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9-1-1 Lone Star “Child Care” 3×05 Review: The Owen factor

Alright folks, it’s the beginning of yet another week so you know what that means. It is time to check in with our favorite neighborhood gays all the way down in the lovely town of Austin, Texas and check out what disaster journey Fox has them embarking on this week 3×05 “Child Care” episode. That’s right peeps, it’s time for 9-1-1 Lone Star and our weekly dose of Tarlos’ heaven. 

Except, well, there really wasn’t a whole of Tarlos action in this week’s installment. That doesn’t mean we don’t have some things to say about what was happening in the world of the 126 this week though. 

So pull your bootstraps up and journey with us as we walk you through our musings of 9-1-1 Lone Star 3×05 “Child Care.”

Grace in 9-1-1 Lone Star 3x05 "Child Care" episode

This week’s 3×05 “Child Care” action

The action and drama kicked off pretty quickly as the episode got underway last night. A teenager randomly shows up in Judd (Jim Parrack) and Grace’s (Sierra Aylina McClain) lives with one hell of a bombshell. The kid has DNA evidence that Judd is his daddy, even if Judd initially tries to deny any possibility at all. 

The man denies the initial claim on his parentage, but it’s pretty clear from the reaction on his face that even he doesn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. Considering they’re brand new parents to their own children, this revelation doesn’t sit well with Grace, who tailspins into an understandable state of anger. 

Turns out Judd did father a kid when he was twenty-two but he just didn’t know about it. So it’s not all entirely his fault. 

Judd in 9-1-1 Lone Star 3x05 "Child Care"

Nearby in a local neighborhood, a little girl’s nanny cam gets hacked. Honestly, this storyline is so utterly creepy and disturbing it’s a bit hard to watch. Mr. Whispers communicates with the little girl while her parents think she is sleeping and grooms her to do some absolutely heinous things. 

When she sets fire to the house and runs away in the process, only to be picked up by the kidnapper in question, Carlos (Rafael L. Silva) puts himself on the case. As he isn’t officially a detective, he pours through the evidence in his own time. Because he is Carlos and he is just that good, he figures out who the kidnapper is (of course it was the previous nanny) and helps the actual detective assigned to the case track them down. 

And here is where things this week go a little awry for us. 

Carlos in 9-1-1 Lone Star 3x05 "Child Care"

The Owen factor

The whole entire episode sets Carlos up as the hero. The knight-in-shining-armor that is definitely going to swoop in and save this little girl. And then… he doesn’t. Although it’s Carlos that figures out who the kidnapper is, and it’s himself and the detective on the case that release the amber alert, it’s Owen (Rob Lowe) that gets the save. 

Owen just so happens to be in the neighborhood near a very fast car when the kidnapper in question drives past him on the street. Owen essentially hijacks the car and enters himself and his own now kidnapped passenger on a quest to intercept before they can get too far away. 

It’s all very elaborate and there are lots of fancy tricks involved as Owen maneuvers the car in and out of traffic to stay expertly on the tails of the child and the kidnapper. Except that he isn’t a policeman, and hasn’t really received that kind of training for his job as a fireman. 

However, there is another policeman on the show that probably could have believably and expertly navigated that scene. Carlos investigated the disappearance. It was his save. We can’t help but be extremely salty that the queer Latino cop had his day in the sun ripped right out from under him – by the straight white dude that gets way too much screen time. 

We’re not saying it’s a queer-phobia thing… are we?

Tarlos in 9-1-1 Lone Star 3x05 "Child Care"

Tarlos

T.K. (Ronen Rubenstein) and Carlos got almost no screen time during last night’s “Child Care.” And by almost none, we mean viewers were treated to less than two minutes of T.K. falling asleep on Carlos’ shoulder while Carlos investigates the disappearance of the little girl. That’s it, folks!

Oh, and let’s not forget that fleeting moment when Carlos refers to Owen as his Father-in-Law (more or less) without flinching. Social media exploded at the possibility of an engagement tease, but we’ve been down this road before. 

At this rate, Owen, Marjan (Natacha Karam), and Mateo (Julian Works) would all have to get married, divorced, and remarried again before the gays get to walk down the aisle. 

We’re not salty at all. We promise!

And that’s it, folks. It was a queer-lite episode this week that left us grunting and huffing as we went off to bed last night. 

Did you watch 9-1-1 Lone Star 3×05 “Child Care”? Drop us a comment and let us know your thoughts. 


9-1-1 Lone Star streams live on Fox at 8pm EST and PST on Mondays! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for all queer stuff!