9-1-1: Lone Star romance roundup: Tarlos, Marjan, and Paul updates from showrunner Tim Minear
Last week it was a little kid hitting his cranky neighbor with an errant arrow, but it seems Cupid was the one at work on Tuesday's 9-1-1: Lone Star.
Despite a hiccup between Tarlos early in the episode — and Marjan's literally bulldozed dreams at the motel — love was all around the 126 on this week's installment of the Fox first responder drama.
Season 4, episode 12, "Swipe Left," saw TK (Ronen Rubinstein) and Carlos (Rafael Silva) work through their differing ideas about fatherhood; Marjan (Nataha Karam) navigate dating for the first time, only to fall for a cheater before finding a spark with her physical therapist Joe (Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and P-Valley's John Clarence Stewart); and Paul (Brian Michael Smith) going strong with the Austin Fire Department's HR rep Asha (United States of Al's Amanda Payton).
Here, co-creator and showrunner Tim Minear breaks down the state of those romances — plus, what's to come for sex worker fire captain Owen (Rob Lowe) and socialite Kendra (Vampire Diaries and YOU's Michaela McManus), as well as Tommy (Gina Torres) and Pastor Trevor (D.B. Woodside).
Kevin Estrada/FOX Ronen Rubinstein and Rafael Silva on '9-1-1: Lone Star'.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You mentioned to us ahead of this episode that "bumps in the road are not going to be roadblocks" for TK and Carlos as the head toward their wedding, so what was the goal of this brief conflict about having kids or not?
TIM MINEAR: This was a chance to explore Carlos' issues with his own father. And he has some doubts about himself — places he hasn't been stretched or tested. He's feeling like he doesn't want to make the same mistakes that he feels like maybe [were] made with him, or that he's not equipped to be a good dad. I think the thing that Carlos needs to figure out, and that he's starting to figure out over the course of this episode, is that nobody has it figured out. And that's what figuring it out is about: realizing that you don't know what you don't know, and to maybe not close off possible avenues out of fear. It's the first two steps on that journey.
And then TK, who I think historically has been impatient, has now matured to a place where he's willing to let his partner take his own steps at his own pace. Nobody's tricking anybody. Nobody is demanding anything of the other. They both realize that what's important is wherever the journey may lead, that this is a journey that they're going to take together.
What sparked the idea for that Marjan dating montage?
It's interesting because Marjan had been in an arranged situation from the time she was 12, and she takes her faith very seriously. We have these great cultural consultants for that element of Marjan's character, and we just had some really great conversations about what would dating look like for a young woman like Marjan — who feels like it's important to be chaperoned, and who wants to stay traditional, and wants to be true to herself? And we loved the idea of her being completely held up and supported by all the people who were part of her found family. It just felt like the perfect kind of alchemy to help her start going down that road.
FOX John Clarence Stewart and Natacha Karam on '9-1-1: Lone Star'
But in the end, she hits it off with someone she knew before the dating run.
It's pretty much what Nancy [played by Brianna Baker] advises her at the beginning, that you've got to kiss a lot of frogs — and if Disney has taught us anything, it's that you're going to find your prince in the most unlikely place. It's a kind of classic rom-com trope, where you look up and it's like, 'Oh, this person that has already been in your life.' Sometimes when you just stop trying, the universe will then reward you for just relaxing.
The episode ends with an impromptu double date. Will both those relationships continue to blossom? What about the rest of the 126?
Well, Paul has obviously been getting on with Asha, and we're going to see more of that coming up very shortly. Marjan and Joe, they hit it off before they even had their first date, which is always helpful. As for everyone else: Obviously, Carlos and TK are doing well, Mateo [played by Julian Works] and Nancy are still a couple. Trevor and Tommy will run into a few more speed bumps along the way. In fact, we're going to be focusing on Trevor and Tommy and what it's like dating your pastor, when people start gossiping about you in a couple of episodes. But people are in a pretty good place, and we're even going to be revisiting Owen and Kendra in the next episode.
Kevin Estrada/FOX Kendra (Michaela McManus) and Owen (Rob Lowe) on '9-1-1: Lone Star'
Anything else you can tease coming up?
Yeah, there's going to be a big gay wedding. [long pause]
Oh yeah? Whose? [laughs]
The TK and Carlos wedding is happening. In typical Lone Star fashion, it's going to be an emotional combination of deep feeling and some epic stories.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
9-1-1 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
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