911 has shown us that the team has been fractured ever since the loss of Bobby Nash. 911 season 9 episode 8 was no different, as it not only showed how Hen’s health issues affected her friendship with Chimney, but how there are still hurt feelings festering for many involved.
In some aspects, there were things I liked about the episode. It actually did deal with the aftermath of Chimney firing Hen, who collapsed outside of a burning building in the previous episode. Both of Hen’s colleagues, Eddie and Buck, had different views of what happened. While Eddie was on Chimney’s side in that he was just following the chain of command, Buck felt differently and was on Hen’s side.
It is understandable why Buck would feel this way. He’s no stranger to having his own health issues affect his work. However, Buck never actually put his colleagues in danger by hiding his illness or injuries he may have obtained. The one time he ever got sick in front of them in the 911 season 3 premiere, he was not on the clock. But this is likely why he feels for Hen, who just wanted to do her job despite her current health woes.
Hen and Chimney's feelings are both understandable, but Chimney was in the right
However, Chimney was acting on the fact that what Hen did could have put them in danger, and while he admitted to Hen that he went about things impulsively, he still couldn’t rehire her.
In the midst of the episode, during an emergency involving a war veteran with PTSD, they met a woman named Alex Doyle, a member of the LAPD SMART team, otherwise known as Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Team. She helped Eddie go inside a grocery store where the veteran had an episode and shot a security guard he believed to be a hostile from overseas.
Eddie and Alex worked together to help him out of his predicament, and we later saw Alex again when Athena suggested an intervention to help Hen and Chimney work things out. However, things did not go very well.
Hen doubled down on not wanting to tell them what happened due to losing Bobby. She told them no one ever asked if she was okay or feeling off, but there had been no clue beforehand that she needed help. Hen hid her illness to the point her own wife had to look at their finances to see something was off.
The writing does not seem to reflect what 911 is trying to show regarding Hen's feelings
Not to mention that the team did check on each other, with the exception of Buck. Other than Maddie, no one asked Buck how he was doing. The team knew Buck had a father/son bond with Bobby. Buck was the last of the team to see him alive and had been trying to take care of the team with nothing to show for it.
A scene between Hen and Eddie showed them mocking Buck for his efforts during 911 season 8. And Hen basically ignored that fact, as if no one else’s grief was as important. This is not to say losing Bobby didn't affect her more or less, but it paints a picture that no one else's grief is important, even Bobby's wife, Athena.
Buck didn’t say anything, which was the right move in the moment, however we have to be honest that he does deserve to at least have a meltdown of some sort. In one year, he lost his boyfriend, he lost his pseudo father and captain, his best friend moved away and has been treating him terribly on and off, and now it’s clear that the team is still badly fractured.
The show has a major problem where Buck is constantly being beaten down, despite claiming that everyone loves and respects him. However, how can you love and respect someone when you only focus on the ways they were reckless in the past, or ignore the real impact of what losing Bobby did to him? Even Chimney, using Buck as an example to show he would fire anyone who hid an illness, left a mark.
Chimney may be right about having to make tough choices when they hide things such as an illness, but it does seem as though the show uses Buck as the resident punching bag when he doesn’t need to be. At some point, it grows tiresome to see him treated the way he is and the show needs to decide whether Buck will be able to defend himself or eventually find a place where he can be accepted for the person he has grown to become.
Hen’s illness is eventually discovered, and it turns out she has a condition called dermatomyositis, which is an autoimmune disorder that affects connective tissue. Hen developed the illness after being exposed to ultraviolet radiation in space. The disease is progressive and could eventually affect Hen’s ability to keep working. Even though there’s no cure, we’re sure the show will find a way to make it so Hen comes back to work. Or is the show planning on making more casting changes?
There is nothing confirmed to say Hen will be leaving the 118, but with a new young cast in the form of May and Harry Grant, there’s no telling where the show goes from here. But we would like to see her be more accountable in not talking to anyone, including her own wife.
At least 911 made an effort to show how dangerous AI can be without human element involved
In another storyline in the episode, Maddie dealt with AI being brought into the call center. While everyone else was sort of on board to try it, Maddie wasn’t, especially when she discovered her voice was used for the system. At first, it seemed to work, that is, until the AI, named SARA, took over and almost killed a young man who called for help. Thankfully, Maddie called Chimney, who was close enough to get the team to his aid.
The episode certainly showed how AI can be dangerous on its own, especially when it takes over and locks out all of the human voices in the call center. Maddie eventually convinces the AI to connect itself to a thumb drive, thus preventing it from further writing itself into the call center’s data machines.
If 911 is trying to show how the 118 can come back together after a devastating loss, then they need to work on making this happen. Show Hen and Buck having a talk about their loss. Have Chimney learn that he needs to be a Captain to everyone and not make quips like he used to when his coworkers were on equal footing.
It’s also difficult to figure out if Eddie and Buck’s friendship is still intact, especially with Buck frustrated over Eddie’s constant need to follow the chain of command. Plus, Buck has plenty of reason to defend himself, and he has not been able to. Hopefully, the team coming back together involves everyone since it just feels like one thing after another for all characters involved.
One of the only exciting things that came out of the episode may be Aimee Teegarden, whose role may only be in one episode, but still seemed to leave a mark since she could come back into play due to her role as a LAPD therapist. However, based on the kind of role she was given and how integrated she became with the team, I can see her making a return. Maybe she can help the 118 before a permanent fracture remains.
911 airs Thursdays on ABC at 8/7c. New episodes are available the next day on Hulu.