Note: This story contains spoilers from “9-1-1” Season 8, Episode 4.
“9-1-1” went through a season’s worth of story with its latest episode, including some big moments fueled by the “bubbling desperation” of beloved firefighter Henrietta “Hen” Wilson.
Episode 4, titled “No Place Like Home,” picked up the narrative threads of the ABC first responder drama’s Season 7 finale — which took a backseat to the high-stakes Season 8 premiere Bee-Nado/plane emergency — checking in on Hen’s (Aisha Hinds) custody fight for foster daughter Mara, as well as the 118 being led by captain Vincent Gerrard (Brian Thompson) after Bobby (Peter Krause) mistakenly quit. This week’s episode saw as the firehouse faced budget cuts and potential closure, as Hen fought to bring how councilwoman Olivia Ortiz’s (Veronica Falcón) personal vendetta against her was at the root of all the issues in both her life and that of her teammates.
“Our writers really make us sit in our real emotions from one episode to the next. They don’t give us any inkling of the arc of the character, the arc of the family,” Hinds told TheWrap. “Going through this journey and when we are finally reunited as a family it’s just like an exhale.”
While juggling this week’s bizarre emergencies — including a cheerleader whose body ended up upside down after an injury, and rescuing a landlady from being eaten by a tiger in an apartment — Hen and her wife Karen (Tracie Thoms) went to court to get custody back of Mara back from Chim (Kenneth Choi) and Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt). Though it seemed that Ortiz was going to get her way and keep the family apart, while also aiming to shut down the 118 altogether, Hen and Bobby managed to recruit Gerrard and get the politician to admit her wrongdoings on camera, which led to her dropping out of the mayoral race and not being a threat.
The end was a win-win for everyone (except Ortiz), as Bobby was reinstated as captain of the 118 and Gerrard took over his job as a firefighter consultant on the fictional firefighter show within “9-1-1.”
“They keep us on our toes on this show,” added Tracie Thoms, who plays Hen’s wife Karen on the show. “We can relax for now, but we know what show we’re on. But for now, the Wilsons are just so happy to be all together again and they’re cherishing each other for as long as they can.”
Below, Hinds and Thoms break down the biggest moments from Episode 4, tease what’s next and share their plea for a potential musical episode:
TheWrap: It seems like y’all went through a whole season’s worth of story just with Episode 4. What was your reaction to seeing how it would all unfold when you read the script?
Thoms: I’ll be honest, sometimes I’ll get a script and something is happening, and because we have devices we read our scripts on it’s not quite the same. But if I had a script on my hand, I would throw it across the room. Why can’t the Wilsons get a break, you know? Because it seems like it’s going to be smooth-sailing… and then we reach a snag, as we all do on “9-1-1.”
Hinds: Our writers really make us sit in our real emotions from one episode to the next, they don’t give us any inkling of the arc of the character, the arc of the family. So we really are sitting with bated breath like, “Are we going to get to keep our daughter?” So when we got this script, it was like, “Oh, you take another breath of oxygen… there’s hope.”
All of this is exacerbating Hen’s stress, and she’s bringing that home to Karen… we’re literally sitting in these real emotions that are warring against one another. And by the time we go through this journey in Episode 4 and we are finally reunited as a family, it’s just like an exhale.
Those courtroom scenes packed so much emotion for both of your characters, what was it like to film those?
Hinds: It was actually really special, because here I am having to anchor and drive these full scenes, with all of these people in the courtroom, the 118 is there. Marita Grabiak was the director on it, and she was really thoughtful maintaining the integrity of what the story is and what needs to happen, and cultivating an atmosphere that protected me as an actress.
She’s also sensitive to the plight of protecting and nurturing the family unit. So there was the bubbling desperation that I had as Hen, who knew she had that big Joker card in her backpocket in terms of Gerrard recording the conversation with Ortiz, but not playing it too early. Hen knows the nemesis she was up against so she was careful to play that without knowing what could come back after her next. But she felt strongly about getting to deal this hand at this point.
It seems like all got wrapped up with a tight bow by the end of the episode, with Ortiz out of the race, Gerrard on the TV show job and Bobby back. But I’m guessing those budget cuts won’t be going away and “9-1-1” loves a surprise twist. What can you tease about where we go from here?
Hinds: We love to wrap things in a bow, but that’s temporary.
Thoms: It so rarely happens and we get excited about it, like, “Oh OK, we can relax for now.” But we know what show we’re on. We know the roller coaster that is “9-1-1” so we’re always thinking, “What’s going to come up next?”
But I think for the Wilsons, they’re just so happy to be all together again and have this family unit together, and they’re cherishing each other for as long as they can. Hopefully there’s some smooth sailing ahead and some regular family issues, and not huge issues. Right now they’re just embracing each other and embracing the moment and being grateful for it.
Fans are begging for more screen time for Karen either in an emergency, or maybe for her to join to cast in on a potential musical episode.
Thoms: Karen is a rocket scientist. Put me in coach, I’m ready!
Would you all be down to sing it out on “9-1-1”?
Hinds: This is what I’m saying! I’m confused. Do they know who we have on this cast? Tracie Thee Thoms! I’ve been blabbering about it, it doesn’t even have to be a full-on musical episode. We just need Tracie Thoms to gift us that which she is gifted with — because that to me is such a blind spot (laughs)… It’s a missed opportunity.
Thoms: [Aisha] says that all the time… Karen is not a singer but it’s fine! They teased us with the karaoke episode. How did we do a karaoke episode but we leave before we do karaoke.
Hinds: We need a “Karen Begins” [origin episode], and that before she was a rocket scientist…
Thoms: I was in musical theater? Is that your idea? (laughs). Pitch it right now.
“9-1-1” airs new episodes Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT and streams the next day on Hulu.
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