9-1-1: Lone Star's TK Strand (Ronen Rubinstein) and Carlos Reyes (Rafael Silva) are married… after a heartbreaking two-part season four finale that saw Carlos' father Gabriel Reyes (Benito Martinez) murdered in cold blood.
The shocking scenes came after Carlos and Gabriel had patched up an earlier fight over why Carlos was refusing to join his father as a Texas Ranger; Carlos' concerns came from the organization's long standing violence against minorities, including Latino men like the Reyes'. Carlos, after some advice and a surprising revelation from his mother, mended the relationship and asked his father to be his best man but when Gabriel later answered the door, he was shot directly in the chest by a masked assailant.
© FoxIn episode 18, TK and Carlos decided to postpone their wedding as the Reyes' family worked through their grief, and Carlos discovered his father had been keeping a 20-year secret. But with a little help from TK's father Captain Owen Strand (Rob Lowe), Carlos was able to lean on those around him and the pair finally walked down the aisle — with a few surprise guests.
"It's a blessing to be given these storylines," Rafael tells HELLO!, "because it's not every day that you get a story like this with juicy scenes where you have to focus and step up."
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© FoxAs for how this will affect Tarlos and season five? We may never see the Carlos we know and love again, but that may be for the best, the 28-year-old adds.
"Carlos has changed. That's just plain and simple. I think Carlos is going to need to obliterate the image he had of his own father and search for the truth of who Gabriel actually was."
Speaking to HELLO!, Ronen and Rafael share details from filming the moment that the cast, crew and fans had been waiting for, working together on difficult scenes, and the surprise return of Lisa Edelstein as TK's mom Gwyn.
© Margot JudgeDid you have any input into these beautiful wedding vows?
Rafael: No, that comes from the brilliance of our writers, and it's important to honor what's written. We're so very thankful for the writers, and if they're staying up late rewriting the scripts, you can't just walk in and do your thing because that's really unfair and not collaborative.
At the same time, we don't shy away from adding personal anecdotes if we want to, but I think the vows were beautiful in themselves, and they showcased the characters really simply.
They didn't have to be extravagant — the wedding can be extravagant and beautiful, but I think the words need to be simple and to the point because at the end of the day it's a coming together.
© Margot JudgeWas there anything that you specifically asked for in the wedding scene, from the outfits or staging?
Rafael: We definitely had fittings and wanted to look our best. But we were also trying to honor the moment, and at that moment, what kind of holds everyone hostage, is what's going on inside of Carlos and what this means to him and what this means to TK.
TK and Carlos have both lost the closest people in their lives, Carlos' father and TK's mother, and when we were shooting that wedding scene I was standing at the precipice, and I think that is the beautiful thing in that moment.
Ronen: We have such a beautiful cast who are talented people, and we are all truly friends, so at that moment it actually felt very much like a wedding with our friends.
© Margot JudgeWere there any moments during the wedding that weren’t scripted?
Rafael: Lyndsy Fonseca was trying [expletive] every single take [as Iris]! She tried it as if the ring wouldn't come off her finger, and I'm so happy they kept one of those takes.
She came up to me and said, "I was really worried I was going to take away from the moment," and I looked at her and said, "Do you understand what a gift it is that you bring?" She's quite brilliant and she is funny and fast, and it's such a beautiful moment to have her to be the best woman.
© Margot JudgeRonen: If you think about it, there is actually a lot of sadness at this wedding and a lot of loss, and there's a beautiful teetering that Tim Minerar and Rashad Rashani [executive producers] are always able to make the audience feel; the tremendous joy of the wedding, and then on the other side, we just lost Carlos's father and we see the ghost of TK's mother, and we see a dead man walking in TK's uncle Robert who has Huntington's, and Robert's brother Owen knows he will soon pass, and to have all those layers is just brilliant writing.
What was that like having Lisa Edelstein as TK's mom back on set?
Ronen: It was kind of sad. For me personally — maybe because of the relationship I have with my mom, one where I've really been able to lean on her the most — the loss of Gwen for TK really broke me as an actor. I remember just being so sad that we were killing her off, and I think I've always been sort of holding on to that near and dear to my heart.
It's a very sensitive storyline for me and seeing her back there was really special. We gave her a huge hug and I just said, "I've missed you so much," and thanked her because I still remember shooting with her as if it was yesterday.
© FoxWhat is it like working with each other when you have these really difficult scenes, like working through Carlos' grief?
Rafael: I think we respect each other because it's a collaboration at the end of the day, you have to respect what each other brings in and how they work. If it's space they need, then we give each other space and it's unspoken like we immediately know.
Ronen: As an actor, you figure out what works for you and now, whether it's Carlos going through it or TK going through it, it's been an amazing environment where, even when all the chaos is going on around us, and there's noise everywhere, between me and him we are able to stay in it.
© Margot JudgeThere is a wonderful moment where Owen tells Carlos, "I'm here for you." What has it been like building that relationship with Rob Lowe?
Rafael: I have a really lucky schedule because I'm a police officer on the show, so when I do go in, I have a purpose, whether it's with TK or PD so I haven't been able to get much time with Rob, but whenever we are together we always chat about everything, about life, and the fun thing about getting to work with Rob is that you just learn just by being next to him.
This a man who's been in the industry for such a long time, an icon in the industry, so what one can only hope to do is just to watch and observe and learn from the unspoken.
© FoxWhat would you like to see for season five?
Rafael: Carlos has changed. That's just plain and simple. It wasn't an accident, his father was murdered and he was a Major in the Texas Ranger Department. The police department has also lost someone who, Carlos discovers, has worked so hard for things that Carlos also believes in.
Carlos is going to need to obliterate the image he had of his own father and search for the truth of who Gabriel actually was.
© Margot JudgeI don't think Carlos is going to stay still. I think there is a very subtle lining to everything that he's going to do that is him saying, "I'm gonna get the [expletive] who did this and I'm not going to stop until I find him and I seek justice," because it's not just Carlos seeking justice for his father, but also seeking justice for the sides of his father that Carlos had chosen not to get to know, a father that he thought was distasteful, and unreliable.
I'm excited to explore how that change affects his relationship with TK, and his job - will he even remain with Austin PD?
Carlos has a gift to observe, and has an attention to detail that I don't think many people do; it's his nature. But I also think [this gift came because] he is queer in a setting in which many are often not accepted, wher you're always on guard and attentive to threat, which is true in real life for the queer community .
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