9-1-1: Lone Star is back for a new season. Does anyone else feel like it’s been a decade since we’ve seen this show? But seriously, it’s been so long since the 9-1-1 Lone Star season four finale, that we were starting to wonder if it was ever going to come back. But now that it’s returned, let’s review “Both Sides, Now” and all the changes that have happened to the show and the 126.

Judd’s New Life
We’re going to start off with the biggest change to the show: Grace. We knew going into this episode that she wouldn’t be here, which devastated us. The show wrote her off by saying she’s doing mission work, or “The Lord’s work,” as Judd said, and while we’re glad the show didn’t kill her off, we miss her. The show misses her. Grace brought something to 9-1-1: Lone Star that can never be replaced. Judd also misses her, and his life is completely different now. We’re glad he’s still here, though. Because we couldn’t bear to lose Grace and Judd.
But Judd needs to decide where he wants his life to go now and what he wants to do since he’s no longer fighting fires. He could decide to start building houses. He did a wonderful job with Wyatt’s place and making it accessible for him. But honestly, we can’t picture him doing anything besides firefighting. That’s who he is. But will he want to go back to the firehouse? After his talk with Owen, we’re not sure if he wants to come back. This leads us to…

Marjan or Paul
In “Both Sides Now,” Marjan and Paul are in the running for Judd’s lieutenant spot at the 126. And this competition is getting to them. Owen needs to pick someone soon because we’re afraid the competition could hurt their friendship, but it could also get someone injured during a rescue.
Our first thought was, just hire Judd back. That would be the easiest and most practical solution. But we’re rethinking that. Judd said that the person who doesn’t get picked may look for opportunities elsewhere; and if Judd came back, would Marjan and Paul leave? That would be the worst-case scenario. And Judd’s such a good person, so he wouldn’t want to take a promotion away from his friends.
We don’t envy Owen right now. Trying to decide who to fill Judd’s shoes with is almost impossible. And then trying to decide between Marjan and Paul, knowing you’ll hurt whichever one you don’t pick? Good luck, Owen.

New Employment
It seems like everyone has new jobs in “Both Sides, Now”. Wyatt is working as a 9-1-1 operator, and Carlos is a Ranger now. So many changes. But we’re kind of excited about these two. Since Grace is gone, the show needed a new emergency operator. This seems like a good fit for Wyatt. And when he talked to Carlos, he seemed very appreciative of TK and the other first responders that saved his life. Now, he can help save others in this new role.
Carlos has already impressed us with his new role as a Ranger. First of all, the hat looks great on him. Second of all, he was amazing at solving that crime. And he impressed his new partner, Campbell, too. We weren’t thrilled with the new guy at first, but we warmed up to him throughout the episode. He admitted he was wrong about Carlos, and he was impressive as well with his knowledge of accents throughout the area and narrowing down suspects. We look forward to seeing more of these two during season five.

Other Thoughts:
- We’re happy about Owen finally going to grief counseling. Tommy may have dragged him there, but he needs help. We’re glad Tommy is there to support him, and maybe he will gain some new friends or a bigger support system through therapy.
- Carlos and TK’s scenes were brief but cute. We loved how supportive TK was with letting Carlos continue to talk about the case. Because he knows how much it meant to Carlos. But we’re also a little worried because of the ending. We know it’s important to find Carlos’ dad’s killer. But we hope it doesn’t break Carlos in the process.
That’s it for this week! It looks like next week is a little more action-packed, and we’ll get to see Wyatt handle his first big test of being a 9-1-1 operator.
Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment and let us know.
9-1-1: Lone Star airs Mondays at 8/7c on FOX.