‘9-1-1’: The 118 Gets Permanent Captain, Plus Hen Has a Secret

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 6 “Family History.”]

The 118 has a permanent captain by the end of the 9-1-1 Season 9 fall finale, and it’s the perfect choice. But unfortunately, there’s also some bad news in the last new episode until January 8, 2026. Oh, also, we’ll never look at a game of tug of war again the same way (all those fingers torn off!).

First, the good news: As Chimney (Kenneth Choi) struggles with the candidate files for the 118’s permanent captain, Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) rightfully points out he‘s the right choice since he’s been doing the job for months and successfully. But Chimney argues that he already told Chief Simpson (Richard Brooks) he doesn’t want it. “Did I change my mind, or am I just looking at three strangers who don’t really compare to Bobby?” he worries. “It’s one thing to be interim captain, but to make it official, what if things change, what if they resent me for thinking I could take Bobby’s place?” Maddie tells him no one can take Bobby’s place, but he’s earned his own, and the rest of the 118 will agree because he’s family.

But Chimney struggles to bring it up to them. Rather than begin floating the idea to Buck (Oliver Stark), Hen (Aisha Hinds), and Eddie (Ryan Guzman), he just tells them they had an excellent shift, leaving them all confused and wondering if he’s retiring.

Disney/Christopher Willard

Chimney does ultimately talk to Simpson, and near the end of the episode, there’s another ceremony at the 118, this one to name Chimney its permanent captain. When Chimney approached him and asked to be considered for the job, Simpson says in front of everyone (including the Lees!), he only had one thought: “What the hell took you so long? But I think it was his hesitation, that sober consideration, that demonstrated he was the right person for the job. To lead such brave men and women is an honor, it is a burden, it is a privilege, and I believe that Captain Howard Han is up to the task.”

After, Buck, Eddie, Hen, and Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody) give him a present: a watch with “The 118 it’s not just a number it’s us” engraved on the back. Chimney is clearly very moved and promises he won’t let them down. It’s a sweet scene, and we love that Chimney’s captain, but it’s still odd adjusting to the new normal without Bobby as the leader of the 118.

Meanwhile, Athena (Angela Bassett) responds after a woman calls 9-1-1 about her daughter taking a bottle of pills, and she has flashbacks to her daughter May’s (Corinne Massiah) overdose. (May assures her she’s fine now when Athena expresses her regret over not seeing the pain she was in. Seeing Athena back then when she woke up in the hospital, was also what helped her the most.) The young girl was being cyberbullied, in 9-1-1‘s take on Lauryn Licari and her mom, Kendra (as documented in Unknown Number on Netflix). When confronted, the mom takes pills herself, and when she’s recovering in the hospital, her daughter tells her she’s never going to speak to her again.

As for Athena’s son, Harry (Elijah M. Cooper), he turns to Buck to train him for the test to see if will be accepted into the fire academy. After Buck gets past his concerns that Athena’s mad at him since Harry made his decision after riding along with the 118, it’s time for the cliche training montage (and Buck’s whistle). But while he’s ready for the physical test, and that goes well, it turns out Harry isn’t fully prepared for the interview — because he doesn’t tell Buck about his criminal record. He hit someone in self-defense and took it too far, and since he was released into his mother’s custody, it’s Athena who would have to answer questions should he continue with his application. Rather than give her something else to fix, and since she doesn’t want him to become a firefighter in the first place, Harry decides to drop out.

Buck refuses to let him, however, and instead takes him to the restaurant where he knows Chief Simpson will be. Harry remarks on the vein that Bobby used to have popping in his neck when he’d talk about Buck, now seeing why, but Buck tells him that even with that, Bobby never let him give up on himself. And so he facilitates the conversation, but then lets Harry plead his case — which he does. The manager of a store made false accusations and put his hands on him, and he fought back, and while he thought it was justified at the time, he’d like to think he’d find a different way to handle the situation now, he tells the chief. And with that, he gets into the fire academy. Standing in front of the plaque for Bobby at the 118 with her children, Athena tells him she’s proud of him.

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Finally, the most worrisome storyline: Hen. It begins when she thinks she has a rash on her hand and wonders if it’s just an allergic reaction to something. Then, on a call, at a medical spa where the victim dies from anaphylaxis, her hand begins shaking. When the spa’s doctor, whom Hen clearly doesn’t think much of, comments on the tremor, she takes offense and calls him a salesman.

Then, at home in the afternoon, Hen calls her mother to see about their family history, but while an uncle had a stroke, it was after getting hit by a car. After she hangs up, however, she stands and collapses … and lays on the floor for hours, waking at night to her phone buzzing. When she calls her wife back, she claims that she got stuck at work and doesn’t tell her. There’s no way that can end well.

At the ceremony for Chimney at the 118, Maddie spots Hen stumbling, and the paramedic/firefighter claims she just didn’t sleep much the night before, then does that “so, I have a friend who…” by asking Maddie about her experience as a nurse and the symptoms that a “patient” had the other day. After Maddie brings up a CT scan, Hen goes to the medical spa, paying out of pocket, and tells the doctor to just run the tests. She’ll do the rest, and she doesn’t want anyone to know. Uh-oh! Listen, 9-1-1, we’re still not over Bobby’s death, and Eddie’s abuela just died. Now’s not the time to take Hen from us, too.

What did you think of the fall finale? What do you think is going on with Hen? Are you happy Chimney’s the permanent captain? Let us know in the comments section below.

9-1-1, Season 9 Midseason Return, Thursday, January 8, 2026, ABC