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Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 4 Episode 3 of 9-1-1: Lone Star.9-1-1: Lone Star, a spin-off of the flagship series 9-1-1, follows Owen Strand (Rob Lowe), Tommy Vega (Gina Torres), and their respective teams of first responders at the 126 in Austin, Texas. As they work to save lives and combat deadly disasters, Officer Carlos Reyes (Rafael Silva) patrols the streets and helps put the guilty behind bars. However, for three seasons now, the series has left Carlos relegated to the background with few opportunities to shine despite being the only police character in the spin off. When he does get his time in the spotlight, it’s incredible, showing what a talented performer Silva is and everything Carlos has to offer to the series should those in charge finally take the character seriously and make him one of the main fixtures of the show alongside Owen and Tommy, as they have always done with Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) on the original. The first step toward doing so? Give Carlos a promotion.
Let Carlos Grow in His Career
How long can this cycle continue where Carlos performs exemplary police work, yet receives little to no recognition for it? When Carlos shines, he shines. He has repeatedly proven himself to have incredible instincts with his gut feelings often turning out to be correct, even if it gets him into a bit of trouble first. He is in the force for the right reasons, trying to make Austin safer and help as many people as he can along the way. So, how long will the series drag it out before Carlos is finally given the promotion he deserves at the Austin Police Department?
Carlos has been a beat cop for years now, starting long before we met him in the pilot as he used his position to try to keep his friend Michelle Blake (Liv Tyler) out of too much trouble. He has expressed his interest in advancing his career and becoming a detective, but there hasn’t been any follow-through on that. However, the opening episodes of the fourth season offer the perfect opportunity to finally move forward. When Michelle’s sister Iris (Lyndsy Fonseca) goes missing, nobody takes it seriously because of her history. Given that Iris has schizophrenia that wound up with her presumed dead and living in Tent City for years, others write off her disappearance as a pattern of behavior, ignoring the progress she has made in treating her schizophrenia and bettering her life. Given the end of her marriage with Carlos, which she agreed with TK (Ronen Rubenstein) just beforehand needed to be annulled instead of them getting divorced, those investigating used this as a critical life event that triggered her to flee.
Carlos, like always, trusts his gut instinct and doesn’t buy it. When Iris calls in to get help and report that she’s been abducted, they find her but no trace of the man she had been speaking of. Again, she’s written off as the “crazy girl” making up a story. Carlos continues to look into it, though, finding a hidden tunnel underneath the house where Iris was being held — explaining how a drone didn’t catch footage of anyone leaving. Carlos follows this, then gets his head bashed in by (presumably) the abductor when he comes out of the tunnel into another house. If not for Carlos, this would have never been found, and this person would not be on the verge of being caught and prosecuted. Carlos has the cleverness and skill to be Austin’s greatest detective. After three seasons, it’s time he is allowed some growth in his career.
So far, the writers have only given him growth in his personal life, particularly his relationship with TK. That’s great, as the relationship is a great example of LGBTQ+ representation, but Carlos is a character of his own outside his relationship and the series doesn’t always seem to remember that. (The same could be said for TK as of late, too.) It seems to be getting better, but we’re only just starting the fourth season. Anything could happen, including the writers pushing Carlos to the background again after this investigation closes. Increasing Carlos’ presence on the show as a main character and upping the importance of his position on the police force is a great step forward. The potential is there, especially with Carlos’ father being a Texas Ranger, which could continue to complicate things at work for him while also expanding on their relationship.
It Would Improve the Series
What is even more frustrating about this situation is the stories are already there for Carlos if he was given the opportunity to claim them. On 9-1-1, the series never fails to provide interesting stories for Athena that show her capabilities as a field sergeant. These are interwoven into the fabric of the show. On Lone Star, the writers didn’t change anything despite not having a cop as one of the leads. These stories continue to be in the fabric of the spin-off, but they’re given to Owen as he roleplays a police officer, just as he’s doing currently while being used to investigate a motorcycle gang filled with domestic terrorists a.k.a Nazis. When Owen embarks on these stories, more often than not he proves himself to be a fool. In this instance, that’s exactly what is happening as he’s tricked by Sergeant O’Brien (Neal McDonough) into thinking he’s on his side, with Owen confessing the details of the FBI’s investigation into the gang to him. Then, when their chance to nail the group vanishes, Special Agent Casey (Amanda Schull) informs him that O’Brien is the founding member of the gang.
It’s not the first time the series has used Owen in this manner, but it’s becoming more and more disrespectful when Carlos is right there, never receiving enough attention. These stories should be going to Carlos, promoting him to be a detective on-screen and one of the series’ leading players off-screen. Silva has the talent, and the writers clearly have the capability to tell these stories, so why isn’t this happening? Nobody wants to see Owen continue to pretend he’s a cop or the series continue to be nearly all about Rob Lowe. It’s time for a change.
9-1-1: Lone Star continues Tuesdays on Fox. Every episode is now streaming on Hulu.
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