911: Lone Star season 5, episode 6 recap and review: "Naked Truth"

Brianna Baker finally got some decent amount of screentime in 911: Lone Star season 5, episode 6. It brought up an important topic, while sharing some of her backstory.

Caution: This post contains SPOILERS for 911: Lone Star season 5, episode 6.

This episode started off with something light. Paul and Mateo were arguing over who had the better chicken dish, leading to Nancy accidentally sending a nude pic to the group chat. The two got to work on stopping others from seeing the pic, but Tommy saw it and pulled Nancy into her office.

This wasn’t a disciplinary, though. Tommy knows that these things can happen, and Nancy and Mateo both felt terrible and embarrassed. Instead, it was to talk about a lump that Tommy saw.

Nancy faces a breast cancer scare in 911: Lone Star season 5, episode 6

Throughout the episode, we got to learn more about Nancy. We knew that she lost her mom when she was young, and it turns out that there is a family history of breast cancer. Both her mom and grandmother died of it, along with an aunt. But everyone died in their 50s. She didn’t think she would have to worry for another 15 years.

What I love about this is that we get to see how important asking for support is. Nancy wants to be strong and independent. That’s the way she always has been, but it takes a call with a man who has a vending machine falling on top of him for her to realize that it’s okay to ask for support. That man just wanted Nancy to hold his hand in the face of death, and Nancy realized that’s what she needed.

Fortunately, Mateo had already figured it out a little. He called Tommy with the details of Nancy’s mammogram appointment so Tommy could be there to support her. Tommy even got her own mammogram at the same time.

Nancy wasn’t angry with Mateo for this. She was grateful because it meant that someone was there for her. And at the end, even though she got good news (it’s just a cyst), she saw just what Mateo was willing to do to support her. If Nancy had to go through chemo and lose her hair, he would shave his off, too. It’s the romantic and cute gesture that Nancy needed. These two are just so darn adorable.

Tommy ends up with the bad news

The episode does highlight the importance of mammograms. Tommy hasn’t even noticed anything wrong with her breasts, so she wasn’t getting a mammogram because she felt like she needed one. It was in support of Nancy.

However, the mammogram comes up with something. Tommy shares with Nancy at the end of the episode that “it’s bad.”

This is going to be a big storyline for Gina Torres coming up. There are going to be so many fears running through her right now, with the biggest one of her daughters being left with neither parent. It turns out that this was a story pitch by Sierra McClain, knowing that Torres would be able to deliver everything needed for this.

Owen faces his past in 911: Lone Star

Meanwhile, Owen finally goes to a dark place to gain Thunder’s trust. After sleepwalking, Owen realizes that he needs to face his decision in helping his brother die. Owen was just fulfilling a promise to his brother, but there’s a world of guilt in there, and Marlene says that Thunder can sense it.

While admitting everything to Thunder, Owen starts to get woozy and collapses. Both Thunder and the dog talk to him, making it clear that he should know what’s wrong. It’s a little too late, though. There’s a gas leak in the barn, but there’s already a fire that’s started. Owen is able to rush in and get most of the horses out, but Thunder puts up a bit of a fight.

Owen refuses to leave Thunder. He needs karmic balance, which does seem a little odd because with all the lives Owen does save—including the boy trapped in the train during the chlorine gas incident—you would think there is karmic balance there. But Owen needs to believe that he’s done everything he can to save a life, and that is Thunder’s life.

In the end, Thunder learns to trust Owen. There’s hope for this horse yet, but Marlene points out that Thunder can’t stay on the ranch without the barn. That’s okay; Owen has that sorted out. The 126 come in to help rebuild the barn. There’s no need to wait for the insurance payout.

Is this the end of Owen’s darker storyline? It’s hard to tell, but I’m more focused on Tommy now. It’s time for Gina Torres to show us everything that she can deliver.

911: Lone Star airs Mondays at 8/7c on FOX. Catch up the following day on Hulu.

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