Sumith Prasad
The third season of FOX’s action series ‘9-1-1: Lone Star’ sees the astounding arrival of Wyatt into the life of Judson “Judd” Ryder. When Wyatt announces that he is the firefighter’s son, the latter initially believes that the former is a conman targeting him. However, it doesn’t take long for Judd to remember Wyatt’s mother Marlene, with whom he shared a night of intimacy when he was just twenty-two years old.
After the enthralling end of the third season of the show, involving Judd and Wyatt, the firefighter’s storyline isn’t given much prominence in the first ten episodes of the fourth season. The eleventh episode of the season depicts another startling development that changes Judd’s life as a father. Naturally, the viewers must be curious to know whether his son has returned to the firefighter’s life. Well, let us provide the answer! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Judd’s Acceptance of Wyatt’s Independence
Wyatt appears in Judd’s life for the first time in the fifth episode of the third season. He meets Judd at Station 126 to let the firefighter know that the latter is his father. Since Judd fears losing his wife Grace and their child Charlie, the firefighter takes some time to finally accept the boy as his son. Judd and Wyatt then start to nurture the bond between them. When his mother Marlene is away, Wyatt stays with his father, who soon becomes his role model. Due to the same reason, it isn’t a surprise that Wyatt wants to become a firefighter.
While attending college, Wyatt meets Leigh Ann and falls in love with her. They start to cherish an appealing union, which leads them to the latter’s pregnancy. Wyatt starts to believe he should be more responsible about supporting the baby, which makes him put an end to his higher studies and join the Austin Fire Department to become a firefighter. Although Judd tries his best to stop his son from becoming a firefighter, he eventually realizes that Wyatt is perfectly capable of making his own decisions. As a father, he starts to help his son achieve his goals and aspirations.
Jackson Pace’s Return to 9-1-1: Lone Star
Yes, Jackson Pace did return to ‘9-1-1: Lone Star.’ Pace’s character re-appear in the eleventh episode of the fourth season as he tells Judd and Grace that they will soon become grandparents. “So I wanted to do a story about somebody trying to enter the fire service, and it made sense that it be Wyatt,” co-creator Tim Minear told EW about the return of the “fantastic” actor as Wyatt. Pace is also expected to feature in some of the rest of the fourth season episodes. “He [Wyatt] is coming back, and he’s off to firefighting school. Just for the last three episodes [of the season], let’s say, he’s back,” Jim Parrack, who plays Judd, clarified to TV Guide.
Wyatt’s revelation of Leigh Ann’s pregnancy and his desire to join the AFD is expected to strengthen the bond between him and Judd. “I wasn’t that interested in cutting to Wyatt going to school or seeing Wyatt trying to break into the tech world, and the idea that he’d want to follow in his dad’s footsteps because he made the same, you could say, ‘mistake’ at a young age and getting a woman pregnant before they were married, I just like the idea of playing Judd having to relitigate his own youth through this son that he just barely met just a year or two ago,” Minear added.
As the season progresses, Wyatt may make Judd proud by becoming a hardworking student at the firefighting school. The firefighter may impart his wisdom to his son to see the latter become a courageous first responder like him in the future.
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