LONE STAR POST - JANUARY 10, 2022
Episode Review: S03E01 ”The Big Chill”
9-1-1: Lone Star is back with plenty more life-saving heroics and personal drama. The first episode of season three, “The Big Chill,” starts the season off with a new rush of adventures and dangers awaiting all the characters. No one is safe in the season premiere, and their safety remains in the balance at the start of episode two. This episode no doubt sets a fast but more manageable pace than many of the episodes in season two, and it sets up a world that allows the growth and development of the characters for the season to come. “The Big Chill” was far from a perfect episode, and some of the plotlines tend to create drama where none was needed; however, overall, the season opener has created intrigue and suspense for the new era of Lone Star.
There are lots of changes that have happened since we have last seen the characters. The team’s temporary assignments, after the closure of the 126 firehouse, have become more permanent (though, no doubt, these arrangements won’t last long). Mateo is with one team, Paul, Marjan, and Judd are with another, and the paramedics have sold their souls to work for a corporate ambulance company, Paragon (a name that fits the hubris of the company). The 126 is set for demolition (though Marjan has done everything in her power to set that date back). Grace and Judd are preparing for their soon to arrive baby girl. Owen, meanwhile, is having an Eat, Pray, Love moment as he heads to the Hill Country with Buttercup and tries to find himself after not being reinstated to his position as leader of the 126. The biggest change in Lone Star is Carlos and T.K. breaking up, which falls in the category of unnecessary drama, but viewers are just as curious as Nancy is, wondering what really caused the breakup and how they will get back together. In an episode full of changes, the scale and intensity of the 9-1-1 calls have remained the same.
The episode excels at balancing its ensemble. Lone Star has struggled to balance all their characters in the previous seasons, and with a large ensemble, it’s no wonder they’ve struggled. This episode is much more balanced, and the characters are against certain forces in their personal and professional lives. As in any ensemble, not all characters get equal time every episode, but they all feel like they are am an integral part of the episode, and none of them feel like they’re there just because they have to be there.
They all have a role, whether it for the main drama or comedic relief. This balance also furthers the character dynamics, so it never feels like the writers are trying to create false intimacy between them. Furthermore, the relationships are messy, and they are filled with adoration and frustration all at once. These complex dynamics truly help to make the characters feel like real people in real relationships. Some of these dynamics are more intriguing than others, but they all fit the tone, pace, and purpose of the episode.
The show fits a lot of content into this episode, but contrary to other episodes, it didn’t feel like too much was happening at once, and it helps that there have been several months between then and now so that the viewers don’t feel overwhelmed by the crazy series of events. There’s still an absurd amount of trauma going on, but hopefully, this episode sets season 3 up to have better-paced action and drama with some buffer episodes every so often to let the viewer feel more like they’re riding a roller coaster and less like they’re being taken hostage on a joy ride.
Overall, the episode is a promising start to the new season, and while there are parts that were lacking, it’s hard to tell the full impact and flaws of the episode due to the storyline continuing into future episodes. The episode sets episode two up for a lot of good potential moments, and only time will tell if the rest of the season builds on the foundation that has been built and allows the characters to become more well-rounded rather than flat.
Episode Recap: S03E01 “The Big Chill”
A detailed recap of “The Big Chill.” There are spoilers within this recap.
The first episode of season three, “The Big Chill,” begins in May. Owen attends a disciplinary hearing regarding the consequences for hitting Billy Tyson after Billy shuttered the 126 “over a personal grudge.” Billy insists that the budget is responsible for the closure of the firehouse. Owen asks to audit the books so the 126 can stay open, but he reports to the team that he is suspended and must permanently remain in their temporary posts. The 126 is doomed for demolition. The team is optimistic, and Owen says that they won’t give up “until Hell freezes over.” Cut to January, snow covering the ground.
A couple, Carol and Joe, drive in the snow, and they swerve off course. They are okay, and it becomes clear that they are rescuing turtles. While looking for the turtle, they see a boy under the ice. His eyes open under the ice.
The paramedics are now working for a private company called Paragon for Jaque, who is obsessed with the bottom line and is dissatisfied with Tommy’s avoidance of drugs during the call. Jaque wants her to upsell controlled substances because the company’s goal is “Providing Elite Care and Quality Comfort” (or making money…).
Nancy proposes the 126 have a hang and reveals that Carlos is going, and we learn that Carlos and T.K. have broken up. Nancy doesn’t want to take sides. Tommy comes back with snickerdoodles from a client, and Nancy desperately wants to get out of the “capitalist cesspool.”
Judd has been up all night getting ready for the baby’s nursery and painting the walls. He is bothered by the upcoming destruction of the 126. Marjan tries to call Judd about the demolition, but he won’t answer. Marjan, meanwhile, has established that she has frequently been protesting the destruction of the 126. On this day, she handcuffs herself to the firehouse and live streams using her Fire Foxx Instagram. Snow begins to fall, so they cannot go through with the demolition.
Carlos rolls up and arrests Marjan just like he arrested Michelle in season 1. Marjan has done several things to sabotage the demolition, and Carlos tells her about “accepting the reality of the situation, brutal as it is,” and about how she should know when to move on. Marjan calls it giving up. She also asks Carlos if he’s talking about the 126 or T.K. with a knowing tone.
Owen has gone to the Hill Country with Buttercup, and he meets a woman named Sadie who lives in a cabin nearby. He’s trying to figure himself out. Sadie warns about the snow coming.
Some guys are being foolish. One is recording while the other is being pulled on skies on the back of a car. Of course, they end up in an accident, and the skiing guy’s head (Brody) goes through some ice. The paramedics arrive. They can’t remove the ice completely, but they have to cut it. The captain of the 129 puts his best man on the job and has Mateo cut the ice. As they’re parting, there’s a moment between Nancy and Mateo, a long stare after saying, “Good to see you.”
Marjan is bailed out of jail by Billy Tyson, who shows her an apology that Owen could have signed to get reinstated. Billy also asks Marjan to ask Judd to call him.
The paramedics are driving to the best trauma center in Texas, but Brody’s carotid perforated. They pulled over and made a shield out of snow to pack the wound. They stabilize Brody.
Grace is at the call center, very pregnant, and she takes a call about a break-in at Pike’s Furniture Store, and Carlos takes the call. Inside, there’s a veteran who uses a wheelchair (Major Garrett) and his friend (Sargent Vincent Thompson), who has gone inside the store for shelter from the cold.
Marjan comes into work and is angry that Judd didn’t take her call. She tells Judd and Paul that the 126 is still standing. She refuses to give up. She shows them why Owen couldn’t be reinstated and is upset that he couldn’t get over his pride and sign the required apology. Judd is still angry at Billy. Neither Judd nor Paul are that upset that Owen did not sign the apology, but Marjan is. She storms off and says she’s “taking a snow day.”
Carlos takes the veteran to a shelter at a church, and he leaves them with a young volunteer, Lindsey Roberts.
Judd and Grace talk. Grace is concerned about Marjan driving up to see Owen in the bad weather. They talk about Owen hitting Billy. Judd inquires about “his girls.” Judd is concerned that Grace is drinking chamomile tea because she drinks it when she’s sick; she says the call center is just out of Earl Gray. Grace and Judd’s call breaks up.
Marjan gets to Owen’s cabin and greets Owen and Buttercup. She confronts Owen about him giving up as he makes twig espresso. She’s upset when he doesn’t seem to care about what’s happening with the 126 even though she thinks the snow is a sign from the universe. Owen’s decided he doesn’t want to fight. He’s “tired of playing the hero.” He tells Marjan he’s given into reality. Marjan storms out of the cabin.
Major Garrett was a prisoner of war, so the closed space upsets him, but it is not safe outside. Just as Carlos is talking to the veteran about how he is lucky to have a roof over his head, the rood starts to cave in. Carlos makes sure Major Garrett gets out.
The paramedics are cleaning up after the nearly decapitated dude, and Nancy starts to inquire about what happened with Carlos and T.K. T.K. won’t say what happened. She loves them together, and “the mystery is killing” her. T.K. avoids the issue.
The firefighters get to the collapsed gym of Providence Pasture Church, which is on fire. They’ve accounted for all the twenty-five people in there, but there’s nowhere to take them, but they end up taking them to the furniture store. The paramedics arrive at the store for triage, and Carlos and T.K. are forced to interact awkwardly. As he’s talking, Carlos realizes that the volunteer, Lindsey, is not accounted for because she was the one keeping track of who was there, and she didn’t include herself.
The building has become iced over from the water used to stop the fire. Judd compares it to Frozen because he’s been watching it because he has a daughter on the way. They realize the girl is missing and know that going in could cause a secondary collapse. The team starts to plan to make entry, and they speak to Lindsey’s parents, who plea for the 122 firefighters (Judd, Paul, Marjan is absent) and the 129 (Mateo) to save the girl. Carlos takes the parents to his car for warmth.
They look for Lindsey and ask for her to bang on something if she can hear them. They hear banding, but the building starts to fall more as the team nears, the situation increasingly precarious, and the chances of saving the girl are looking increasingly bleak.
Owen is walking buttercup, who starts to run off. Buttercup finds a man on the ground, barely responsive.
Marjan is driving in the snow, and she loses control of the car and drives off the road.
Some of the best edits this week that deserve all the love.
Best Humor and Lighthearted
- Daughter Dad Judd by @stevenrogered
- “This isn’t funny!” (sorry Marjan but I found it funny) by @delitefullychaotic
- #TARLOS: head first, fearless by @gasric
-Carlos Reyes (3x01 - The Big Chill) by @rafascosmic
DAY ONE: Favorite Scene | Mateo telling off the 129 by @delitefullychaotic
“These people have zero idea who they’re up against.” (insp.) by @delitefullychaotic
- THAT Awkward Tarlos moment by @hangman-page
-PAUL STRICKLAND in 3.01 — THE BIG CHILL by @911verse
- Carlos arresting his best friends by @jorginhosfrello
- 2.07 “Displaced” vs 3.01 “The Big Chill” by @sanderdriesen
Some of the best fics in the fandom.
Review: I’m in this for life by @marjansmarwani (brilliantbanshee)
Summary: A bad day and an accident set TK on a collision course with fate. He’s convinced that the people he loves would be better off without him, that their lives would be simpler if he hadn’t survived his overdose back in New York. Now, faced with the very distinct possibility, he gets a visit from a familiar face who sets out to show him that he matters more than he thought and that things aren’t as simple as he had assumed. But while the choice is up to him ultimately, whatever choice he makes will affect more than just himself, whether he wants it to or not. —-An “It’s a Wonderful Life” AU, of sorts.
In a Lone Star take on the classic Christmas film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “I’m in this for life” starts with T.K. having a very bad day. While this story is based on the Christmas film, it’s one that is heartwarming and appropriate for every season. It focuses beautifully on a journey of learning how the world could be different without just one person in it. It pulls out the painful moments like taffy, which makes way for the sweet, heartwarming moments that provide hope in the bleakness. No matter what he does, he cannot seem to feel better, and he thinks that everything he does is a mistake. When a call goes wrong, T.K. is forced to confront what a world would be like
The story shows the self-destructive and self-recriminating side of T.K. that’s been portrayed in canon several times. This characterization is well-done, and it never feels forced to fit into the A.U. The author has wisely kept the spirit of “It’s a Wonderful Life” without obsessing on the less important details. Therefore, the flow of the story is excellent, and the characters all feel like they belong in the alternate universe, which is one of the major challenges of creating new universes, especially those from other works.
The story is sparse with its telling and focuses on showing, which allows the reader to want for more and ultimately allows the story to linger long after it has finished. It hints that the other characters are concerned about T.K., but it doesn’t dwell on that too long; instead, it focuses on T.K.’s perspective. He cannot meaningfully see what he means to the people in life at the beginning of the story. Sure, he can perceive concerned expressions, but his headspace puts those parts of his life aside in favor of focusing on everything that’s wrong in his life. He is resistant to what he is seeing at first, and the writing reflects that. In the beginning of T.K.’s journey, the writing elicits a feeling of stillness and an inability to move— frozenness— but as T.K. starts to perceive things in a new way, it gains momentum, which happens at the perfect pace to make the climax resonate more deeply.
One of the best parts is the ending. It acknowledges that T.K.’s got a healing journey to deal with and that the journey won’t always be easy, but it also creates a sense of peace for the characters so that it feels conclusive. Thus, the story has plenty of angst, but it doesn’t end on a depressing note, and it shows that the characters are going to be okay.
“I’m in This for life,” is a beautifully written story that throws the characters into a scenario similar to “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and this makes it a wonderful story for sure. Being nearly twenty thousand words, the story takes it time to develop and never feels rushed. It is well worth the read and even a reread. The characters are vibrant, and the descriptions build the universe carefully and to fit the overall tone of the story. For all those reasons and more, this story stands out.
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