T.K. Strand and husband Carlos Reyes have been through the ringer on 9-1-1: Lone Star — and the hits keep on coming!
Ronen Rubinstein, who plays paramedic T.K., exclusively told Us Weekly that episode 7, which airs on Monday, November 11, will bring another curveball for the couple. “It’s the arrival of Enzo and Jonah and [we’ll see] what that’s gonna do to T.K. and Carlos,” he said, referring to T.K.’s stepdad, Enzo, and half-brother, Jonah, coming to Austin.
“Just when you think it’s gonna be smooth and they had this amazing moment on their anniversary, they’re gonna throw another wrench in their relationship,” Rubinstein, 30, teased.
During the October 21 episode of the Fox show, T.K. and Carlos (Rafael L. Silva) went to couples counseling to work through some issues. At the end of the episode, they celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary.
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Carlos gifted T.K. an empty box, which he said he will use to put away his Texas Rangers work files when he comes home. T.K. was touched by the gesture, since Carlos’ search for his father’s killer — and other cases — has pushed into their time as husbands.
“Honestly at this point, I think these two can handle,” Rubinstein told Us of what’s next for the beloved TV couple dubbed Tarlos. “Their dedication to each other is otherworldly. They are such couple goals. It’s unreal.”
While Rubinstein hinted that T.K. and Carlos will have to shake up their lives when Enzo and Jonah surprise him for his 30th birthday, the actor said T.K. and his father, Owen Strand (Rob Lowe), will have more issues to work out during the visit.
“I think Enzo coming in is gonna throw a giant, giant wrench in that relationship,” Rubinstein teased. “We’re gonna find out so much more about the true backstory for T.K. and Owen in New York. Because Enzo was actually the one that was raising T.K. when he was a kid, and Owen wasn’t really there.”
9-1-1: Lone Star began with Owen moving from the Big Apple to Austin with his son, T.K., to start fresh after the tragic events of 9/11. The father-son pair started out at Firehouse 126 together in Texas before T.K. became a paramedic in the same firehouse.
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During the series, fans met Owen’s ex-wife, and T.K.’s mother, Gwen Morgan (Lisa Edelstein), who later died. The writers also revealed that during his childhood, Gwen started dating a man named Enzo, who she dated again years later, and welcomed a second son, Jonah.
Viewers have yet to meet either character in person — but that will change next episode.
“We’re finally gonna dive deeper into what that actually looked like and what that did to T.K., which he hasn’t revealed yet,” Rubinstein told Us of Enzo’s story line, calling it “powerful stuff” that T.K. and Owen will have to deal with.
The actor hinted that the father-son dynamic will cause a “love triangle between Enzo, T.K. and Owen” as they try to navigate how they all fit together after Gwen’s death.
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“Enzo is very special to me because ever since season 1, I was always daydreaming, ‘Who could this Enzo be and who are we gonna get to play him?’” Rubinstein said. “And what that dynamic is gonna look like. And I think they did it absolutely beautiful. It’s pretty fascinating.”
Rubinstein called this fifth and final season of the show the “best season yet,” promising a “happily ever after” when it comes to a close. (News broke in September that season 5 will be the last for 9-1-1: Lone Star.)
“[I] was surprised so many times these last five seasons. I feel like T.K. has had the craziest storylines and I’ve got to do some of the craziest stuff on the show,” he told Us. “They went above and beyond my wildest expectations, especially this season.”
Rubinstein explained that the writers “knocked that out of the park” with T.K.’s stories with Enzo and Jonah as well.
9-1-1: Lone Star airs on FOX Mondays 8 p.m. ET.
