Honestly the lack of actual calls they go on has been so annoying this season. I feel like in this half they’ve only gone on the one where Judd sees his friends mom the one that led to arson and the one that had the guy die in front of Marjan. Other than that it’s just personal drama which is fine but this is supposed to be a show about first responders, it’d be nice to see them....respond to something. I almost wonder if it’s because Grace isn’t at work so they couldn’t do the whole dynamic of someone at dispatch helping. But OG 911 does such amazing hilarious calls and montages of calls it’s a shame we can’t see the same with LS
It definitely changes the pace of the show, and I think it takes it somewhat away from the premise. I don’t mind that they’ve cut down some on the 9-1-1 calls for personal stories because I think you see that with 911 too BUT there’s a point when it’s like, we do need some episodes with these calls because those calls often show that what the characters are facing are bigger than themselves. The calls take extreme happenings and connect them to more universal ideas. Plus, they do allow some comedic relief and they help the show pace itself without getting too far into the “constantly throw drama at the characters” which gets exhausting and I think it detracts from the overall season as a unit. Sometimes, straying from the formula is good because it marks something special and emphasizes certain plots, but when they do it too much, it misses the point. And this is coming from me, a person who much prefers personal drama over the 911 calls (which is probably the sentiment of most people).
I totally agree with what you said about how the calls usually speak to some higher issue that actually helps them deal with their issues and I think that’s exactly what LS is missing because it’s in those episodes that the characters can actually process their trauma or they can do a slow build to new issues. Those smaller calls are totally insignificant other than, like the little domestic scenes we all live for, they they are where the actual living happens— the jokes and conversations in the trucks especially—which tells us so much about the characters their relationships and idiosyncrasies that we don’t always get in the DRAMA but make those really dramatic episodes all the more compelling. I feel like I (and others) am almost never as interested in the call as I am interested in the way the characters are effected by it
Right! The calls are fun, and they aren’t as important as the characters, but the calls are vital tools to give us perspective and show us the inner workings of the characters and the character dynamics. Piling on the drama just doesn’t make the characters feel real, and it doesn’t allow us to see the greater meaning of their experiences. They’ve had great scenes and great episodes, but in context, they don’t have the power that they could have. Hopefully, season three will help us have more of that normalcy and the moments that let us breathe and reflect.
Sorry what was that ending am I the only one confused. I know they want to leave on angsty cliffhangers but wtf was that like I’m seriously confused. Why was his eye messed up and he isn’t breathing? I feel so stupid because I’m just like why.... is this happening? I feel dumb as hell because where did that come from? It took me out because we already had an intense buildup to tarlos’ house completely burning to a crisp and then charles??? Where did that even come from seriously and then next episode there is a shooter in the hospital????? Is anyone confused as HELL with all of that????
We need some lighthearted episodes sometime! I can’t take the back to back angst and like it’s just drama for the sake of drama sometimes because they don’t give time for the incidents to settle with the characters and show the greater impact which limits the amount of growth we see. Sometimes in storytelling you have to slow down and take time to let things simmer and allows the flavors to build. You can’t just throw everything in and expect it to be good! I no doubt have fun watching and it’s exciting, but it often limits the emotional side of things and desensitizes viewers and it’s all flash without showing us beneath the surface of the trauma itself. There are hints of below the surface but honestly that’s mostly down to the great acting (like ronen and rafa always bring a lot to their moments and build layers of intimacy even when the writing doesn’t emphasize it. We see this with Grace and Judd as well). The whole “let’s add more drama” is just not using the characters as well as they could. Also, how much trauma can they really add. These people act so okay when they have intense levels of trauma all time!
Idk what it was but that last short scene with Tommy and Charles didn’t sit right with me. As in, it was so random and I didn’t like it. Like the episode already had enough drama and sadness and they have to throw that in? We don’t get enough Tommy storylines as it is because she’s overshadowed by Owen’s dumb selfish ass, but now that we get one it’s her husband hurt/possibly dying? Drama sells and I know 911 and lone star like their cliffhangers but I was just like 😐😐😐😐 watching that scene. Like really? Idk like I know each character will get their turn for angsty drama plot lines of course but I just didn’t like this. We have only seen Tommy plot lines being her struggling to balance her job and home/personal life and just when she thinks she’s got it somewhat balanced, this happens? Again, I know drama happens and things do happen but I just don’t like this. And then there’s an active shooter in the hospital next episode? Like why? I hope they don’t k word Charles or have something really sad happen to him as a storyline to make the actress who plays Tommy leave the show. Because people have been speculating Liv Tyler might come back so the actress who plays Tommy might leave or take a backseat. I don’t want her to leave because I love the dynamic she has with Grace, Judd and the rest of the team. She flows very well with them but Michelle never did. Her sister storyline had potential but it low key got stale and boring for me very quickly and she didn’t interact with the (firefighter) team too much except for on calls. I don’t want Tommy to leave after this season. I don’t like this. Tbh the writers could have fleshed out Tommy as a character if they didn’t have themselves lodged so far up R** L****’s ass and instead of giving us that dumb as hell baby plot line in 2A, we could have gotten something else where Owen didn’t take up so much time doing typical dumb selfish Owen shit and instead spread the screen time more equally between the characters like Tommy for example. Idk I just don’t like where this is going for her character and Charles
You are so right. And excuse me for this rant because I’m passionate about this lol. I just don’t know why they keep doing all this big events. Like they don’t give us any time to process what has happened before something else is tacked onto the end of the episode. I get that they want to make it interesting and exciting, but there are a lot of interesting plotlines inherently in what they’ve already done. How do the characters deal with the trauma? You could spend a whole episode unpacking how Judd would respond to the firehouse explosion alone. He’s seen his fire family die in an explosion, so to have his firehouse attacked had to be traumatizing and bring up past issues! The same is true of Carlos. His reaction showed that while he tries to act okay and be strong for the people around him, he was deeply hurt by the fire, and I’d like to explore his feelings related to that. Like when he was talking about not having the fire extinguisher. He wasn’t so much worried about his life as he was worried that he couldn’t protect the man he loved, which is something you could unpack A LOT, and we see various of instances of him showing this personality trait throughout the show. His feelings are more complex than he lets on, and there’s so much the show could do to show his psychology. I mean, the whole team would be traumatized by these events! Because they’ve all been attacked in a place that has been a safe place for them.
And the thing is that we’re going to have to rush onto the next bad thing that has happened before we get any look into the aftermath. The aftermath is the area that allows us to see deeper into the characters, and it allows them to grow. Unfortunately, that development is stifled when they swiftly move on. It’s like a trope that I hate in fic (and it’s not so much a problem in the lone star fandom but it has been in others) where they torture characters just for the sake of torturing the characters. Like I need a payoff. I don’t mind angst. I love angst. But the angst has to have some kind of deeper purpose and highlight parts of the character that are beneath the surface or that allows them to change or shift in some way.
Incidents shouldn’t have to be as big as humanly possible to be compelling. If we can’t love the characters in their most mundane moments, they aren’t being well developed. like COME ON! For example, we would all watch Carlos Reyes stare at paint drying and be entertained because he is an amazing character and we’re interested in him no matter what he’s doing (despite their lack of attention to him). All that crazy, unfathomable plot that they’re throwing in is so unnecessary, and they barely have room for anything but craziness.
I really hope they are kind to Charles, but I guess it’s not safe bet. Like they don’t need to hurt them like that. Let Tommy be happy and let Charles be okay. And I do agree that they didn’t flesh Tommy out as much as they could have. They started to, but then after the first few episodes, they backed off, and they got caught up in the “give the character one thing that causes all their conflict” and for Tommy it was the idea that she didn’t know how to balance her family life and being back in the workforce. I need more from her than that. I love Tommy, so they should show her off. Like Gina Torres does amazing work. Let her shine!!
I can’t really see Michelle coming back. It would feel really weird to me, and the vibes would be off because Michelle was an island really, and she was sort of friends with Carlos, but she was also a lot like Owen in that the narrative only focused on her sides so the friendship felt unbalanced (and they even called that out in canon). Anyways, they did not do well in building Michelle’s character, so I can’t envision how they could smoothly get her back. Plus, I think Tommy fits better (because they actually made her feel connected to the 126 and plots).
