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callmebrycelee · 2 years ago

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9-1-1: LONE STAR REACTION (SEASON 1 REVISITED)

This reaction is for season 1, episode two "Yee-Haw" which originally aired January 20, 2020. The episode was written by Tim Minear and Rashad Raisani and directed by Bradley Buecker. Spoilers ahead!

As I stated in my last reaction, since I am going back and reacting to episodes from season one, instead of recapping the episode, I will be talking about the moments that stuck out to me. With that said, I'm sorry for all the Michelle Blake lovers out there but her storyline in this episode was not something I am particularly interested in and therefore I will not be mentioning it. Okay, with that said, let's jump into the episode!

MERCURY RISING One thing Lone Star has in common with its predecessor is the tone of the first season. I'd completely forgotten how dark season one is especially compared to later seasons. I'd also forgotten about the sheer amount of death we get in these first few episodes. Last episode we saw the destruction of the original 126. In this episode, we get a scene straight out of that Bird Box movie everyone was raving about during the height of the pandemic. What starts off as a casual work meeting over lunch turns into a literal bloodbath. I cannot describe how horrifying it was watching that first one jump out of a window to her death. And then more people started trying to kill themselves.

By the time the 126 arrive, it is absolute madness. People are stabbing themselves with cutlery. Another person jumps. Paul jumps into action and starts to figure out what's going on. He finds what they were eating before chaos broke out and sees their food has been laced with liquid mercury. He relays his findings and Iris suggests those who ate the food are suffering from erethism or what is commonly known as mad hatter disease. At the start of this scene we see a guy deliver a food order to the office. Paul suspects he is responsible for poisoning the food so he lures the guy back to the building. When the guy arrives with an order for the 126, Carlos arrests him. When he is asked about why he poisoned the food with mercury, he says he did it because they never tipped. Now I get that tipping is important especially for those in the service industry but this is taking things way too far.

JUDD, INTERRUPTED Judd, one of the lone survivors of the original 126, is having a really hard time. He and Grace see a professional counselor together and he is told that he's stuck. I really liked the counselor's explanation of how unaddressed grief works. He compares it to listening to a song and then getting out of the car before the song ends. The part of the song we heard gets stuck in our head for the rest of the day because we never got a chance to finish the song. Because Judd isn't allowing himself to feel the pain of losing his 126 brothers, he is stuck in a loop.

Judd's initially resistant to exploring his deeply-rooted grief and trauma and it is in this regard he reminds me of Owen. Judd and Owen are two sides of the same coin. Judd appears tough as nails - a real man's man - unlike Owen who comes off as super fussy and a bit vain when it comes to his physical appearance. However, both men are extremely stubborn when it comes to dealing with their own emotions. Thankfully they both have people like Grace and TK in their lives.

Speaking of Grace, I love how supportive she is from the get-go. I like that when we meet these two characters, they are already married. They seem pretty solid as a couple and even though Judd is having a hard time, Grace is super patient and understanding when it comes to her man. She always pushes him towards the right path but she never pushes too hard because ultimately she realizes that Judd is a grown man who is more than capable of making his own decisions. I believe another reason they are perfect for each other is because Grace can be a bit stubborn, too, and we will get to see that in later seasons.

Ultimately, Judd has the moment we've all been bracing for. The walls he's built to hold back the immense pain and grief he feels finally break and Grace just lets him feel everything. It was so refreshing to see this giant Texan man who is so rugged and so manly openly weep in front of his wife. What I love even more than that is Grace is more than comfortable with him crying. Growing up, I heard so many toxic things from both men and women about when it is appropriate for a man to cry. I love that this show is constantly challenging gender and societal norms. Men should be able to cry about whatever they want to cry about without being judged by their peers. Judd getting his grief out not only helps him, it helps his relationship with Grace and it definitely helps his relationships with everyone at the 126.

HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW As mentioned earlier, Owen is vain when it comes to his physical appearance. He favors special shampoos and creams and serums to keep himself looking youthful. His latest obsession is losing his hair and although this comes off as another facet of his vanity, as the episode progresses we learn there is a deeper meaning behind his concern.

Owen losing his hair is a result of him undergoing chemotherapy which is a result of him having cancer. Owen having cancer means he is not as invincible as he thinks he is. So many people around him, even his own son, see him as Superman, but Owen is anything but. He's a man who has saved many lives in his lifetime but ultimately he is subject to the same follies as any human being.

Judd takes Owen horseback riding and he tells him about his Uncle Cash who has cirrhosis. According to Uncle Cash, the secret to life is not thinking less of yourself but thinking about yourself less. Whoa! Judd reminds Owen he needs to hold on to what matters in life. He needs to do whatever he needs to do to stay alive. Losing his hair doesn't mean anything in the big scheme of things and push come to shove, this is Texas and he can just slap a cowboy hat on. I love that these two are forming such a close connection so early on in the series. On paper, these two should not get along but they do because at the heart of it, there's a deep respect shared between the two.

HOOKUPS AND HEARTACHES Last episode, TK and Carlos met at the scene of an accident and then danced together at a honkytonk. The two of them have started hoooking up and first it's fun and way sexy but these two are clearly not on the same page. TK is looking for a friend with generous benefits while Carlos is interested in something a bit more ... permanent. When Carlos summons TK to his apartment at dick o'clock, TK assumes there is booty on the menu. Instead, Carlos has prepared a meal for two which honestly scares TK.

TK is a recovering addict who relapsed less than a month ago. He is not looking for a stable relationship because he is not ready for one. He reminds Carlos he just got out of a relationship with someone he was prepared to spend the rest of his life with. Carlos tells him it's only dinner and says he's acting crazy. TK looks like he's about to tell Carlos everything but leaves instead. Ultimately I know how things are for these two in the current timeline but this scene was heartbreaking because I see both sides. Carlos deserves to have a relationship but TK deserves to not want to be in one.

THE CASE OF THE KAREN Every once in a while, Lone Star will have a plot or emergency that is very similar to something that's happened on the OG series. In this episode, we get an emergency scene where an older white lady has called the police on her neighbors because she is, well, super racist. When the 126 arrive at the scene, the woman starts having an attack. She won't let Marjan help her because Majan wears a hijab. She asks TK to help her but he tells her he's a homosexual which she also disapproves of. Judd refuses to help her which is funny because I didn't think first responders could refuse helping someone. She turns to Paul and says he can help her which she thinks proves she isn't a racist because Paul is black. She asks if Paul is a homosexual and he tells her he isn't. He tells her he's trans and the woman looks at Owen and tells him to arrest her.

The reason this scene is so notable for me is because there's a scene in the second season of 9-1-1 that is very similar. Maddie is on a ride-along with Athena and they arrive at a military funeral where there are several protesters. One of the protesters has a colostomy bag which starts to back up and he eventually starts choking on his own crap. He refuses to let Hen and Chimney help him for reasons that are obvious. He looks at Eddie but Eddie tells him he's half-Mexican and half-Swedish but isn't sure which half is which which I think is totally hilarious. Ultimately these scenes exist to show just how ridiculous bigoted people are and how they'd rather suffer than give up the hate.

So, that's episode two for you! I really liked the episode. It was a good balance of emergencies which I like (the mercury scene was brutal) and drama between the characters. Owen Strand gets a LOT of hate from the fandom but I really enjoy him, especially in this season. He is flawed but there's so many good parts to him. I also really like Judd and I love his relationship with Grace. They are my favorite couple of the show. Sorry, Tarlos. Speaking of TK and Carlos, I totally forgot how quickly these two became wrapped up in each other's lives. I think they are good for each other. Carlos is a grounding force for TK which he needs right now. I am curious to see what happens next between these two. Until next time ...

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