9-1-1: Lone Star Came Full Circle In The Best Way In The Series Finale, But I Wish I Hadn't Gotten My Hopes Up For One Star

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS are ahead for the series finale of 9-1-1: Lone Star on Fox, called "Homecoming" and set to stream with a Hulu subscription.

An era has ended on Fox, as the heroes of 9-1-1: Lone Star's Station 126 have responded to their last emergency in the 2025 TV schedule. The stakes were sky-high for the end of the fifth and final season with an asteroid hurtling towards Austin. Throw in a potential nuclear meltdown, a handful of grievously injured firefighters, and Tommy appearing near death in "Homecoming," and I have to commend the Lone Star team for coming up with a happy ending for everybody... sort of.

There was one thing that I wish the series finale had done differently even while bringing the story full circle, but it's my own fault for getting my hopes up. I just wish we'd seen Sierra McClain as Grace one last time.

9-1-1: Lone Star Comes Full Circle

Lone Star really seemed to set the final crisis up in a way that somebody was going to have to lose their life, and there were plenty of candidates. Owen, Judd, Marjan, Paul, and Mateo all had serious shrapnel wounds from trying to shut down the nuclear reactor, while Tommy was gasping for air with Nancy and T.K. only having so many resources to help her.

I personally thought that Tommy seemed one of the two most likely to die, especially after Gina Torres did not want the breast cancer storyline. Owen also seemed not long for the world as soon as he started staggering for the big, world-saving button, and "Homecoming" went the extra mile to sell that he'd lost his life. I actually wouldn't have been mad about it, since Owen would have gotten a heroic final act, but his actual ending is a lot more wholesome.

Nobody died! In fact, there were happy endings to go around. T.K. and Carlos got custody of Jonah, with T.K. resigning from his work as an EMT to be a stay-at-home dad to his son/bro. Tommy went into a remission that bordered on miraculous, Marjan has a baby on the way after Joe finally returned to the series, Mateo successfully argued his case to avoid deportation with Nancy by his side, and Judd became the new 126 captain after starting out the season as a probie in Lone Star's big attempt at a fake-out.

Because Owen in fact did not die from his injuries! Instead, he left Austin to take the position of NYC Fire Chief that he'd been so tempted by earlier in the final season. He was back in the city he loved, after surviving and healing through his years in Texas. Happy endings all around!

Well, sort of.

Where Was Grace?

Despite Judd's considerable struggles with alcoholism in the latter half of Season 5, I can't imagine a better ending for the character as a firefighter than to become captain of the 126. As a husband and father, though, I would have loved nothing more than for Sierra McClain to make one last appearance as Grace. Even if it was just a Zoom cameo for Grace to watch her husband's ceremony and say hi to the adorable Charlie, it would have really ended the finale on a high note.

And it's my own fault that I was disappointed not to see her, because co-showrunner Rashad Raisani confirmed to TVLine way back in November 2024 that she wouldn't even have a cameo, and he even opened up to CinemaBlend about finding a solution to Grace's "tough to swallow" decision to leave Judd and Charlie behind. I should have known that a surprise appearance from McClain wasn't coming.

But dang it, I loved Judd and Grace's relationship, and I couldn't help but cross my fingers that she'd be back on screen one more time. At least the finale didn't end with the two having split up. They're still married and presumably as in love as ever... we just didn't get one last look.

Did Grace's absence ruin the finale for me? Definitely not, and I'm now in the mood to go back to the beginning and rewatch the pilot to really experience how far all the characters have come since the start. The full series will be available streaming on Hulu once the finale is added to the library.

And primetime isn't going to be missing 9-1-1 action altogether, although the midseason premiere of 9-1-1 Season 7 is still more than a month away. The seventh season returns to ABC on March 6.