What To Know
- Hen experienced a serious health crisis in the 9-1-1 Season 9 fall finale.
- The 2026 return promo hints that she will no longer be able to do her job, at least temporarily.
- This comes as the 118 is still dealing with a major change, with their captain Bobby dying last season and Chimney now in the role permanently.
“I’m just not ready for this to be the end of my story,” Hen (Aisha Hinds) says in the promo for 9-1-1‘s return on Thursday, January 8, 2026. Now, whatever is going on with the paramedic/firefighter, we don’t think it’s really the end of her story (there’s been no indication Hinds is leaving the show), but we do think it could mean some sort of shakeup at the 118 temporarily.
The 9-1-1 Season 9 fall finale saw Hen showing some worrying symptoms. It all began with what she thought was a rash from an allergic reaction of some kind, then she developed a hand tremor in the middle of a call, one a doctor at a medical spa noticed. Then, at home, she collapsed and was unconscious for hours. When she answered her wife Karen’s (Tracie Thoms) call, she lied about where she was. Near the end of the episode, Hen spoke with Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and asked the former nurse about symptoms she’d seen in a “patient.” Together, they ruled out potential diagnoses, but off their conversation, Hen did go for a CT at the medical spa.
We still don’t know what’s going on with Hen, but the promo does hint that her symptoms will continue — she collapses during a call! — and whatever is causing them would take her out of the field. She also tells Eddie (Ryan Guzman), who’s moved over to being her partner since Chimney (Kenneth Choi) was promoted to captain, to glove up when there’s a woman in labor.
This comes on the heels of the 118 undergoing a major change, with their captain, Bobby (Peter Krause), dying on the job near the end of Season 8. As a result, Chimney had taken over as interim captain by the time Season 9 picked up, and it was made permanent in the fall finale. Hen and Eddie have been partners as a result, and Buck (Oliver Stark) and Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody) are teaming up. It’s been fun to see the different pairings, but could another change be coming because of what’s going on with Hen?
We do think that whatever it is will be something that can be treated and would only take her out of the field, if it does, for an episode or two. That would mean they’d need someone else riding with Eddie in that time, or, if they shuffle things, either Buck or Ravi, if one of them joins him. Or maybe there will be a time jump that takes Harry (Elijah M. Cooper) through his training and to when he’s a member of the 118.
Whatever does happen, it’s always significant when there’s any sort of change on 9-1-1. The main cast had been the same since Season 2 until Bobby’s death and Krause’s exit in Season 8, something that stood out. Should there be any sort of shake-up, we’ll be keeping an eye on how everyone deals with it so soon after losing their captain. Buck, in particular, could be one to watch. After all, he wasn’t a fan of Eddie and Hen’s close partnership in the premiere. Will we see something similar, even if it just Buck briefly wondering about another change?
“I think it’s just that he wants things to be normal. We’re talking about him adjusting to Bobby or the loss of Bobby. So, now it’s just that something else is different, something else has changed, and I just think he wants to cling onto everything that he knows and kind of keep that as close to his chest as he can, and this is just another thing that he has to adjust to,” Stark explained to TV Insider as part of our First Response aftershow for the episode.
What do you think is going on with Hen? What do you think it means for the 118, at least in the near future? Let us know in the comments section below.
9-1-1, Midseason Return, Thursday, January 8, 2026, 8/7c, ABC