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Jennie Richardson is a TV Features and Lists Writer for Collider, and a graduate student pursuing an MFA in Fiction Writing. In other words, she really loves stories.
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Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for 9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 7.The first half of 9-1-1 Season 9 ended with a mid-season finale where Hen (Aisha Hinds) learned that she was suffering from a mysterious medical issue, and the mid-season premiere picks up three months later. Hen is still having the same symptoms, but she has no idea what's wrong. Oddly, even though Hen was once a med student, she's decided to get treatments from a glorified spa instead of seeing a doctor, and she's hiding this issue from everyone in her life. This feels out of character for Hen, but it's understandable that, as a first responder, is afraid that certain diagnoses could cost her her career.
The mid-season premiere, titled "Secrets," explores the theme of secrets in a variety of ways. The 118 tends to three calls where secrets cause people harm and even almost cost them their lives. Hen's secret builds up over the course of the episode as she tries to work up the courage to tell Chimney (Kenneth Choi). Buck's (Oliver Stark) storyline is much more comedic, but it has some compelling undertones that could have major implications for 9-1-1's future. All in all, if you can ignore Hen's truly bizarre choices in this episode, "Secrets" is a fun and entertaining installment that seems to promise a stronger second half of 9-1-1 Season 9.
'9-1-1' Season 9, Episode 7 Continues to Set Up Hen's Secret Medical Issue
Image via ABCThe episode opens with Hen attending one of her regular secret treatments, although she reveals that she's just trying random things because she still doesn't know what's wrong. She hasn't even told Karen (Tracie Thoms), who later confronts her about the strange medical bills and bottles of pills around the house. Karen urges Hen to go to a hospital, and to tell Chimney so that he can be aware as her captain. Athena (Angela Bassett) gives Hen some of the same advice when she tells her, and Hen tries to tell Chimney the next time she's at work, but she just can't bring herself to do it.
This storyline is still early in its development, but I don't understand the purpose yet at all. I originally thought that this was building up to a near-death experience for Hen, but it's odd that she still doesn't know her diagnosis, and I have to think 9-1-1 is planning something else. Hen's story about getting regular treatments without knowing what's wrong really resonated with my own experience with chronic illness, and I would love to see 9-1-1 give her a storyline about coming to terms with having a chronic illness. This is what makes the most sense, based on the fact that she was able to avoid real treatment and keep it hidden for three months, and it would give 9-1-1 the opportunity to explore the struggle of a first responder having to manage a health issue on the job in a way that feels intentional and authentic – similarly to how Will Trent has always treated Faith's (Iantha Richardson) diabetes.
As of right now, though, I still don't get the purpose of this storyline. Hen's secret gets her in trouble on a dangerous call when she's the last one in a burning building. Hen almost loses consciousness while saving a seven-year-old girl, and once she gets her out of the building, she collapses. She winds up in the hospital and her condition still doesn't get diagnosed, which leans more into my chronic illness theory. Chimney rightfully tells Hen that she messed up by putting herself and the people they're supposed to save in danger. In an especially compelling moment, Chimney points out that Hen wouldn't have kept this from Bobby (Peter Krause), and that she doesn't yet treat him like the Captain of the 118. When Chimney says that the repercussions would be different for anyone else, Hen says he shouldn't give her special treatment, so he fires her.
'9-1-1' Season 9, Episode 7 Just Delivered the Perfect Buddie Setup – but Can the Show Follow Through?
Buck, Eddie (Ryan Guzman), and Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody) have a fun subplot this episode. I can see the potential for how this storyline could kick off some future ones, but I don't yet have confidence that 9-1-1 will follow through. The show has abandoned so many strong storylines since Bobby's death, but if it's ready to commit to these storylines, I think the back half of Season 9 could be something really great. After treating a man (Jonathan Sadowski) with a chastity belt injury, Buck decides that Eddie has "a chastity belt on [his] mind" that's keeping him from dating, and he decides to plan a night out to help Eddie meet a woman.
This storyline is the perfect setup for an exploration of Eddie's sexuality, especially with the way the rest of the episode goes. Buck points out that Eddie hasn't looked at a woman in a year, and when they go to the club, Eddie isn't interested in any of the women Buck points out. Buck ends up meeting two people himself at the club: a woman named Jane (Jillian Murray) and a man named Zane (Dean Geyer). Buck goes on great dates with them both that end in hookups, and he struggles to choose between the two of them. They make it easy for him, though, when it turns out they know each other. Buck initially believes that they're siblings, but they're actually a married couple who like to hook up with the same people. Buck ends things with both of them, but they keep things open if he wants to reach out again.
I feel conflicted about this storyline, because it is the perfect way to kick off a Buck-Eddie romance, but we've been down this road before and I'm not confident yet that 9-1-1 will actually follow through this time. After Eddie's exploration of his relationship with his faith in the Día de los Muertos episode, I think it could be fully plausible that Eddie has since started questioning his sexuality and coming to some realizations off-screen, which would make sense why he's so against the idea of meeting a woman this episode. He clearly doesn't just hold back because of Christopher (Gavin McHugh), like he claims earlier in the episode. Eddie has no interest in the women at the club, and is mostly just focused on Buck. It just doesn't make sense to start this storyline with Eddie, pivot to Buck, and then never return to Eddie – unless the next steps for both of their romantic arcs are inherently tied to each other.
Buck's arc in this episode, meanwhile, is about getting to the point where he can admit that he wants a real romantic relationship again for the first time since Tommy (Lou Ferrigno Jr.) This episode is also the first time that 9-1-1 has explicitly clarified on-screen that Buck is attracted to both men and women since dating Tommy, but the show still sadly still hasn't actually let him use the term "bisexual" yet. This episode has planted all the seeds for some exciting arcs moving forward for all of 9-1-1's characters, and after the rocky past season-and-a-half, I hope the show takes advantage of the opportunity to expand on these storylines.
9-1-1 airs Thursdays at 8:00 P.M. EST on ABC.
Release Date January 3, 2018
Showrunner Tim Minear
Directors Bradley Buecker, David Grossman, Brenna Malloy, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Jann Turner, Jennifer Lynch, Marita Grabiak, Sarah Boyd, John J. Gray, Barbara Brown, Robert M. Williams Jr., Kristen Reidel, Marcus Stokes, Tasha Smith, Millicent Shelton, Juan Carlos Coto, John Gray, Greg Sirota, Alonso Alvarez, James Wong, Kevin Hooks, Varda Bar-Kar, Shauna Duggins, Sharat Raju
Pros & Cons
- This episode remembers and gives attention to '9-1-1's best dynamics: those of Buck and Eddie, and Hen and Chimney.
- This episode has a good balance between humor and more complex emotional dilemmas.
- Hen's recklessness with her health this episode is odd and out of character.
- It's a strange choice for '9-1-1' to abandon the Eddie focus halfway through this episode ? that is, unless it's setting up something big.
English (US) ·