9-1-1: Lone Star EP Defends Grace’s Controversial Departure in Season 5 Premiere: ‘We Did Everything We Could to Protect Her’
This question has been on every fan’s mind since Sierra McClain confirmed her departure this summer—how could 9-1-1: Lone Star write about such an important character in a way that wasn’t completely upsetting? (Spoiler alert: It’s impossible.)
Monday’s premiere of the show’s fifth and final season revealed that Grace left home to volunteer for Mercy Ships, a religious organization that performs life-saving surgeries around the world. (Before you Google it, yes, that’s a real group.) As Judd explained, Mercy Ships gave a presentation at Ryders Church, and Grace was so moved by the plight of the forgotten orphans that she decided to join.
“She knew it was inconvenient,” Judd said in defense of his wife. “She knew it was bad timing. But she felt touched by God. I can still see her face that day. There were tears in her eyes. Not just tears — but this fire, you know? And I never loved her more than I did in that moment.”
Yeah, right, “bad timing” is probably an understatement. Not only do Judd and Grace have a two-year-old daughter at home, one that Judd is now raising on her own, but Wyatt — Judd’s adult son from a previous relationship — was also recently paralyzed in a bicycle accident, making this an incredibly busy time for the family.
Still, showrunner Rashad Raisani told TVLine that he supports the storyline of Grace leaving, especially when faced with a less desirable replacement. (Killing Grace was “quickly ruled out” because “she didn’t feel like it was the right thing to do.”) Speaking with Jim Parrack, who plays Judd, Raisani said, “The only thing we could think of to pull Grace away from her family and her job was an even greater calling. And the only thing in Grace’s world that could answer was God.”
Raisani knows that not everyone will agree with Grace’s divisive decision. “People are allowed to feel their feelings about it,” he said, “but we did everything we could to protect her character. Without getting too religious about it, the Bible is full of stories of characters who followed God’s calling at great inconvenience to—and frankly, to the detriment of—the people they loved the most.”
Raisani admits that McClain’s departure “rocked the boat” a bit, as at least four Season 5 scripts have been written, but it also posed an interesting challenge. “I often find that after a major crisis comes a major opportunity,” he explains, adding that Judd’s storyline becomes more nuanced due to his wife’s absence.
“Judd doesn’t have his job, he doesn’t have his son, and now he doesn’t have his wife, so that puts him in a deeper state of isolation,” Raisani says. “You’ll see as the season goes on, it creates this big complexity for Judd. On one hand, he adores and loves his wife, but there’s a growing sense of frustration and some uncomfortable feelings that he doesn’t want to admit to himself that start to come up.”
As for Wyatt, the original plan for Season 5 was for Judd’s son to become “a valet” to Grace in the call center, “but Sierra’s departure accelerated that,” Raisani explains, so Wyatt has become pretty confident in his role as a dispatcher. But even though “he’s been taught by the best,” we’ll still see Wyatt “fumble—but never crumble—under pressure” a few times this season.
Elsewhere in the first episode of the final season of 9-1-1: Lone Star, Owen finds himself in the difficult position of having to choose between Paul and Marjan to replace Judd at the fire station, while Carlos—now a Texas Ranger—struggles to earn the respect of his new partner Campbell (Parker Young), all while still haunted by his father’s recent murder.
Okay, let’s talk: How do you feel about the Grace-leaving storyline? Was she right to suddenly abandon her family, or is Judd the most sensible man on the planet? And what other early developments made you feel a certain way? Rate the episode below, then leave a comment with your full review.
