9-1-1: Lone Star Review: Friends with Benefits (Season 2 Episode 4)

It is always nice when the relationships of the characters take center stage much as they do on 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 2 Episode 4, “Friends with Benefits.”

Taking a step back from the emergencies this week is a great change of pace and much needed after last week’s intense fire drama. 

The most notable focus from this episode is hands down, Marjan. For a character who sticks to the sidelines most episodes, seeing her center stage leads to more revelations about her as a person. 

Marjan’s culture and belief system has always been a pillar in her characterization. Finding out she is in an arranged marriage that she actually has no issue with is eye-opening for both her colleagues as well as the viewers. 

In a way, Marjan is very modern in her approach to life — after all, she has a job as a firefighter. However, certain elements of her faith and culture remain a staple of who she is like her hijab and her frequent attendance at a mosque.

And yet, something as conservative as an arranged marriage still takes us by surprise. We get to go on this journey with Marjan as she takes a more active role in her relationship with the man she’s been slotted to marry since she was 12.

This journey helps us to see her better and allows her the time to really show others how she feels inside. It isn’t often that Marjan opens up about her emotions, preferring to keep her heart under lock and key.

This look into who she is expands on her as a 2-dimensional character into a fully realized 3-dimensional person with hopes, dreams, and feelings. We learn as much from what Marjan does and says as we do from what she doesn’t reveal. 

Our heart breaks for her because she only just realizes how much she loves this man when he is walking away. It’s always the worst when we don’t realize what we truly have until it is gone. 

A character we think we have a solid read on is Carlos, so trust 9-1-1: Lone Star to take that and turn it on its head. Carlos is definitely a confident gay man, but is that his everyday persona or just his friends persona?

Meeting Carlos’ parents is a revelation for not only TK but everyone else as well. TK has every right to feel upset and demeaned by his actions, but a bit of understanding and compassion can go a long way.

The show could easily take this moment as fodder to break them up and make their relationship a tragic one — over before it barely begins. However, the right move is to have both of them cool off and approach the situation like mature adults.

TK standing his ground and airing out how Carlos’ actions made him feel is a huge step forward for him. It shows just how much he is growing and changing into a more stable young man. 

When TK takes Carlos’ hand and tells him that whatever he chooses to do about his parents is fine with him and that he will support him our hearts melt. That is in huge service to Ronen Rubenstein’s very expressive nature.

Rubenstein has the innate ability to speak volumes without uttering a single word. His eyes tell a story almost as much as his heart does. 

In a way, this performance feels a bit too good to be real, but that is just the beautiful effect of Rubenstein and Rafael Silva’s chemistry. They create this connection on the screen that can’t be matched by anyone else. 

It’s nice to see that Tarlos will live to fight another day and that this difference of opinion won’t sideline them forever. It’s so hard to find healthy LGBTQ+ representation in the mainstream media so we are rooting for these guys to win in the end.

Of course, we can’t discuss the relationship between TK and Carlos without also looking at the relationship between TK’s parents. Owen and Gwyneth have been divorced for a huge chunk of TK’s life and yet they still manage to find their way back to each other during the pandemic. 

However, life is now slowly returning to normal and Gwyneth needs the relationship to be defined — which she has every right to ask for. It’s funny to watch Owen struggle to create a definition of who they are to each other.

Not because it’s hilarious but because he’s trying so hard not to call it what it is — a steady monogamous thing. It’s as if Owen is terrified that putting a label on it will destroy what they have. 

If only he could have a bit more faith in what Gwyneth has to offer him. Clearly, they made it work for a time in the past and it stopped working because of who they were. 

However, as 9-1-1: Lone Star has shown us, Owen is not the man he was in New York. Relocating to Texas and battling cancer has changed him into a gentler, more understanding man. 

Hopefully, they can continue to navigate this new road ahead of them together with a gentle heart. A baby this late in the game for them isn’t going to be easy.

What did you think of this episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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9-1-1: Lone Star airs Mondays at 9/8c on FOX.

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