Spoilers ahead!
Archie (Kevin L. Johnson) is having the worst day of his life. After being fired, he ends up stuck under his bed and is forced to hear his wife cheating on him with his cousin. After all of this, he can’t live in the same place as both of them, so he’s also homeless and living inside his car — until the vehicle is taken from him. After a day of being invisible to everyone around him, Archie decides to take matters into his own hands and hijacks a bus. The only person who can save the day is Hen (Aisha Hinds) — not because she’s having a day this bad, but because she is also feeling invisible after… Everyone forgets it’s her birthday.
“Invisible” – 9-1-1. Pictured: Aisha Hinds as Hen. Photo: Christopher Willard/ABC © 2025 Disney. All rights reserved.
That’s the summary of Invisible, an episode filled with all kinds of silly, intense fun — maybe my favorite this season so far. If anything, this one might be my favorite because I’m a big fan of the Hen-centric episodes — Aisha Hinds always shines and delivers brilliant acting — but also because it’s been quite the time since we’ve had an episode that allowed Hen to act silly and have some fun. Okay, she’s not having fun because she’s pissed and upset about her birthday, but this storyline is way lighter compared to her son Denny (Declan Pratt) going through a near-death experience, or everything that happened to her daughter Mara (Askyler Bell) until they found some peace earlier this season.
So I feel it’s just nice to see Hen in a place we don’t see her often — upset, talking about her feelings, but also dealing with an unserious, silly situation. It feels very domestic, and I think 9-1-1 is at its best when it allows the characters to interact with each other in these funny situations of everyday life. Even if it sounds a little crazy that Karen (Tracie Thoms) and Chimney (Kenneth Choi) would forget about Hen’s birthday, it makes for a comedic storyline that doesn’t take too long to become touching. It’s also nice to have Marsha Warfield back as Toni, Hen’s mom, and the Hen-Athena (Angela Bassett) bestiesm never let us down, with Athena being the only one (aside from Eddie!) to remember the date!
But of course, things become heavier after Archie hijacks the bus, the cops intervene and a huge accident ends up happening, leaving people hurt. Archie is feeling like no one sees him, but the thing is: on those two times the 118 rescued him, Hen saw Archie. So when the time comes, she enters the bus and talks to him, finding a way to rescue the hostages and also preventing Archie from being shot. It’s nice to see that what’s being showcased here is not only Hen’s medical abilities but also her humanity, the way that she connects with Archie by being true to him but also true to herself. If Archie had the worst day ever, I imagine Hen had the craziest birthday of her life, and I loved every second of it.
“Invisible” – 9-1-1. Pictured: Gavin McHugh as Christopher, Ryan Guzman as Eddie. Photo: Christopher Willard/ABC © 2025 Disney. All rights reserved.
There’s also one meaningful storyline about Eddie (Ryan Guzman), who’s still in Texas rebounding with Christopher (Gavin McHugh), even though his parents Ramón (George DelHoyo) and Helena (Paula Marshall) are not cooperating. In fact, they are so passive-aggressive that’s infuriating (Helena is probably the worst, but Ramón is not that far away). Eddie was planning to make food for Christopher and then invite his son for a game on the weekend, but his plans are frustrated: Ramón already has plans for Christopher, as he will take his grandson to a chess competition.
When Eddie tries to find a way to go with them, Helena finds a very manipulative way to tell him not to go. It’s only after face-timing with Buck (Oliver Stark) that Eddie finds the courage to take his car and go anyway. There, he finds Christopher playing chess and throwing up of anxiety. Eddie helps Chris and takes him to the bathroom, where Chris confesses that he actually doesn’t like chess and only plays it to please Ramón. That’s when Eddie decides to take Buck’s advice and dad up, deciding that Christopher will move back to his house and they will live together again. It’s a touching, beautiful scene, with Guzman and McHugh proving yet again why they are one of the best father-son duos on TV. After leaving Ramón behind to return on the bus with the kids, Eddie is ready to confront his mom — his son is moving with him, and this time he’s not asking, he’s telling Helena what he’s doing and that’s it, there’s no room for discussion anymore (Eddie's past as a ballroom dancer was a revelation that surprised me a lot; crazy lore drop). Love this for you, Eddie — a huge evolution for this character!
“Invisible” – 9-1-1. Pictured: Tracie Thoms as Karen, Aisha Hinds as Hen. Photo: Ray Mickshaw/ABC © 2025 Disney. All rights reserved.
The episode ends with a small scene in which Hen, Karen, Athena, and Bobby (Peter Krause) are having a dinner to celebrate Hen, and Buck is trying to make up for forgetting about the birthday; it’s a small, cute moment that closes the episode in a wholesome way (even if it’s weird that Chimney is not there celebrating with the rest of them). That’s it — Invisible is one of the greats! There’s comedy, there’s drama, there are crazy emergencies, there’s a soft, funny Hen storyline, and there’s Eddie finally doing what he needs for himself and Christopher — with the help of Buck, who continues to be one of the most important people for both of them (did I mention Buck and Eddie cooking together? No? Have I mentioned Eddie blinking to Buck? No? Well, these two happen to be the greatest buddies to ever buddie). Now, I’m very excited about the 2-part event that starts next week; 9-1-1: Contagion should be a wild ride.
Now tell me how you feel about this episode! Feel free to leave a comment with your impressions and theories, and thanks for reading!
