exchanged. He tells him that Kendra really sees him for who he is, and she has an enormous heart. Just then, a cash register notification sound interrupts the conversation. Mateo asks why her notification is that sound, and Owen is shocked to learn that Kendra has just made a Venmo payment to him for $40,000. And the only clue about its purpose is a bone emoji.
Owen is now fully convinced that he’s being paid for his … er, services, and he isn’t sure how to address this with Kendra. After avoiding her calls and texts for several days, she shows up unexpectedly at his house and demands answers. Owen comes clean and tells her what he’s been led to believe. She scoffs at his hypothesis and tells him that he is sorely mistaken. Both payments were meant to be donations — one to Stand Up To Cancer, and the other to the organization where Owen found Buttercup, hence the “bone” emoji. (Hello, double entendre.) Owen feels like a fool but is glad to have things cleared up. And Kendra stays the night again. Although there is no word if she sent another payment the next morning …
Saving Lives Becomes a Cutthroat Business
Tommy, T.K., and Nancy arrive at a house to respond to a 9-1-1 call. The elderly gentleman answers and says his wife is experiencing a very serious headache. Inside, Tommy assesses Edith and realizes that Edith might have left contact in one of her eyes. But as she removes the contact, about a dozen more follow. Edith tells her that she immediately feels better, and Tommy instructs her to make sure to dispose of her disposable contacts correctly in the future.
As they take Edith out on a gurney for a hospital follow-up, a private company ambulance arrives, and Pearce Risher confronts the team. He tells Tommy that his team will be taking care of Edith and that she is Paragon’s responsibility now. Tommy objects, but Pearce convinces Edith that she would be more comfortable in their ambulance with the LED lighting and the herbal smoothies on tap. Edith demands to be taken away in the Paragon ambulance, and Tommy relents.
Later, Tommy goes to Chief Reynolds’ office to complain about Paragon, only to see that the head of Paragon, Jacques Lundy, is already there. The chief explains to Tommy that the city will be partnering with Paragon to provide better coverage, as well as receive 35% of Paragon’s profits, which will help the bottom line. Tommy realizes that she can’t avoid Paragon at this point, so she heads back to the firehouse to tell T.K. and Nancy what she’s learned.
While she’s explaining the new partnership between the city and Paragon, they get a call to help a man bleeding profusely on a bus downtown. As they head to the scene, Tommy calls the 9-1-1 center to report their location. But Grace tells them to stand down because Paragon is already en route. Tommy then calls Grace on her cell phone and explains to her the urgency of the situation — they cannot afford to lose patients to the company with deep pockets, or their jobs might be cut.
As Paragon heads to the scene, Grace tells Tommy via cell phone a better way to get there and helps them to avoid traffic and use quick side streets. And it works — Tommy and her team arrive on the scene first, beating Paragon. Paul, Mateo, and Nancy head inside the city bus to help the man who has lost an arterial port from his leg and has lost a lot of blood. It takes a while, because the team can barely get their footing on the blood-soaked floor. “Blood is one of the most slippery natural substances on Earth, even more than motor oil,” Mateo explains. Um, thanks for that, Mateo.
They succeed in removing the victim from the bus, but as they are preparing to load him into the ambulance, he stops breathing, and his blood pressure drops. Tommy realizes that they can’t get him to a hospital in time for a transfusion because he’s lost so much blood. Seeing that Pearce and his Paragon team are there, she asks him if he has whole blood to perform a transfusion, and if so, he can have the patient. Pearce jumps at the chance.
As Pearce loads the patient into the Paragon ambulance, he compliments Tommy on being able to admit that she and her team are second best. “He is one smug son of a bitch,” Owen responds.
Karma is a Beautiful Thing
A 9-1-1 call has come in concerning a toxic gas leak at a perfume factory. Tommy, T.K., and Nancy arrive and see Paragon already on site, triaging the affected employees. Knowing that her hands are tied, Tommy defers to Pearce and asks him for direction on what she and her team can do to help the situation. He instructs them to pass out water bottles and to stay out of his way.
After several minutes, the team gets word over the radio that the source of the leak has been found and that the gas is harmless, albeit overpowering. As Tommy and the others gather their things to leave, they notice Pearce loading a factory employee into their ambulance. Confused about why they would take someone to a hospital who shouldn’t be sick at all, Pearce tells Tommy to keep her nose out of their business. Tommy then lets loose and calls Pearce a profiteering sociopath. “Enjoy your suspension,” Pearce threatens. He then loads the patient into the back of the ambulance and shuts the door. As Tommy, T.K., and Nancy walk away, the ambulance explodes.
Tommy and her team rescue Pearce and his team and the patient. They are all severely injured, and Tommy realizes that Pearce’s lungs are failing him. She works to decompress his chest right there on the spot so that he can breathe without difficulty. It works, and Pearce thanks her.
At the hospital, Tommy arrives at Pearce’s room to check on him. He is badly burned, but he will be okay. He tells Tommy that the incision she made on Pearce’s side at the explosion site was called “exquisite” by the thoracic surgeon and that Tommy missed her calling. Pearce then says that Tommy is doing exactly what she should be doing. He is more than grateful that she saved his life.
“So you won’t be suing?” Tommy asks hopefully. Pearce says that he will, in fact, be suing. But before Tommy asks him for an explanation, Jacques Lundy, the head of Paragon, comes in to check on his employee. Jacques is armed with an obnoxious gift bag, complete with a $1,000 spa day. Pearce tells him that it’s not enough and that he will be suing Paragon for everything it’s worth. It turns out that the explosion in the ambulance was caused by the refurbished O2 regulator, the very one that he has filed formal complaints about in the past. Pearce then explains to Tommy that Paragon cuts costs wherever it can, including the medical equipment they use. Jacques leaves the room as he dials his attorney.
“Ooh, karma is a beautiful thing,” Tommy says with a smile.
9-1-1: Lone Star airs on FOX on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT. Stay tuned for our continued coverage on the series, including episodic recaps and more!
