9-1-1: Lone Star EP Defends Grace’s Polarizing Exit in Season 5 Premiere: ‘We Did All We Could to Protect Her’

It’s been the question on every fan’s mind since Sierra McClain‘s departure was confirmed this summer — how can 9-1-1: Lone Star possibly write out such an integral character in a way that won’t feel completely jarring? (Spoiler alert: It couldn’t.)

The procedural’s fifth and final season premiere on Monday revealed that Grace left home to volunteer with Mercy Ships, a faith-based organization that performs life-saving surgeries all over the world. (Before you Google, yes, it’s a real group.) As Judd explained, Mercy Ships gave a presentation at the Ryders’ church, and Grace was so moved by the plight of forgotten orphans that she decided to hop aboard.

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“She knew it was inconvenient,” Judd said in his wife’s defense. “She knew that it was terrible timing. But she felt the touch of God. I can still see her face that day. Her eyes were shining with tears. Not just tears — this fire, too, you know? And I never loved her more than I did in that moment.”

Uh, yeah, “terrible timing” would be putting it mildly. Not only do Judd and Grace have a two-year-old daughter at home, one Judd is now left to raise alone, but Wyatt — Judd’s adult son from a previous relationship — was also recently paralyzed in a bicycling accident, making this an extremely busy time for their family overall.

Still, showrunner Rashad Raisani tells TVLine that he stands by Grace’s exit storyline, especially when faced with a less desirable alternative. (Killing Grace off was “quickly dismissed” as it “didn’t feel like it was the right thing to do by her.”) In speaking with Jim Parrack, who portrays Judd, Raisani says, “The only thing we could think of to justifiably pull Grace away from her family and job was an even greater calling. And the only thing in Grace’s world that could answer that was God.”

Raisani knows that not everyone is going to co-sign Grace’s polarizing decision. “People are allowed to feel the feelings they have about it,” he says, “but we did all we could do to protect her character. Without getting too churchy about it, the Bible is filled with stories about characters who follow a call from God at great inconvenience to — and frankly to the detriment of — the people they love the most.”

Raisani admits that McClain’s departure “rocked the boat” a bit, as at least four Season 5 scripts had already been written, but it also presented an exciting challenge. “I have often found that out of great crisis comes great opportunity,” he explains, adding that Judd’s storyline is more nuanced as a result of his wife’s absence.

“Judd doesn’t have his job, he doesn’t have his son and now he doesn’t have his wife, so it puts him into a deeper place of isolation,” Raisani says. “You’ll see as the season goes on that it creates this great complexity for Judd. On one hand, he admires and loves his wife, but there will be a growing sense of frustration and some uncomfortable feelings he has that he doesn’t want to admit to himself that start to come out.”

As for Wyatt, the original plan for Season 5 was for Judd’s son to become “a bit of an acolyte” to Grace in the call center, “but Sierra’s departure accelerated that,” Raisani explains, hence Wyatt already being fairly confident in his role as a dispatcher. But even though “he’s been taught by the best,” we’ll still see Wyatt “waffle — but never crumble — under pressure” a few times this season.

Elsewhere in 9-1-1: Lone Star‘s final season premiere, Owen found himself in the difficult position of having to choose between Paul and Marjan to replace Judd at the firehouse, while Carlos — now a Texas Ranger — struggled to earn the respect of his new partner Campbell (Parker Young), all the while still obsessing over his father’s recent murder.

OK, let’s talk: How do you feel about Grace’s exit storyline? Was she right to suddenly leave her family, or is Judd the most understanding man on the planet? And which other premiere developments have you feeling some type of way? Grade the episode below, then drop a comment with your full review.