‘9-1-1’: Aisha Hinds Explains Why Hen Questioning Her Future at the 118 Excited Her

With 9-1-1‘s return on February 26 with “Going Once, Going Twice,” it has a lot to address. There’s the cliffhanger involving Eddie’s (Ryan Guzman) son Chris (Gavin McHugh) being kidnapped by Abigail (Fallon Heaslip), a young woman the firefighter/paramedic previously helped. There’s also Hen (Aisha Hinds) and Karen’s (Tracie Thoms) car accident teased in the previews.

But there’s some fun, too: The firefighters of the 118 take the runway for a charity bachelor auction, something that Buck (Oliver Stark) used to love but now that he’s older, is reluctant to embrace. So, how did it all go down? And what does Aisha Hinds have to say about directing the episode? Warning: Spoilers for 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 11 ahead!

Fortunately, it’s very quickly revealed that Abigail just brought Christopher home, claiming she wanted to help out Eddie. But it seems that things escalate — and she’s not too happy about him seemingly cozying up to LAPD therapist Alex (Aimee Teegarden) — when someone sticks a knife in his car’s tire and spray paints “STAY AWAY FROM HER” across the hood. What Eddie and Athena (Angela Bassett) discover, however, is that was Abigail’s father, wanting Eddie to stay away from his daughter. He’s arrested, and Abigail sets out for Maine at the end of the episode.

Disney/Christopher Willard

Meanwhile, Hen gets the OK to return to work from her doctor, but she admits to Chimney (Kenneth Choi) that she doesn’t want to risk returning to the wheelchair or losing herself and then her family; she’s doing well because she’s been managing her stress, which she can’t exactly do on the job. But, he wonders, who is Henrietta Wilson if not a paramedic? Well, as we see after her and Karen’s accident — they’re both OK — she leaps right into Paramedic Hen mode to help out the other victims. And so it’s no surprise that she’s back at the 118 by the end of the episode.

Elsewhere, Chimney signs the team up for a charity bachelor auction. Athena can’t stand watching women bid on her son Harry (Elijah M. Cooper), even though he’s now a firefighter, so she does. May (Corinne Massiah) bids on and wins Ravi (Anirudh Pisharody). Eddie has Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) bid on him as a mystery caller (he’s also paying her fee) — yes, Buck’s best friend and sister finally prove that they talk after eight years (can we see their text chain?). And Buck, despite earlier reservations and after a pep talk from Maddie, embraces who he is now when he takes the stage. Sure, he can’t do a back flip anymore, but he can show off his baking skills, himself as an uncle, and that he’s ready to settle down, completely with a video package. A Stitch ‘n Bitch club the 118 helped during a call earlier combine their money to buy him.

Below, Aisha Hinds discusses directing this episode, Hen’s journey to returning to work, that bachelor auction, and more.

You did a fantastic job directing this episode.

Aisha Hinds: Thank you so much for that. I appreciate that. I had so much fun again.

Also, welcome back to the 118 for Hen!

Right? Yeah.

Talk about what you want to showcase both as the director and actor in Hen’s journey in this episode, from being hesitant about returning to work to realizing that she was ready to go back because she went right into paramedic Hen mode at that accident.

What was really exciting for me to explore was Hen grappling with the question of whether she would go back or whether she wouldn’t. And of course, Aisha the actor reads her hesitation on the page and I’m like, oh, is this my time? But then when I read through the script, I was really satisfied with the fact that she would even question that, and it comes with good reason. She wanted to preserve all that she had worked for in just being able to find her way back to existing amongst her family and her friends in a way that didn’t feel compromising for her. And it really asked the question of, what if this stress ruins me and takes me out forever? I loved that kind of challenge to really approach the story and approach the parts of the story that dealt with Hen through her POV.

Disney/Christopher Willard

And so it was just kind of an interesting challenge, one, because I’m still sort of a new director, finding my legs and my language. So, doing so while also self-directing is still very much new territory, strange for me. But when you have a character who’s written so richly and you just get excited to figure out ways to find her through line, through her perspective, and so just working with our amazing DP, P.J. [Russ], and our camera operators to really figure out ways to make the story feel very personal, interior and ultimately triumphant for Hen was really nice and rewarding.

Looking at Hen’s hesitation, what would it have taken for her to be ready to go back to work other than seeing for herself that she could do it?

Yeah, it’s that thing of, I think if she thought about it too long, then she probably would not have gone back, but it’s almost like him had to show her own self that she is that girl, that she is exactly who she thinks she is or she thinks she isn’t. Muscle memory basically had to kick in. This crisis is upon them and she just literally kicks in. And I think that the true soul and spirit of him is the thing that kind of pulled her out of her head and put her back into her body fully, and so she was able to just execute in the way that she has trained and known how to do for the tenure of her career.

One of my favorite scenes of the episode was Hen and Chimney talking. First of all, I’m just glad to see them back on track. It hurts to see those two at odds.

Right. Those two in conflict is gut wrenching for us.

But it’s also, she can be honest with him. There’s that question that comes up, who is Hen without being a paramedic? That’s the thing. Who is she? And is that something that she would ever be ready to answer really?

Right. Yeah. It’s something that you don’t think about prior, so definitely she didn’t have the answer, but she knew the fears that she was grappling with and the anxiety that she was grappling with. And I think that Chim presents such a safe relationship for her that it’s OK to exist in a place of, I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out kind of. And it was so beautiful that he gets to grapple with the idea of not having a Hen but being supportive of wherever life takes her.

And that was what probably made it harder for her also through this, was being at odds with Chimney because otherwise, he’s someone she would’ve just leaned on from the very beginning.

Right.

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But to not have that kind of made it worse for her through this, right?

Yeah, exactly. It was really tough because here she is now sort of navigating these questions and looking for the answers all within herself and not having the kind of sounding board that she did have in Chim. It’s one thing to have your partner, your wife, and Athena as your best friend, but Chim is the closest in terms of they ride that ambulance together, so he walks the walk with her. And so it was nice, one, to have her friend back, [and] also to have someone who shared the walk with her, but then now also having him in the captain capacity, it’s like she can gauge his wisdom even from that perspective. It is great to always have a Chim-Hen moment where they can pour into one another and give each other strength.

Then we got that very fun bachelor auction. There’s Athena bidding on Harry, May bidding on Ravi, Maddie bidding on Eddie, and then Buck with the Stitch ‘n Bitch Club. Talk about directing that whole sequence. It was so fun to watch.

As you said, it literally was like five to six mini movies within one scene. So, literally, it was coming in very early that morning visiting the space a few times to just kind of, one, feel the energy of the room, kind of see which direction best serves the storytelling, which direction gives us the scope of what’s happening and kind of allows each group of people to have their separate footprint in the room without falling on top of one another. And so it was really fun to walk through the space with my A.D. Aaron [Wohlberg] and again my DP, P.J., and just imagine the storytelling even through the lights. And our production design team did an incredible job turning our location at the Biltmore into this amazing auction space. And so essentially it was just deciding this mini scene takes place here, this mini scene takes place here, this mini scene takes place here, and our runway basically is the spine of it all. And so that was super fun. We had a great, great, great group of people. Everyone was so supportive. Our background really populated the area in a way that made it come alive. Our MC was incredible. All the pieces worked together in a way that was just beautiful to me and harmonious and it turned out really, really well.

Did you have a favorite mini scene to direct from that group?

I can’t say that I had a favorite mini scene. Once I got to each one, I was just like, “This is so funny. This is so good. This is so good.” And we had to even cut it down because it became so massive because it was just so much fun. But I will say the Stitch ‘n Bitch Crew, they are a special group of folks and they just made it really nice. But even watching Athena go at it with the woman across from her with bidding on Harry and seeing him, but then also the moment Buck walks out and kind of just takes on the stage in the way that everyone is expecting, it was a wonderful day. It was a really great fun day.

Disney/Christopher Willard

How is Hen going to be doing now that she’s back at the 118? Is there any adjustment period that we see as she makes sure she’s also taking care of herself?

Yes, Hen, I think, is prioritizing trying to find that balance of taking care of herself, but also finding her way back into what she loves doing. I think that she was kind of warmed and heart-warmed to know that when she went to her doctor, she got a good report and that made her feel comfortable enough to look at the situation from a lens of hopefulness. And then once they’re in that accident and she just jumps in, I think she realizes there is no Hen without saving other lives. And I think that that’s a beautiful way to kind of walk through the rest of the season.

9-1-1, Thursdays, 8/7c, ABC