9-1-1: Lone Star Review: Prince Albert in a Can (Season 3 Episode 11)

When will the show learn that Owen Strand isn’t the big draw it thinks he is? 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 3 Episode 11, “Prince Albert in a Can,” advertises a grand team-up between Grace and Carlos to solve a case that will also bring in Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) from LA.

What we actually get is a story that is pushed the back burner for a more unnecessarily extensive story about Owen, his love life, and a potential biohazard attack — all of which are somehow related.

It’s exhausting and a complete disservice to the fans of the show as well as the characters who make the show what it is.

Grace and Carlos: Undercover Detectives

Let’s just say that I never imagined I could want anything more than sweet Grace and Judd interactions as they lovingly cheer each other on. Then, “Prince Albert in a Can” introduces us to Grace and Carlos being there for each other after a tragic call.

Usually, we get to see TK comfort Carlos in his moments of doubt or weakness. However, it’s nice that this time Grace steps up and reassures him that the man’s death wasn’t his fault. 

It’s a bonding experience for the two of them and encourages them to use their anger toward good. We also don’t get to see them both angry about an injustice very often. The most shameful part about this is we only get to see a small snippet of their investigation. 

This could’ve been the focus of the episode and dived deeper into Grace and Carlos exhausting all their smarts about internet sleuthing. Instead, it gets thrown in at the end of the episode as an afterthought and rushed through a ten-minute sequence to conclude everything all nice and pretty.

Just any amount more of these two bonding over their shared trauma would be nice. It’s something that isn’t explored enough on this entity of the show universe and definitely could use more focus — mental health of first responders.

Athena Grant — Wasted Guest Star

If a show is going to call something a mini-crossover then it needs to be more in-depth than just a few quick minutes of Athena doing her thing and talking on the phone with Grace and Carlos.

Honestly, based on how 9-1-1: Lone Star advertised it, it seemed as though Athena would be heavily involved in the case, and maybe even making a trip to Austin. Instead, we get a hot second of her storming the suspect’s house, arresting him, and then video calling Carlos and Grace to inform them.

While a show doesn’t need to spell out every little detail, a few more would’ve been nice. A bit more build-up for Athena’s entrance would be fantastic or even more communication between the two parties.

It just seems like Angela Bassett’s moment on the show is as throwaway as the case itself. What a shame, it would’ve been cool to see our two favorite cops working a case together.

Too Much Owen

Once again, 9-1-1: Lone Star doesn’t seem to realize just how stale and bland Owen’s relationship with Catherine is. The only exciting part of their interactions is after the bar when she calls him out on his macho behavior.

It’s just disappointing that when he saves her from “cornstarch” she takes back all the harsh things she said to him. It would’ve been better if she had appreciated him for being there for her during that moment without undoing the statements she made about his hero complex at the bar. 

Also, the whole bio-hazard story should’ve had a better payoff. It just seems like so much buildup and focus for it to simply be cornstarch. While it didn’t need to be anthrax, any kind of bio-chemical threat would’ve been an interesting story that could be built upon throughout the season regarding Catherine’s job. 

Instead, we get to watch Owen be completely forgiven — again — for unnecessarily brutish behavior and get the girl. If only these two characters had an ounce of chemistry. 

Put the scene with Catherine and Owen at the end up against a scene with Judd and Grace and there’d be demands for more Judd and Grace ten times as much as Catherine and Owen.

I’m not saying get rid of him completely but maybe focus on the other characters a bit more. That way it doesn’t feel so much like they are just there to fill a diversity quota. 

Minor Emergencies

• I have a HUGE problem with Mateo calling the suspect a terrorist in the middle of a large crowd. All of that was just over the top and completely unnecessary.
• Does Judd’s son no longer exist? Will we ever hear mention of him again? Just things I think about as I watch Judd with his daughter.

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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