S05.E09: Fall From Grace

[KeithJ]

Quote

Carlos is determined to solve his father's murder; Owen is offered a life-changing opportunity; Judd gives into his demons; Tommy begins her treatment.

Airs: Mon, Dec 2, 2024

Fall Finale

[gonzosgirrl]

What are Judd's demons?

[fastiller]

Over my life I have known many NYC firefighters.  Not a one of them ever call the Department 'NYFD', only ever 'FDNY', often said as a word: FIDNEE.  Also "from Westchester to Staten Island"?  Westchester isn't in NYC, so it wouldn't be part of FDNY.

[anna0852]

Called it.

 

[iMonrey]

What the hell is going on with this show? The only 911 call in the past 2 episodes was from the guy whose story tied directly into Carlos's manhunt. Everything about this show has been a total downer this season, and it all revolves around the crew's personal lives instead of the work they're supposed to be doing. 

Stick a fork in it, it's done.

[Madding crowd]

I suspected Campbell was set up but why did he rob that homeowner? If he had $250,000, that would be plenty to hide out in Mexico while clearing his name. How did he know those people had safes full of jewels, guns and cash? I didn’t like them making Judd a drinker-he wouldn’t do that to his daughter. No real rescues again.

[agathapenny]

32 minutes ago, Madding crowd said:

I suspected Campbell was set up but why did he rob that homeowner? If he had $250,000, that would be plenty to hide out in Mexico while clearing his name. How did he know those people had safes full of jewels, guns and cash? I didn’t like them making Judd a drinker-he wouldn’t do that to his daughter. No real rescues again.

It's completely beyond nuts that Campbell is seemingly not under arrest for that. Like, what?!? Make it make sense? It doesn't matter if the homeowner came at him with a knife, he was breaking in! And he stole a bunch of stuff! Bizarre!

And I wasn't remotely surprised that Campbell turned out not to be the guy. That would have been way too straightforward. Like I said, my money was always on the chief.

Also, gunshot wounds, a minor inconvenience.

This whole show is just all over the place. 

Owen turns down being the chief for the entire City of New York? Judd's drinking was less surprising, and a slightly better story, honestly, than most of what we've seen this season. The less said about Grace taking off the better.

I find the whole storyline of TK and Carlos taking on TK's younger brother infuriating. Carlos was utterly explicit before their marriage that he did not want kids. Of course nobody could possibly be sincere about that. No, he just needed to grow as a person to want to raise children, because surely everyone does, deep down. No, no they f**** don't. Some people really, truly don't want children and are not going to change their minds as soon as one is in the offing. And that TK never took Carlos's flatly stated feelings about that seriously is, again, infuriating. Carlos wasn't ambivalent, it was a flat no. This whole storyline makes me want to throw my TV out the damn window.

The fact that TV shows are incapable of showing someone not wanting kids living a happy and fulfilled life is what makes me so angry at this storyline. No, they have to foist the longing for children onto everyone. I wouldn't be so mad if they hadn't taken the one character who said they didn't want children, and made them not serious about it, after all. It's especially disappointing for a show that's so good about representation.

Speaking of representation, Marjan who? Is there a character named Marjan anymore? Oh right, she's occasionally in group scenes. 

So far this final season is beyond disappointing. The relationships all seem barely there, for the most part. TK and Carlos have been almost completely absent from each other's storylines. Owen and TK have barely been in the same room. Marjan has basically disappeared, as has Paul since his promotion. It's just all so disjointed. 

And can they please get back to responding to 911 calls? That's when both this and the mothership are at their best. Not as soap operas.

[gonzosgirrl]

9 hours ago, agathapenny said:

I find the whole storyline of TK and Carlos taking on TK's younger brother infuriating. Carlos was utterly explicit before their marriage that he did not want kids. Of course nobody could possibly be sincere about that. No, he just needed to grow as a person to want to raise children, because surely everyone does, deep down. No, no they f**** don't. Some people really, truly don't want children and are not going to change their minds as soon as one is in the offing. And that TK never took Carlos's flatly stated feelings about that seriously is, again, infuriating. Carlos wasn't ambivalent, it was a flat no. This whole storyline makes me want to throw my TV out the damn window.

*applause* to your whole post, but especially this. Has anyone, ever, in the history of television, allowed a character who explicitly expressed their position on not having children been allowed to exist as a whole, happy and fulfilled person? Certainly not on any show I have watched.

They aren't even pretending this isn't a soap opera any more. So disappointed.

[anna0852]

58 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

*applause* to your whole post, but especially this. Has anyone, ever, in the history of television, allowed a character who explicitly expressed their position on not having children been allowed to exist as a whole, happy and fulfilled person? Certainly not on any show I have watched.

They aren't even pretending this isn't a soap opera any more. So disappointed.

Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy maintained her childfree stance for entire length of the character’s run. Including aborting an unwanted pregnancy and declining guardianship of her best friend’s children.

[iMonrey]

10 hours ago, agathapenny said:

I find the whole storyline of TK and Carlos taking on TK's younger brother infuriating. Carlos was utterly explicit before their marriage that he did not want kids.

I did not remember Carlos ever saying he didn't want kids prior to this whole thing coming up with TK's little brother. I was just under the impression he didn't want them right now since he's been obsessed with finding his father's killer.

But what really pissed me off was TK saying if he has to choose between his husband and his brother, he'll choose his brother. Hey, that's some marriage vow you made there, TK. Your partner/spouse is supposed to take precedent over anyone else in your life, that's what marriage is all about.* You idiot.

I've always thought TK was kind of dumb.

(* I mean, I guess if it was actually TK's own child that would be a different story, but it's not.)

Edited December 3 by iMonrey

[agathapenny]

1 minute ago, iMonrey said:

I did not remember Carlos ever saying he didn't want kids prior to this whole thing coming up with TK's little brother. I was just under the impression he didn't want them right now since he's been obsessed with finding his father's killer.

But what really pissed me off was TK saying if he has to choose between his husband and his brother, he'll choose his brother. Hey, that's some marriage vow you made there, TK. Your partner/spouse is supposed to take precedent over anyone else in your life, that's what marriage is all about. You idiot.

I've always thought TK was kind of dumb.

There was a counselling scene before they got married, before Carlos's Dad was killed, where the counsellor asked them both how they felt about kids. Carlos said he did not want any.

[gonzosgirrl]

1 hour ago, anna0852 said:

Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy maintained her childfree stance for entire length of the character’s run. Including aborting an unwanted pregnancy and declining guardianship of her best friend’s children.

Doh! I totally blanked on Cristina, thank you. They did attempt to demonize her (through Owen's POV) but I don't believe they succeeded. I do think they made her out to be 'selfish' and/or self-centered (in a bad way) for it though. It definitely wasn't treated as an admirable, or even reasonable, life choice.

[anna0852]

47 minutes ago, gonzosgirrl said:

Doh! I totally blanked on Cristina, thank you. They did attempt to demonize her (through Owen's POV) but I don't believe they succeeded. I do think they made her out to be 'selfish' and/or self-centered (in a bad way) for it though. It definitely wasn't treated as an admirable, or even reasonable, life choice.

I never noticed anyone but Owen giving her crap for it. Meredith was a little disappointed she didn’t want to be the kids guardian but she got over it pretty quick.

[possibilities]

I was horrified that Carlos trusted his boss with the intel immediately. I thought that was a totally stupid move. And the way said boss was being lackadasical during the arrest, and basically let the guy escape... it's stupid obvious something is not right with the guy. Let him say good-bye to his kid, but not without supervision. You don't have to scare the kid-- say he needs to go with some people for work due to an emergency. It's easy.

I agree the soap opera-fication of the show has been a drain. I'm at the point where I'm glad it's been cancelled. I imagine ti's cheaper to shoot soap operas than 911 calls, so that's probably the reason. Also, Rob Lowe must always be glorified on every show, so of course they offer him the biggest fire job in the country, and everybody in NYC misses him. C'mon! 

How many episodes are left? Do we see Paul or marjan doing anything? Will Austin have any normal emergencies, or will it all be asteroids and sinkholes and utter lack of humor?

[tennisgurl]

Sometimes, I think I just imagined the seasons of this show where we had actual first responder calls and had an ensemble cast. Its hard to remember when this wasn't the Owen show with frequent appearances by Carlos on his Texas Ranger spin-off. Its really too bad to see the show going out like this, it doesn't have any of the things that made me like this show in the first place anymore, now its just another soap but without any kind of campy fun. 

I knew that it had to be either Campbell or the chief, and when we started this episode with Carlos reporting to the chief, I knew it had to be him. Come on, you know that someone is the mole on the inside, you had to know that this guy could be a suspect! I guess Campbell is just being given a warning after he stabbed a guy and stole a bunch of stuff before making a run for the border, I guess its one of those "escape jail to prove I'm innocent" class that says you can legally do anything as long as your trying to prove your innocent. 

Of course Owen is going to be offered the biggest job he could possibly get, I am so not shocked. I am shocked that they decided to randomly give Judd an alcoholism story so close to the end, what is the point of that? What a bizarre choice. 

TK was being SUCH a dick, this whole time he's just decided on his own that he is going to be adopting his brother and hasn't cared at all about what Carlos has to say, he hasn't even asked him. That's going to end well, its always great when your partner guilt trips you into having kids and threatens to leave you if they don't get what they want, sounds like a great way to start your life as a parent.

[jcbrown]

I did not sign up for Carlos, Texas Ranger. Agree with everyone that the show has completely sucked this season so far.

[txhorns79]

6 hours ago, possibilities said:

I was horrified that Carlos trusted his boss with the intel immediately. I thought that was a totally stupid move.

Carlos is a terrible investigator who had no business being on this case.  (And Rafael Silva is not a good enough actor to pull off this hackneyed storyline.  He has one face, and he looks like a complete psycho when the emotion he is supposed to be showing is "anger.")  He already nearly murdered the wrong person in an earlier episode this season, and here, he confronted his armed boss, got shot for his efforts and is lucky as hell the person he wrongly accused saved him.  And so is Campbell not going to be charged for robbing and assaulting that couple?  Is he just getting that as a freebee?  

20 hours ago, agathapenny said:

I find the whole storyline of TK and Carlos taking on TK's younger brother infuriating.

I'm so confused about this storyline.  Is Enzo surrendering his parental rights?  TK just insisting that he can adopt and raise Jonah makes no sense.  What TK might be able to do is assume guardianship for Jonah while his father is in prison, but the show acts like TK and Carlos are going to be fathers, when the reality is TK is Jonah's older half-brother and Carlos is also there. 

I just rolled my eyes at Owen being offered Chief of the FDNY, particularly because in the moments before the offer, he showed why he is a terrible pick with his general insolence and really, arrogant attitude.  And that doesn't even get into his total lack of experience. 

[iMonrey]

6 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

TK was being SUCH a dick, this whole time he's just decided on his own that he is going to be adopting his brother and hasn't cared at all about what Carlos has to say, he hasn't even asked him. That's going to end well, its always great when your partner guilt trips you into having kids and threatens to leave you if they don't get what they want, sounds like a great way to start your life as a parent.

There are only two ways this ends up: either Carlos comes around and agrees to adopt the kid, or else he and TK split up over it. And I can't decide which is worse. 

5 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

(And Rafael Silva is not a good enough actor to pull off this hackneyed storyline.  He has one face, and he looks like a complete psycho when the emotion he is supposed to be showing is "anger.")

Ditto. Frankly Ronen Rubinstein is no Laurence Olivier either. 

[jcin617]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

There are only two ways this ends up: either Carlos comes around and agrees to adopt the kid, or else he and TK split up over it. And I can't decide which is worse. 

While speaking at his dad’s grave, Carlos said he was going to tell TK he was ready to be a dad… so that’s how it’s going.

And why does TK even think he can or needs to adopt Jonah?  He can just be named Jonah’s guardian.

Edited December 4 by jcin617

[agathapenny]

9 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Sometimes, I think I just imagined the seasons of this show where we had actual first responder calls and had an ensemble cast. Its hard to remember when this wasn't the Owen show with frequent appearances by Carlos on his Texas Ranger spin-off. Its really too bad to see the show going out like this, it doesn't have any of the things that made me like this show in the first place anymore, now its just another soap but without any kind of campy fun. 

 I don't know how anyone looked at this hodgepodge of stories and decided this was what they wanted to do with their last episodes.

Owen and his horse are stupid and boring. Tommy having cancer removes her from the workplace, where most of the characters intersect, leaving even less possibility of them actually dealing with emergencies as first responders. Nancy and Matteo's only blip of a story was to set up Tommy having cancer. Carlos is once again obsessed with finding his dad's killer and he has a whole new job that, like Tommy, removes him from being a first responder. I've already ranted about the stupid stepdad/half brother story that's eaten TK. Marjan and Paul are extras. And Judd is a probie (now with a drinking problem, that Owen may or may not have miraculously fixed with one conversation in this last episode). 

On top of that, they managed to make the train derailment boring. I"m not even sure how, but it was. And that was really the only work anyone's been shown to do this season. What I wouldn't give for a car crash, house fire, electrical storm....something, anything! Have them rescue a cat from a tree, I'm not picky!

[gail56]

I haven't watched any of these latest episodes. I always read what people think first. The last few sound like they absolutely stink, and not getting better. Depending on what happens next, I may never watch any of these last episodes. Judd drinking, really? Tommy with cancer and breaking up with the Pastor? WTF??

[bilgistic]

This episode made me even madder about Sierra McClain being screwed over. They titled the episode after her character, FFS!

If she doesn't get paid a truckload to come back for the finale, I'm rioting at Fox HQ.

[fastiller]

10 hours ago, bilgistic said:

This episode made me even madder about Sierra McClain being screwed over. They titled the episode after her character, FFS!

If she doesn't get paid a truckload to come back for the finale, I'm rioting at Fox HQ.

I don't know whether McClain's argument was with the network or the production company, so I don't know if what I'm about to wish for could happen. Would be cool if in the season finale of 9-1-1 (Original Flavour) Grace walks into the LA Emergency Services Call Center as a new hire. 

[gonzosgirrl]

On 12/3/2024 at 2:52 PM, tennisgurl said:

I am shocked that they decided to randomly give Judd an alcoholism story so close to the end, what is the point of that? What a bizarre choice. 

I wondered what Judd's 'demon' was, from the episode description. I'm trying to remember the pilot - was he drinking after the fire that killed his OG team? I honestly can't recall, but if not, then yeah, completely random.

On 12/3/2024 at 8:26 PM, jcbrown said:

I did not sign up for Carlos, Texas Ranger. Agree with everyone that the show has completely sucked this season so far.

Heheheh. 😄

On 12/4/2024 at 1:05 AM, agathapenny said:

What I wouldn't give for a car crash, house fire, electrical storm....something, anything! Have them rescue a cat from a tree, I'm not picky!

Given the previews for the final episodes, you might want to be careful what you wish for. No spoilers, but I mean, seriously show? That's how we're going out?

[Kel Varnsen]

On 12/2/2024 at 11:01 PM, iMonrey said:

What the hell is going on with this show? The only 911 call in the past 2 episodes was from the guy whose story tied directly into Carlos's manhunt. 

I am pretty there was only one scene that took place in the firehall. And it was Owen and Judd talking.

On 12/3/2024 at 12:27 AM, agathapenny said:

It's completely beyond nuts that Campbell is seemingly not under arrest for that. Like, what?!? Make it make sense? It doesn't matter if the homeowner came at him with a knife, he was breaking in! And he stole a bunch of stuff! Bizarre!

That was weird. And why would his only safe option be a super suspicious escape to Mexico. Wouldn't a better option be to walk into the Austin FBI office and say you have evidence of corruption and murder within the Texas Rangers?