The crew answers to emergencies during the pandemic, while an old friend of Judd becomes the new paramedic chief and Owen gets cozy with his ex-wife.
Tropes featured in the episode:
- Awesome by Analysis: Paul figures out where the sniper is from by looking at the open windows, noticing there's only one next to an air conditioner.
- Back in the Saddle: The theme of the episode. Tommy comes out of retirement, proving herself as a capable paramedic. At the roller derby, Julie is coming back from a torn ACL and has the trope name said to her by her team mate, Tonya.
- Coitus Interruptus: Tommy and Charles are about to have sex after she gets off work, only for Judd and Grace to show up at the door.
- Conspiracy Theorist: A sniper tries to kill a phone line worker while he's on a cell tower under the belief that 5G towers cause COVID-19.
- Dramatic Dislocation: Tonya's arm is dislocated in the pileup and has no pulse, meaning it could become necrotic. Tommy pops it back into place, restoring blood flow and saving her arm.
- Gratuitous Japanese: Before she’s interrupted by Owen’s discontent, Gwyn can be heard speaking in Japanese to some business clients in Osaka via a video conference meeting.
- "Hey, You!" Haymaker: Part of Judd’s plan to distract the sniper is to soak her with the hose while Paul, Marjan and Mateo run up to her apartment room and subdue her.
- Judd: Hey!TK: Suck it! (sprays at the scope)
- I Choose to Stay: Gwyn plans to head back to New York after she learns that Owen is now cancer-free, but Owen convinces her to prolong her stay at the house, at least for now.
- I'm Standing Right Here: TK’s usual reaction to the below-mentioned drama between Owen and Gwyn. He also chimes in about how much he knows about his parents considering a do-over in living together:
- TK: [I know] more than any son should. The walls here are not that thick. (smugly exits the kitchen)
- The Masochism Tango: Owen and Gwyneth regularly go from shouting matches to marathon sex, especially during the coronavirus lockdown.
- Carlos: I don’t know, I’ve seen them [Owen and Gwyn] fight before. I think they really like the sparring.TK: Oh, there’s no sparring. Nobody’s wearing gloves.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Owen tells Lt. Vasquez he feels the same way about how the country has forgotten the sacrifices of first responders of 9/11, like how Vasquez feels the government has forgotten his daughter.
- Put on a Bus:
- Michelle left in-between seasons, she stepped down from her position to focus all of her time and energy on helping mentally ill people living on the street after finding her sister.
- Zoe seems to be gone as well, with no real mention.
- Romantic Ribbing: Carlos and TK have a brief moment of this as the crossbolt sniper is being taken into custody.
- Carlos: You know, if you get yourself shot again you’ll never make it out of the doghouse.TK: Well then maybe don’t make us do your job next time.Carlos: (scoffs) Firefighters. You really are a smug bunch.TK: (smugly flirtatious) You love it.
- Remember the New Guy?: Tommy Vega is introduced as Michelle's replacement. She is stated to be an old friend of Judd's, and the one who introduced him to Grace.
- Sex with the Ex: Owen and Gwyneth, his ex-wife and TK's mother, seem to be doing this a lot since she came down to Texas to check on TK.
- Sherlock Scan: Paul recognizes the sniper's bolts are coming from a unit where the window is the only one open next to a running air conditioner.
- Shout-Out:
- As the crossbolt sniper is being arrested by APD, Paul calls her “Lady Legolas”.
- Owen and Gwyn’s sex scene harkens back to Sam accidentally sleeping with Laurie.
- Tank Goodness: In the opening, an M1 Abrams tank is stolen from the Texas Military Forces Museum by Lt. John Vasquez, an Operation Desert Storm veteran whose daughter Sophia, a veteran of the Afghanistan/Iraq War, was denied care by the VA.
- We Need a Distraction: After hearing that APD will be at least two minutes coming to the cell tower, TK grabs an axe and prepares to go to the tower with the others behind him until Judd suggests an alternative plan: get the sniper’s attention, then hold them down till APD can take them in. It works.
- Owen’s confrontation with Lt. Vasquez buys the 126 and APD extra time to evacuate the VA’s staff and patients.
- Wham Shot: The episode ends on molten lava oozing towards a food truck with the owner trapped inside.
