Warning: SPOILERS ahead for 9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 9!9-1-1: Lone Star season 5, episode 9, it was confirmed that Ranger Bridges (Alan Autry) had killed Carlos' (Rafael Silva) father, despite how suspicious he'd been that Ranger Campbell (Parker Young) had been responsible. The reveal ties up the major loose end from season 4, while also giving the young man a new path forward as the show hurtles toward its final episodes.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, however, Raisani explained how Gabriel's murder in 9-1-1: Lone Star was almost solved in a single episode. However, upon seeing Autry's performance as Bridges, it was changed into a season-long mystery, with him as the culprit. Plans changed once again when Young was cast as Campbell, with the mystery now focused on which of the Rangers could have comitted the murder. Either way, the showrunner says it was important for it to emotionally impact Carlos, because one of his brothers-in-arms was the killer. Check out what Raisani had to say below:

It goes back to when we first started to think about killing Carlos’ dad," Raisani says. We thought, 'Well, it was just somebody he was messing with and is now headed to trial, or someone he’d arrested.' And then we cast [Alan Autry as Gabriel's boss, Ranger Bridges]. At the time, it was just supposed to be for one episode, but we were immediately taken by his performance and what a great actor he was. It started to float in our minds that maybe he’s a bad guy. Or maybe he’s not the bad guy — maybe we just want people to think he’s the bad guy. Regardless, we knew immediately we wanted to invest more in this character.

We kept the door open for which one of [the two of them] it could be, because we figured as long as we could keep ourselves uncertain, that would mean the audience was uncertain. If we didn’t know, then they couldn’t know.

[T]hey are a father and a brother figure to Carlos — the two people he trusts the most. We knew it would be the most pain for him to deal with.

I think you have to be a little older and a little wiser to beat Carlos, and I think Campbell was a little more of a peer to Carlos. So it was harder for me to believe that Campbell would be able to orchestrate it all. And this person had to be able to outsmart Gabriel as well, so I think that was another reason we decided to go with Bridges being the villain. He was the only one formidable enough to hold both of these Reyes men as long as he did.

What Raisani's Reveal Says About Gabriel's Murder In 9-1-1: Lone Star

Even The Writers Were Left In The Dark

Raisani's statement reveals that, even though Bridges was added to the 9-1-1: Lone Star cast to be Gabriel's murderer, even the writers were in the dark about who the killer would really be. Having it be Carlos' father's boss emphasizes the corruption inside the Rangers, with one of their own able to get away with killing another. But, there was also a genuine possibility Campbell was guilty, something that would have altered the dynamic of the show in a different way.

However, the choice made wound up being what was originally planned after Autry's casting, which will heavily impact Carlos' state of mind going into the final episodes. However, it also resolves a loose end in his life that was causing strain between him and TK (Ronen Rubinstein), potentially getting their relationship back on track. Although he may now have distrust for the Rangers and how they operate after Bridges' arrest, this resolution could be what he needs to push himself toward being there for the family still in his life.

Our Take On How Gabriel's Murder Was Handled In 9-1-1: Lone Star

The Resolution Will Echo Into The Final Episodes

Bridges being the killer both resolves Carlos' storyline this season, and opens a new can of worms within the Rangers. While this could mean he'll finally start focusing on repairing his relationship with TK, the resolution will echo into the final episodes, as he wrestles with how his father died. Since 9-1-1: Lone Star is ending with season 5, there's just a few episodes left for the aftermath of the mystery to bring his story to a fitting conclusion.

9-1-1: Lone Star season 5 returns with the show's final episodes on January 20, 2024.

Source: EW