911: Lone Star’s unhinged finale left fans wrecked. The final episode took fans by storm airing on February 3rd, 2025. Actress Gina Torres (Alias, Hannibal) who played Tommy Vega, personally connected with the 911 audience. Fans can attest that Torres’s character had been through a lot. From the loss of her husband, Charles Vega played by Derek Webster (Mayor of Kingstown, The Whispers), to having to continue to raise two daughters and a breast cancer diagnosis. Torres was quite versatile when it came to her character. In a Hollywood Reporter article, Torres shared what it’s like to be an actress playing a character with such depth.

In a Hollywood Reporter article, she shared what it’s like to be an actress playing a character with such depth. Fans find Torres admirable when watching her character move through the death of her husband and having to be a mother before a widow. Torres tells us what it’s like to take on that role. 

“She’s an incredible example of what women can accomplish and the space they can take up in the world,” Torres told The Hollywood Reporter. “So often you’re told, ‘You don’t get to have it all. You can’t have it all. There are always sacrifices to be made,’ and that’s true of anybody. It’s not just being a woman. It always, of course, feels like the brunt of it is falling squarely on our shoulders, because there’s the mother piece, there’s the partnering piece, there’s the work piece. And to try to keep all of that in balance, the answer is … you just can’t keep it all in balance.”

After the grief process, Torres faced another challenge with her character amid a breast cancer diagnosis. She ultimately lost her battle in the season finale of 911: Lone Star.  Torres then tells us what it’s like to pay respect to such a heavy topic.

“If anyone has ever witnessed somebody who is very, very ill who is transitioning, there’s a very specific thing that happens. There’s fight, fear, and then a surrender and peace to the inevitability of it, and you sort of see the fear leave them and a kind of acceptance take over. I wanted to honor all of that,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.  

However, her death was not in vain. Fans rave about the ending of her character. In the season finale, Vega uses the very last of her energy to be a first responder one last time. As an asteroid barreled toward her city, she made it her last mission to get everyone to safety. In a tearful goodbye, Vega reaches the final stage of life, her husband welcomes her into the light, and fans get the reunion they’ve been waiting for. Torres shared her excitement about Webster’s return. 

“As an actor, I loved playing with Derek again. That was awesome. I love the characters and the relationship that we established inside of that world, so it was great to be that couple onscreen again, as weird and as charged as it was. But even more so for Tommy, or separate from Tommy, what a treat for the audience to come full circle in that way,” Torres said according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Stream the 911: Lone Star series finale on Hulu.