SPOILERS for 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 10.

This article contains mention of substance abuse and addiction.

Judson “Judd” Ryder's (Jim Parrack) personal issue cannot be solved in time for the 9-1-1: Lone Star’s cancelation looming, the sad reality is that wherever season 5 leaves a character is the last viewers will see of them. After his wife, Grace (Sierra McClain), leaves to work on a Mercy Ship and his daughter moves in with her grandparents, Judd relapses and turns to alcohol to cope with his loneliness.

Throughout 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 10, Judd struggles to come to with his addiction. Owen Strand (Rob Lowe) does his best to help Judd by attending meetings with him and holding him able, but Judd’s alcoholism is only one indicator of his struggles with his faith after Grace’s unceremonious departure. While Judd and Grace are both regarded as favorite characters to 9-1-1 after 9-1-1: Lone Star ends, Judd’s storyline won’t be easily resolved before the finale.

9-1-1: Lone Star Doesn't Have Enough Time To Realistically See Judd Overcoming His Alcoholism

Fixing It Quickly Would Take Away From The Story

With 9-1-1: Lone Star’s final tragedy dramatically approaching, there won’t be much time for the characters to reflect on their lives or interpersonal relationships. Until the asteroid threat has been overcome, there won’t be any space in the final episodes for Judd to take the necessary steps toward regaining his sobriety. As Jim Parrack himself said, “Alcoholism doesn’t develop, nor is it resolved, overnight. [...] That’s not exactly the way alcoholism works.” (via Variety).

9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 9 ("Fall From Grace"), mirrors season 2, episode 9 ("Saving Grace"). Both episodes reveal new aspects of Judd and Grace's relationship.

There was a 4-week time skip between 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 9 and episode 10, but Judd’s sobriety can’t be achieved satisfyingly offscreen— at least not completely. Parrack continues in the Variety interview: “It is still network television. There is still a limit on how gritty things can get.” While 9-1-1: Lone Star can’t show the ins and outs of realistic alcoholism, it would still be doing Judd a grave disservice to have his substance issues magically disappear for the sake of the series finale.

Why It's More Important For 9-1-1: Lone Star To Show Judd's Realistic Arc Than Give Him A Happy Ending

Judd's Experience Could Help Others

As is the case with any work of fiction, 9-1-1: Lone Star reflects real-life issues. Letting the uncomfortable scenes sit before being resolved is the best way to shed light on difficult experiences both in the show’s universe and the real world. Just like Tommy’s (Gina Torres) emotional breast cancer storyline in 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, Judd’s alcoholism deserves to be fully explored. With Judd’s actor JIm Parrack being so forthcoming about his own experience with alcoholism, anything less would cheapen the plot.

There are unresolved storylines that give 9-1-1: Lone Star room to be creative with its endings, but Judd’s sobriety isn’t one of them. Judd hasn’t seen his wife since the 9-1-1: Lone Star season 4 finale, and the toll it took on him was palpable. When a show opts to include such a deeply personal plot, it must take the necessary measures to tell the story that needs to be told. Granted that McClain's exit was somehow poorly executed, especially since there were other ways to explain her absence without totally ruining her character and all her relationships, but glossing over Judd's issues now doesn't resolve that.

Instead, seeing him work towards sobriety would be infinitely more rewarding than Owen "fixing" Judd in the closing scene of 9-1-1: Lone Star’s series finale. That would maintain the integrity of the character's final arc without leaving him in such a desolate place. It would also highlight Judd's spirit, as 9-1-1: Lone Star rightfully tackles the struggles of alcoholism.

Can Judd's Ending Still Be Satisfying Despite His Alcoholism Struggles In 9-1-1: Lone Star

There Are Ways To Bring Closure

Judd being an alcoholic doesn’t mean he can’t have a positive note to end on. To assume Judd’s only happy ending is total sobriety suggests his character can’t find joy in life if he struggles with substance abuse. If 9-1-1: Lone Star shows him working towards sobriety, something as simple as Judd accepting a 30-day chip would be a celebratory ending. 9-1-1: Lone Star’s ending can prove that Judd will live with his sobriety struggles, not despite them.

Judd’s ending will be the same as his beginning: working through his trauma with the love of his life.

Additionally, the 9-1-1: Lone Star finale can fix Grace’s disappointing exit without Sierra McClain having to appear. Judd can use dialogue to show Grace’s presence, like the one-sided phone call heard at the end of “All Who Wander.” Judd’s ending will be the same as his beginning: working through his trauma with the love of his life. Although Judd can absolutely have a feelgood ending in 9-1-1: Lone Star, his alcoholism needs to be handled properly and not abandoned for the sake of a happy ever after.

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Sources: Variety