S03.E18: A Bright And Cloudless Morning

[jewel21]

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Captain Strand and the 126 come together when one of their own is trapped after a building explosion. Meanwhile, Owen reflects on his 9/11 experience, T.K. and Carlos come to a decision and Tommy and Julius decide on their future.

Airdate: 05/16/2022

[possibilities]

I liked this one. It had actual rescues. It was sappy but I can live with that now and then. 

It really is true that people don't remember 9/11 the way they used to. It doesn't feel that long ago if you were around when it happened, but it's faded in the public consciousness, buried under the rubble of subsequent traumas. Still, I was okay with Owen this week. 

 

[BooksRule]

I was happy that both '9-1-1' and '9-1-1 Long Star' ended their seasons with happy storylines.  I'm tired of the whole characters-in-peril-until-next-season' plots.

I had to laugh when TK woke up Carlos and he sat straight up in bed (panicked) and shouted 'What! Do you smell smoke!? Is the lizard back?!'  It really summed up what it must be like living with TK. :) 

[cardigirl]

I liked this one too. Last week, when the building had collapsed, I thought it looked like pictures of ground zero and that would be tough for Owen. 
 

The title of the episode too, it was a bright cloudless day when 9/11 happened. 😔

Good job by the writers. 

Edited May 17, 2022 by cardigirl

[iMonrey]

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I was happy that both '9-1-1' and '9-1-1 Long Star' ended their seasons with happy storylines.  I'm tired of the whole characters-in-peril-until-next-season' plots.

That's only because they didn't know if they'd be renewed and had to plan for a possible series finale. If they'd gotten early renewals it might have been different. Maybe the networks should make a habit of holding off on early renewals just for that very reason.

Anyway, I was mostly OK with this episode, except for how the focus quickly shifted from Judd to Owen. But I guess they had to bring it full circle, just in case this was the series finale. I had completely forgotten about Owen being a 9/11 rescuer and getting lung cancer.

I had to laugh at the guy in the rubble saying "911 is calling him? I'm going with that guy!" I'm so glad they didn't do the usual "my cell phone is broken/has no service" cliche. 

Also liked the meta acknowledgment that TK is a walking definition of near-death experience. Not sure how essential it is for him to have a will, though. How much money does he even have? And he doesn't have any kids either. The only thing I can think of is that if he and Carlos bought that house together, he would want to make sure his half defaulted to Carlos. 

[marceline]

Judd ends up in a building collapse but somehow it becomes all about Owen's experience at 9/11. Of course.

12 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I had to laugh when TK woke up Carlos and he sat straight up in bed (panicked) and shouted 'What! Do you smell smoke!? Is the lizard back?!'  It really summed up what it must be like living with TK. :) 

I cracked up at "Is the lizard back?!" That experience clearly traumatized Carlos.

[Lady Calypso]

I gotta admit, this was probably the best season finale they've done. I DIDN'T end up hating the Owen stuff, and there was a lot of funny moments.

I thought Owen's PTSD worked well as a storyline. It made total sense, and it was well acted. Now, do I wish there was more Judd? Yeah, but to be fair, he had a broken leg so there wasn't much saving he COULD do, even without Owen there. Plus, Judd's plot led to some funnier lines. "Your kid's already got the job. And if we make it out of here? He's already been promoted...twice!" and "911 called this dude? I'm sticking with him!"

The TK/Carlos proposal was to be expected, but it still worked for me. I laughed at Carlos waking up and thinking the lizard was back. And everyone making fun of TK's multiple near death experiences.

Owen/Tommy's scene at the end was nice. They don't interact much, so it was nice to see.

Overall, it was a good finale.

[DearEvette]

14 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I had to laugh when TK woke up Carlos and he sat straight up in bed (panicked) and shouted 'What! Do you smell smoke!? Is the lizard back?!'  It really summed up what it must be like living with TK. :) 

Right?  That was my first thought that Carlos needs hip waders to deal with all the TK related trauma.   I was wondering if they were aware of the TK near death fatigue and the fact that most viewers basically recite the list of his near death experiences.  So it was fun to hear everyone make fun of it. 

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I had to laugh at the guy in the rubble saying "911 is calling him? I'm going with that guy!" I'm so glad they didn't do the usual "my cell phone is broken/has no service" cliche.

I liked that as well. So 100% would have been my response. I also thought Tech-boss was funny as well when he said Wyatt not only had the job but was already promoted twice.  LOL.  I like that the writers didn't have him a whiney whiner or double down on his douchiness.  Instead they made him  fully aware that he was out of his zone here and Judd was their best bet at survival and he could fall back and follow if it meant getting out of there.

Also I love that Grace was right there with him on the phone.

1 hour ago, marceline said:

Judd ends up in a building collapse but somehow it becomes all about Owen's experience at 9/11. Of course.

Because of course.  Even though rolled my eyes at this and with Owen jumping into the middle of the rescue (I mean just in the same night the 118 questioned Bobby with raised eyebrows when he decided to go down a cliffside to rescue someone), I have to say it was necessary if only for them to confront/cut even more ties with Owen's past and the cancer storyline.  Could've done without one more ghostly visitation from Gwyn.  Jeez this isn't Ghosts.  Stay Dead for Chrissake! 

I loved that it ended on such a nice, upbeat note.  Nancy really is taller than everyone.  I like how Carlos' heartfelt prepared speech was reduced to 'Yes way.' because everybody (except Mateo, of course) realize what was happening.  I liked Judd and Grace being able to virtually experience Wyatt's graduation and finally, I especially liked Tommy and Owen's last scene together.  They don't get to talk together as chief-to-chief enough. And the occasion was the celebration of his fungal infection.

I honestly don't think this show or the OG 911 was in any danger of cancellation.  The OG is Fox's highest rated show and this one is its third highest.  The only thing that would have derailed a renewal is salary negotiations.  And even then, even if Rob Lowe bailed, Jim Parrack would have been right there available to slide in as Capt or even Evil Billy (who, tbh I wouldn't mind seeing again).  That the is beauty of a strong ensemble cast.  It can weather defections even from those very high on the call sheet.  In fact that last scene with Owen and Judd tells me the show is possibly prepping for a future defection by Rob Lowe. 

[Bruinsfan]

This was one of the rare ones that hit on all points for me. Good job, show!

  

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The only thing I can think of is that if he and Carlos bought that house together, he would want to make sure his half defaulted to Carlos.

That and his retirement fund, and anything he may have inherited from Gwyn. I'd guess that all of that defaults to Owen if he doesn't make a will stating otherwise.

Carlos technically bought the house himself, though he apparently had TK's name added to the title after the fact. I'm not sure how that would be distributed if TK died while they were just living together. But marriage should make each of them the other's principal heir.

[shapeshifter]

Owen said Judd was going to be next in line to be captain. That might just be a better show if if Rob Lowe has had enough of the show.

 

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I also thought Tech-boss was funny as well when he said Wyatt not only had the job but was already promoted twice.  LOL. 

Yes, much better than what I mockingly predicted:

On 5/12/2022 at 6:21 AM, shapeshifter said:

So, when Wyatt rushes into the burning building and saves Judd's and the CEO's life and CEO offers Wyatt a job, Wyatt's going to say, "No thank you, sir. I'm going to be a paramedic."
I mean, Wyatt did already manage to set a compound fracture with zero training.

 

[iMonrey]

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I cracked up at "Is the lizard back?!" That experience clearly traumatized Carlos.

So did they end up getting rid of the lizard then?

[shapeshifter]

1 minute ago, iMonrey said:

So did they end up getting rid of the lizard then?

I don't think they'd be getting married otherwise. 
Their vows should include a pets agreement.

 

[possibilities]

In the latter part of the episode where the lizard incident occurred, TK said he was bringing the lizard back to its natural habitat. 

[Bruinsfan]

Hope he put up a warning sign about that thing burrowing at the sight of blood!

[preeya]

5 hours ago, DearEvette said:

In fact that last scene with Owen and Judd tells me the show is possibly prepping for a future defection by Rob Lowe. 

If I had my way, it would be sooner than later. I hate that this has turned into "9-1-1 LOWE Star" as I'm not a fan of his and never was.

[JH Lipton]

15 hours ago, iMonrey said:

That's only because they didn't know if they'd be renewed and had to plan for a possible series finale. If they'd gotten early renewals it might have been different. Maybe the networks should make a habit of holding off on early renewals just for that very reason.

Far too many shows "on the bubble" add shocking cliffhangers, as if that's going to convince execs to renew the show

14 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Judd's plot led to some funnier lines. "Your kid's already got the job. And if we make it out of here? He's already been promoted...twice!" and "911 called this dude? I'm sticking with him!"

Which made Wyatt's "maybe no college" funnier since he's going to make a boatload of money working for Tech Guy.

[shapeshifter]

I kept feeling like they skipped over a line in which one of the people trapped with Judd was going to suggest Judd had bombed the building because they didn’t hire his son.

Just me?

[iMonrey]

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Far too many shows "on the bubble" add shocking cliffhangers, as if that's going to convince execs to renew the show

It probably makes sense from the show's standpoint, they want the audience to bombard the network with demands the show be renewed so they can see how the cliffhanger is resolved. It's nice they didn't do one, just in case, but I can see why a lot of shows do.

[anna0852]

I've always thought TK has more than a touch of Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Especially in the proposal scene. 

[JH Lipton]

On 5/18/2022 at 8:06 AM, iMonrey said:

It probably makes sense from the show's standpoint, they want the audience to bombard the network with demands the show be renewed so they can see how the cliffhanger is resolved. It's nice they didn't do one, just in case, but I can see why a lot of shows do.

That hasn't worked in years.  The "send a _thing_ to the network execs may have worked for one or two shows, but now it's over.  

OIf-topic a bit: apparently, the CW knew they were going to have to cancel a lot of shows due to losing studio space (they ended up canceling 8!) so the showrunners were warned to wrap up plot-lines and not have cliff-hangers.  Of course, not all of them did.

[tennisgurl]

For another "team member in peril" episode, I thought that was pretty good. I am glad that both this show and the mothership ended on a high note without any big cliffhangers, they didn't even drag out Owen possibly having cancer again or put TK into danger. We got some nice moments from everyone, the engagement was cute, and we got a nice mix of saves and personal things, even if they were tied together. 

Poor Carlos, he's had so many traumatic moments since he started dating TK, but the lizard is still the thing that haunts his nightmares. I really enjoyed the meta jokes about TK's many near death experiences, it was like the show was directly quoting jokes we've made here. There were a lot of funny lines this week, Carlos freaking out about the lizards possible return, the "911 is calling that guy, I'm going with him" bits with the tech guy, I thought all of the plots did a good job of mixing drama with some much needed comic relief. I was also glad that, even though the tech boss seemed like a jerk, he got on board listening to Judd really quickly and didn't cause any drama as they were leaving. 

Tying this into Owen's memories of 9/11 worked a lot better for me than I thought it would, I could see why seeing that ruble mixed with possibly having his cancer (which was the result of 9/11) return would send him back to that place. A bright and cloudless morning indeed. 

Edited May 20, 2022 by tennisgurl

[eel21788]

3 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

the "911 is calling that guy, I'm going with him" bits with the tech guy,

Does Austin not have a reverse 911 system? 

[shapeshifter]

There were So Many idiotic/dumb character moments on this show!
But I can't remember any specifically.
If anyone can, please offer them up for the board's annual awards:

[auntiemel]

Just now catching up. My big takeaway is that this is the first time I’ve ever noticed that Grace is in Judd’s phone as “My Heart”

♥️♥️♥️♥️ Aaaawwww!!!!!!