9-1-1 Review: Home and Away (Season 5 Episode 4)
On 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 4, “Home and Away,” Kenneth Choi gives a performance worthy of an Emmy, and Athena begins to, once again, deal with her new-old grief.
There’s quite a bit happening on “Home and Away,” but it’s not so much that it ruins the episode. Though I know there are people out there who don’t watch promos or look at stills from the episode, I am not one of those people.
In the promo for “Home and Away,” it’s revealed that there will be some kind of twist regarding an accident involving two girls. It’s never explicitly stated what the twist is, but it’s not hard to piece together that the two girls were mixed up in identifying who’s passed away and who is still living.
The performances of Makayla and Cassie’s parents are wonderful and tragic, and with Hen being in that mix of emotions, the situation hits you tenfold.
Once we realize what’s happened, the anguish is heartbreaking and unavoidable, but it is also filled with emotions that don’t quite hit the audience as hard considering we knew there’d be a gut-wrenching twist.
Elsewhere, Vanessa Williams plays Claudette Collins, a legend in the dispatch center and…kind of a brat. Claudette is great at what she does, and she’s not afraid to let people know that, but her attitude towards her coworkers leaves something to be desired.
Claudette seemingly doesn’t realize that there’s a difference between teaching and admonishing.
She will be a challenge for May, which in itself is a learning opportunity for May, but hopefully, May can show Claudette that being mean doesn’t always mean being right.
May is growing in other areas, however, as she tells Harry to feel his emotions no matter what they are when he’s worried about blaming his parents for his kidnapping.
Harry feels bad, but he’s honestly right. There’s no reason Athena shouldn’t have known that day that Hudson didn’t make it to jail. There’s no reason Michael should’ve been letting his son go wherever he wanted during a citywide blackout.
Harry being resentful for these things makes a lot of sense.
Though Michael and Athena feel stuck in talking to Harry, there’s a good chance they recognize why, and they’re blaming themselves as well.
After Athena spends half of “Home and Away” trying to connect with Harry, she comes to the realization that her home is forever tainted by Jeffrey Hudson.
The writers can go in a direction where they show that Athena, and as a result, Harry, are stronger than Hudson as they reclaim their home and its memories, but what if they didn’t?
What if they realize that their home is not their home anymore, and they find a new place to make memories? Sometimes moving through the pain, instead of against it, is the strongest thing you can do.
Then we have Chimney and Buck. Sigh.
The issue involving Chimney and Buck is simple, but hard to swallow: Buck knows one version of Maddie, and Chimney knows another.
Buck hiding from Chim that he spoke with Maddie, is the deepest betrayal. Chim punching Buck makes a lot of sense, showing how truly scared he is for Maddie.
Growing up with Maddie, Buck was protective over his sister, and that’s clearly followed him into adult life. Protecting her from people who love her is how Buck sees it, and protecting her from herself is what Chim fears is happening.
There’s really no right answer, and it’s one of Kenneth Choi’s most prominent episodes for that reason. We know Choi can act, but “Home and Away” is on a whole other level, accessing parts of Chim we haven’t fully seen before.
He’s not afraid to display exactly what he thinks Chimney is feeling. It extends further beyond Chimney just being sad.
What did you think of this episode of 9-1-1? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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9-1-1 airs Monday at 8/7c on FOX.
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Laura Wanberg
Laura is a homebody who loves everything about TV. Some of her favorite shows include Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Parks and Recreation, and The Morning Show. With her ever-growing list of new shows to watch and books to read, her favorite thing to do is to cuddle up with her cat and get lost in someone else's world.