9-1-1 's Aisha Hinds breaks down Hen's breakdown
Being a firefighter is demanding — and that's without adding on being parent, spouse, and medical school student. That's what Hen (Aisha Hinds) is currently balancing on 9-1-1... oh yeah, and then there's the interim chief position she accepted while Bobby (Peter Krause) is out in Florida with Athena (Angela Bassett).
On Monday's episode of the Fox first responder drama, things come to a head for Hen, who falls asleep while driving home from a medical school exam after failing to save a man at work. While she avoids a car accident, Hen eventually realizes she failed that test she'd spent every free moment studying for, and her teacher thinks she may need to repeat the year.
"The name of the episode is called 'Crash and Learn,' and, you know, it all comes crashing literally for her," Hinds tells EW of her character.
Here, the star shares her thoughts about tonight's episode and what's to come for Hen.
Jack Zeman/Fox Ryan Guzman, Aisha Hinds, and Oliver Stark on '9-1-1'.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So, with everything she has going on with medical school, why did Hen agree to take on the extra work of being interim captain?
AISHA HINDS: Buck is driving her crazy. [laughs] In the previous episode, Buck [played by Oliver Stark] was sort of vying and for the position — very awkwardly and ridiculously. It becomes so annoying to Hen and her coworkers, so she literally burst into Bobby's office really intending to just force his hand at making a decision, not necessarily like the decision had to be her. But I think Hen, innately, just feels like, "What is it that she cannot do?" You know? So if something needs to be done, she's going to step up to the plate and try to take care of it to the best of her ability.
Even though it kind of stretches her, she takes this opportunity [to be interim] captain because... I think when Bobby offers it to her, what floods back to her is when she first joined the department and her captain didn't even think she was equipped to even enter the department. And here she is just a few years later, and her new captain is saying to her, "Not only are you equipped to be a part of this team, but you actually have what it takes to lead this team as captain." So that resonates with her.
After she falls asleep driving home, does Hen know she's in over her head? Or does she still think she can make it all work?
When Chimney [Kenneth Choi] asks Hen if she can handle it, she quips back, like, "I have a plan, I have a plan." And I think that she depends on her ability to have a plan and execute a plan. This is something that she's been doing for the past few years: she learns a thing, and she executes a thing. So I think she is really dependent on that plan, until the plan kind of falls apart on her. Even [though] she almost crashes, she's still thinking she can figure out how to maybe contort the plan to still press forward. She's taken on the role, and can't now give it up.
But then she does break down.
She can't say that she's failed until that moment when she has to deal with the reality that she does fail [the exam]. But she's not just failing the exam, she's failing at everything that she was entrusted to do, which is not something that is normal for Hen. But she also has Karen, who is her grounding force, and her conscience, and her mirror.
So what will Hen do now?
This episode puts Hen in a position where she's forced to grapple with questions that don't always come with an index card that has the answer on it. She has to ask herself, "Am I going to try again? Am I going to stay with the department? Am I gonna make decisions that are better for me and my family, and me being present with them?" These are big questions and big choices that she's gonna have to make. But it also challenges what she has always dreamed about, which is becoming a doctor. So she's going to be making some big decisions.
This season, we'll be diving into Hen's true character. And you know, they say true character is built in crisis — and and our show is not short on crisis.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
9-1-1 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.
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