Warning! The following contains spoilers for the 9-1-1: Lone Star episode "Bad Call." Read at your own risk!
The 9-1-1 franchise really put in work for its doubled-up midseason finales, leaving fans to deal with not one, but two, gut punches once both episodes were done. Following the flagship series' emotional cliffhanger, 9-1-1: Lone Star ramped up the danger element by sending two of its lead characters careening off the side of a bridge and into the murky and raging water below.
Things aren't looking good for Judd (played by Jim Parrack) and his wife Grace (played by Sierra McClain), with 9-1-1: Lone Star's midseason capper ending with the couple's car sinking into the river below the bridge they drove off of. Could this mean fans should prepare for one of them – or, heaven forbid, both of the characters – to make a permanent exit after the brutal accident?
9-1-1: Lone Star fans got a brief glimpse of the vehicle sinking further into the water in the trailer for the show's midseason return in mid-April, but no further spoilers one way or another. It's going to be a long wait for Judd and Grace fans, especially after all that talk of them finally moving forward with efforts to start a family. You gotta give the 9-1-1 franchise credit, they love to twist the knife when it comes to sad stories, so let's take a second to remember a happy time.
As if the cliffhanger wasn't bad enough, it sounds like 9-1-1: Lone Star will go about resolving the potentially deadly situation in a wild way. The good news: viewers will likely get the answers they're hoping for. The bad news, so to speak, concerns showrunner Tim Minear's explanation to TVLine for how the next episode will follow up on Judd and Grace's accident, since it sounds like it could set up a pretty depressing resolution.
The [April 19] premiere will pick up 18 years ago, not right where we left off. It actually is kind of [a ‘begins’ episode] for Judd and Grace. It’s the story of how they met, how they fell in love and what they mean to each other. We’ll also tell you what happened when they went off the bridge, and who — if anyone — survives.
9-1-1: Lone Star created some pretty huge stakes by putting Judd and Grace's lives in jeopardy like that, and it's slightly concerning that the narrative's next step is to reveal the couple's origin story to build up the emotional response. After all, what better way to rip out the hearts of a collective fanbase than seeing how a couple fell in love before killing one of them off? Hopefully, the spinoff isn't planning on being so cruel to its characters, though I guess it would be ridiculous if this show delivered a bunch of disastrous situations without dishing out tragedies now and again. Owen and the team have obviously pulled off some pretty fantastic rescues, though, so I'm not yet ruling out Judd and Grace's chances of surviving with no injuries.
9-1-1: Lone Star will return to Fox with new episodes on Monday, April 19. Keep with CinemaBlend for more on the series in the meantime, such as all the latest on the baby drama happening with Owen and Gwyn.
