Summary
“Thin Ice” leaves more than one member of the 126 in a dire predicament.
This recap of 9-1-1: Lone Star season 3, episode 2, “Thin Ice”, contains spoilers.
9-1-1: Lone Star isn’t opposed to doing these high-stakes two-parter episodes, so I naively assumed that last week’s third season premiere was just the first half of a double-bill. It made me a bit too complacent, I think. At one point during the latest episode, “Thin Ice”, I realized that there was barely any time left in the episode, and certainly not enough to wrap up all the major plot points. As it turns out, the effects of the terrifying blizzard that has besieged Texas will be felt for at least one more episode, and perhaps even further, with several characters in life-or-death scenarios as we leave things this week.
9-1-1: Lone Star season 3, episode 2 recap
Of course, it’s unlikely any of these major characters will die, but it’s tense to consider that they might. T.K. is a fan favorite, so the chances of him dying of hypothermia are slim. But I like the fact he can get hypothermia – he isn’t wearing so much plot armor that the show’s stakes don’t feel at least a little bit real. Plus, it’s a good excuse to make progress on his relationship with Carlos, as well as fold Strand back into the main plot.
It’s worth noting that all of the 126 end up imperiled because of their own selflessness. T.K. gets hypothermia after rescuing a kid from a frozen lake. Paul is stuck in a collapsed building after trying to drag a young woman from its wreckage. And Owen collapses in the snow after chasing down a man whose life he already saved. Nobody from this firehouse knows how to quit.
Let’s talk about Strand for a moment, since he walked head-first into a potentially very dangerous plot, and just as Tommy told Carlos in the hospital that they “need to find his father” in order to save T.K.’s life. That stranger he discovered in the snow last week, he was able to drag him to safety and cauterize his wound, radioing for help while Sadie interestedly watched on. But his patient promptly bolted, for reasons that are at first unclear. When Owen pursues him, he eventually passes out and is taken in by a group of people on the run from the coyotes who brought them into the country – who they’re now fleeing from. And one of those coyotes is the man Owen saved, who turns up in the barn, armed, just in time for the episode to end. Yikes!
So, that’s a problem, obviously. Luckily, Marjan is still relatively nearby, so I’m sure she’ll make herself useful next week. And the Paul plot was resolved thanks to the determined efforts of Judd, Mateo, et al., and a fair amount of anger. That’s the thing that Paul suggests he and his charge use to stay awake in the freezing cold. The 126 being shuttered has already saved at least one life now. Hopefully, it manages to save a few more before we’re through.
You can catch 9-1-1: Lone Star season 3, episode 2, “Thin Ice”, on Fox.
