9-1-1: Lone Star: Natacha Karam Explains That Wild Twist And What It Taught Us About Marjan

9-1-1: Lone Star: Natacha Karam Explains That Wild Twist And What It Taught Us About Marjan

Spoiler alert! This story contains major spoilers for 9-1-1: Lone Star’s Season 4 episode “Road Kill,” which aired March 21. Proceed with caution if you’re not caught up!

9-1-1: Lone Star sure took us on a ride in the latest episode, “Road Kill,” as Marjan was pitted against Grant, the abuser she’d helped vlogger Kiley escape from in the previous episode. Our hero from the 126 teamed up with Mouse, a 10-year-old who was supposedly in another vehicle involved in the wreck that occurred when Grant ran Marjan’s rental car off the road. Mouse gave a badly injured Marjan the strength to keep fighting, as they engaged in a game of cat and mouse with Grant that all led up to a wild plot twist that revealed Mouse was a figment of Marjan’s imagination.

Not only was Mouse (Samsara Leela Yett) not real, she was actually a manifestation of 10-year-old Marjan, who we learned had been the one involved in a fatal car accident that killed her friend and his parents. Natacha Karam spoke to TV Line about that devastating reveal, and how she reacted when she first learned about the big episode. The actress said: 

When I read the script the first time, I didn’t know. I was just kind of like, ‘Where did this kid appear from? I don’t understand.’ Then I got to the end and was like, ‘Oh!’ I definitely had to go back and read it again, now knowing that we’ve actually learned a lot about Marjan, because everything that comes out of Mouse’s mouth is actually information about Marjan.

“Road Kill” was kind of Marjan’s origin story; we just didn’t realize it until the end. All the things we learned about Mouse — like how she didn’t like to celebrate her own victories because she didn’t want to hurt others’ feelings or how her parents worked a lot — were actually things the firefighter had dealt with as a kid. Most importantly, it was likely that wreck and the death of her friend that set her on the path to becoming a firefighter. Natacha Karam continued: 

Living through something like that is one of the reasons for her profound faith. Her mom says to her at the end, ’When Allah is with you, you’re never alone.’ We really learned a lot more about why Marjan is the woman that she is. And you’re right, this is one of the incidents that set her on the path to being like, ‘I couldn’t help once, but I can help now.’ I love how much little stuff they sprinkled in there.

So after an eventful few weeks, Marjan is headed back to the 126, though after the events of “Road Kill,” it looks like the firefighter will be sidelined for a little while as she overcomes her injuries. At least Paul (Brian Michael Smith) will have his buddy back, as he continues to navigate a new relationship. 

9-1-1: Lone Star will return to Fox at 8 p.m. ET next Tuesday, March 28. In the meantime, you can catch up on any episode you’ve missed by streaming the series with a Hulu subscription, and stay up to date with all of the upcoming premieres with our 2023 TV schedule