Why Grace’s 911 Lone Star Exit Is So Disappointing (& How The Finale Can Fix It)

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from the 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 premiere, “Both Sides, Now.”

Writing Grace Ryder out of 9-1-1: Lone Star satisfyingly was always going to be tough, but the reasoning behind her departure is still frustrating and fell short of expectations. The Fox procedural drama TV series is sadly coming to an end after season 5, and it has to do so without Sierra McClain’s Grace. Without McClain available to properly send her character off, the writers had to make do with what resources they had while scripting Grace’s exit in the 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 premiere. Unfortunately, their best was disappointing and didn’t do Grace any justice.

The 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 premiere features a one-year time jump from the events of the season 4 finale.

During 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 1, many changes came to the 126 and beyond. Aside from Grace’s departure, Carlos Reyes is now a Texas Ranger and is desperately trying to solve his father’s murder. Meanwhile, Owen Strand struggles with his brother’s death and having to pick Judd Ryder’s replacement, and Judd’s son, Wyatt Harris, has taken over for Grace at the 9-1-1 dispatch center. 9-1-1: Lone Star is ending in the 9-1-1 franchise, and there is only so much time to wrap up every character’s story satisfyingly. Unfortunately, the show is off to a bad start with Grace’s ending.

Grace’s Abrupt 911 Lone Star Exit Explained

Grace Left Texas To Volunteer With Mercy Ships

During the 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 premiere, Judd has to explain why his wife is nowhere to be seen since Sierra McClain wasn’t available to reprise her role in the episode. Judd reveals that Grace previously left Texas to volunteer with Mercy Ships. Mercy Ships is an international Christian organization that operates non-governmental hospital ships, providing life-saving care and surgery to those in need. Grace heard about the charity at her church and was inspired to join the cause, which is how 9-1-1: Lone Star cast member McClain was written out of the show.

So, 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 addresses Grace’s absence not by killing her off or her and Judd getting a divorce, but by leaving her family behind to volunteer abroad. It’s unclear how long Grace plans to be gone. Nevertheless, Grace’s reason for leaving still felt abrupt and slightly unbelievable regarding her character.

911 Lone Star’s Final Fate For Grace Ruins The Character

It Doesn’t Make Sense Why Grace Would Leave Her Family

Although Grace’s wanting to help others in need is entirely believable and understandable in 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, it’s difficult to get past the fact that she would ever leave her husband and two-year-old daughter for an extended period of time to do so. Grace loves Judd and Charlie more than anything, and it doesn’t make sense why she would leave them behind. Plus, Judd is going through a lot right now with Wyatt’s accident and his leaving the 126 behind. Now, Judd has to raise Charlie by himself while dealing with everything else going on in his life.

Ultimately, the writers had little to work with when constructing Grace’s exit without killing her or breaking her and Judd up. There was only so much they could do to satisfy viewers and give Grace a worthy sendoff. Despite this, Grace’s departure still felt sudden and confusing. While one can be grateful that Grace didn’t die or divorce Judd, it’s valid to be upset about the reason behind her departure. Perhaps this was a lose-lose situation, but with 9-1-1: Lone Star ending after season 5, it’s difficult not to be disappointed with Grace’s exit.

Why 911 Lone Star Had To Write Out Grace Before The Finale

Sierra McClain Left The Series Before Season 5

The writers were forced into scripting Grace’s absence because Sierra McClain departed 9-1-1: Lone Star before the season 5 premiere. McClain has not revealed the reason behind her decision to leave. However, reports concerning the cast’s attempts to negotiate their contracts ahead of filming season 5 probably played a factor in McClain’s exit.

With 9-1-1: Lone Star ending after season 5, Grace’s absence is quite disappointing but was inevitable given what was happening behind the scenes.

9-1-1: Lone Star​​​​​​’s cancelation was reportedly due to its expensive budget, which included the salaries of the cast and crew. So, it’s more than likely that pay was behind McClain leaving the show. Unfortunately, that meant that the writers and producers had to scramble to figure out a way to write Grace out of the series weeks before production started on season 5. With 9-1-1: Lone Star ending after season 5, Grace’s absence is quite disappointing but was inevitable given what was happening behind the scenes.

911 Lone Star Finale Can Fix Grace’s Ugly Exit

Sierra McClain Doesn’t Need To Return To Correct Her Character’s Exit

The bad news is that it is confirmed that Sierra McClain will not appear as Grace in the 9-1-1: Lone Star series finale. The audience has officially seen the last of Grace after the season 4 finale. When asked about McClain’s possible return during the last episode, the Fox procedural drama’s co-showrunner Rashad Raisani told Variety:

“Unfortunately, we’ve already shot it. I held out hope until the last minute, I’ll put it that way. I do think that, without seeing her on screen, how satisfying could anything be? But short of that, I’m just immensely proud of where the show goes. I just believe in the way the show ends so deeply that I think people are gonna feel like, wow, it couldn’t have ended in any other way.”

As a result, there is no way for McClain to be a part of her character’s official ending or 9-1-1: Lone Star‘s conclusion. However, just because Grace won’t be in the episode physically doesn’t mean the finale can’t fix her disappointing exit. The show still has time to correct Grace’s uncharacteristic and puzzling departure. Hopefully, the writers do so when the 9-1-1: Lone Star series finale airs (likely either in late 2024 or early 2025).

New episodes of 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 (which will have 12 episodes total) air on Mondays at 8 pm ET on Fox.

Whatever the case, viewers must be left with the knowledge that Grace will return to her family (sooner rather than later). Perhaps the beloved 9-1-1: Lone Star main character arrives back in Texas offscreen during the finale, or she calls Judd and lets her husband know that she is coming home. It doesn’t matter how the writers do so, but they must fix their mistake by eventually returning Grace to Texas and her family. It just wouldn’t feel right if 9-1-1: Lone Star ended without a mention of Grace or without the audience knowing if she would ever come home.

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from the 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 premiere, “Both Sides, Now.” Writing Grace Ryder out of 9-1-1: Lone Star satisfyingly was always going to be tough, but the reasoning behind her departure is still frustrating and fell short of expectations. The Fox procedural drama TV series is sadly coming to…