9-1-1: Lone Star’s Brianna Baker Reacts to Nancy’s Health Scare, Explains Why She’s Especially ‘Terrified’ for Tommy
9-1-1: Lone Star‘s Tommy Vega has always seemed strong enough to handle anything, a belief that’s being put to the test once again. Monday’s episode ended with Gina Torres’ character revealing through tears that her doctor has found something “bad” on her latest mammogram.
This devastating turns of events was into motion, oddly enough, when Nancy accidentally texted a naughty photo of herself to everyone in the 126. Nancy and Mateo managed to keep most of their coworkers from seeing it, but she knew the jig was up when Tommy called her into her office. Rather than getting punished, however, Nancy was encouraged to get screened by a doctor; Tommy noticed what appeared to be a lump on one of Nancy’s breasts in the photo.
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It was a whiplash-inducing shift in tone, one that actress Brianna Baker appreciated for its realism. “That’s what it’s like in real life,” Nancy’s portrayer tells TVLine. “When you get shocking news or bad news, you’re just like, la dee da, then all of a sudden there’s like a hammer that comes down. I liked that there wasn’t any foreshadowing.”
As a show of support, Tommy surprised Nancy at the doctor’s office, where she also scheduled a mammogram for herself. It was an emotional moment between the two characters, whose mentor-mentee relationship has taken on a slight mother-daughter dynamic over the years.
Getting to work alongside a powerhouse like Torres “might be the way that you imagine it,” Baker says. “Being around her is like drinking a warm cup of tea on a crisp fall day. She’s calming, she’s fun, she can make all types of jokes, and she’s there if you ever have anything you need to talk about. She’s a pillar of wisdom, but she also treats you like an equal. I feel so lucky that I, for years, have been able to shadow her, watch her and work with her. She’s one of the best people I’ll probably ever be across from on screen.”
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One of the few silver linings in all of this is that Mateo and Nancy have never been more in love. He was fully ready to shave his head if she received a cancer diagnosis. Baker is proud of the relationship she has built on screen with co-star Julian Works, whom she calls “an incredible actor.” She loves they can be both be a little extra, either “doing something goofy or nerdy, or making some grand gesture of love in front of people while on the job,” but they also “both have a level of emotional depth to them.”
For Nancy, the doctor called with good news — the lump is a cyst, not a tumor. The same, unfortunately, couldn’t be said for Tommy, who confided in Nancy that her doctor “found something.” With tears welling in her eyes, Tommy told her,” It’s bad.”
Moving ahead, Nancy will serve as Tommy’s confidante while she faces this health obstacle, an unexpected responsibility that “definitely wears on her.” In addition to Nancy being “terrified of losing this woman who she looks to as a mother,” Baker adds that Nancy also “probably has PTSD as far as worst-case scenarios on this diagnosis.” In other words, she already lost one mother — and she doesn’t want history to repeat itself.
Elsewhere in this week’s episode, Owen admitted to physically ending his brother’s life when Robert appeared to lose his nerve. His guilt has been weighing on him, and according to Marlene, that guilty energy has kept Thunder from letting Owen get close. With his conscience clear, Owen finally rode atop the wild steed, triumphantly emerging from a barn that burned down due to a gas leak.
Your thoughts on this week’s episode? Tommy and Nancy’s emotional bond? Baker’s colorful description of what it’s like to bask in Torres’ presence? Whatever’s on your mind, drop it in a comment below.
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