‘9-1-1’ Season 9, Episode 8 Recap: Hen’s Tragic Diagnosis and Maddie’s War With AI

Note: This story contains spoilers from “9-1-1” Season 9, Episode 8.

“9-1-1” made big moves in Thursday’s latest episode, including the reveal of what exactly is wrong with Hen, who’s been suffering from a mysterious, debilitating illness that got her fired from Station 118 after nine seasons of rescues and drama.

Episode 8, titled “War,” followed as many characters fought battles on multiple fronts. After being fired the team faced internal turmoil as Chimney (Kenneth Choi) felt forced to fire Hen (Aisha Hinds) upon discovering she had been lying about her deteriorating symptoms.

During a heated intervention orchestrated by the rest of the team, Hen admitted to being seriously hurt by the rest of her friends’ inability to sense that anything was wrong with her, even as her symptoms worsened. The conversation ended with Hen collapsing and waking up in the hospital, with doctors ready to share her diagnosis.

She developed a rare genetic autoimmune disorder, triggered by a large dose of ultraviolet radiation she got from going to space during the season premiere’s rocket ship emergency. If left untreated, the condition will weaken the paramedic until the point she won’t be able to breathe on her own anymore.

But there is treatment for the disease and it is survivable. Hen promises to fight for her life with her friends and family by her side, setting up what will surely be a powerful storyline for Hinds’ character the rest of the season. This comes as the crew continues to grieve the loss of their captain Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) last season, so the stakes of potential death on the show have never been higher.

That might be the biggest reveal of the episode, but there are plenty of big moments to dive into as Season 9 continues to unfold. Here are some other highlights from “9-1-1” Season 9, Episode 8.

Maddie kills AI

Every industry is grappling with the arrival of AI, even the “9-1-1” center of operations. Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) was assigned to help train a new AI tool, enacted at her workplace to help make her job more efficient. Though she was hesitant at first, Maddied almost warmed up to AI bot Sara, who turned out to be quite helpful and collaborative the first few dozen emergencies she conducted, just enough to get close to out of beta.

But Sara started developing a little too much autonomy, muting Maddie’s efforts to intervene in at least one call. And then turning a broken glass incident into a near fatality after taking over another. The 118 saved the person at risk on the other line in time, but the incident got Sara’s AI company fired.

Of course, right when the AI company turned off Sara, she developed enough autonomy to jump into the 9-1-1 servers and stay alive there. Then she got in contact with Maddie, who talked her into putting herself in a thumb drive she then destroyed. It was high-stakes, comical and preposterous. Classic “9-1-1”!

Eddie gets a big rescue

As the station struggled with the Hen, Chimney rift, a call concerning an army veteran put Eddie at the center of a high-stakes rescue. The man suffered a PTSD setback while at a grocery store, leading him to attack and shoot a security guard.

Eddie diffuses the situation with the help of Alex Doyle (Aimee Teegarden), a member of the LAPD “cop therapist.” As a vet himself, Eddie gets past the man’s dissociative episode and saves the day, while sharing a quick glimpse of the impact of his past as an army medic.

Alex, played by the actress formerly known as Julie Taylor on “Friday Night Lights” is later recruited as a conflict resolution professional for the Hen and Chimney conversation. She gets a front-row seat to much of the dysfunction at the 118.

“9-1-1” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.

The post ‘9-1-1’ Season 9, Episode 8 Recap: Hen’s Tragic Diagnosis and Maddie’s War With AI appeared first on TheWrap.