S05.E01: Both Sides Now

[DanaK]

Quote

Season premiere Monday September 23 2024

Synopsis: The 126 race into action when an armored truck and its guards are attacked by a group of masked men. Carlos, in his new job as a Texas Ranger, is assigned to investigate the case. Owen attends group therapy with Tommy to deal with his brother Robert's death; Both Marjan and Paul each apply for the open lieutenant position, replacing Judd, who finds himself lost without his old job. Wyatt begins work at the call center and a major train derailment signals tragedy in the all-new "Both Sides, Now," fifth season premiere episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star airing Monday, September 23 (8:00-9:02 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

 

[BooksRule]

I had no idea that this show was starting back tonight.  I just happened to be checking the onscreen guide and saw it listed about 1 minute before it began.  Not too bad, although I felt that I was a little behind on what everyone was doing, since I had totally forgotten how last season ended.

I felt really bad for Judd when he realized that Owen hadn't come to see him to offer him his job back, but to get his advice on who to choose to replace him.

Did the actress who plays Grace leave the show for good, or is she just gone for a little while?

[DanaK]

34 minutes ago, BooksRule said:

I had no idea that this show was starting back tonight.  I just happened to be checking the onscreen guide and saw it listed about 1 minute before it began.  Not too bad, although I felt that I was a little behind on what everyone was doing, since I had totally forgotten how last season ended.

I felt really bad for Judd when he realized that Owen hadn't come to see him to offer him his job back, but to get his advice on who to choose to replace him.

Did the actress who plays Grace leave the show for good, or is she just gone for a little while?

The actress is gone for good. There was a pay dispute

I couldn’t remember where they left everyone either

I couldn’t place the actor playing Carlos’ new partner until I looked up the episode in IMDB. He played Riley on “The United States of Al” and Randy on “Enlisted”, which are the shows I recognize him best

Edited September 24 by DanaK

[Madding crowd]

I guess the show had no choice but no way would Grace have left her daughter or her job even for a church mission. I know this is the last season so will it focus more on the Texas Ranger side of things?

[Raja]

43 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

I guess the show had no choice but no way would Grace have left her daughter or her job even for a church mission. I know this is the last season so will it focus more on the Texas Ranger side of things?

I only watched a couple of episodes a season but dropped in after football to start asking what happened  when I saw the cast changes. I remember the Captain recruiting the crew after a nationwide search but have they set up a story that he alone decides who gets promoted without the rest of the department having a chance?

With their street cop first responder becoming a Ranger, state detective I flashed back to Third Watch where that show about first responders got hijacked by Sergeant Cruz and her plain clothes anti-crime team in the last few seasons and the paramedics mostly served to help hurt cops. I guess it is easier to write new who dunnits than rescues.. 

[iMonrey]

12 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I guess the show had no choice but no way would Grace have left her daughter or her job even for a church mission.

Yeah, this. Going off to do missionary work when her daughter is that young is neither noble nor honorable. It's selfish and neglectful. She has her whole life to do missionary work. Her daughter is too young to understand where mommy went. They would have been better off saying she had died offscreen. Or at the very least have her off taking care of a sick relative.

Did Carlos's father die last season? Or did that happen offscreen? I can't remember. Please don't tell me Carlos is going to end up having an affair with his new co-worker. I can't imagine why else they would cast someone who looks like Parker Young.

13 hours ago, DanaK said:

I couldn’t place the actor playing Carlos’ new partner until I looked up the episode in IMDB. He played Riley on “The United States of Al” and Randy on “Enlisted”, which are the shows I recognize him best

He was also on Suburgatory where he played the hilariously dumb Ryan. 

[agathapenny]

12 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I guess the show had no choice but no way would Grace have left her daughter or her job even for a church mission.

The explanation was never going to be satisfying, but yeah, nonsense. Grace leaving the family that very much needed and depended on her because of sad pictures of orphans from around the world? Nope. I guess it's as good as anything else though. They had to make her absence something non-traumatic or it would eat the show (or a good portion of it) so no dying or abruptly leaving Judd (and her kids), which would have been totally bizarre anyway. So I'm willing to hand wave — though I think they should have just given the actor the money she wanted to stay.

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Going off to do missionary work when her daughter is that young is neither noble nor honorable. It's selfish and neglectful.

Yeah, and this story is not Grace. Just throwing in words like Missionary Work does not make it line up with the character's belief system or values. I think it would have been better and more in keeping with the show's all-drama-all-the-time if Grace had disappeared in a storm or something and they had spent half the season talking about clues. Then there could be an AI of her body. Then Judd goes through a grief arc. All would be very typical of the show's story telling.

Or this👇

Edited September 24 by shapeshifter

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, agathapenny said:

I think they should have just given the actor the money she wanted to stay.

THIS.

[eel2178]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Did Carlos's father die last season?

Yeah. He was shot standing in the doorway of his home while he was trying on his tuxedo for the wedding that was a day or two away. Carlos is now obsessed with who dun it.

[preeya]

IMHO this opener was underwhelming and in some parts ridiculous. I have visions of this being a dreadful final season.

[I Want My MBTV]

Agreed with everything re Grace.  For some reason I thought I had read that Judd was leaving too?  If the whole family had left that would have made sense especially since Judd retired.  I care not one ounce about Wyatt.

 

I thought it was incredibly obvious that the robbers were using the street work as their MO so when they had to have Carlos have that Ah Ha moment and then Wyatt with the "brilliant" those aren't emergency calls!  I was like "is everyone new here?" It was like reading a mystery and knowing who the killer is on page 50 but having to wait another 300 pages for everyone to get caught up.

 

Then - the whole train thing doesn't happen until basically the closing credits but they're calling this episode one of a three part MAJOR storyline?  I don't think so.

I wasn't even planning on watching this season but then I heard it was going to be the last so I figured why not (plus I don't watch any of those awful shows on ABC) not sure I'll be able to make it. 

so this post isn't entirely negative - I do like the addition of Parker Reed and hope they make smart choices with his character.

[KeithJ]

I don't remember, why exactly did Judd retire?  I have a hard time believing that, if he came back from retirement, he'd lose his rank and have to start all over again as a probie.  He said he could get special dispensation from the chief but why would the chief not give it to him?

Also, him thinking that Owen was coming over to offer his job back was stupid.  He retired.  Why would Owen be coming back to offer him his job back? That's probably one thing people who retire don't want to hear from their old jobs "please come back please come back".

[Raja]

6 minutes ago, KeithJ said:

I don't remember, why exactly did Judd retire?  I have a hard time believing that, if he came back from retirement, he'd lose his rank and have to start all over again as a probie.  He said he could get special dispensation from the chief but why would the chief not give it to him?

Also, him thinking that Owen was coming over to offer his job back was stupid.  He retired.  Why would Owen be coming back to offer him his job back? That's probably one thing people who retire don't want to hear from their old jobs "please come back please come back".

That line about the Chief  made me come right back to how a Captain could unilaterally name a new Lieutenant. 

[eel2178]

3 hours ago, KeithJ said:

I don't remember, why exactly did Judd retire? 

He was needed at home to first assist with Wyatt's recovery (which has been nothing short of miraculous since he has managed to go from being a quadriplegic to a paraplegic), and now to be Charlie's caretaker since her mother is now saving 3rd world countries. 

[preeya]

I do not believe Owen has the authority to select the person to fill the vacancy left by Judd's retirement. These jobs require passing a written exam, with the open slots being filled by those who passed the test in rank order. Correct me if I'm off base on this.

Edited September 24 by preeya

[anna0852]

14 hours ago, preeya said:

I do not believe Owen has the authority to select the person to fill the vacancy left by Judd's retirement. These jobs require passing a written exam, with the open slots being filled by those who passed the test in rank order. Correct me if I'm off base on this.

That’s how it works over on Chicago Fire. Can’t guarantee their authenticity, but certainly feels like a more realistic system.

Edited September 25 by anna0852

[Tdoc72]

If they didn’t want to pay the actress more, then they should’ve recast. A new actress would be more acceptable than this storyline of Gracie leaving her family in some mission boat. 

[NeenerNeener]

The show runner was making noises about the actress coming back someday so they wanted to leave the door open for her. Maybe there will be scenes of her doing video calls with Charlie, or something similar, as a guest star. And maybe he was just blowing smoke or trying to manifest.

There must have been a more plausible way to write her off the show, though. For example, go home to take care of a sick relative and take her daughter with her (as mentioned above).

If this wasn't the very last season I'd be expecting Grace to die and Robyn Lively to be Judd's new/old squeeze.

Edited September 25 by NeenerNeener

[shapeshifter]

10 hours ago, Tdoc72 said:

If they didn’t want to pay the actress more, then they should’ve recast. A new actress would be more acceptable than this storyline of Gracie leaving her family in some mission boat. 

Yeah. Now that I read this in print (it was already in my head) it sounds like the Improbable Grace Plot explanation for her absence reflects the frustrations of writers and others, which I guess also reflects despondency about their (writers et al.) futures, salaries, etc.

[bilgistic]

On 9/24/2024 at 1:02 PM, possibilities said:

THIS.

Yeah, Fox or whoever (ABC? What network is this on?) has deep pockets for Rob Lowe (he's on some dumbass game show, too) but can't find money to pay a Black woman.🙄

Edited September 25 by bilgistic

[Raja]

28 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

Yeah, Fox or whoever (ABC? What network is this on?) has deep pockets for Rob Lowe (he's on some dumbass game show, too) but can't find money to pay a Black woman.🙄

Well we have a "star's" name versus "a" woman. It is how it has always been in entertainment and sports.

[iMonrey]

4 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Yeah, Fox or whoever (ABC? What network is this on?) has deep pockets for Rob Lowe (he's on some dumbass game show, too) but can't find money to pay a Black woman.🙄

It's unfair, and it's unfortunate, because Judd and Grace were probably the best thing this show had going for it IMO. On the other hand, I have to wonder what kind of other offers is Sierra Aylina McClain getting? Because work is work, and I'm not convinced she's in such demand she can afford to turn down work. Obviously I don't know her circumstances, but she never struck me as a particularly strong actress, as much as I liked her. And as we know, opportunities for Black actresses in this industry are limited, unfortunately. She may have cut off her nose to spite her face, as the saying goes.

[agathapenny]

9 hours ago, bilgistic said:

Yeah, Fox or whoever (ABC? What network is this on?) has deep pockets for Rob Lowe (he's on some dumbass game show, too) but can't find money to pay a Black woman.🙄

And how much could it possibly have been, even, just for ONE last season?

I also disagree heartily with the comment above that the actor playing Grace wasn't especially talented — I think she is very talented and also manages to have chemistry with everyone she plays opposite. She comes across as genuine and warm.

[tennisgurl]

I had no idea this was coming back until the last minute, and its been so long that I had forgotten half of the things that people were going on about. I had to Google what was up with Judd and Grace to make sure I didn't forget where she was, but it turns out that it was actually much stupider. No way do I buy that Grace would leave her family while they were still going through so much, not even if it was for missionary work with kids. She still has a young daughter, Wyatt is still dealing with his injury and a new baby, Judd has stopped working for the first time in ever, the Grace we've known wouldn't have left her family like that. I'm glad that they didn't kill her off or anything, but I wish they had come up with something better than this. Or, you know, just give the woman a raise. Judd and Grace are usually my favorite part of the show, it feels wrong ending the show without them. 

Are they heading towards Carlos starring in a Texas Ranger spin-off? 

[Bruinsfan]

I forget, did Grace's dad die after he was hospitalized in an earlier season? If not, taking care of him during an extended medical crisis would have made a lot more sense than sailing off halfway around the world to save orphans—it's something Grace might have realistically felt obligated to do as long as her husband and child were well.

Also, no way in hell do I buy that Owen and his spindly old man arms can crack an armored car windshield when Marjan and Paul can't. If it had been Judd bailing them out, no issue—the man's a sasquatch—but we all know Lowe's ego would have had him swooping in to the rescue regardless. (No grief to the writers on that one, I'm sure they were rolling their eyes as hard as I did.)

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Bruinsfan said:

If it had been Judd bailing them out, no issue—the man's a sasquatch

I f'love this turn of phrase!😆🤣

 

 

1 hour ago, Bruinsfan said:

I forget, did Grace's dad die after he was hospitalized in an earlier season? If not, taking care of him during an extended medical crisis would have made a lot more sense than sailing off halfway around the world to save orphans—it's something Grace might have realistically felt obligated to do as long as her husband and child were well.

Yes, Grace caring for a family member would have made sense.
But it seems like someone in the plot room thought Grace's religiosity would be an understandable reason for her to abandon her husband and child — which is totally out of character.
Regardless, unless Grace is dead, we should be getting at least Judd mentioning things she said over video calls.
But, again, somebody in the plot room must've thought if Grace was caring for sick children in a poor country she wouldn't have any phone service.🙄

Edited September 28 by shapeshifter

[agathapenny]

On 9/26/2024 at 2:43 PM, tennisgurl said:

 I had to Google what was up with Judd and Grace to make sure I didn't forget where she was, but it turns out that it was actually much stupider. No way do I buy that Grace would leave her family while they were still going through so much, not even if it was for missionary work with kids. She still has a young daughter, Wyatt is still dealing with his injury and a new baby, Judd has stopped working for the first time in ever, the Grace we've known wouldn't have left her family like that. I'm glad that they didn't kill her off or anything, but I wish they had come up with something better than this. Or, you know, just give the woman a raise. Judd and Grace are usually my favorite part of the show, it feels wrong ending the show without them.

Yes to all of this. And realistically speaking for a minute here, given the age of her toddler daughter, her kid might not even remember her when she returns, depending on how long she'd been gone for. That's just an unthinkable thing for Grace to do. I'm pretty frustrated that they just wouldn't pay her to finish out the final season. 

[iMonrey]

I'm having trouble sorting out the whole situation, because generally speaking actors sign on to a show for five seasons, so I'm not sure where contract renegotiations came in. Possibly their options expired during the strike and all their contracts had to be renegotiated. One of the cast members said the show was giving them the "take it or leave it" approach, and that they were all offered "bonuses," including Sierra Aylina McClain, but she turned it down. 

[Bruinsfan]

I have a sneaking suspicion Sierra's offer wasn't as appealing as Julian Works' or Natacha Karam's despite playing a major character on the show since the start. I hope she's able to find another project that will boost her career.

[Kel Varnsen]

On 9/29/2024 at 1:03 AM, agathapenny said:

Yes to all of this. And realistically speaking for a minute here, given the age of her toddler daughter, her kid might not even remember her when she returns, depending on how long she'd been gone for. That's just an unthinkable thing for Grace to do. I'm pretty frustrated that they just wouldn't pay her to finish out the final season. 

Or recast the character. Or say she is in town but had to quit her job because one of her parents got really sick or something. There doesn't need to be that many scenes at Judd/Grace's house so just have it so anytime someone comes over Judd says "she's at her mom's". Plus if she is still in Austin you can say she took the kid with her anytime you don't want the kid in the scene.