9-1-1: Lone Star’s fifth season is bringing quite a few changes to the lives of first responders in Austin, Texas. Nobody is feeling these changes quite as much as Judd. Poor Judd has had to sacrifice quite a bit to keep his family afloat. Here’s what happened …
What happened to Judd?
Short answer: his wife Grace left him for another man. But not just any mortal man, I mean the Big Man Upstairs. I’m talking about the Most High, The Father, God. After it was announced that Sierra McClain, the actress who plays Grace, wouldn’t be returning for season 5, the showrunners had to scramble for a way to write her character off. They premeditated murder, considered a sudden cancer diagnosis, and thought about a run-in with a runaway bus to end Grace’s tenure on the show, but decided that the character deserved better than an on or off-screen death.
After a conversation with Jim Parrack, the actor who plays Judd, showrunner Rashad Raisani decided that the only thing that could possibly call Grace away from her husband and her two-year-old daughter was a higher power. The highest of higher powers.
Grace decided to join the Mercy Ships after hearing them give a presentation at her church. Who are the Mercy Ships? They’re a real-life faith-based nonprofit that sends hospital ships around the world to provide lifesaving surgeries to the underprivileged, mostly children, who can’t get medical care. It’s a noble cause, sure, but it isn’t like Grace wasn’t needed at home. Raising a two-year-old is hard enough, but Judd also is busy caring for his adult son who was recently paralyzed after being struck by a car in the show’s fourth season. With Grace gone and kids to take care of, what could this mean for his job as lieutenant at the 126? Sacrifices must be made. It means he has to quit.
How is Judd spending his time now? He’s currently renovating his son Wyatt’s home to be ADA compliant, on top of raising his two-year-old daughter. How does he feel about all of this? According to showrunners, he’s pretty irritated. He’s lonely. He’s frustrated. He’s angry, but he doesn’t know it yet. But how can a God-fearing man like Judd reconcile his anger towards his wife’s heeding of a divine calling? He’s going to have to spend this season figuring that out.
New episodes of 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 air on Mondays on Fox.
Published: Sep 29, 2024 08:23 am