We May Hate It But Chimney Made the Right Call on 9-1-1

Sometimes, the only choice is to hurt feelings. That’s exactly what Chimney had to do on 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 7.

After learning that Hen had a medical issue that she had hidden from Chimney and everyone else for months, he had no choice but to let her go.

As much as we hate it happening, we have to agree. It’s time to take away the love for characters and look at this in terms of the damage Hen could have done.

Hen Could Have Killed Others

Hen wasn’t just putting her own life in danger by keeping her medical issues a secret. If it were just her, then Chimney wouldn’t have had to be as severe with her.

Instead of just herself, she was putting everyone else at risk. This wasn’t just the others at the 118, but the victims that she was tasked with saving during calls.

Just take the building fire at the end of 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 7, for example. Had she collapsed while in there looking for the little girl, other firefighters would have had to go back in.

In fact, Buck and Ravi did almost go back in, and it would have taken the two of them: one for the girl and one for Hen.

Instead of just two lives at risk in the fire, there would have been four, and this would have been completely avoidable.

Had Hen been honest about her medical issues, she wouldn’t have been in that situation. There wouldn’t have been the risk of her collapsing while in the building.

And as Chimney said, what if she collapsed while on the ladder?

She could have needed to bring the child down the ladder.

Everyone will say to stop the “what abouts,” but in this case, they need to be assessed.

Hen Should’ve Been on Desk Duty

This is a life-or-death situation, and every single possibility needs to be considered. It’s called risk assessment.

Chimney couldn’t make the right choices without all the information, and Hen took that chance away from him by not being honest.

Hen feared that she would be benched, but staying at the firehouse or staying home would have been the right thing to do.

We’ve seen firefighters do desk duty while proving they’re fit for duty, and Hen could have done the same. It was selfish of her not to.

We’d All Agree If It Wasn’t Hen

Let’s change the person who lied on 9-1-1 Season 9 for a second.

What if it was Ravi? Would anyone have had a problem with Chimeny firing him for the lies?

Probably not, because he isn’t a huge fan favorite on the series — not in the way that Hen is.

Some people would miss him, but the fight to get him back wouldn’t be as strong.

What if it were some random recurring guest star for a few episodes? Maybe there was a floater who was there for a few episodes who had lied about an illness.

Of course, no one would then complain about Chimney firing them, as everyone would agree they couldn’t put the rest of the 118 in danger.

It’s only that it’s Hen that people have a problem with it, and here’s where there’s a double standard within the fandom.

In fact, making Hen the one to lie about the illness and Chimney the one to fire her made it clear that this was the right thing to do.

In most cases, friends look out for each other and try to protect one another. We’d see captains risk their jobs, and Chimney even seemed to consider it during the hospital scene.

Chimney Made the Responsible Choice

He said to Hen that “if it were anyone else,” he would have to fire them, and he made it clear that it was harder because they were best friends. Hen was the one who told him to fire her because she knew he had to.

Athena is going to be mad at Chimney, voicing the anger that many 9-1-1 fans have, but it’s not right. Chimney made the right call, and I’d support him whoever it was had lied.

I get the feeling that Chimney will backtrack on his decision during 9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 8 under pressure from others, but that will send the wrong message.

What stops Hen from lying again? What stops others from hiding their medical issues?

Hard choices have to be made to save lives, and Chimney needs to stand by this one.

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