(Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 5 premiere “Both Sides, Now.”

Judd (Jim Parrack) may just be aimless – and Grace (since Sierra McClain isn’t returning) – as the final season of 9-1-1: Lone Star begins, but things get even worse for him.

Grace is about to “do the Lord’s work,” as Judd puts it in the season five premiere. We learn that Grace couldn’t forget the photos hung by the church of young children from an orphanage that the world has forgotten. When Judd last spoke to her, she was en route to the Solomon Islands with the Mercy Ships group (which provides medical care to those in need). Meanwhile, Judd tries to figure out what’s next for him, having retired to care for his son after his accident. Wyatt (Jackson Pace) now works as a dispatcher. “He’s at sea, literally lost,” Parrack tells TV Insider in our first part 9-1-1: Lone Star after show, First answer. Watch the full video interview above.

Judd is not doing well without Grace, he confirms. “As the season progresses, you notice some of the, I would say, darker coping mechanisms emerge a little bit.” The seeds of that are being planted for now. “We wanted there to be signs that something was wrong, that there was just kind of a dead zone between Grace leaving and her not being a firefighter (for) a guy who’s usually very driven and very aware of where “It’s what it’s all about,” he explains.

Owen (Rob Lowe) visits Judd about the open lieutenant position in the premiere – to get his opinion on the two people looking to fill the position: Paul (Brian Michael Smith) and Marjan (Natacha Karam). Judd hadn’t wanted to exploit his friendship with Owen to try to get out of retirement, but he would have said straight away that he would come back if the captain had asked him to.

“One of the things from Season 1 that we talked about was that Judd is a big, tough firefighter but has a pretty low opinion of himself. “He doesn’t have a lot of self-esteem, he doesn’t take himself into account, he doesn’t take much care of himself, he’s kind of inconsiderate and careless,” notes Parrack. “And once he steps back and looks at who is at 126, it’s the people he admires – and I think there’s probably a little bit of hurt pride there – (and) he’s not going to reverse course.”

So what will it take for that to change? “He probably needs to be convinced of his own value at 126. He would probably have to realize that he has something to offer there and that maybe they need him and that maybe he can help protect the people there,” Parrack said. “But beyond that, Judd will try other things.”

Watch the full aftershow video above, where Parrack discusses Judd’s drinking and who will help him. when we see him again in the midst of an emergency; if we have to worry about his and Grace’s relationship; how the series ends and how he found out this is the final season; and much more.

9-1-1: Lone StarMondays, 8/7c, Fox