9-1-1: Lone Star’s Gina Torres Reacts to Tommy’s ‘Challenging’ Diagnosis, Warns Viewers to ‘Be Patient’ as Series Finale Nears
Tommy Vega is officially entering the fight of his life. Monday’s episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star confirmed that Gina Torres’ character has stage 2B breast cancer.
“Trust me, I didn’t want this,” Torres told TVLine. “I feel like I’ve done a lot of sad, depressing storylines. But no, they wanted another fight.”
Torres called it a “challenging but also gratifying” storyline, adding that there’s a responsibility to do right by those whose lives have been affected by cancer, including those who watch the show live. “We want to honor them, just like we do our best to honor our first responders,” Torres said. “It’s a level of responsibility that we don’t take lightly.”
Tommy’s instinct is to minimize the impact cancer has had on her life, with Nancy serving as her confidante and sole voice of reason. “It’s a pretty good reflection of how [actress Brianna Baker and I] feel for each other in real life,” Torres said of Tommy and Nancy’s relationship. “The writers tap into that. There’s a lot of love and respect between us.”
One of the most touching moments in Monday’s episode was when Tommy revealed that she wanted Nancy to take over as head of the emergency team while she took a medical leave of absence. “It was really important to put that on screen for the fans and the world to see,” Torres said. “It’s important to see women supporting other women. It doesn’t have to be competitive. In fact, it’s often not. We understand that the way to get things done is to do it together.”
And now, as news of Tommy’s diagnosis begins to spread, her life is about to change “quite a bit,” Torres says, advising viewers to “be patient” for the emotional roller coaster that lies ahead.
Many fans are hoping that this will include a reunion between Tommy and her soon-to-be fiancé Trevor. After all, it seems like he should have reached out to her. “I mean, you’d think so, right?” Torres says, admitting that the self-imposed secrecy surrounding Tommy’s cancer battle might prevent that from happening: “Does he even know [that she’s sick]? Does he ever know?” We’ll find out soon enough.
Elsewhere in the episode, TK got a pair of surprises—one good, one not so good—for his 30th birthday. The good: his stepfather Enzo (played by The 100 veteran Henry Ian Cusick) finally came to visit Austin, bringing TK’s younger brother Jonah along. Now for the bad: the FBI crashed TK’s party, arresting Enzo on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy. What did you think of Tommy’s devastating diagnosis? What about Enzo’s shocking arrest? And what do you hope for from the remaining five episodes of 9-1-1: Lone Star? Leave a comment below.
