‘9-1-1’ 4×09 Review: “Blindsided”

9-1-1 returned this week, and “Blindsided” was an absolute emotional rollercoaster. Usually this show is great at adding in humor with the serious issues but not this week. This was an amazing episode but very serious and devastating. We cried.

At the beginning of “Blindsided”, Maddie’s still pregnant, and she and Chim are anxiously awaiting their baby’s arrival. They’re impatient, and Maddie’s frustrated with her false labor and Braxton Hicks contractions. She’s also frustrated that she and Chim haven’t picked a name yet. She doesn’t want the baby to end up with something like “Norman Bates.”

While at work, Maddie takes a call from Jacob, a kid in a car with his mom, absolutely terrified. It was heartbreaking listening to Jacob beg his mom to pull over as other cars dodged his mom while she drove on the wrong side of the road. His mom hits a bus which causes a huge multi-car pileup, multiple injuries, and fires.

The 118 rush to the scene to help rescue as many people as they can, including Jacob. By some miracle Jacob is still alive when they get to him, but they discover the cause of the accident: alcohol. We can’t believe that this woman would get behind the wheel when she was obviously beyond drunk with her child in the backseat!

Athena and Hen are shaken by this, and Athena comments “How many people have to die tonight because she was drunk and stupid?” While we completely agree with her, this obviously affects Bobby because of his past. And we can’t help but feel for him.

Just when you thought this episode couldn’t get more intense, Maddie goes into labor. Real labor. At the same time, the 9-1-1 call center and the 118 realize Albert was in the wreck. He’s seriously injured, and it was heartbreaking to watch the 118 desperately search from him. It was even worse watching him flatline.

The scene where Maddie gives birth with Chim by her side while Hen and Eddie try to save Albert was one the best scenes of television we’ve seen in a while. There were some tears shed especially when we thought Albert wasn’t going to make it. Luckily, we were wrong, and 9-1-1 spared Albert. We’ve grown quite fond of him, and Chim has, too. It would have been terrible to lose him on the same day Chim became a dad.

Although “Blindsided” was a very emotional hour of television, it ended on a happy note, at least for Maddie and Chim. Maddie decided to name the baby after Chim’s mom, and we can’t wait to see these two as parents. And we’re excited that the baby gets to have both Albert and Buck as her uncles.

Other Thoughts:

Foster care is an emotional situation for everyone. The goal is always to reunite the child with the biological parents if that is the right situation. But it’s heartbreaking to watch Hen and Karen lose Nia. They’ve grown so attached to her and love her. I just hope this doesn’t break them up. They’ll need each other to get through this.

The kid who played Jacob is a wonderful actor. I hope we get to see more of him in other shows soon.

How cute were Chris and Eddie at the end of the episode? After a gut-wrenching hour, we loved seeing Chris and Eddie hug and enjoy their time together.

Favorite Quotes:

“Anybody got any suggestions for baby names that are not any of your names?”

“Life doesn’t care how strong you think you are. It will find a way to break you. It will pull you down until you hit bottom. But while you’re down there, if you open your eyes, you might finally be able to gain the clarity you need to find your way back up.”