Warning: Contains SPOILERS for 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 9.After a five-year run,9-1-1: Lone Staris coming to an end with the series finale set to air on Monday, February 3. Season 5, episode 9, “Fall From Grace,” addresses the show’s most lingering questions, including how Judd is coping with his wife’s absence. Former series regular, Sierra McClain, did not return for the final batch of episodes, resulting in Grace being written out of the series. Judd explains in the season 5 premiere thatshe elected to join Mercy Ships, a real Christian charity that provides medical help to those in need.
The timing is inconvenient due to their toddler, but Judd has continuously expressed pride over her decision. However, the fall finale reveals that he downplayed the impact of Grace’s absence and has turned to alcohol to cope. When speaking withScreenRant, co-showrunner and executive producer,Rashad Raisani, admits thatJudd will go to dark places before he can, hopefully, come out on the other side.Check out what Raisani has to say about the character’s storyline below:
Rashad Raisani: In Episode 10, Jim Parrack gives, I think, the most haunting performance of the series. He’s just incredible. It’s not so cut and dry. At the end of the episode of Episode 9, he’s saying, “Okay, I’m good. I admit it.” That’s it, right? Just admitting the problem. He still has a lot of work to do. And if you recall, when Judd met Grace, he was at the lowest point in his life.
He actually met her because he was calling what was, in essence, a suicide hotline. It was a faith crisis line. And so when he met Grace, he was swimming in rage, in substance abuse, and was right on the edge of suicide. He’s going to have to go to the darkest places before he can emerge. And so he’s going to do that in these last couple of episodes.
ScreenRant: Has Judd been hiding any resentment towards Grace? Or is he truly just feeling a loss of purpose?
Rashad Raisani: I think that Judd doesn’t like the feelings that he has inside and doesn’t want to acknowledge them, and that’s part of the problem, to answer your question, or maybe to not answer your question. But that’s all in the soup of what’s going on with Judd. He has these feelings, these frustrations, and as you said, these resentments, that he doesn’t want to say out loud. But if he wants to heal, he’s going to have to say them out loud and be honest about what’s going on inside of him.
What Raisani’s Comments Mean For 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5
The final episodes will focus on Judd.
Until now, Judd’s storyline in9-1-1: Lone Starseason 5has mainly centered around Wyatt and returning to the 126. It’s been evident that the firefighter misses his wife, but it seemed likely that his responsibility to Charlie encouraged Judd to adapt. Although the positive outlook he displays helps viewers ignore the pain of Grace’s absence,it doesn’t reflect the monumental impact Sierra McClain had on the show.
9-1-1: Lone Star Showrunner Explains The Shocking Betrayal In Season 5’s Fall Finale
Exclusive: Showrunner Rashad Raisani discusses the reveal of Gabriel Reyes' killer in 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 9, “Fall From Grace.”
Judd and Grace’s love story is the beating heart ofLone Star, and while the procedural can exist outside of it, it can’t touch viewers in the same way. The series dives to depths that others fail to reach and continues to do so by acknowledging what was lostwhen McClain left. While there is hope that Judd will find a way out of the darkness, his struggles echo what Grace means to him.
Judd And Grace’s Storyline Needs To Be Resolved Offscreen
Sierra McClain will not appear in the series finale.
Before9-1-1: Lone Starseason 5 premiered,Raisani confirmedtoScreenRantthatviewers had seen the last of McClain’s character.Therefore, if Judd has negative feelings towards his wife, a potential discussion can only take place offscreen. It’s up to fans to decide whether Grace’s choice is justified, but God is the only conceivable priority that would outrank her family. Killing Grace off would have cast an even darker shadow overLone Star’sfinal season, ensuring it never recovered from the loss.
9-1-1: Lone Starseason 5 returns January 20 on FOX.
9-1-1: Lone Star
A spin-off series of 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star is an action-drama series created for Fox. The series follows Rob Lowe as Owen Strand, a firefighter from New York City who, after having rebuilt a team in the aftermath of September 11th’s attacks, is brought in to form a new one in Austin, Texas.
