It’s Been Over A Month, And I’m Still Mad About 9-1-1: Lone Star's Ending

9-1-1: Lone Star may have come to an end in February 2025, but the first responder procedural’s finale only becomes worse with time. Though many held out hope for a satisfying conclusion after 9-1-1: Lone Star’s cancelation was announced, the final episode of the series failed to give its full cast a proper sendoff. From the needless plot twists that added little to the frustratingly rushed resolutions that felt baffling, the capper was ultimately a let-down, as it sadly abandoned what made the Texas-based spinoff so charming in the first place.

Not even the intense rescue in the 9-1-1: Lone Star finale was enough to make up for the downright confusing choices made regarding many main characters. Whereas some core players in the main ensemble were shirked in the overarching narrative, other members of the 126 firehouse were given end fates that felt uncharacteristic, out of place, or seemingly out of left field. It’s undeniable that 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 12 had many memorable moments, but not every scene is remembered fondly. Sadly, the glaring issues in the 9-1-1: Lone Star finale have become even worse in retrospect.

The 9-1-1: Lone Star Finale Focused Too Much On Owen's "Death"

The Bait And Switch Was Unnecessary

Although Rob Lowe was the headliner of 9-1-1: Lone Star’s cast as fire captain Owen Strand, the finale disproportionately focused on his character and wasted time setting up an elaborate fake-out with no real payoff. After the team responds to the nuclear threat on the Austin college campus, Marjan Marwani (Natacha Karam), Paul Strickland (Brian Michael Smith), Mateo Chavez (Julian Works), and Judson “Judd” Ryder (Jim Parrack) are all injured alongside their captain. In what seemed like a last-ditch heroic effort, 9-1-1: Lone Star implied Owen sacrificed himself to stop the nuclear meltdown. Yet, Owen’s fake death is quickly debunked.

The worst part of the 9-1-1: Lone Star finale faking Owen’s death is that, if the spinoff did kill off its main character, it would have been a perfect full-circle moment to bookend the series. Since Owen’s plot armor was thick enough to help him survive and move to New York, the ample time 9-1-1: Lone Star’s finale spent setting up his “death” feels like an egregious waste. Instead of allocating crucial time to trick the audience, the series finale instead could have used its full run-time to give each and every character the endings they deserved.

The Time-Jump In 9-1-1: Lone Star’s Finale Meant The Conclusion Didn’t Feel Earned

It Placed A Band-Aid On Lone Star's Biggest Conflicts

The strange 6-month time-jump in 9-1-1: Lone Star’s finale was a controversial decision that immediately read like a cop-out, and it now feels as though the procedural knew where it wanted its characters to end up but didn’t know how to get them there. The heaviest storylines in 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, like Tommy Vega’s (Gina Torres) supposedly fatal breast cancer and Judd’s life-threatening alcoholism, were miraculously solved after the time-jump without any tangible explanation. Including such harrowing storylines only to sidestep their execution feels more than disappointing; it feels irresponsible, especially given the spinoff’s sizable audience.

Admittedly, the ending of 9-1-1: Lone Star had to be happy to an extent— however, there were ways to achieve a hopeful conclusion without abandoning the serious plots introduced throughout season 5. Instead of Tommy’s doctor guaranteeing she’d die within weeks, 9-1-1: Lone Star could have implied her cancer was worsening and had her enter remission after the time-jump. Similarly, the finale could have touched on Judd’s sobriety journey before immediately thrusting him into the position of power his alcoholism prevented him from assuming before. Somehow, the 9-1-1: Lone Star finale needed to resolve its weighty storylines with more care.

Many 9-1-1: Lone Star Characters Didn’t Get The Closure They Deserved

Some Were Forgotten Entirely

Tommy and Judd’s endings felt rushed, but at least the 9-1-1: Lone Star finale gave them endings. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for many favorite characters. Marjan’s ending fate consisted solely of her pregnancy reveal, while Mateo and Nancy Gillian (Brianna Baker) had no direction for their relationship. Even worse, 9-1-1: Lone Star robbed Paul of a true ending at all. Even though there were ample opportunities to give a glimpse into Paul’s future, ranging from his forgotten relationship to his forgotten lieutenant position, the finale left him to do nothing but comment on his coworker’s big reveals.

Even characters who were more involved in the finale’s plot weren’t all equally covered in the epilogue sequence. Carlos Reyes (Rafael L. Silva) may have become a father alongside husband TK Strand (Ronen Rubinstein), but the series finale failed to properly establish his work with the Texas Rangers after he uncovered the corruption in his previous superior (solving his father’s murder in the process). As for Judd’s son, Wyatt (Jackson Pace), what happened to the new voice of Austin dispatch is yet another unanswered question in 9-1-1: Lone Star. Unfortunately, multiple characters will never get the ending they were due.

9-1-1: Lone Star’s Finale Abandoned The Heart Of The Show

The Found Family Was Sidelined

All of 9-1-1: Lone Star’s biggest blunders in the series finale boil down to one major problem: the show lost itself in its final moments. While 9-1-1: Lone Star’s five seasons helped construct a lovable if not fragile found family, the series finale ignored the strength of its ensemble to center Owen Strand as the “real” main character. In doing so, 9-1-1: Lone Star disrespects the heart of its narrative and sullies the great moments throughout the other 71 episodes. Pretending like Rob Lowe’s character was the best or even most important proves 9-1-1: Lone Star didn’t mean “126 forever.”What made 9-1-1: Lone Star so successful in its prime was the character-driven stories that felt earnest. From dialogue exchanges that felt written with love to the overarching romance between Carlos and TK in 9-1-1: Lone Star, the greatest part of the spinoff was the way it seemed to value its diverse cast. Episodes like Marjan’s fight for survival (Season 4, Episode 9, “Road Kill”) or Judd and Grace’s (Sierra McClain) emotional backstory (Season 2, Episode 9, “Saving Grace”) were touching, grounding moments in an overwhelmingly exaggerated procedural. The 9-1-1: Lone Star finale, regrettably, lost that human touch.

While replacement shows for 9-1-1: Lone Star were originally meant to fill the void left behind by the Texan spinoff, they now serve more as a distraction from the disappointing ending. I wouldn’t go so far as to claim the finale ruins the entire series, but the finale will never cease to be a frustrating watch. 9-1-1: Lone Star’s finale might feel less like a bittersweet goodbye and more like a messy breakup, but the talented cast ensured there are many amazing episodes to revisit as a reminder of the good old days.

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