The third episode of 911 season 9 found the 118 rescuing a victim in a subway explosion as Athena and Hen continued trying to survive their time in space. How did the different dynamics in this episode allow us to see possible future arcs for some of the characters?
When we last left off with Hen and Athena up in space, they were in the middle of trying to survive a fire that started in the vents. The only solution they could come up with was to starve the vents of oxygen.
Athena went up to release the hatch, but this caused her to almost be caught in space. Luckily Hen caught her, but they needed to stay strapped to their seats in space suits to avoid losing oxygen.
Maddie and Karen were able to get back in touch with Hen once Maddie thought to call another dispatch center. She was put in touch with 911: Nashville’s Cammie Raleigh (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), who helped them continue contact.
The 118 makes a difficult choice as May and Harry have their own experience with helping victims on 911
The only way they could think to get the crew docked somewhere was on the International Space Station. Unfortunately, Tripp’s capsule was not designed to be docked there, leaving them with needing to find another way to get onboard.
They were able to make a way for the former Apollo 18 astronaut to guide them to the station, where they discovered one astronaut dead and another unconscious due to injury. Even though they made it to safety, they were still in danger as the debris field around them was causing the Station to be hit multiple times.
Just when we thought they would make it home in time, there’s still another episode to go before Hen and Athena make it back safely to Earth.
While they were going through all of this, down in Los Angeles, the 118 was busy helping a woman named Lori, who became stuck in the subway after an explosion separated her from her husband. They had just been in an argument beforehand and now she was trapped underneath a beam.
The team was unable to lift the beam off her leg, and Eddie eventually realized the only possibility was to amputate. Chimney was torn, trying to think of other options Bobby would take, but there was no other recourse.
Her husband was stunned to hear he needed to provide consent, but didn’t know how Lori would take it once she was awake. Chimney told him that at least she would be alive.
Earlier when he was freaking out, he had been sent back to the engine with Harry. Despite a rough meeting, Harry assured him that the 118 was the best and would do what they could. Chimney also decided that instead of leaving Eddie with the burden of doing the amputation, he would take on the task himself.
Chimney has made it clear in these episodes that he is ready to not be Interim Captain anymore, quipping that this decision may end up choosing for him what happens next. With having made a tough decision to amputate to save the woman’s life, this could have ramifications for Chimney in future episodes.
911 season 9 is shaping up to show how the characters move forward in their new realities.
Will this lead to a possible return appearance of Lori, blaming him for the decision? Or will this show Chimney that he is capable of leading the team and making the tough decisions like Bobby once had to do?
This episode also showed May, Mara, and Denny helping a woman who had come in for help after hurting her head. May was able to stop the bleeding while Mara kept her connected to Maddie on the phone.
As this was happening, someone else came in for help, thanks to the patient they were helping. This action led Maddie to have the idea of using empty firehouses around the city as bases for people with minor injuries who needed care while the hospitals were overrun and resources were limited.
All in all, even though the opening emergency is not quite over yet, these episodes have been doing a great job of making sure all of the characters were used in various ways that allowed them to shine. We got to see Harry and May use knowledge they obtained in previous emergencies to help victims in need.
Mara and Denny, while young, were also shown to be incredibly helpful even in tough situations. We could also see a world where either they or even May and Harry could use these experiences to become first responders themselves.
Since losing Bobby, it was always a question of how things would continue in the 911 universe without him. While it is still difficult not seeing him, we love seeing how the different characters have been utilized and used effectively thus far.
We’re looking forward to the next episode to see how Hen and Athena make it home safely.
911 airs Thursdays on ABC at 8/7c. New episodes are available on Hulu.
Follow Precinct TV for more updates on 911.