- "First responders are born twice. The first time is when they come into the world. The second is the day when they make the choice to spend their lives running towards the danger. To risk everything to make sure that you get home safe to the people you love. My name is Henrietta Wilson. And this is my story."
- —Hen Begins
Henrietta "Hen" Wilson is a main character on 9-1-1 who works as a firefighter paramedic at Station 118 of the Los Angeles Fire Department. She is married to Karen Wilson, and together they have a son named Denny and a daughter named Mara. She debuts in the first episode of the first season of 9-1-1 and is portrayed by Aisha Hinds.
History[]
Early Life[]
Hen is from Inglewood, California.
When Hen was 9, her father abandoned her.[8]
When Hen was 16, she was accidentally shot. The bullet wasn't meant for her. The bullet ruptured her kidney and grazed her aorta. Luckily, the paramedics took great care of her and Hen survived. Hen tells Taylor Kelly in "Dosed" that following this, she decided that she wanted to be a paramedic like those who saved her so that she could save other people who were in her situation.[9]
Joining the 118[]
In 2010, shortly after Hen quit her job as pharmaceutical sales representative, she saved the life of her life coach, Stacey Mullins, after she had a heart attack during one of their sessions. As the paramedics pull Stacey away, Hen realized she could join them to save the lives of people in need and applied for the LAFD.[10]
She introduces herself as Henrietta to Captain Gerrard when she first joins the 118, but is quickly nicknamed Hen. He gives her a terrible experience and threatened to fire her for fighting his orders. Most team members, except Chimney, remain cold to her, though she has all their respect, and they disagreed with Gerrard's ways. As a result, Gerrard was removed from the 118 and temporarily replaced with Cooks.
Meeting Karen[]
In 2010, Karen’s next-door neighbor, Howard Han, set her up on a blind date with his coworker, Hen Wilson. Hen was not privy to the fact she was on a blind date, Howie having misled her into believing that she was going to be hanging out with Howie himself. Still, when Karen self-assuredly sits down across from her and begins their date, Hen rolls along with it. The two end up having a good time and set up a second date.
Karen and Hen’s relationship progresses to the point where they buy a house together a few months later and begin to discuss having children. Family expansion comes to them sooner than expected, though, as Hen’s ex-girlfriend Eva Mathis calls Hen to inform her that she’s pregnant and wishes for Hen to take the baby. Karen initially feels betrayed by Hen’s communication with Eva and willingness to take in the baby. The two break up briefly over the matter, but Howie convinces Karen to go back to Hen. The pair adopt Eva’s baby, a boy named Denny.
Hen and Karen take Denny home the same day that Don't Ask Don't Tell is repealed toward the end of 2010. Hen, upon learning the news, excitedly tells Karen she can finally become an astronaut. Karen, however, insists that becoming an astronaut entails too much work, which would take away from her role as Denny’s mother and Hen’s partner. She decides that she’d rather focus on building their family than pursuing her old dream.
Affair and Custody Battle[]
Eva was a drug addict, dealer, and Hen's "first love" whose arrest ended her and Hen's relationship. She went to prison for several years until she went up for parole in "Point of Origin". Eva asks Hen to testify to Eva’s character in front of the parole board. Karen is upset that Hen visited Eva in prison and feels betrayed by Hen’s claims that Eva has improved. Hen ultimately does not testify on Eva’s behalf.
In "Full Moon (Creepy AF)", it’s revealed Eva was released on parole. She contacts Hen again and attempts, successfully, to seduce her. Karen discovers Hen’s cheating when Eva sues Hen and Karen for custody over Denny on the grounds that the Wilson home is unstable, as evidenced by Hen’s infidelity. In "Karma's a Bitch", Karen leaves Hen amidst the legal troubles with Eva, taking Denny with her to stay at her parents' house. Hen gets Eva to back off, but is still left to make amends with Karen. Hen pleads with her, expressing her remorse and love for Karen, and Karen ultimately gives in.
Second Custody Battle[]
Hen was separated from the 118 during the earthquake leaving her and another firefighter, Russ, from the 221 trapped under the rubble of the high-rise building. Despite her attempts to save him, the other firefighter dies. Hen’s radio is damaged in the fall and she is unable to contact the team. Worried that she will never see her family again, Hen leaves a voice note for Karen on her phone telling her that after the affair she promised never to lie and she’s worried she won’t make it home. Hen tells Karen, "I love you and I love Denny so much. Whatever happens, I just need you to know that I didn’t give up, that I fought…to come home to you." Hen ultimately survives, with the 118 and other firefighters breaking protocol to save her and the little girl she found under the rubble. Months after Hen's affair it is clear the couple is still healing through this message.[11]
In "Awful People," Eva returns and informs Hen and Karen that she does in fact know who Denny’s biological father is. She introduced them to Nathaniel Greene and after a paternity test, Eva’s claim is confirmed. Eva says that Nathaniel has parental rights that he never voided and intends to fight for them.[12]
The return of the custody battle for Denny, reignites Karen’s feelings over Hen’s affair. She is angry and hurt, saying she knows Hen is sorry and that Hen loves her, but is struggling to feel that at the moment because of everything going on. Karen appears to feel better about it that night, telling Hen to come home, but Hen is angry and leaves to confront Eva instead.[12]
At Eva’s apartment, Hen finds her overdosing on drugs. She contemplates not saving her for a moment and tries to walk away, but calls 911, ultimately saving Eva’s life; however, Hen also calls Eva’s parole officer, turning her in. Eva returns to prison at the end of the episode. With Eva gone, Nathaniel stops fighting for custody and lets Hen and Karen decide what’s best.[12] It is assumed that the three of them decided Nathaniel wouldn’t directly be a part of Denny’s life as Denny will not meet until season 6.[13]
IVF[]
Hen and Karen choose a sperm donor and begin the IVF process, only to discover in "Rage" that Karen is unable to produce viable embryos. This devastates Karen, and she spends several weeks depressed. In "Malfunction", Hen confesses that she is frustrated by Karen’s grief-induced detachment from her family.
Ambulance Crash[]
In "Malfunction", while transporting a casualty to the hospital, Hen accidentally crashes the ambulance into the car of a cello player named Evelyn after a traffic light malfunction and kills her, wracking Hen with guilt. In "Fallout", Karen takes Hen to a retreat after Hen requests time off from the LAFD. While they are there, they run into Hen's old life coach Stacey, who thanked Hen for saving her life and invites them to dinner. Following this, Hen decides to return to the LAFD after she had considered quitting her job.
Fostering Nia[]
Although the IVF fails, Hen and Karen continue to pursue family expansion after Karen gets the idea to become foster parents. The pair begin fostering a toddler named Nia Gonzalez in "Seize the Day." Nia fits into the family well, getting along with Denny. Hen and Karen develop a strong attachment to her, and Nia to them; she calls Karen "mommy" and Hen "Mama Hen." Nia ultimately spends around a year with Hen and Karen, leading the pair to believe that they may even end up adopting Nia permanently. However, they are instead hit in "Breaking Point" with the news that Nia’s birth mother was deemed suitable to begin the reunification process
Letting Go of Nia[]
Hen and Karen have a difficult time giving up Nia. Hen wishes to fight to keep Nia, but Karen understands that resisting is futile. She painfully accepts that Nia must return to her birth mother. She does, however, fret over Nia’s well-being enough to hire a private investigator to make sure Nia’s mother, Evangeline Gonzalez, is in fact suitable to take care of Nia. The investigation assures Karen (and Hen) that Nia will be safe and happy with Evangeline, and the two are able to move on and begin fostering other children by the end of "Parenthood." They end up fostering a number of children over the course of the next few years..
Entering Medical School[]
In "What's Next?", Hen decides to enter medical school in order to become a doctor. In Seasons 4, 5, and 6, she is shown attending classes and studying for tests in order to complete the school.
Eva Leaving to Portland[]
In "Ghost Stories", Eva re-enters Hen and Karen’s lives when she visits Hen at the firehouse. Released from prison, in recovery from her addiction, and preparing to move to Oregon, Eva tries to make amends with Hen, apologizing for the pain she caused her and her wife. Hen informs Karen of the conversation, and Karen–still affected by Hen’s infidelity years ago–feels betrayed that Hen believes Eva’s apology to be sincere. Karen confronts Eva personally, revealing in the confrontation that every time Eva had cropped up in their lives, Karen feared Hen would go back to her. Karen admits to her insecurity over the fact that Eva was Hen’s first love and that Denny is Eva’s biological child, meaning to Karen that "all the people I love the most belonged to [Eva] first."
Eva manages to persuade Karen that Hen does, in fact, love Karen more. Karen apologizes to Hen for feeling betrayed and doubting Hen’s love for
Doing Medical School[]
In "Crash & Learn", Hen takes and fails her 2nd year Neurology exam, and her professor believes she should resit 2nd year. Hen had been stretched to the brink revising her for boards, Captain-ing and taking care of her family, to the degree that she fell asleep behind the wheel after a long day. While no accident happened, after she failed neurology, Hen questioned her ability to do it all, Doctor, Paramedic and Parent.
She takes a practical exam in "Home Invasion", and passes. Athena and Bobby host a party to celebrate, and to commiserate at it would mean Hen leaving the 118. She has her resignation papers ready to go, but is afraid as handing them in makes leaving the 118, and her life as a paramedic firefighter, real. In "Tomorrow", however, she decides against resignation and chooses to stay at the 118. Doing so, however, means she won't be taking her 3rd year of medical school.
Lab Explosion[]
In "Tomorrow," Karen goes to work at the Polytechnic Applied Astrophysics Laboratory, taking Denny along for a visit. While there, a mishap in the lab causes an explosion. Denny gets out safely, but Karen is injured. Still, she helps rescue one of her coworkers and gives the 118 guidance on how to safely navigate the lab fire. Karen emerges from the lab harmed, seemingly out of life-threatening danger. However, she collapses due to an abdominal injury and goes into cardiac arrest. Hen manages to successfully revive her. She ends up undergoing a splenectomy and recovering under the care of her wife. Prior to the explosion, Hen was planning to start her third year of medical school, but Karen’s near-death experience shows Hen that she’d rather focus on building her family with Karen.
Denny’s Troubles[]
In "Red Flag" Denny asks Hen and Karen about his birth mother, but assures them that he’s only curious and doesn’t question that Hen and Karen are his true mothers. He does, however, end up seeking out his birth father behind their backs. He begins acting strangely to Hen and Karen, picking up new hobbies and asking his mothers to call him "D." When Denny gets into a car accident with Nathaniel, Hen and Karen learn what he had been up to.
Nathaniel apologizes to Hen and Karen, and the pair tentatively agree to let Denny and Nathaniel have a relationship under their supervision.
Fostering Mara[]
In "Pay It Forward," Hen and Karen are contacted by the foster agency about potentially adopting a baby girl. They readily agree, but in "You Don't Know Me" they learn that the baby would not be needing adoptive parents, after all. However, Hen and Karen are introduced to another girl, 9-year-old Mara Driskell, who is in need of an adoptive home.
Hen and Karen agree to foster her, but they discover Mara is deeply traumatized in ways that the couple have difficulty addressing. Karen is frightened by her troubled behavior and she and Hen agree they can’t proceed with fostering her. They change their minds, however, upon learning Mara’s history. Since Mara had personally discovered her parents dead in their sleep, Karen provides Mara with a live video feed of Hen and Karen’s bed so that Mara can be assured of their safety while they sleep.
Mara warms up to Hen and Karen and by "Ashes, Ashes," Hen and Karen’s plans to adopt her are confirmed. However, Olivia Ortiz, a vindictive politician with a grudge against Hen, pulls strings to have Mara removed from Hen and Karen’s home. Karen is devastated by the separation and worried over Mara’s well-being, but her fears are assuaged when Maddie and Howard Han get their own foster license and begin fostering Mara until Hen and Karen can get their license back.
They finally do get their license back when Hen exposes Councilwoman Ortiz’s corruption in "No Place Like Home".
Denny’s Near Death[]
In "Masks", the Han and Wilson families celebrate Halloween together. Due to Maddie, Hen, and Chimney’s work schedules, Karen is the sole adult left to take Denny, Mara, and Jee trick-or-treating. She expresses feeling overwhelmed by the responsibility and disappointment on Mara’s behalf that Hen would be missing Mara’s first Halloween with them. Karen tries to get Hen to take Halloween off, but Hen chooses work.
While trick-or-treating, a car crashes into Denny and pins him to a house. He sustains a broken leg and internal trauma, leading to cardiac arrest. To save his life, Hen comes up with the idea to do a field blood transfusion. Since Karen and Denny have the same blood type (A-negative), Karen’s blood is able to save Denny. While Denny recovers, Karen forgives Hen for choosing work over the holiday, as she understands that Hen's work saves lives–including their son's.
Birthday[]
In ”Invisible", Hen woke up on her birthday and realised that her family had forgotten her birthday, Later at the firehouse the members of the 118 test a new gear and forgot her birthday. At a call from Archie Mullin, Hen told him to make himself not disappear. She and the 118 answers a call at a bus incident from Archie. Hen goes on and talks Archie down and almost gets shot by the police.
Personal Life[]
Hen is currently married to Karen Wilson. Her ex, Eva is in prison at the start of season 1 and asks Hen for help for her parole, which Hen refuses. She was Hen's first great love, and they lived together, as seen in "Hen Begins". Eva eventually got out of prison without Hen's help and began working in a tax firm until her overdose in "Awful People".
Hen saved a dog named Paisley in the episode "7.1" and is seen giving the dog to her son in the episode "Help Is Not Coming."
Hen cheated on on her wife with Eva in "Full Moon (Creepy AF)". Eva tried to regain custody of Denny on the grounds that she is his biological mother and claimed that Hen cheating on Karen made their household unsuitable for Denny to live in. Karen learned about Hen infidelity when receiving the papers from Eva, and decided to take Denny to live with her parents, leaving Hen.
Eva signed away all rights when Denny was born, but we learn in "Awful People" that his biological father, Nathaniel Greene, did not. Although Eva claimed that Nathan was going to petition for parental rights, Hen managed to set Eva up after the overdose, sending her back to prison. Nathaniel was delighted to learn of Denny's current life, giving his full support to Hen and Karen which allows them to retain Denny's custody.
In "This Life We Choose" It is shown that Karen and Hen were already a couple before welcoming Denny into their life, and they hoped to have additional children. Season three starts with the couple using IVF to have another child. Unfortunately, the treatment was unsuccessful.
However, they do go on to become Foster Parents to Nia and later intermittently when they're needed, until Mara Driskell is placed with them.
Personality[]
Hen is shown as caring, kind, and loyal. She has a big heart and is always ready to make sacrifices for others. Her cool and calm demeanor comes in handy, especially when the crew has to deal with agitated victims.
Relationships[]
Chimney Han[]
Hen has a close relationship with "Chimney" Han. They call each other their "best friend" on multiple occasions and often come to each other's aid. When Hen first joined the 118, Chimney was the first to show her compassion and friendship. They later bonded over becoming paramedics and discrimination at work. Their friendship extended beyond work, as shown with Chimney's health issues and through Hen's relationship issues.
Athena Grant-Nash[]
- Main article: Hen-Athena (relationship)
Athena met Hen during a mudslide incident while redirecting traffic, and the two quickly bonded, as they were both minority women in white, male dominated fields. Athena (known as 'Thena to Hen) introduced Hen to other "misfits", a gay firefighter from 115 and a female policewoman. They became a support group of sorts, regularly meeting to commiserate their sometimes difficult occupations. Athena and Hen eventually become close friends, disclosing private details of their personal lives and often asking each other for advice.
Karen Wilson[]
- Main article: Hen-Karen (relationship)
They met due to Chimney setting them up. Hen absolutely adores her wife Karen and their children. She momentarily doubts their relationship when she cheats on her wife with her ex (and Denny's mother), Eva, but immediately regrets her actions. After that lapse in judgement, Hen learns to fully appreciate her wife and family, and dedicates herself to supporting them.
Eva Mathis[]
- Main article: Hen-Eva (relationship)
Trivia[]
- Hen played the bassoon and was first chair in band when she was at school.[14]
- The first person Hen came out as lesbian to was her deceased father [8]
- Hen has only been absent in four episodes ("Chimney Begins", "The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1", "The Devil You Know", and "Step Nine"). She appears in archive footage in "Boston".
- Hen stated she was 40 in "Future Tense".
- She hates suprises.[15]
- Starting from Season Six, she can be seen driving a black Volvo XC90.
Appearances[]
| Season One | ||||
| "Pilot" | "Let Go" | "Next of Kin" | "Worst Day Ever" | "Point of Origin" |
| "Heartbreaker" | "Full Moon (Creepy AF)" | "Karma's a Bitch" | "Trapped" | "A Whole New You" |
| Season Two | |||||
| "Under Pressure" | "7.1" | "Help Is Not Coming" | "Stuck" | "Awful People" | "Dosed" |
| "Haunted" | "Buck, Actually" | "Hen Begins" | "Merry Ex-Mas" | "New Beginnings" | "Chimney Begins" |
| "Fight or Flight" | "Broken" | "Ocean's 9-1-1" | "Bobby Begins Again" | "Careful What You Wish For" | "This Life We Choose" |
| Season Three | |||||
| "Kids Today" | "Sink or Swim" | "The Searchers" | "Triggers" | "Rage" | "Monsters" |
| "Athena Begins" | "Malfunction" | "Fallout" | "Christmas Spirit" | "Seize the Day" | "Fools" |
| "Pinned" | "The Taking of Dispatch 9-1-1" | "Eddie Begins" | "The One That Got Away" | "Powerless" | "What's Next?" |
| Season Four | |||||
| "The New Abnormal" | "Alone Together" | "Future Tense" | "9-1-1, What's Your Grievance?" | "Buck Begins" | |
| "Jinx" | "There Goes the Neighborhood" | "Breaking Point" | "Blindsided" | "Parenthood" | |
| "First Responders" | "Treasure Hunt" | "Suspicion" | "Survivors" |
Note:
* denotes archive footage only appearance.
| Season Six | |||||
| "Let the Games Begin" | "Crash & Learn" | "The Devil You Know" | "Animal Instincts" | "Home Invasion" | "Tomorrow" |
| "Cursed" | "What's Your Fantasy?" | "Red Flag" | "In a Flash" | "In Another Life" | "Recovery" |
| "Mixed Feelings" | "Performance Anxiety" | "Death and Taxes" | "Lost & Found" | "Love Is in the Air" | "Pay It Forward" |
| Season Two | |||||
| "Back in the Saddle" | "2100°" | "Hold the Line" | "Friends With Benefits" | "Difficult Conversations" | |
| "Everyone and Their Brother" | "Displaced" | "Bad Call" | "Saving Grace" | "A Little Help From My Friends" | |
| "Slow Burn" | "The Big Heat" | "One Day" | "Dust to Dust" |
Gallery[]
|
A more complete gallery with pictures of Henrietta Wilson can be found here. |
References[]
- ↑ "Past is Prologue"
- ↑ "Future Tense"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "There Goes the Neighborhood"
- ↑ "Animal Instincts"
- ↑ "Performance Anxiety"
- ↑ "Lost & Found"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "What's Your Fantasy?"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Haunted"
- ↑ "Dosed"
- ↑ "Hen Begins"
- ↑ "7.1"
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Awful People"
- ↑ "In a Flash"
- ↑ "Seize the Day"
- ↑ "Invisible"