Don’t Give Up
Our first real glimpse of Grace Ryder (Sierra McClain) is when she arrives home to find her husband, Judd Ryder, sitting on the couch watching TV. She asks him how the talk with Captain Strand went. When he informs her, he isn’t allowed to return to the 126, she pushes him on what he’s going to do next. You can tell she is the strength and wisdom behind their marriage right now. After pushing him to not give up, you can see Judd contemplating his next move.
A Little Fluff
With so much intensity so far, it was nice to get a little fluff. Apparently, Captain Strand is a minor expert in all these facial and hair care. We see a fun moment when he shares his facial care routine with Paul. Paul is taken aback by how nonchalant Captain Stand is with the fact Paul is trans, but Captain Strand doesn’t see him as being different than any of the other men.
Ladder 126 is called out on a call involving a vehicle rollover. The driver is unconscious and visibly pregnant. After using the jaws of life to remove the windshield and pull her out, she is strapped on a gurney and Captain Strand hands over the scene to Michelle and the EMS team. Scent salt is used to wake the woman. She immediately panics about her baby and rips off her neck brace. Michelle tries to advise her the baby will be checked out at the hospital. This is where the mom drops the bombshell that she is talking about her 10-month-old.
All Eyes on Them
The search is immediately on for the infant After discovering he wasn’t in the car. Paul, with his intuition, follows the rollover scene to where it started and searches from there. A baby’s cry up in the tree soon opens their eyes to his location. After grabbing the ladder truck, Captain Strand is precariously reaching into the tree to safely pull the child to safety. As the car seat falls several stories to the ground you can see the mom and the rescue crew waiting below in horror. It’s soon revealed Captain Strand has the baby safely in his arms and the crowd erupts in cheers.
Is this scene medically inaccurate?
I personally have a lot of issues with this scene, mainly from the medical aspect. The woman was in a rollover crash and there is no way any paramedic would let her rip of a neck brace. The woman clearly has a head injury and there is a high possibility of unknown damage. They also have her laying on a gurney below the scene of the infant rescue. Once again, this wouldn’t be allowed. She would have been away from the scene, most likely already in an ambulance. Besides the medical flaws, this accident scene and rescue were pretty great.
We end the night with the entire crew at bar decompressing after their shift. T.K. and Carlos hit it off and Owen and Michelle get into a little banter. When Owen leaves the bar, Grace finds him and tells him she was the 9-1-1 dispatcher on the line when the explosion happened. She asks Owen to do what he does best, save people, and save her husband. Owen advises her to have Judd come to the station in the morning.
While Captain Strand and Judd are talking in the morning, Judd notices the dead flowers and picture frames in the trash. He loses it at the thought of Captain Strand throwing his brothers away.
“Well when you threw them out you threw out me. When you threw out every picture, and every card, every memory of those men, those incredible men, you just—you trashed it all.”
A Fresh Start
Captain Strand clarified that he brought the house into the 21st Century. He knows that after a tragedy people need a fresh start. He then adds that he has cancer and Judd was the first person he told. Judd admits he’s afraid if he let’s the monster out he doesn’t think he can get it back in his cage. Judd advises Captain Strand that things will never work out and he walks out of the room. While he is walking out of the ladder house, Judd sees a giant plaque on the wall with photos of every man and woman lost in the explosion, and the dam breaks.
While he is on the floor in the truck bay sobbing, Captain Strand advises him this was the first thing he did after his crew in Manhattan died. It was a way to remember them every time they went out on a call. He tells Judd that his brothers will never be forgotten.
Thoughts
We end the episode with a montage of the crew in the stations and then boarding the trucks to attend a call. We see Judd climbing into the back of the truck as they head to the call. He has found his way back to the 126.
So much happened in the first hour of 9-1-1 Lone Star, it’s hard to unpack it all. I loved how we were introduced to each character and really got a feel for what makes them tick. With such a diverse crew, there is a lot of room for some unique storylines. I can’t wait to discover more of Michelle’s storyline and see how Owen handles his cancer diagnosis and running Ladder 126. This season is going to be full of twists and turns and of course my favorite, crazy medical storylines.
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