‘9-1-1’ season 9 midseason finale ending explained

Is it just us, or is 9-1-1 starting to feel like a Final Destination movie?

That’s not a bad thing, but the season 9 midseason finale has two sequences that play out like scenes from the horror franchise — one involving an ill-fated game of tug-of-war (wear gloves!) and a CT scanner (evoking the MRI machine seen in Final Destination: Bloodlines).

The episode, titled “Family History,” also includes a longtime supporting character’s first step into the firehouse and the reveal of a new captain for Station 118.

Below, we break down the 9-1-1 midseason finale — and how it sets up the back of the season 9.

Does Harry make it into the fire academy?

He does, but not without a bit of soul-searching (and a lot of pushups).

Harry (Elijah M. Cooper) shows up on the doorstep of Buck (Oliver Stark), revealing that he dropped out of high school and applied to the Los Angeles Fire Department. He wants to keep this decision between them, as he’s (understandably) worried about his mom’s reaction after Bobby’s death in the line of duty.

From there, Buck puts Harry through a grueling training regimen: cardio, weights, and boxing, along with work using sledgehammers, ladders, and hoses. (He even has him kneading dough to build grip strength.) By the end, Buck believes Harry is ready.

And he is. Harry aces the physical test. The only roadblock? His criminal record. In season 7, Harry was arrested after getting into a fight with a bodega owner. Now, it’s coming back to haunt him. He says the powers that be want to speak with his mother, which he’s firmly against.

“I needed to go to her with a win,” Harry says, “not another problem she needs to fix.” He drops out.

But Buck isn’t having it. “Giving it up is not gonna hurt any less than having them take it away,” he tells Harry. He takes him to a fancy restaurant where Fire Chief Simpson (Richard Brooks) is having dinner. When Simpson leaves, Buck and Harry intercept him.

Harry admits to Simpson that he was wrong for dropping out — and that he would never dishonor the uniform if given the chance to wear it. The chief is swayed and tells Harry to show up at the training center on Monday morning.

For all his worrying, Athena (Angela Bassett) accepts Harry’s decision. As they stare at Bobby’s memorial plaque in the fire station, she tells her son she’s proud of him.

Who was texting Alicia?

As for Athena, she has her hands full with a case involving Alicia, an 18-year-old who attempts suicide via overdose after receiving more than 4,000 bullying texts from an unknown number. Alicia’s mother believes the “mean girls” she used to be friends with are responsible, as the messages contain enough personal details that the perpetrator must be someone she knows.

When Athena speaks with the girls, however, they claim it was Alicia who turned away from their friend group. Something isn’t adding up.

The case has a personal resonance for Athena, as her own daughter, May (Corinne Massiah), attempted suicide in a similar manner back in season 1. This leads her to meet up with May. Athena apologizes, saying, “I’m so sorry I let that happen to you, babe.” 

But May says what gave her hope was seeing Athena’s face when she woke up. “The one person I needed most in this world was with me,” she says.

This triggers something in Athena, who begins to suspect that Alicia’s mother is behind the texts. When she goes to her house and asks if they can run tests on her phone, the mother locks herself in the bathroom and takes a handful of pills herself.

“You’re not getting off that easy,” Athena insists.

Later, she brings Alicia to visit her mother in the hospital, warning her that “whatever she tells you is likely a lie.” Alicia’s mom explains that she sent the texts to show her daughter “how scary the world can be,” but Alicia says that the only thing she’s scared of is her mother. Alicia tells her she’s starting her life over and reunites with her friends.

(If this whole plot reminds you of Netflix’s Unknown Number: The High School Catfish, you’re not alone.)

Who becomes the 118’s new captain?

“Family History” begins with Chim (Kenneth Choi) looking at a list of candidates to take over as the 118’s captain. He’s impressed by their credentials, but all he can see are “three strangers that don’t compare to Bobby.” He’s been serving as interim captain this season, and his wife Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) thinks he should officially take it on. He turned it down when Simpson offered him the job, but now he’s reconsidering.

Still, he’s hesitant. Speaking of the team, Chim says, “What if they resent me for taking Bobby’s place?” Maddie tells him he’s earned his own place — and that the 118 feels the same.

Later, after Buck and Harry chat with Simpson, we realize that Simpson had been dining with Chim. He took the job.

As the episode comes to a close, we see Chim being sworn in at a ceremony. Afterwards, the team gifts him a watch.

“The 118, it’s not just a number, it’s us,” reads an inscription on its back. Tears in his eyes, Chim promises not to let them down.

How does the 9-1-1 season 9 midseason finale end?

The midseason finale ends on an ominous note, with Hen (Aisha Hinds) climbing into a CT scanner after several health scares.

The worst incident occurred earlier in the episode, when she became dizzy and passed out alone. She lies unconscious for hours, only to be awoken by a phone call from Karen (Tracie Thoms). But Hen doesn’t tell her the truth, keeping her symptoms to herself.

Later, Hen speaks with Maddie, who used to be a nurse, about this “medical mystery,” pretending she saw the symptoms in someone she encountered on the job. All evidence points to Lyme disease, but she doesn’t know for sure.

This leads Hen back to Luna, a health spa where the team was called when a woman died following an allergic reaction inside a CT scanner. She clashed with the spa’s doctor, who was too distracted by a sales call to notice his patient’s distress.

“You’re not a doctor, you’re a salesman,” she says. “You scan people and credit cards.” 

But it’s the very same doctor she returns to, and the episode ends as the scan begins. What’s afflicting her? We’ll find out when 9-1-1 season 9 returns in 2026.

Where can I watch 9-1-1?

9-1-1 airs on ABC and streams on Hulu.

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