‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ Aftershow: Parker Young & EP on Who Killed Carlos’ Father, What’s Next for Tarlos (VIDEO)

Meredith Jacobs December 2, 2024, 9:00 pm

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 Episode 9 “Fall From Grace.”]

The good news: Carlos (Rafael Silva) finally closes the case on his father’s murder. The bad news: The truth about what happened is a tough pill to swallow. But 9-1-1: Lone Star, in its last fall finale, delivers answers and ends its 2024 on a promising note for Tarlos. (Plus, get scoop on a major storyline that has kicked off for Jim Parrack‘s Judd here and how what’s going on with Rob Lowe‘s Owen came about here.)

Though it looked like Carlos’ new partner Campbell (Parker Young) was dirty and had sold out criminal informants then killed Gabriel Reyes, he was, in fact, set up by Chief Bridges (Alan Autry). Campbell then saved Carlos’ life, taking out Bridges when he had no choice, during a standoff with the Rangers.

“At the end of 508, I thought I was a bad guy,” Young tells TV Insider as part of our 9-1-1: Lone Star aftershow, First Response. “I thought it was an incredible script, but I was bummed. It definitely broke my heart a little bit that I would betray someone that I looked to as a father figure. And then when I got 509, I was just so thrilled. I love that so much more that I’m not, that the audience was led to believe that I’m the bad guy, but I’m not, because it’s how I had been feeling the entire time throughout the season.”

Making it be Chief Bridges who killed Gabriel goes back to Season 4, explains co-showrunner Rashad Raisani. “We realized quickly that Alan Autry was gold, and so we really wanted to give him as much interesting stuff as possible.” Raisani did a lot of research into police (both good and corrupt) and found that high-level DEA agents were giving tips to attorneys for cartels. “I was like, wow, what a very specific and interesting form of corruption.”

Adam Baldwin, Parker Young, and Rafael Silva — '9-1-1: Lone Star' Season 5 Episode 8

Kevin Estrada / FOX

The emotional aspect also played a major role. “Bridges was the person that Carlos trusted the most of anybody after his dad died,” says Raisani. “Part of it was the pure emotion of who could fool Carlos, who would be able to have kept the wool over Carlos’ eyes that long. Chief Bridges was the only one that, to be honest, I felt like was worthy of it.”

He also figured it would be “a hell of a twist,” one that fans hopefully wouldn’t see coming, “but if you look back on everything that happened, he was always there in sort of inopportune moments where it all kind of makes sense. And he’s the last person Gabriel would’ve ever suspected either, which is what made him, I think, such a good choice for us to make the ultimate villain.”

Now, when it comes to Carlos moving forward after that, we get a taste of that in the final scene of the episode, of him visiting his father’s grave. “Really, it’s like he can be a full human being again,” Raisani previews. “He hasn’t been able to be a person since this happened. He’s been in this tiny little box. In these last few episodes, his heart gets bigger and he gets more human. He’s still a Texas Ranger and all that, but I think you’ll see a softness and a warmth from Carlos that you haven’t seen from him since before his dad died.”

Carlos isn’t the only one feeling the betrayal from Bridges—Campbell is, too. “It is as heartbreaking as losing Gabriel Reyes,” says Young. “The Rangers become our family. We are a tight-knit community. We love each other. We work together. You trust each other with your lives. And both of those guys were father figures to Ranger Campbell. He lost one, but at least he had Chief Bridges. And to not only lose him, but to find out that he had betrayed me and set me up, that’s terrible. We may not get to see it, unfortunately, but it’s going to be really hard for Carlos and Campbell to pick up the pieces and try and rebuild this agency and reestablish trust and figure out what else had slipped through the cracks. What else did we miss?”

'9-1-1: Lone Star' Series Finale Date, Ending

Episode 9 was Young’s last on the show, and Raisani explains that’s simply due to time. “I wish there was a spinoff with the Texas Rangers so we could do a whole show with Rafael and Parker and Ronen [Rubinstein], but we only have three episodes left in the series. And so we felt like leaving Campbell as wounded as he was in the hospital and giving him the emotional resolution with Carlos, that was beautiful and a great endpoint for them,” he says. “We’ve got to shift our narrative focus to some of our other characters.”

That includes what’s next for T.K. and Carlos. The latter shared with his father at his grave that he’s going to be a dad himself: He’s decided, after being against it, that he’s ready to adopt T.K.’s half-brother Jonah. (T.K. had decided he would do so, alone if needed, after his stepfather was arrested and now faces a long prison sentence.) But why didn’t we see Carlos tell T.K. that news onscreen?

“Episode 9 is not about T.K. Episode 9 is about Carlos coming to grips with his father and what that means,” explains Raisani. “And so for me, the emotional conversation is him at that grave.” But, he promises, “We are going to play all of the emotion between Carlos and T.K. about the adoption, just not in this moment. We are not going to see the moment where he says, okay, let’s adopt him. Episode 11 is all about the adoption. So we will cover that background.”

Watch the full video above for more from Young on Campbell, including the major betrayal, playing the family side of his character, and his favorite scenes to film.

9-1-1: Lone Star, Returns, Monday, January 20, 2025, 8/7c, Fox