Last night’s episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star was one of its heaviest yet. It said goodbye to recurring cast member Lisa Edelstein, who plays Gwyn. As far as we know, this will be her last appearance in the series, as her character has passed away. But despite the incredibly heavy subject matter that came with her exit, the story behind Lisa Edelstein’s final performance on the hit FOX series is actually quite heartwarming.
Because it turns out Lisa put a ton into that performance as a farewell. And this meant a lot to showrunner Tim Minear, who lost his mother last year. Not to mention, just like T.K., Minear’s mother also helped him get into a rehab program when he was young. So this episode was a tribute. And it was one that Minear felt Edelstein mastered.
“It’s sort of me saying goodbye to my mom and also it’s a tribute to her. Lisa never met my mother, but there’s so much of her in that performance,” he explained in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“Lisa is sneakily brilliant in this episode — in a look, everything is there: She is angry, despairing, loving, compassionate, she’s all those things. She’s true mother love, like tough mother love in this episode. And it’s a real tribute to her skill as a screen actor, I will tell you that,” he said.
The episode finds Edelstein appearing in the form of flashbacks, as T.K reflects on the moments where his mom helped him get into a Rehab program while headed to her funeral. It was a tragic and poignant episode. While some fans feel like she shouldn’t have died, Minear’s reasoning, that sometimes death just happens, may be something worth considering.
Here’s why ‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ Showrunner Tim Minear Decided Gwyn Would Die Off Screen
9-1-1: Lone Star has seen some big moments happen off-screen. The biggest of which is Gwyn’s death, which we only learned about at the end of the episode that aired last week. Gwyn also died in a freak accident. A bike hit her while she was out walking with her newborn son. She managed to get her son out of the way, but she passed from her injuries.
We don’t necessarily see Gwyn’s death, but the episode does open with a 9-1-1 call about the incident. It’s both fitting for the show and an interesting way to portray that moment. Apparently, that kind of character death is something Minnear had wanted to experiment with for a while.
“It was an experiment on my part, something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” he said. Apparently, it was inspired by a true-crime podcast he listens to, Sword and Scale, which releases a lot of 9-1-1 calls.
This recent episode was a heavy one, but the next should hopefully offer a much-needed reprieve. You can tune in to fox next Monday at 8/7 central to catch a new 9-1-1: Lone Star.
