S03.E13: Riddle Of The Sphinx

[jewel21]

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The members of the 126 race to find, and then save, a mystery victim in a car crash. Owen faces a crisis in his relationship with Catherine. Tommy goes on a first date and Carlos is surprised when he meets T.K.’s AA sponsor.

Airdate: 04/11/2022

[preeya]

Catherine's ex-husband (before I knew he wasn't) reminded me of Larry David when he took off his cap.

Edited April 12, 2022 by preeya

[anna0852]

Owen is a special kind of stupid 

[Demian]

Sigh.  Carlos is dreamy and perfect.

So, when are we gonna find out he's been secretly, like, strangling sex workers and dumping them off the Interstate?  You know, just to make TK's life harder than it already is.

[shapeshifter]

30 minutes ago, Demian said:

Sigh.  Carlos is dreamy and perfect.

So, when are we gonna find out he's been secretly, like, strangling sex workers and dumping them off the Interstate?  You know, just to make TK's life harder than it already is.

Nah. Carlos will just die a horrible death.
And then maybe Rafael L. Silva can get a better role on a different show.

So Amy Acker's Catherine bought a clue about Owen being a terrible boyfriend.
Goodbye, Bonanza/Cartwright, girlfriend.👋 
We "hardly knew ye." 
On a different show she would have laughed it off. But, to be fair to her reaction, he's been doing all that punching too.

 

1 hour ago, preeya said:

Catherine's ex-husband (before I knew he wasn't) reminded me of Larry David when he took off his cap.

I thought he was Larry David until I read your post and realized that, of course, Larry David would not be doing a cameo on this show. 
I think the actor was in an episode or 2 of Stargate SG1 a decade or so ago and looked the same as he does now.
But the Young Patrick actor, Brandon Beemer, either has an identical voice to Rob Lowe's, or he was doing a fantastic vocal impersonation, or they dubbed Rob Lowe over the actor's lines. 

Edited April 12, 2022 by shapeshifter

[Bulldog]

Since this is a television show, I hope Owen and Catherine get back together as I really like Amy Acker in the role.  If this were real life, I'd advise Catherine to run.  Run far away.  Fast.  And take your creepy hairless cat with you. 

Tommy's support group friend was Lupe from Home Economics.  She steals every scene she is in on that show.  Good to see her doing the same here.  And of course her date was Sucre from one of my all time favorite shows, Prison Break (well, the first season anyway).  I'd like to see more of both in the future.  Did Grace really leave her shift to go offer Tommy fashion advice?  Looks like there would have been a throw away line about getting off for the day or at least going on her lunch break. 

Found the TK /Carlos stuff something of a bore.  I won't pretend to know the inner workings of AA type groups, but I do find it hard to believe that being drugged by a deranged criminal would be treated the same as just plain ol' falling off the wagon.  I was really expecting Cooper to turn out to be some old geezer. 

[EllaWycliffe]

44 minutes ago, Bulldog said:

Found the TK /Carlos stuff something of a bore.  I won't pretend to know the inner workings of AA type groups, but I do find it hard to believe that being drugged by a deranged criminal would be treated the same as just plain ol' falling off the wagon.  I was really expecting Cooper to turn out to be some old geezer. 

I can see it being viewed as a relapse to a point and because AA is pretty judgy in a passive aggressive way, I can see how being drugged against one's will is kind of a cop out. So I could buy this. I also frankly am surprised TK hasn't cut Carlos out as he isnt supposed to be in relationships during his first year of sobriety. 

Tk's general clueless assholery is why I am NOT shocked that Cooper is a really handsome guy even though Carlos is clearly getting pissed over things. 

[CoderLady]

I was hoping they wouldn't go for the obvious bit of relationship tension (to be resolved by the end of the show, of course) by making Cooper be a hot young guy for Carlos to be needlessly jealous of but there it was.

Dan Castellaneta as Patrick Sr. was a good choice. Fooled me -- I could almost see Catherine being into him although it was stretching my brain all out of shape. It's always fun seeing him being a live human actor and not just Homer Simpson's voice.

[UnknownK]

3 hours ago, Bulldog said:

Tommy's support group friend was Lupe from Home Economics.  She steals every scene she is in on that show.  Good to see her doing the same here. 

I think she was the Woman mob boss from the TV show Get Shorty.

[Lady Calypso]

I'm glad Catherine didn't just laugh Owen's overreaction off and stay with him. She had every right to break up with him in that moment. Instead of talking to her like an adult or trusting that she liked him for who he is, Owen decided to berate her, yell at her, and mock her was the way to go. Catherine WOULD be better off with Patrick Sr. 

I'm glad for more Carlos, and TK/Carlos wasn't that bad. I thought Cooper would turn out to be older, until the Patrick Sr stuff, and then realized Cooper would be a younger straight guy. I'm glad for TK/Carlos talking things out like adults, even if Carlos took a while to get there and acted passive aggressive instead. 

Tommy's date stuff was decent enough. 

The case with the mom and son was so sad. 

[marceline]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

The case with the mom and son was so sad. 

That's the one case that got to me. When she started leaning out of the car I wanted to scream "Put it in park!" Always put it in park.

[iMonrey]

So Owen does still have the dog, but . . . is that the same dog he had when he was living in the cabin?

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Did Grace really leave her shift to go offer Tommy fashion advice?

You took the words right out of my mouth. I guess it could have been the end of her shift but she got up and walked away as soon as Tommy called her.

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And of course her date was Sucre from one of my all time favorite shows, Prison Break 

I had to look him up because I knew him from somewhere - for me it was Telenovela. Short-lived sitcom from a few years back.

Carlos's work-out pants don't leave much to the imagination. Just sayin'. 🙄

[Msample]

I only know the actor who plays Tommy’s date as Orange Julius from 2 Fast 2 Furious, LOL. 

[possibilities]

Carlos needs to go to AlAnon (for people who are not addicts but love one). I understood his panic, though, because TK was acting all flirty and embarrassed, and doing stuff like not showing up for dinner and not calling to say he'd be late, and then the next night expecting dinner to be waiting. And TK has in fact been a bit unreliable lately.

My understanding about why a relapse due to an involuntary exposure is considered a relapse and not handwaved because you didn't choose it, is that the physical impact of it does in fact have the same physical effect even if you didn't use on purpose. And often that re-stimulates the psychological effects, too, such as feeling out of control and helpless. There are people who would have a hard time staying sober after what TK went through. I don't think that's an unfounded representation due to AA judgmentalism, I think it's a real thing. Many sober addicts have relapses under less stress than TK has been under, and that's without them being forcibly drugged to re-trigger the physical elements.

[iMonrey]

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My understanding about why a relapse due to an involuntary exposure is considered a relapse and not handwaved because you didn't choose it, is that the physical impact of it does in fact have the same physical effect even if you didn't use on purpose.

There was an episode of Mom where they accidentally ate a bunch of pot brownies and got high. Their sponsor ended up telling them it didn't count because they didn't do it on purpose.

You mean to tell me Mom did not accurately portray the situation? That bastion of reality? 😉

[tennisgurl]

Catherine was absolutely right to ditch Owen, as sad as I am to see Amy Acker go. He could have just laughed it off or asked Catherine about her ex like a mature person, but instead he yelled at and mocked her, I am glad that she didn't just chalk the whole thing up to wacky hijinks and instead left him. 

The TK/Carlos plot was better than I thought it would be, I could understand where both of them were coming from, even though I leaned more towards siding with Carlos. TK wanting to talk to his sponsor about these things makes sense, but he really could have been more sensitive about his intense new relationship with a hot young guy, at least let Carlos know right away that there is nothing to worry about and not to shut him out. Carlos was on the passive aggressive side, but I do get why this whole situation was rubbing him the wrong way. Oh Carlos, I worry so much for you, considering your dating a guy who was apparently born with a curse attached to him. 

The story with the mom and son was really sad, one of the biggest downers the show has had in awhile when it comes to calls. As great as it was seeing Amaury Nolasco (of Prison Break and Telenovela fame) it did feel weird to see Tommy just taking off seemingly in the middle of her shift to get her date on. Shouldn't she be saving people instead of getting fashion advice?

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

There was an episode of Mom where they accidentally ate a bunch of pot brownies and got high. Their sponsor ended up telling them it didn't count because they didn't do it on purpose.

You mean to tell me Mom did not accurately portray the situation? That bastion of reality? 😉

I'm no expert at this, but I think MJ is less likely to stimulate old demons than opioids or benzos. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

There was an episode of Mom where they accidentally ate a bunch of pot brownies and got high. Their sponsor ended up telling them it didn't count because they didn't do it on purpose.

You mean to tell me Mom did not accurately portray the situation? That bastion of reality? 😉

Marijuana isn't the same as an opioid. Maybe that's the difference and they just didn't bother to get into it on either show because shows are like that?
(just guessing/playing devil's advocate)
and like @eel21788 just posted too
 

 

14 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

As great as it was seeing Amaury Nolasco (of Prison Break and Telenovela fame) it did feel weird to see Tommy just taking off seemingly in the middle of her shift to get her date on. Shouldn't she be saving people instead of getting fashion advice?

I thought Tommy was already off work when she was trying on all the clothes in her closet (I do that too when nervous about going somewhere; Mom did too).
Grace was the one who seemingly got up in the middle of a shift and went over to help Tommy with her wardrobe.
But someone else upthread suggested that Grace was just getting off anyway, so I'm assuming that's what was going on, but the really should have sprung for a couple more words in the script and had Grace say to Tommy: Sure. I was just leaving anyway...

[iMonrey]

Has anyone ever owned a sphinx cat? TV writers seem to love using them as a gag. Like, horrors! Ugly hairless cat! Cringe and react in horror! I don't know what it is about this trope that keeps it popping up.

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Has anyone ever owned a sphinx cat? TV writers seem to love using them as a gag. Like, horrors! Ugly hairless cat! Cringe and react in horror! I don't know what it is about this trope that keeps it popping up.

I've always had a sense of revulsion towards hairless cats too, but seeing Rob Lowe lovingly grooming it almost changed my mind.

[DearEvette]

Owen is an idiot.  And I am sure Amy Acker was only guesting for a few episodes so the show can go back to getting its yucks from Owen's revolving date door of younger women.  But he is still an idiot.

I had been feeling that the show was really skimping on the 911 calls lately.  This one only had two.  Out curiosity I decided to see how much time was spent on them, the first one took about 4 1/2 minutes of airtime .  The second one took just under 4 minutes.  And at least 20 seconds of that was long camera shots on TK's face so we can be reminded he lost his mom too. The show runs 44 minutes.  The rest was relationship drama. 

I actually didn't mind the Tommy stuff or the TK stuff because they felt like they were natural character developments  for those two given they built off previous important plot points.  But the Owen stuff was 100% filler and was unnecessary, tbh.

I saw on another board someone snarkily call this show 911: Lowe Star.  LOL.

[MrPissyPuppy]

12 hours ago, marceline said:

That's the one case that got to me. When she started leaning out of the car I wanted to scream "Put it in park!" Always put it in park.

There was a recent real life case of this happening. 

https://people.com/human-interest/ohio-woman-dies-after-head-trapped-between-car-payment-machine/

[Bruinsfan]

On 4/11/2022 at 9:47 PM, shapeshifter said:

So Amy Acker's Catherine bought a clue about Owen being a terrible boyfriend.
Goodbye, Bonanza/Cartwright, girlfriend.👋 
We "hardly knew ye." 
On a different show she would have laughed it off. But, to be fair to her reaction, he's been doing all that punching too.

 

16 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I'm glad Catherine didn't just laugh Owen's overreaction off and stay with him. She had every right to break up with him in that moment. Instead of talking to her like an adult or trusting that she liked him for who he is, Owen decided to berate her, yell at her, and mock her was the way to go. Catherine WOULD be better off with Patrick Sr.

Yeah, kudos to the show for having Catherine treat the disrespect and craziness from Owen seriously and not put up with it. His accusatory meltdown was WAY out of line; even if she'd been involved with Patrick Sr. and had a thing for older men, there is nothing wrong with that. Unlike, say, constantly resorting to violence in disputes, or deciding to save someone from a fire after they've cooked a bit because you want them to suffer. Catherine was already overlooking enough red flags that I wondered if she were color blind.

The Tommy storyline was well done, both sweet and sad. And it was great to see the bond of friendship between Tommy and Grace. Am I alone in thinking it's a bit soon for her to jump back into the dating pool, though? I know everyone processes grief differently, but I'd say if you still need to attend a grief support group (perfectly reasonable 11 months after losing your spouse), you're not yet ready.

TK needing to talk to his sponsor about addiction matters isn't troubling, but flaking out on Carlos inconsiderately is, and shutting down on his boyfriend rather than being able to talk about his bad day at work or missing his mom really is.

Edited April 13, 2022 by Bruinsfan

[Lady Calypso]

8 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Am I alone in thinking it's a bit soon for her to jump back into the dating pool, though? I know everyone processes grief differently, but I'd say if you still need to attend a grief support group (perfectly reasonable 11 months after losing your spouse), you're not yet ready.

I don't think it's too early at all. They established that Charles has actually been dead for more than a year an episode or two ago. Even so, people process grief differently. If she was dating a couple of months after losing Charles, I'd agree. But over a year? I think that's a fine amount of time. But the issue is Tommy being ready, which she may or may not be still.

[iMonrey]

I wonder if the long-term goal is to put Owen and Tommy together, sort of like they did with Bobby and Athena over on the mothership. I don't think it would make much sense but I never saw the sense in Bobby and Athena either, it just sort of came out of the blue.

[marceline]

14 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

The Tommy storyline was well done, both sweet and sad. And it was great to see the bond of friendship between Tommy and Grace. Am I alone in thinking it's a bit soon for her to jump back into the dating pool, though? I know everyone processes grief differently, but I'd say if you still need to attend a grief support group (perfectly reasonable 11 months after losing your spouse), you're not yet ready.

I agree with you that if one is still attending a grief support group regularly then it's probably too soon and IMO dating among support group members should be avoided. That's pretty much a staple of 12-step groups but we've seen no evidence that this is that kind of group.

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Carlos needs to go to AlAnon (for people who are not addicts but love one).

Yes. He needs a support system too.

Edited April 13, 2022 by marceline

[BooksRule]

On 4/11/2022 at 9:47 PM, shapeshifter said:

On 4/11/2022 at 9:04 PM, preeya said:

Catherine's ex-husband (before I knew he wasn't) reminded me of Larry David when he took off his cap.

I thought he was Larry David until I read your post and realized that, of course, Larry David would not be doing a cameo on this show. 
I think the actor was in an episode or 2 of Stargate SG1 a decade or so ago and looked the same as he does now.

I don't think that actor ever ages/changes. He's been in tons of stuff, but he's probably best known (or maybe not known) as the voice of Homer Simpson. 

[toodywoody]

Rob Lowe is hot and all, but I'm sick of the Owen and TK hour. Stop it already. 

This is a damn show that has other people on it. And I'm sick to death of TK and Owen in peril or their love lives. I want more of the 911 calls and less of this crap.

[EllaWycliffe]

I'm fine with Rob Lowe - I'm biased but he is a decent actor - but the dude playing TK bores me, and TK's storyline bores me and his drug use storylines and mental health storylines where he's so strung out he's getting high in crack houses and it's known he's made suicide attempts and has some stays in rehab etc...  Let's ignore the various plots where he'd likely have serious physical impacts from his injuries and ask the question "is it really wise to have an ex drug user with suicidal tendencies serving the public in a dangerous job where his judgement calls can get people killed?"

Is it really plausible that someone with TK's history has either had it all covered up? Or is getting employed with people knowing he's got a drug history etc? Part of what ruins lives when there's drug use is the sad reality that people who use drugs to where they're hitting rock bottom like TK is that they end up with arrest records that effectively ruin their employment chances. I also admit TK rubs me wrong in that he doesn't have that much to bitch about - yeah his parents got divorced but his parents were both VERY supportive of his being gay and he seems to get a lot of support across the board. And yet is a whiny douche. 

[shapeshifter]

Agree with all of the above, especially this:

9 minutes ago, EllaWycliffe said:

Part of what ruins lives when there's drug use is the sad reality that people who use drugs to where they're hitting rock bottom like TK is that they end up with arrest records that effectively ruin their employment chances.

—which is being hand-waved away in TK’s case. 🤨

[Bruinsfan]

Let's just say I don't think it's a coincidence that TK moved with his dad to work for him at the restaffed firehouse in Texas.

[Joe Bacigaloop]

I really hope Rob Lowe leaves this show. It would be a much better show if Judd was in charge.

[EllaWycliffe]

9 hours ago, Joe Bacigaloop said:

I really hope Rob Lowe leaves this show. It would be a much better show if Judd was in charge.

Disagree - although I do like Judd a great deal. Judd is a southern fried chicken version of Bobby on the original show - tragic past, sensible wife of color, common sense galore. The only trait he doesn't share with Bobby is the tendency to cook. Lonestar is already essentially a clone of the original, the only significant difference even now is Owen being the captain and being something of a fish out of water liberal progressive and a primping in the mirror prima donna. Well, and the odd set up that the ambulance people aren't firefighters and there's a seperate captain for them (a set up that still makes little sense to me) I'd have a much harder time buying a captain like Judd in Texas welcoming a gay fireman, a trans fireman, and an islamic firewoman than I would a captain like Strand. And I do notice that the other fire stations on lone star never have anything but buff white guys cast. 

[WinJet0819]

On 4/13/2022 at 10:32 AM, iMonrey said:

I wonder if the long-term goal is to put Owen and Tommy together, sort of like they did with Bobby and Athena over on the mothership. I don't think it would make much sense but I never saw the sense in Bobby and Athena either, it just sort of came out of the blue.

I sincerely hope not not. Putting them together would ruin the dynamic of the house, and they both work together as the two captains. And this show, like the mothership, haven't pushed those inner-house relationships. Bobby and Athena don't work together so it's not that weird.

On 4/13/2022 at 5:45 PM, toodywoody said:

Rob Lowe is hot and all, but I'm sick of the Owen and TK hour. Stop it already. 

This is a damn show that has other people on it. And I'm sick to death of TK and Owen in peril or their love lives. I want more of the 911 calls and less of this crap.

Speaking to the choir. It's the Strand hour. Their constant storylines are strangling the show. I'm tired of hearing about Owen's love life or T.K's sobriety. Let's hear some more about Paul. Let's get some focus on Marjan and Mateo. Hell, let's get some more focus on the show's namesake, the 911 Center.

[Giuseppe]

On 4/11/2022 at 10:47 PM, shapeshifter said:

But the Young Patrick actor, Brandon Beemer, either has an identical voice to Rob Lowe's, or he was doing a fantastic vocal impersonation, or they dubbed Rob Lowe over the actor's lines. 

Brandon Beemer has been on Days of Our Lives off and on for years. That's how he really talks. Never thought that he resembled Rob Lowe one way or the other, but could kind of see it in this episode.

[anna0852]

21 hours ago, WinJet0819 said:

I sincerely hope not not. Putting them together would ruin the dynamic of the house, and they both work together as the two captains. And this show, like the mothership, haven't pushed those inner-house relationships. Bobby and Athena don't work together so it's not that weird.

I deeply appreciate that both shows avoid the intra-workplace romances.

[DearEvette]

On 4/15/2022 at 10:15 AM, EllaWycliffe said:

Disagree - although I do like Judd a great deal. Judd is a southern fried chicken version of Bobby on the original show - tragic past, sensible wife of color, common sense galore. The only trait he doesn't share with Bobby is the tendency to cook. Lonestar is already essentially a clone of the original, the only significant difference even now is Owen being the captain and being something of a fish out of water liberal progressive and a primping in the mirror prima donna. Well, and the odd set up that the ambulance people aren't firefighters and there's a seperate captain for them (a set up that still makes little sense to me) I'd have a much harder time buying a captain like Judd in Texas welcoming a gay fireman, a trans fireman, and an islamic firewoman than I would a captain like Strand. And I do notice that the other fire stations on lone star never have anything but buff white guys cast. 

I like Judd a lot and think he'd make a great chief.  But yeah, it doesn't work for the conceit of the show because the whole reason Owen was hired in the first place was because they needed someone to re-build the 126 from scratch after the tragic loss of all the firefighters and he had already done the same thing in NY with his house.  Also they needed an outsider because they were facing a diversity and inclusivity issue in the department and needed someone without baggage to shepherd that along as well and they wanted the 126 to be an example. 

That said, I do think Owen has a lot in common with Bobby.

Owen's backstory as a 9/11 first responder at ground zero who not only lost all of his crew but  also got cancer as a result was pretty tragic.  Also largely forgotten but he did start to drink a lot in the aftermath of his tragedy. Not enough to become dependent but enough to be the a major reason his marriage with Gwyn failed.

Also like Owen who came from New York City to relocate to Austin where he is shown to experience some culture shock, Bobby was also a fish out of water having relocated from Minnesota to Los Angeles, this was made very clear in his 'Begins' episode where a series of calls showed him they did things different in La-La Land.

I don't mind Rob or Owen, I actually like what they are doing with the character -- making light fun of his metro-sexuality and his fancy diet amongst the meat eating manly men of Texas.  But I really, really wish they dialed back on his front and center face time.  If they could strike a better balance between him and the rest of the cast -- and for goodness sake, start introducing some characters in the call center so we can get to know them -- the show will be better for it.