9-1-1: Lone Star fans, the time has come to say farewell to Rob Lowe and his good looks… at least until his next starring vehicle. But for now, viewers are mourning the series finale of the 9-1-1 spinoff and still shocked over the conclusion to Lowe’s Captain Owen Strand’s character arc.
On season 5, episode 12, “Homecoming,” which aired on Monday Feb. 4, 2025, Austin, Texas gets hit by an asteroid (the kind of totally normal storyline that happens on a Ryan Murphy show) and it seems like Owen is going to die. Unfortunately for Owen and the rest of the 126 firefighters, there’s a nuclear reactor building at Travis State University and only 60 minutes before it goes on. Owen manages to stop it… but not before he falls down bleeding.
Wait. Was that it? Did Owen get killed? Was this a heroic yet ultimately upsetting ending to his tale? Not so fast! Five months have gone by, and Owen is totally fine! He’s living in New York City as a fire chief and the equally good-looking Judd Ryder (Jim Parrack) is now in charge of the 126. That’s a relief… but it was still absolutely bonkers watching the team try to figure out how to stop an asteroid. But, hey, no one can argue that this wasn’t a memorable series finale.
9-1-1: Lone Star fans posted on X that they’re still upset there won’t be a season 6. And there’s definitely a Lowe-sized hole in everyone’s TV watching lives now that the show has concluded.
After watching Owen do his best to be there for his son T.K. (Ronen Rubinstein) for the past five seasons, it would have been way too much for Owen to perish. It was the right choice to let Owen live, although even Owen probably never imagined he’d have to deal with an asteroid. That’s a bit much, even for Murphy’s universe.
Rashad Raisani, the 9-1-1: Lone Star showrunner, told Variety why there were no deaths in the final episode. She said, “I didn’t want to kill anybody in the series finale, because I just felt like I wanted to end this show with a feeling of hope going out of it, and that life goes on in a beautiful way. Because the world’s hard enough…” Agreed. Can every TV writer agree not to kill off beloved characters in series finales? That would be helpful for everyone’s panic and anxiety and overall existential dread.
Of course, the 9-1-1 world is far from over. The original series is still going strong and there’s another spinoff happening, too. However, the cancelation of 9-1-1: Lone Star stings so much because this particular series was a special mix of off-the-wall storylines and sweet characters. There was a unique energy on the show, whether the team was helping Grace Ryder (Sierra McClain) have her baby in the midst of an epic ice storm or dealing with a guy in a knight costume with carbon monoxide poisoning. But now Owen is living in the Big Apple and putting out new fires, and maybe he’s finally found some peace. At least fans of this epic TV world still have Buck (Oliver Stark) and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) on 9-1-1. And fans can cross their fingers that Lowe will be back on TV ASAP.
Published: Feb 4, 2025 10:47 am