Warning: SPOILERS ahead for 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 12!9-1-1 Lone Star actor Rob Lowe has explained why a very dark fate for Owen was not considered after pitching the idea for the series finale. 9-1-1: Lone Star ended with the team successfully preventing a nuclear meltdown after an asteroid crashed down in Austin, Texas. While Owen sustained injuries that could have ended his life, he managed to make a full recovery, departing for his job back in New York now that he’d successfully rebuilt the 126. This had been his task since the series began, making the ending a perfect way to tie everything together.
However, speaking with TVLine, Lowe revealed he pitched a darker ending for Owen in 9-1-1: Lone Star‘s series finale, which would have seen him “[go] out in a blaze of glory“ saving the rest of his team. However, the idea was shot down because of how difficult it would be to see the show end early already, not wanting to add a major character death on top of it. The actor said this ultimately offered him a hopeful ending befitting the show’s larger story. Check out what Lowe had to say below:
Oh, I pitched the possibility of Owen going out in a blaze of glory 100%. I pitched one of those amazingly emotional hero’s walks where Owen dies and then he’s given the hero’s walk in the hospital and everyone’s clapping.
[The crew decided] it’s sad enough that we have to mourn the death of a show that’s still in its prime, let’s not also mourn the death of a character.
We thought, instead of having him walk off into the sunset, let’s have him walk off to the sunrise in the east. He completed the impetus for the show — he rebuilt the 126 into a family, and he rejuvenated his own family. Mission completed. Now it’s time for Owen to figure out what his next chapter is.
What A Darker Ending For Owen Would Have Meant For 9-1-1: Lone Star
The Final Episode Wouldn’t Have Been As Satisfying
9-1-1: Lone Star‘s characters were already dealing with life-threatening circumstances in the final episode, the nuclear meltdown threatening the lives of everyone in their city. However, team members were also still wrestling with their own tragic circumstances, the most notable of which was Tommy (Gina Torres) learning her cancer had gotten worse. Thankfully, she makes a full recovery in a flash-forward, proving the intent of the final episode was to leave the 126 in a happy spot for a prosperous future.
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9-1-1: Lone Star Series Finale – Where Characters Could Appear Next, Whose Fate Was In Limbo & Why A Game-Changing Line About Grace Was Cut Explained By Showrunner
ScreenRant interviews showrunner Rashad Raisani about the characters’ endings in 9-1-1: Lone Star and if the 126 could reappear in the 9-1-1 universe.
If Owen had sacrificed himself to save the team, 9-1-1: Lone Star‘s final moments may have felt more bitter than sweet. While their former captain is now gone, he’s not dead, meaning the team’s loss isn’t as substantial as it would have been had he actually died. Instead, there’s a brighter light surrounding the work he’s done to bring the 126 back on track, especially now that Judd (Jim Parrack) has been promoted to Captain status. His legacy will live on, but so will he, balancing out the dourness of the series leaving so soon.
Our Take On Owen’s Potentially Dark Fate In 9-1-1: Lone Star’s Series Finale
It’s Better That He Lived Through The Ending
Although an ending where Owen died would have been emotionally impactful, his survival made the final episode a much happier time despite his return to New York. The hopeful note 9-1-1: Lone Star ends on wasn’t soured by an unnecessary character death, making the ending all the more memorable. It also leaves the door open for everyone’s potential return in the next upcoming 9-1-1 spinoff, allowing the show’s universe more room to use a lead character in the future.
9-1-1, 9-1-1: Lone Star, and the upcoming untitled spinoff were all created by Ryan Murphy.
Source: TVLine
9-1-1: Lone Star
- Release Date
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2020 – 2024
- Network
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FOX