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'9-1-1: Lone Star's Paul Has Tear-Jerking, Rollercoaster Episode

paul strickland

We love you Paul!

This article contains spoilers for last night's episode of 9-1-1: Lone Star

It was a rollercoaster of emotions for Paul fans on last night's 9-1-1: Lone Star.

We've always loved Brian Michael Smith (and we thought he was sexy long before People ever did), and so when we started watching Fox's first responder drama 9-1-1: Lone Star, his tough Chicago firefighter Paul Strickland immediately became one of our favorite characters. Unfortunately, that means that last night's episode was quite the tearjerker.

The episode showed us that Paul has been suffering from nightmares and a racing heartbeat. His BFF Marjan (played by the beautiful Natacha Karam) is worried about him, so she takes him to the hospital where he reveals his father died of a heart attack in his thirties.

That's when the doctor reveals that Paul has a rare life-threatening condition called Brugada syndrome that will leave him dead by 40 unless he gets a pacemaker inserted. But for Paul, getting a pacemaker means he won't be able to be a firefighter, and not being able to be a firefighter is worse than death, so he decides he doesn't want the procedure.

Sadly, that decision is taken away from him when he collapsed at his house after making dinner. Luckily, his "ride or die" Marjan was coming over to check in on him, and found him, taking him to the hospital in time to save his life. Unfortunately, this causes another problem.

The episode was especially tough for any Paul/Marjan shippers out there. The two characters have become tight best friends, and a lot of viewers are hoping that some romance will spark between them. It would be amazing to see a show as big as 9-1-1: Lone Star featuring a romance between a Black trans man and a Muslim woman.

Trans men definitely need some positive representation when it comes to showing them in happy relationships, and many fans are hoping that these two characters will get together and give us the sweet trans romance of our dreams.

Unfortunately, after Marjan broke down Paul's door to save his life, she was the one to take him to the hospital, so he blames her for letting the doctors perform the lifesaving operation on him, inserting a pacemaker into his heart.

The episode ended with Paul yelling at Marjan to get out of his hospital room, breaking all of our hearts. She was just trying to help you and save your life, Paul! Let Marjan love you!

We'll have to wait for next week's episode to find out if he'll forgive her, and if she'll forgive him. Until then, we'll be waiting with our fingers crossed.

9-1-1: Lone Star airs on Fox Monday nights at 8/7 Central.

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Mey Rude

Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.

Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.