9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 2 Review: The New Hot Mess

Spoilers

Where on earth is Iris?!

You could say 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 2 left us with a few mysteries, with Iris seemingly disappearing without a trace and O’Brien taking Owen goodness knows where because of the Honor Dog situation.

Despite those cliffhangers, the hour was light on rescues and the rest of the cast.

On the rescue front, the opening call was entertaining. Marjan and T.K.’s friendship is always a treat to witness, and who doesn’t love it when Marjan does something daring and badass?

Paul once again got to show off his intellectual abilities and how quick he was on his feet with the solution for how to trap Mitch, even if it was Owen who took credit for it in the end.

Health Scare-tall - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 9

Moments with those two made you long for more screentime for them and lament that we haven’t had much to go on with half of the characters this season. It wasn’t the least bit surprising that Marjan isn’t new to such ventures but true to it, and even T.K. found it amusing.

The two of them getting some chopper time was fun, even if some of the effects were a bit on the wonky side.

TK: Look, Iris, Carlos loves you, and he cares about you, but he can’t stay married to you. First of all, he’s gay, and he’s mine.
Iris: Oh, I know.

Marjan handled Lila well, considering the woman was seconds away from getting smashed to smithereens in her mobile home to spite her husband.

Marjan’s patience was thin with that woman and the whole situation; you couldn’t blame her. It was good for some laughs, though, and it also reintroduced O’Brien into the fold and the begrudging camaraderie he and Owen have fallen into since their previous beef.

It should’ve been obvious that they wouldn’t bring Neal McDonough back for a brief cameo, like stopping an angry husband from riding into an overpass, so his popping up at the Honor Dogs club made sense.

Marjan and T.K. Rescue  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 2

Of course, the question is why he’s there in the first place.

We’ve already established that Owen going undercover and working with the F.B.I. on this fringe separatist group case is ludicrous, to put it mildly. It’s one of the more outlandish storylines and heroic arcs for Owen over the course of the season.

We’re jumping right into it, too, and it’s generally an odd choice when Owen could be doing anything else. But it is what it is, and we’re along for the ride, regardless.

So far, the F.B.I. is coming across as incompetent and questionable in all of this. Why are they doing this investigation without reaching out to local law enforcement?

Pulled in Deeper -tall  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 3

Did they previously suspect that there was a tie to law enforcement, and that’s why they’ve been mum about it? But if that was the case, why not give Owen a head’s up since he’s a first responder who may have bumped into someone he worked with, as he did with O’Brien?

Oddly enough, despite how shady O’Brien is coming across here and McDonough’s knack for playing baddies all the time, it’s likely that O’Brien is on some undercover stuff himself.

Sadly, it would make sense that some white supremacist fringe group would try to infiltrate law enforcement or have some cops on the inside for their benefit. It’s not a stretch of the imagination, so O’Brien could just waltz in there as himself, and the Honor Dogs would buy it.

But so far, Rose, and it’s still so amusing that we have three former Suits stars this season, isn’t forthcoming with information and is putting Owen in harm’s way for whatever case she’s trying to build.

Meeting the FBI -tall  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 2

They had a source, but whoever that person was, they probably got injured or killed, which speaks volumes about how they operate. She doesn’t even seem bothered by that.

And it’s so manipulative of her that she played into Owen as a survivor and first responder during 9/11 to guilt him into working with her to avoid a possible domestic terrorist attack.

Rose: Capt, these men you’ve been associating with, the Honor Dogs, what do you know about them?
Owen: See, I think the phrase “associating with” is misleading. I’ve ridden with these guys a couple of times. As far as I can tell, they’re motorcycle enthusiasts who like to brand each other from time to time, so I don’t know much.
Rose: The Honor Dogs are a group of fringe separatists whose stated goal is the return of the state of Texas to its founding fathers.
Owen: The Mexicans?
Rose: They skipped right to the Alamo part.
Owen: But they know how it ended right?

It’s so offputting that she’d subject him to that with no regard for how he’d feel about it or what it could bring up for him.

She knows how dangerous the Honor Dogs are, but it didn’t stop her from getting him to plant a bug in their club anyway, and if she wanted him to do that, it happened way too soon.

Judd Means Business -tall  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 2

Owen should have popped up at least a handful more times after running out of there abruptly before planting a bug. He already would come across as suspicious for fleeing one minute and then mysteriously popping back up like nothing happened the next.

And he’s right about them telling him some random places the plant the bug but not explaining how to activate it. It was an error on their part; then to send him back in there? It’s absurd!

I don’t know what kind of investigation they have going on where most of it falls on Owen, and they have no real regard for his safety. Rose was too unfazed when he mentioned O’Brien and how he could’ve been caught.

And it turns out he was right. His approach to O’Brien was all wrong and incredibly suspicious. Owen isn’t the type of guy who fits into that environment, and O’Brien knows that.

Finding Trouble -tall  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 1

It was concerning that O’Brien broke into Owen’s house to confront him about the ordeal and give him the bug, but in some ways, you have to be grateful he covered for Owen. Otherwise, Owen could’ve ended up dead or something.

How is it that O’Brien, of all people, feels more competent and trustworthy than the F.B.I. right now?

Chances are, O’Brien is looking into this on his own, and he’s taking Owen somewhere to prove that despite his strong Aryan features and disposition, he isn’t, in fact, a Nazi.

If there’s trouble, you can count on Owen to hurtle headfirst into it at every turn. It’s damn near exhausting.

Dating Advice from Grace  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 2

Once again, this storyline separates him from the rest of the characters and the firehouse, but he does have a moment of connection when Tommy, puzzlingly, seeks him out for advice about Trevor.

In theory, sure, Tommy was looking for a specific answer to handling the situation, and she could trust that Owen would give in to that. However, it was still a bizarre choice to have her confiding in Owen, of all people, at work, no less, about her sex dreams featuring her pastor.

Tommy: I’m having sex dreams about my pastor. What were you talking about?
Owen: It’s not that, but I’m flattered.
Tommy: you weren’t in the dream.
Owen: No, not that. That you chose to share it with me.

It would’ve been particularly entertaining if she confided in Judd, who was on record as one of her best friends, and his advice conflicted with Grace’s, making for some amusing moments for the Ryders, too.

Of course, it would’ve also given Judd more to do than excitably proclaiming that Charlie pooped! He’s such a precious Dad, isn’t he?

Judd Means Business -tall  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 2

Everyone’s reactions to Tommy with her Frog Prince offered more amusing moments in the hour.

I love some quality T.N.T. scenes, and Nancy and T.K. are endearingly pesky younger siblings to Tommy regarding her personal life. The two of them eavesdropping on her conversation with Trevor and gleeful that Tommy agreed to the date were hilarious.

Trevor is nothing if not persistent. In some ways, it’s good that he likes Tommy so much, and he’s determined to get her to stop overthinking and give in to her instincts when dating him.

Grace: Something compelled you to give him your phone number.
Tommy: It wasn’t the Holy Spirit.

He leaves her so rattled and a bumbling mess of adorable awkwardness. This feels more like Tommy’s transition from losing her husband than the complicated situation with her brother-in-law.

It feels right, okay, that Tommy is ready to move on, and she’s in the better space for it, and that her feelings about dating Trevor have nothing to do with her grief and everything to do with who he is and her assumptions about his desires and how they can pursue things.

Gossip with Grace- tall - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 2

Tommy’s concerns about the gossip at the church if the congregation finds out are valid. No one would want to be under such scrutiny, and it opens the door to so much judgment and other people inserting themselves and giving opinions about your life.

It brings up uncomfortable conversations where people would try to surmise if Tommy is somehow worthy of the pastor or whatever else. Churches can be the worst about that type of stuff.

But there’s another issue with dating a man of God and not knowing what that will intel. Tommy is a widow who doesn’t know if she’ll ever want to get married again. She’s also a sexual woman with desires and needs, which seem to conflict with a man in a pulpit every Sunday with particular messages.

She had a smoking hot sex dream about her pastor, but there’s no guarantee that it’s a part of herself she’d feel comfortable expressing with this man because he’s a pastor.

Gracie's Wisdom -tall  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 2

She’s deep in her head about all of this, but you can’t blame her. It would be hard not to feel as if your Christianity and faith are up for judgment and scrutiny.

Of course, Trevor doubling back to give Tommy that sexy kiss, and in front of the Ryders, is an excellent indication that he’s not as stuffy as Tommy may believe, which can bode well for them if they pursue a dating relationship or more.

Grace was right. Grace is always freaking right. Hearing her talk about how she and Judd actually waited until they were married to have sex felt so like them, and it also had me craving some more quality Ryder romance.

Grace was such a delight during this installment, as per usual. Did anyone else wish they could’ve seen that peacock call in action?

Ryder Girls with their Boys  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 16

Judd’s reaction to Tommy making them the third wheel on her date was priceless, but then, so was Trevor’s when he realized what was happening and that he got invited to a family dinner.

It’s always a good time with Tommy and the Ryders.

I can see where the Tarlos and Iris situation was probably meant to be fun before it took that concerning turn.

And don’t get me wrong, there were some funny moments with the trio. T.K. describing his multiple comas as if he, too, was tired of himself finding peril at every turn was laugh-out-loud funny.

Reassuring T.K.  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 2

But overall, the situation with the marriage and now annulment felt contrived. They had to retcon far too much for this storyline, and it doesn’t even feel worth it.

Even the gimmick with the divorce got drawn out for no good reason. If the entire point was that Iris wanted to get an annulment rather than a divorce, why wouldn’t she just come right out and say that immediately?

TK: Being a paramedic at the 126 comes with plenty of danger.
Carlos: The paramedic TK replaced in the field, got killed.
Iris: That’s so sad.
TK: By a lava bomb.
Iris: That’s cool but still sad.
TK: And last year, during the blizzard, I was rescuing a kid trapped under the ice, and I got really bad hypothermia, ended up in a coma, and almost died.
Iris: I thought you were shot.
TK: That was the other coma.
Iris: How many comas have you been in?
TK: Oh, just the three, but only two since I’ve been in Texas.

It felt silly to have her meeting T.K. and her moments of word vomit that we’re supposed to write off as her meds causing bluntness instead of her stating immediately that they should get an annulment.

It’s crucial that Iris doesn’t get vilified for obstructing Tarlos’ relationship or delaying their marriage. Her mental illness shouldn’t get used against her; it’s also not a justification for her moments of apparent rudeness.

Tarlos - Tall - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 1 Episode 5

Carlos’ way of handwaving Iris as just being Iris could get irksome down the line. It’s also not cool if anything she does can get written off as it is her personality or acceptable because she is mentally ill and deserves to be left off the hook alone.

But the annulment debacle was unnecessary fodder to cause insecurity in T.K., leaving Carlos to reassure him that he doesn’t see T.K. as a project that needs fixing.

TK: Maybe this marriage is a bad idea.
Carlos: OK, that surprised me. Hey, what’s going on?
TK: Do you see me as a project?
Carlos: A project?
TK: Like something that needs fixing, like a bird with a broken wing or a tragic case that needs fixing.
Carlos: No, what are you talking about?

It felt redundant, too, since T.K. and Carlos had similar conversations.

And Iris making the comparison didn’t seem right because she knew why Carlos married her and that it predated her schizophrenic break. It had nothing to do with fixing Iris. He only stayed married to her to help her. His initial reason for marrying her had nothing to do with her.

Host of Game Night -tall  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 17

And now, Iris isn’t willfully or intentionally delaying things for Tarlos, but her disappearance certainly will.

Her absence must have something to do with her quest to find the woman who hasn’t taken her meds in the past couple of weeks. She mentioned that she would see the woman later, and now her car is empty at an unhoused encampment.

Iris has just gotten her life back on track and is in a healthy, happy place. It’s scary to think someone has taken her or done something to her.

But what other reasons would explain her sudden disappearance? She’s been healthy thus far, so it’s doubtful she went off her meds and bailed.

A Sponsor -tall  - 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 13

Unfortunately, because of her past, we know anyone investigating her disappearance will consider all of these things and could be dismissive about her disappearance.

They could imply that she had a mental break or something, maybe because of the ending of her marriage to Carlos or sudden changes in her life.

Iris’ disappearance sets Carlos up to investigate it and search for her again, coming full circle in an unsettling way. But maybe this possible storyline will also revisit Carlos becoming a detective.

Iris’ inability to sign off on annulment and postpone the Tarlos wedding is small potatoes compared to the fact that she’s literally missing again and could be in grave danger.

Where the heck is Iris?

Over to you, Lone Star Fanatics. What do you think happened to Iris? What are your thoughts on this Owen undercover operation? Are you missing the rest of the characters? Sound off below.

You can watch 9-1-1: Lone Star online here via TV Fanatic.

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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