9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 8 Review: Control Freaks
Owen and Andrea are the dynamic duo I didn't realize we needed.
As the doting, loving parents of T.K. and Carlos, obsessed with planning the perfect wedding for them on 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 8, it's enough to make you long for more storylines that directly involve the Strand and Reyes family.
And catching up with Marjan on the road was such an adventure!
It was another installment that was light on emergency calls and most of the cast, but this time, it didn't feel quite as frustrating because the continuity was strong enough, and things flowed.
The emergency call with Wesley and his father was a heck of a way to kickstart the installment. And their rescue was something out of Operation.
Kevin set the tone for an hour full of control freaks, whether they were well-meaning, like Owen, or abusive, like Grant.
It was great to catch up with Marjan after her departure, so it didn't feel like we'd missed her for too long.
The hour saw her somewhere in New Mexico, seemingly enjoying herself in the desert but still utterly lost as to what she was doing in this next phase in her life and what clarity for her even looks like these days.
She's nothing if not a good Samaritan, so it wasn't the least surprising that she saw a young couple like Grant and Kylie on the side of the road, and she offered help, and her endless reserve of knowledge, to assist them with their broken-down R.V.
Everything seemed great, and she's right about the pairing coming across as teeth-numbingly happy. But then she saw Kylie's note on her bike about Grant's intent to kill her, and everything turned sideways.
Instances like this are difficult because they can put someone in a challenging situation if they don't know what to do or how to approach a problem.
Marjan: Wave goodbye because you're never going to see her again.
Graham: What did you do?
Marjan: I put an end to the epic romance before its tragic ending.
Graham: She's always been weak; no matter what she says, she knows where she belongs, who she belongs to.
As a first responder, Marjan would be more inclined to help however she could, and she'd persist where others would fall back if things got too messy or complicated.
But someone else may have seen that letter and dismissed it. Or they wouldn't have known how to approach the situation so they wouldn't have even tried and hoped for the best.
And as much as we want to judge people who don't act in those scenarios, there's the other layer to it that makes things decidedly non-linear.
One of the worst scenarios actually did play out when Marjan, with Patty's assistance, orchestrated a whole escape for Kylie that could've worked, but Kylie chose to stay with Graham anyway.
Domestic situations are complicated and hard to navigate, especially as an outsider, because well-intentions can be for naught or backfire. Things could still take a tragic turn despite one's best efforts.
But that's why the world is an eternally better place as long as it has people like Marjan who throw themselves out there, try to help, and keep trying no matter what.
It was a delight to have Dot-Marie Jones guest-star within the hour, even briefly, as Patty. She brings such a presence to every role she ever plays. This was no exception, as Patty instantly befriended Marjan and was willing to help, even bringing up her own experience with domestic abuse.
I would love it if Marjan reencountered Patty on the road while she took on this new mission of helping people whenever and wherever possible.
Grant was such a classic abuser with his emotional and verbal manipulation. He broke Kyle down however she could, and you could tell he had done a number on her self-esteem, leading her to believe he was the only one who could "tolerate" her.
Seeing her under his thumb was awful, watching this man berate her at every turn and blame her for everything. And she took it all in and had to deal with his physical abuse.
They weren't the perfect couple they gave off on Instagram in front of all their followers.
One can appreciate that with this installment, the sisterhood saved Kylie. So often, they lean heavily into another man saving a woman from abuse in these situations.
Marjan: What were you hoping I could do for you?
Kylie: I don't know; you seemed so kind on the road and a firefighter. I thought that maybe you could save me. That you could take me away.
While there's nothing wrong with that as long as she's freed from it, there's something truly empowering about a woman saving herself or having this network of women she doesn't even know willing to fight for her when she can't fight for herself.
Marjan is Kylie's hero, and through Marjan, she can see the type of woman she can become, tap into her strength and figure out her own path.
It's refreshing to see things from that perspective, a woman who rescues another one and leaves the type of impact that Marjan left on Kylie.
I wonder how things will play out from here or if we'll see Kylie again.
Hopefully, it's the last we've seen of Grant. The worse part about domestic issues is that, too often, abusers can evade longstanding consequences.
We know that there's more to Marjan's travels, so this isn't the last of her story on the road, and Kylie's words likely have resonated with Marjan enough for her to find someone else to assist on the road.
Owen was trying to assist as best as possible with the Tarlos wedding, and he took over.
Owen, in doting dad mode, is nothing if not amusing, and he and Andrea made an entertaining pair.
Sure, T.K. and Carlos wanted the wedding of their choice, even if it did sound simple and understated. But their parents were excited about planning an elaborate event to their heart's content, something fitting for their baby boys.
I can't even say I'm mad at them for that. It's better to have parents who care too much than not at all, right?
Part of me wanted Tarlos to submit to it, knowing that their parents are having a blast with this wedding planning, and just let the two of them go wild, within reason.
It made them happy, and we know that Tarlos only care about who they're marrying and that it happens, not much else. Let the parents have fun!
But Owen was a total control freak, which can get on anyone's nerves. He was trying to dictate too much, from their clothes to the cake choices and everything in between.
Although it was hilarious that they didn't want that vegan cake, it turned out that it was the most delicious option.
Andrea is a clever one and such a mom, though. She listened to the boys when they told her their concerns about Owen, and then she knew how to appeal to Owen before getting through to him.
By going along with his antics for a bit, even if it seemed genuine and was right up her alley, she made an alliance with him, and they were kindred spirits.
So, now you come to me about the day of my son's wedding.
Andrea
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But then it softened him up and made him open up to her about why he was so super-focused on planning every detail of this wedding.
The conversation between Andrea and Owen was one of the strongest of the hour. Over time, we can appreciate the Reyes' and how open they are to their flaws and what went wrong in their path toward unconditional acceptance of their son.
It feels very real and grounded, and one of the show's best aspects in that regard.
Andrea learned some lessons from that time when she and her husband were at odds with their son, and the relationship was strained, and she never wanted to go through things like that again.
It puts her in the perfect position to advise Owen, and that heart-to-heart between them as parents was such a great moment.
And it pushed Owen to speak with T.K. and discuss why he feels as he does, and it was a genuinely sweet moment for the two. We haven't had a lot of father-and-son moments between the Strand men, so anytime we do, it's nice.
Owen is happy that his son found someone as solid, reliable, loving, and dependable as Carlos. But in doing so, it makes him feel more obsolete than ever.
He clung to the idea of planning the perfect wedding for T.K. because he took it as his last big act as a father before T.K. no longer needed him.
His thought process was understandable, although it reminded me of how fathers think that passing their daughter's hand to their future husband means giving this new person the buck of the responsibility.
It's a surprisingly traditional outlook on this situation. It makes it seem like T.K. isn't the person who takes care of himself and that Owen is passing along his role to Carlos as T.K.'s caretaker or something.
There have been plenty of moments that T.K. needed Owen to lean on, but because of storylines that often isolated Owen, he wasn't around for those moments.
It's still a bit clunky that Owen spent much of the season detached from the others, including the instance of Carlos' kidnapping.
Nevertheless, T.K. will always need his father, and he could at least remind Owen of that when they spoke. They have plenty of milestones to go through that would require his father.
There may be better people to speak to about marriage and weddings than Owen, but T.K. mentioned that he'd need Owen when he and Carlos decide to have kids.
Is this the first that he's mentioned having children with near certainty? It sounds like a big and exciting admission. Can we even imagine what Tarlos babies will be like?
And Owen and Andrea would be the most hilarious, loving, obsessive grandparents ever.
Owen: I have a place on El Dorado street that's Gluten-free, sugar-free, and dairy-free.
Judd: It sounds flavor-free.
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But first, we have to get through the Tarlos wedding, and it was great that we got to check back in with that for a bit to move things along.
Over to you, Lone Star Fanatics. What are your thoughts on Marjan's road adventure? Did you think Owen overstepped?
You can watch 9-1-1: Lone Star online here via TV Fanatic.