Ronen Rubinstein. Kevin Estrada/FOX
Sparks were flying between 9-1-1: Lone Star’s Owen Strand and Marlene Harris on the latest episode — and fans aren’t the only ones who noticed.
Ronen Rubinstein, who plays Owen’s son, T.K. Strand, on the Fox series, exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, October 21, that a romance between Owen (Rob Lowe) and Marlene (Robyn Lively) isn’t off the table.
“I’ve been asked that now a couple of times [with fans wondering], like, ‘Was there some chemistry between the two of them at the end of that episode?’” Rubinstein, 30, said, revealing, “It kind of felt like it, right?”
He noted that “we’ll see” more of Owen and Marlene’s story this season but played coy about if it’s strictly platonic. “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask them,” Rubinstein teased.
During Monday’s episode, Owen and the rest of the 126 firefighters rescued a horse after his owner died of a heart attack. The horse was wild, but Owen didn’t want him putdown, so Judd Ryder (Jim Parrack) suggested his horse training ex Marlene, who is the mother of his son Wyatt (Jackson Pace), might be able to help.
“In the interest of things not getting awkward, I hope you all get along,” Judd said while making introductions, but Marlene joked she can’t make any promises.
There appeared to be an instant spark between Marlene and Owen as he described what was wrong with the horse. “He’s complicated. He bites, he bucks, and he genuinely seems to enjoy the sound of people screaming,” Owen explained.
“A horse only pulls that crap because he knows he can get away with it,” Marlene replied, before revealing that “most of my training isn’t on the horses, it’s on the riders.” She proceeded to tell Owen that the only way to “save this animal” is if he fully buys in.
Marlene told him he needs to be open to “subjecting yourself to the most humbling, grueling, quite possibly lethal experience of your life.” She teased, “And no matter what happens there are no refunds,” which only made Owen more intrigued. “Well then, giddy up!” he quipped.
The two exchanged longing glances as the episode ended. While Rubinstein wouldn’t confirm what type of relationship Owen and Marlene will have moving forward, he told Us that there are some Texas-style episodes coming up on Marlene’s ranch.
“Later on in the season, there’s a beautiful scene where all of us get to go there,” he shared, teasing that Lively’s character has “some really, really cool stuff this season” after only being a minor character in past years.
Rubinstein called the ranch shoots “one of my favorite days” because of the “beautiful” location. (The cast filmed in Thousand Oaks, California, despite it being set in Austin.)
When it comes to T.K’s relationship with his father, Owen, Rubinstein told Us that a “giant wrench” is going to come when T.K.’s half-brother, Jonah, and his late mom’s ex-boyfriend Ezra, come to town.
“We’re gonna find out so much more about the true backstory for T.K. and Owen in New York,” he explained. “Because Enzo was actually the one that was raising T.K. when he was a kid, and Owen wasn’t really there.”
Rubinstein noted the next few episodes will “dive deeper into what that actually looked like and what that did to T.K.” He called the story line “powerful” and something that affects his dynamic with Owen. “It’s pretty fascinating,” he shared.
9-1-1: Lone Star returns with a new episode on Fox Monday, November 4, at 8 p.m. ET.
