S04.E17: Best of Men/S04.E18: In Sickness and in Health

[jewel21]

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S04.E17: Best of Men

Owen is conflicted when his brother Robert asks him for help. Judd and Grace face a family crisis.

Airdate: 05/16/2023

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S04.E18: In Sickness and in Health

As T.K. and Carlos prepare for their wedding day, tragedy strikes.

Airdate: 05/16/2023

Season finale!

[preeya]

Did not see that coming!

Guess they'll be welcoming Carlos to the Rangers.

[Madding crowd]

This one made me cry. So much sadness between Wyatt being paralyzed, Carlos losing his dad and Owen’s brother. Tommy has a beautiful voice. The wedding was lovely and I teared up when TK’s mom appeared.

[BooksRule]

I jumped and scared the cats when Gabriel was shot.  I wasn't expecting that at all.  (However, I did wonder if something bad was on the horizon, since they fought and made up, and things were going smoothly.  I thought he was going to have a heart attack or something like that, though, and maybe keel over at the reception.)

I know that Judd is just trying to help Wyatt and keep him out of what sounded like a depressing rehabilitation facility, but was that the only one around?  If not Austin, Houston is about 3 hours away.  I'm sure they could find a nicer one.  A close relative (especially one who isn't trained) shouldn't be doing that job.  Judd was too close to the situation to be best for Wyatt.

The wedding was really beautiful, but I wanted to get a close-up of the cake.  I like cake.

The only nitpick I have is that this was a two-hour episode and we got, what, one rescue?

[luv2lurk]

This show should be re-named Lone Star. Two hours, one emergency at the beginning. Soap opera level drama with impossible story lines for the next 90 minutes. And inconsistent timelines - when Owen's family arrived wasn't the wedding supposed to be in 5 days? Then Gabriel gets shot, there is an immediate funeral and then two weeks until the planned wedding? 

Call to 911 at the end to remind us what the show should be centred on.

[Kleav]

I still can't get over the real-life brothers acting this situation--it must be wrenching. I wonder how Chad came to be cast.

On a lighter note, someone should have been brave enough to tell Rob that "Yvonne" doesn't start with a Y sound.

 

[possibilities]

Damn. Why can't they let anyone be happy for more than one consecutive scene? I didn't like them shooting Gabriel. The world is miserable enough. They've made TK and Carlos really mature as a couple since the earlier part of the season, though. The wedding got to me, and I don't even like weddings, generally speaking. Also, Carlos out of his mind, unslept, and unshaven is oddly hot-- not what I expected. 

Owen's brother's story was oddly vague as to what actually happens to people with Huntington's disease, considering that they seem happy enough to bring the pain. I guess the only reason to portray disabled people these days is for misery porn. But just enough to advocate for our deaths, not enough to show what our lives are actually like. 

Judd is well-meaning but totally off the mark with Wyatt. Also, how are they paying for all that home care? Even with Judd's salary, it would bankrupt them. Without it? Ye Gods. 

Wyatt is an adult, though. He doesn't have to agree to what Judd wants, just because Judd says so. 

The baby rescue had me over the top, even though I know it's fiction. 

 

 

[t7686]

That was a lot crammed into 2 hours. Like a whole season’s worth. I got whiplash from trying to follow all that misery!

Judd shouldn’t be taking care of Wyatt, he’s too close to the situation. Where was Wyatt’s girlfriend and mother in all this?

I figured by the way they were going about it that something would happen to Carlos’ dad but jumped when he got shot. 
 

it must have been hard for the real life Lowe brothers to film that. Still seems like Chad’s character’s death was premature though. Plus this is what… the third assisted suicide as a season finale this year? What a odd thing for shows to copy off each other.
 

Overall, a lot of angst but meh on the episode as a whole.  At least they finally got married.  

[Lady Calypso]

Yeah, so I think I was supposed to be oh so sad about Carlos' dad getting murdered and being super on board with that plot but instead, I was pissed right off that they threw that plot in there.

There was NO need for that plot to be randomly thrown in. There was zero need to kill Carlos' father off right before the wedding. It was mostly done for wedding drama. This plot was probably created around the idea of wedding drama and I LOATHE tropes like that, when a show needlessly kills a character off for no real good reason beyond shock value. Gabriel didn't need to die, he didn't need to have some big secret on stopping cartels and shadiness in law enforcement, especially not in the finale. Now it's gonna be forgotten about next season until the show decides they need a new three episode arc, in which they'll reintroduce it halfway into season 5 and have the entire thing solved and the corruption stopped by Carlos and Owen. 

They could have had silly wedding drama, like TK loses the rings and the 126 has to help him find the rings. THAT would have been fun (plus, would have gotten the rest of the 126 involved since they were basically invisible both episodes). Have Carlos have that tension with his father, but have them make up on the wedding day. Anything but killing a character off just to start off some larger plot that we ALL know will be resolved in no more than three episodes. 

The plot with Judd and Wyatt was decent, but I am surprised the whole "Judd quitting his job to take care of Wyatt" wasn't completely resolved by the end. I expected Wyatt to convince Judd to let him go to the facility by the end so that their relationship could remain strong. 

Plus, I gotta also say, why did Wyatt's mother not wake him up when his results came in? Judd spewed something about medical power of attorney but I thought that's only when the patient is unresponsive and incapable of making decisions. Wyatt was just asleep. Wake him up! Even if it led to a good scene, it still made zero sense. Wyatt is an adult now; he should be able to learn his results first.

The Robert/Owen scenes were surprisingly decent. I thought Robert made a respectable choice and made very valid points on why he was choosing to end his life right then and not wait. Probably one of the better plots they've done this season, and I think they ended the plot at just the right time. Though Robert's final moments did NOT look peaceful at all. 

Overall, a frustrating finale. The wedding scenes could have been nice but I was too pissed off about the "killing family member off" trope to enjoy them. Especially given Gabriel died less than a week ago, they had a funeral, and they solved one part of the case within days. 

[Artsda]

I figured something was going to happen to Carlo's dad because there was too much of him in first half. I was expecting a heart attack, not murdered.   With the Wyatt and Owen's brother we did not need Carlo's dad killed.  

Especially since days later they just all got dressed up to have a wedding and looked so happy anyways. 

This show is too much personal drama not enough 911.

I did like the cast and guest stars they all pulled out for the wedding. All the plus ones plus TKs mom. 

 

 

[Msample]

3 hours ago, Artsda said:

 

This show is too much personal drama not enough 911.

 

 

THIS. 

 

The show has morphed from action/quirky humor to ratcheting up how much misfortune it can heap upon its main characters. I fast forwarded thru the soap opera BS to a point then realized all I was doing was FF thru just about the entire first hour. Then I just deleted it off my DVR. This show has jumped the shark. 

[iMonrey]

We all know TK and Carlos can't get through a whole episode without some tragedy. Now, I've said this before and I'm not trying to be unkind here, but Ronen Rubinstein and Rafael Silva are just not strong enough actors to pull this kind of material off. I mean, they can cry on cue, they are perfectly serviceable in supporting roles, and no question they are pretty to look at. But acting is not their strong suit. Especially when they have to do heavy lifting like this.

I agree with Lady Calypso that the drama with Carlos' dad came out of left field and was completely unnecessary. I was kind of relieved when Paul threw that line into the ceremony about staying out of the ICU for at least three weeks or however long. Because I half expected something else to happen to stop the wedding.

I know this show is fictional, but it has made an issue of several characters having strong religious beliefs. I find it unrealistic not one of them has any objections to a same-sex wedding. Unfortunately that's just not the world we live in, and it wouldn't hurt for a few characters to have that discussion.

What exactly did Owen do to assist his brother's suicide? It looked like some kind of air mask over his face.

So is Judd just not going to be a firefighter anymore? Or will they just hire him back once Wyatt is better?

[marceline]

Carlos and TK will be filing for divorce by the end of next season. Neither of these men is emotionally mature enough for marriage. Every other week one of them is emotionally spiraling and the other one talking him down with a bunch of flowery language. They're like teenagers. Carlos went from the wake to holding a gun on someone and accusing them of murder. Grieving or not, that is not the behavior of a stable individual.

I skipped the wedding because I had no desire to watch these two emotional invalids joined at the hip pledge their undying codependency in front of all their equally codependent family and friends.

This is the second TV show finale I've seen that featured an assisted suicide. I assume one of the daughters will claim that Owen murdered their father.

[Sweet-n-Snarky]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

We all know TK and Carlos can't get through a whole episode without some tragedy. Now, I've said this before and I'm not trying to be unkind here, but Ronen Rubinstein and Rafael Silva are just not strong enough actors to pull this kind of material off. I mean, they can cry on cue, they are perfectly serviceable in supporting roles, and no question they are pretty to look at. But acting is not their strong suit. Especially when they have to do heavy lifting like this.

I agree about Ronen. The mid over acts. But hard disagree about Silva. I think he's one of the stronger actors on this series, but they rarely give him decent material to work with.  I feel like if this wasn't Lone Star, and instead something stronger and on premium or streaming, he'd be stellar. 

I wasn't enthused with many aspects of the storytelling and all, but performance wise, the kid was fantastic. He, Jim Parrack, and Sierra McClain are three of the actors on this show that I genuinely wish were on something that could either match or enhance their talent.

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I agree with Lady Calypso that the drama with Carlos' dad came out of left field and was completely unnecessary. I was kind of relieved when Paul threw that line into the ceremony about staying out of the ICU for at least three weeks or however long. Because I half expected something else to happen to stop the wedding.

I know this show is fictional, but it has made an issue of several characters having strong religious beliefs. I find it unrealistic not one of them has any objections to a same-sex wedding. Unfortunately that's just not the world we live in, and it wouldn't hurt for a few characters to have that discussion.

I don't find the religious thing all that unrealistic though. Austin is pretty progressive and it always seems like it because of the religious nuts, but many people are people of faith and progressive. Carlos DID have a hard time with his parents for a while and that's where many of his issues stem from in the first place.  

I don't think it's a coincidence that Tommy, Grace, and Judd all go to the same church. I know churches exactly theirs.

And Marjan is so refreshing to me because most of the Muslim women I knew in college were similar, and I was thrilled to see that onscreen without the stereotypical hijab wearing woman who is constricted by their religion stuff entertainment usually opts for.

I think Judd is a really good example of someone who didn't understand things but by his world was enriched just by getting know people he otherwise wouldn't have nor understood. I hate that things are so extreme and polarizing that what feels like the actual norm and median gets lost. 

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

 

 

[eel21788]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

What exactly did Owen do to assist his brother's suicide? It looked like some kind of air mask over his face.

My assumption is that he was breathing helium. It is supposed to be a quick and painless way to do the deed, and small helium tanks are available any place that sells party supplies.

Robert had said he would take care of everything himself. He just needed Owen to get rid of the evidence afterwards, so I'll assume Robert bought the helium tank and procured the oxygen mask himself. Owen just watched while Robert set things up, although Owen should have disposed of the mask and tank before making the 911 call. Hopefully, that won't come back to bite him in the butt.

[eel21788]

13 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I know that Judd is just trying to help Wyatt and keep him out of what sounded like a depressing rehabilitation facility, but was that the only one around?  If not Austin, Houston is about 3 hours away.  I'm sure they could find a nicer one.  A close relative (especially one who isn't trained) shouldn't be doing that job.  Judd was too close to the situation to be best for Wyatt.

However, the denial and anger for both of them was very realistic. No matter what living situation they attempted, Wyatt still has to go through that and the depression phase of grieving before he is going to be able to move forward. Injuries such as his ruin a lot of familial relationships.

They still haven't made it clear to us exactly what kind of injury Wyatt has to his spinal cord. I'm sure the writers have to decide what kind of recovery they want him to have before they'll tell us the level of the injury and the extent of the damage.

[preeya]

Someone refresh my memory; how did Judd's son Wyatt become paralyzed?

[eel21788]

3 minutes ago, preeya said:

Someone refresh my memory; how did Judd's son Wyatt become paralyzed?

Last week a truck hit him while he was riding his bike.

[preeya]

5 minutes ago, eel21788 said:

Last week a truck hit him while he was riding his bike.

Damn! I somehow missed that episode. Thanks for your reply.

[possibilities]

Speaking of religion, I liked seeing TK wearing his yarmulke during the wedding. It's totally credible to me that he brings it out for sacred occasions, as I grew up around lots and lots who did exactly that, and seeing TK wear it for his marriage ceremony-- even if the ceremony was performed in a secular way-- was totally culturally on target. Not that everyone would handle it that way, but I know lots who would. 

I like that the show doesn't portray religious people according to the most extreme and unfriendly stereotypes, as (while there are definitely those unfriendly types around) the people in my life who are religious are all of the type shown on the show, and it's so rare to see that portrayed in the media, which seems to prefer to platform the most possible prejudice, conflict, and misery possible.

[eel21788]

27 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Speaking of religion, I liked seeing TK wearing his yarmulke during the wedding. It's totally credible to me that he brings it out for sacred occasions, as I grew up around lots and lots who did exactly that, and seeing TK wear it for his marriage ceremony-- even if the ceremony was performed in a secular way--

If they had been strictly following Jewish law, then the wedding would have had to go on as planned despite the recent death in the family. You can't plan a wedding during the first 30 days of mourning; however, if the wedding plans had already been completed and it was originally scheduled during that 30 day period, you're required to follow through with it. 

[possibilities]

It wasn't a Jewish wedding in that sense, though. There was nothing whatsoever other than the yarmulkah on TK to indicate Judaism. I think he was wearing it for its personal maning to him, rather than because of the law.

[tennisgurl]

That was extremely depressing, of course we cant just have a fun wedding episode. Carlos's dad dies, he almost murders an innocent man, Owen watches his brother die, and Wyatt is looking at a possible future of paralysis which led Judd to quit his job, what a sorrowful episode. The wedding was nice, I like that they got so much of the cast and some reoccurring characters back for it, but it was hard to really enjoy it knowing that Carlos's mom is still replacing her bloodstained floors, Owen's waiting to kill his newly discovered brother, and knowing that some new drama is inevitably going to come between Carlos and TK before they hit the honeymoon. 

I should have suspected Gabriel was going to die after he got so much time to work on his relationship with Carlos and was all excited for the wedding, the poor guy might as well have announced that he had two weeks until retirement. I really don't like this, there was no reason for Gabriel to die besides cheap shock value and to add more drama to the wedding, a wedding that we all know is going to happen so dragging it out is pointless, and to add even more angst. I hate when shows kill off characters just for shock value, we already randomly killed off TK's mom, and now Carlos's dad. Its especially bad because I thought that he and Carlos had a lot of good interesting scenes together, but now its all thrown away. 

Carlos is lucky that he didn't get arrested for almost shooting the guy who turned out to be an undercover cop, I guess its lucky for him that his dad's boss was willing to turn a blind eye. I'm not sure about this marriage, TK and Carlos still have a lot of issues to deal with, most recently Carlos almost murdering a guy, plus their issues with secret keeping, depression spirals, and communication, but I hope that they can at least get a few episodes of bliss. 

Not that I'm surprised at this point, but we had two full episodes without a single rescue of any kind.

[Msample]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 

 

Not that I'm surprised at this point, but we had two full episodes without a single rescue of any kind.

They did save that child from the sinking car in the swimming pool....which of course was caused by the ridiculous decision to box in a fleeing suspect and instead of you know, boxing him to a complete standstill on the street, failing to cut him off on all sides and forced him into a neighborhood. 

[UnknownK]

More likely the child would die at highway speeds crash then one on a turnoff side street.

This is a drama, so they planted the seeds of their problems for next season during the finale.

Will Carlos join the Texas Rangers and avenge his father's death, how will that play out with his new husband TK. How long before Judd goes back to being a firefighter or gets divorced over being a stay home caregiver. Owen killed his brother so that will bother him all season, will his brother's family find out and cause issues both emotional and legal.

Basically, they used the wedding to end one chapter and the other issues to begin the next.

A lot of people complain about both 9.1.1.'s turning into relationship soap operas, but you have to understand these are older shows with huge budgets and soap operas stuff is cheap to film and keeps women watching.

 

 

 

 

 

[jcbrown]

Judd is just being stupid and his decision to quit his job to take care of Wyatt is all about making himself feel better, not what is best for Wyatt (not to mention financially ruinous, as others have noted, and emotionally toxic for his relationship with Wyatt, as Wyatt was mature enough to notice). Not sure why Grace did not probe him on that.

[MaryHedwig]

7 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

TK and Carlos still have a lot of issues to deal with, most recently Carlos almost murdering a guy, plus their issues with secret keeping, depression spirals, and communication, but I hope that they can at least get a few episodes of bliss. 

You forget inconsistent acting performances. 

[JenLily]

19 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

I should have suspected Gabriel was going to die after he got so much time to work on his relationship with Carlos and was all excited for the wedding, the poor guy might as well have announced that he had two weeks until retirement.

I laughed out loud when I read the bolded. I always twitch when a character makes that announcement, it's almost always a harbinger of death. Either that or they just find out they're having a baby.

[iMonrey]

On 5/18/2023 at 7:49 PM, jcbrown said:

Judd is just being stupid and his decision to quit his job to take care of Wyatt is all about making himself feel better, not what is best for Wyatt (not to mention financially ruinous, as others have noted, and emotionally toxic for his relationship with Wyatt, as Wyatt was mature enough to notice). Not sure why Grace did not probe him on that.

They framed this scenario as a better alternative than Wyatt going into a rehab facility because the ones that were being considered were apparently awful. Which is hard to believe. There is surely a decent rehab place nearby, Austin is a major city, and they could also consider facilities in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, etc. Judd does not possess the skill set or have the experience needed for Wyatt. This really was drama just for drama's sake without any supporting credibility. I hope it's rectified next season.

On the other hand I'm not much bothered by Gabriel's unexpected murder. I think it was completely unnecessary in an episode that had so much else going on, but it didn't stretch the limits of believability like Judd turning his house into a rehab facility for Wyatt.

[shapeshifter]

On 5/17/2023 at 12:34 AM, Kleav said:

On a lighter note, someone should have been brave enough to tell Rob that "Yvonne" doesn't start with a Y sound.

One of my kids’ babysitters in California was  "Yvonne" starting with a Y sound. 
When I asked her father about it, he said it was the only way he ever heard it pronounced. 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

On 5/17/2023 at 11:48 AM, marceline said:

This is the second TV show finale I've seen that featured an assisted suicide. I assume one of the daughters will claim that Owen murdered their father.

Only if Owen’s brother left him a significant amount of money.

 

When Carlos and his father, Gabriel, were arguing about the history of the Texas Rangers and that history’s potentially lingering influence, Gabriel said to Carlos:   
“It sounds like you’re calling me a Tio Tomàs,” which is Spanish for “an Uncle Tom,” which is a very specific epithet (wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom). This the first time I heard it used in reference to/by Spanish-speaking indigenous people of the Southwest. 

[Jillybean]

On 5/16/2023 at 11:46 PM, BooksRule said:

I jumped and scared the cats when Gabriel was shot.  I wasn't expecting that at all. 

This was me too. My dog was asleep on the couch with his head in my lap and I jolted and said aloud "what the fuck?" Rude awakening for the pup.

[Quark]

I've just caught up with this show, after watching the original 9-1-1, and have to say it isn't half as good as the original show, but is moderately entertaining.

Grace and Judd are easily my favourite characters, and their daughter is ridiculously cute.

Pretty meh on Carlos and TK, I do think that being a police officer does not fit Carlos' personality at all, he is far too gentle (for the most part).

Matteo is easily the most irritating character on the show.

[Kel Varnsen]

Man that ending was dumb. I am usually ok with some open ended stuff for a season finale when a show is getting renewed but this seemed like a lot. Carlos still has no idea who murdered his dad, and Judd didn't come to any kind of better realization about what to do about his son. Even though being at his house was clearly a terrible idea. 

The funeral also really bugged me. You would think that the funeral for a highly decorated Texas Ranger would be a huge thing. When the guy presented the flag on behalf of the governor, I was like "where the hell is the governor?".

[txhorns79]

On 5/17/2023 at 11:26 AM, iMonrey said:

Now, I've said this before and I'm not trying to be unkind here, but Ronen Rubinstein and Rafael Silva are just not strong enough actors to pull this kind of material off. I mean, they can cry on cue, they are perfectly serviceable in supporting roles, and no question they are pretty to look at. But acting is not their strong suit. Especially when they have to do heavy lifting like this.

Bad writing and meh acting combine to make a very silly storyline where Carlos literally goes from almost murdering someone by mistake to asking that the wedding go on as planned.  If I were TK, I might demand that Carlos get some help to deal with all his conflicting emotions before putting the wedding back on the calendar.   

 

On 5/18/2023 at 1:14 AM, possibilities said:

It wasn't a Jewish wedding in that sense, though. There was nothing whatsoever other than the yarmulkah on TK to indicate Judaism. I think he was wearing it for its personal meaning to him, rather than because of the law.

I would agree.  Yes, TK was born to a Jewish mother, and maybe he said he had a bar mitzvah(?), but I don't think we've really seen anything from him to indicate he's observant. 

And yes Judd, you are not a physical therapist, nor are you an occupational therapist.  You have no idea what you are doing, and Wyatt very obviously needs help from professionals who aren't emotionally invested in this process.