Warning: This article contains spoilers from Season 5, Episode 3 of 9-1-1: Lone Star .
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Judd Ryder is finally back with the 126, albeit not how anyone — including his portrayer, Jim Parrack — could have predicted.
9-1-1: Lone Star wrapped its three-part premiere event on Monday by revealing Paul as the new lieutenant, while also welcoming Judd back into the fold… as a probie .
“I thought it was cool when they told me that this was their idea,” Parrack tells TVLine, adding that everything unfolded exactly as it would in real life. “I looked it up. If you transfer from somewhere else and you haven’t retired, you get to keep your status. But if you retire and come back, you’ve got to start at the bottom. Above all, I like that it’s how real firefighters would have to deal with things.”
But as much as Parrack appreciates this turn of events, he assures us that “nobody liked it more than Julian Works,” who plays former probie Mateo.
Now for the Season 5 twist we’re considerably less excited about: Parrack says it’s “hard to argue” with Sierra McClain’s decision not to return as Grace, following failed contract negotiations. “I love and respect her so much,” he tells us. “She’s such a good, high-integrity human being. I said, ‘Look, trust yourself and do whatever you think is best.’ There was no part of me, on a human level or a friend level, that would talk her out of an important decision like that.”
On the other hand, “Of course I was like, ‘Damn, that’s one of the best acting partners I’ve ever had, and now I’m going to be without her,'” Parrack admits.
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Judd has had nothing but supportive things to say about Grace’s decision to leave her family and board a Mercy Ship, but it sounds like there’s definitely tension bubbling below the surface… and it’s about to reach a boil.
Explaining that resentment is a natural human reaction, Parrack notes that “if we’re not actively looking to root it out, it doesn’t take much for us to develop [resentment] within ourselves. And it seems like it does the most damage with the people that we love.” He tells us, “Stay tuned, because Judd might have to face some of that coming up.”
Since 9-1-1: Lone Star has wrapped production on its final season, we’re also curious about which souvenirs the cast chose to take from set. Parrack isn’t about to hand over an itemized list of his mementos, but he does divide them into two separate categories.
“There’s the stuff I was given, like my 126 helmet, which is in my office here, and then there’s some stuff that just kind of came with me, like a toy firetruck from the Ryder house — it was on their bookshelf, and now it’s on my bookshelf,” Parrack says. “There may have been some sticky fingers from the cast at the end, because we all loved the show so much and wanted to keep a piece of it with us.”
Elsewhere in the conclusion of 9-1-1: Lone Star ‘s final season premiere, Tommy agreed to Trevor’s ex-wife’s inquisition (after her own near-death experience escaping a “poison cloud of death”), Marjan threw her support behind Paul as the 126’s new lieutenant, and Owen continued to grieve his brother’s loss.
Your thoughts on Judd’s new position on the team? His growing resentment towards Grace? Grade Part 3 of the Season 5 premiere below, then drop a comment with your full review.
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