Why Grace’s 911 Lone Star Exit Was So Disappointing (And How the Finale Can Fix It)

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from the 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 premiere, “Both Sides, Now.”

Writing Grace Ryder out of 9-1-1: Lone Star Satisfying it was always difficult, but the reasoning behind her departure was still frustrating and fell short of expectations. The Fox procedural drama TV series is unfortunately coming to an end after season 5, and it has to do so without Sierra McClane’s grace. Without MacLaine available to properly send her character off, The writers had to make do with what resources they had while scripting Grace’s exit in the 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 premiere. Unfortunately, their best was disappointing and didn’t do Grace any justice.

During 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 episode 1 Many changes came to the 126 and beyond. Aside from Grace’s departure, Carlos Reyes is now a Texas Ranger and is desperately trying to solve his father’s murder. Meanwhile, Owen Strand struggles with his brother’s death and to choose Judd Ryder’s replacement, and Judd’s son, Wyatt Harris, takes over for Grace at the 9-1-1 dispatch center. 9-1-1: Lone Star is ending in the 9-1-1 franchise, and there’s only so much time to wrap up each character’s story satisfyingly. Unfortunately, the show is off to a bad start with Grace’s ending.

Grace’s sudden 911 Lone Star exit explained

Grace left Texas to volunteer with Mercy Ships

During the 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 premiere, Judd had to explain why his wife was nowhere to be seen since Sierra McClain was not available to reprise her role in the episode. Judd reveals that Grace previously left Texas to volunteer with Mercy Ships. Mercy Ships is an international Christian organization that operates non-governmental hospital ships, Providing life-saving care and surgery to those in need. Grace heard about the charity at her church and was inspired to join the cause, which is how 9-1-1: Lone Star Cast member McClain was written out of the show.

so, 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 addresses Grace’s absence not by killing her off or her and Jude getting a divorce, but by leaving her family behind to volunteer abroad. It is unclear how long Grace plans to be gone. Nevertheless, Grace’s reason for leaving still felt sudden and a little unbelievable about her character.

911 Lone Star’s final fate for Grace ruins the character

It doesn’t make sense why Grace would leave her family

Although Grace’s desire to help others in need is entirely believable and understandable 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5, it’s hard to get past the fact that she would ever leave her husband and two-year-old daughter for an extended period of time to do this. Grace loves Jude and Charlie more than anything, And it makes no sense why she would leave them behind. Plus, Judd has now gone through a lot with Wyatt’s accident and his leaving the 126 behind. Now, Judd has to raise Charlie by himself while dealing with everything else going on in his life.

In the end, the writers had Little to work with when constructing Grace’s exit without killing her or breaking her and Judd up. There was only so much they could do to satisfy viewers and give Grace a value away. Despite this, Grace’s departure still felt sudden and confusing. While one can be thankful that Grace didn’t die or divorce Judd, it’s valid to be upset about the reason behind her departure. Perhaps this was a lose-lose situation, but with 9-1-1: Lone Star Ending after season 5, it’s hard not to be disappointed with Grace’s exit.

Why 911 Lone Star had to write grace before the finale

Sierra McClain left the series before season 5

The writers were forced to script Grace’s absence because Sierra McClain left 9-1-1: Lone Star Before the premiere of season 5. McClain did not reveal the reason behind her decision to leave. however, Reports on the castes’ attempts to negotiate their contracts Ahead of filming season 5 likely played a factor in McClain’s exit.

9-1-1: Lone StarThe cancellation was reportedly due to its expensive budget, which included the salaries of the cast and crew. so, It is more than likely that the payment was behind McClain leaving the show. Unfortunately, this meant that the writers and producers had to scramble to find a way to write Grace out of the series weeks before production started on season 5. 9-1-1: Lone Star Ending after season 5, Grace’s absence is quite disappointing but was inevitable because of what is happening behind the scenes.

911 Lone Star Finale can fix the ugly exit of Grace

Sierra McClane doesn’t have to go back to correct her character’s exit

The bad news is that it has been confirmed that Sierra McClain will not appear as Grace in the 9-1-1: Lone Star Series finale. The audience has officially seen the last of Grace after the season 4 finale. When asked about McClain’s possible return during the latest episode, the Fox procedural drama’s co-showrunner Rashad Raisani told Variety:

“Unfortunately, we already shot it. I held out hope until the last minute, I’ll put it this way. I really think that without seeing you on the screen, how satisfied can anything be? But short of that, I think I’m Just tremendously proud of where the show is going, I just believe in the way the show ends so deeply that I think people will feel like, wow, it couldn’t have ended any other way.

As a result, There is no way for McClain to be a part of her character’s official ending Or 9-1-1: Lone Stars conclusion. However, just because Grace won’t be in the episode physically doesn’t mean the finale can’t make up for her disappointing exit. The show still has time to fix Grace’s uncharacteristic and puzzling departure. Hopefully, the writers do that when the 9-1-1: Lone Star The series finale airs (probably in late 2024 or early 2025).

whatever the case, The viewers must be left with the knowledge that Grace will return to her family (Sooner than later). Maybe the beloved 9-1-1: Lone Star Main character arrives back in Texas offscreen during the finale, or she calls Jude and lets her husband know she’s coming home. It doesn’t matter how the writers do it, but they must correct their mistake by eventually returning Grace to Texas and her family. It just wouldn’t feel right if 9-1-1: Lone Star Ended without a mention of grace or without the audience knowing if she would ever come home.

Source: Variety