9-1-1 Review: Boston (Season 5 Episode 12)

After a disastrous first episode back, 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 12, “Boston,” slows things down to focus on Chim and Maddie. It’s the best move this show has made all season.

Focusing on the couple means allowing Maddie’s mental health to take the front seat it so deserves and has been lacking since the idea of post-partum depression was first floated for this character. Jennifer Love Hewitt steers the show’s emotional factor with her very real depiction of what PPD can do to a mother as well as the people who love them.

Viewers find out that Maddie tried to kill herself in the ocean before leaving LA, which adds yet another layer to why Maddie left and stayed away. Her fear and defeat is palpable as she slowly walks into the water and comes close to just letting go.

It’s honestly one of the most heartbreaking moments of the whole episode, second only to Maddie having a breakdown upon seeing her daughter again for the first time in six months. Chim, as well as the viewers, realize in that moment what kept her away and why she’s so terrified.

Hewitt gives us that vulnerability and tells anyone who has ever suffered from depression, PPD, or even suicidal tendencies that they aren’t suffering alone. She makes it okay to not be okay.

Kenneth Choi isn’t slouching in this episode either. In fact, the best thing 9-1-1 has done this season is allow Choi to really stretch his emotional skills to run the gambit of Chim’s feelings throughout this whole ordeal. 

MADDIE: I got out of the ocean for you. BOTH of you.

When Maddie explains everything to him, Chim’s face goes from worry and concern to holding back guilt and frustration. That is all on Choi’s shoulders and he masters it on a level rarely seen on this show. 

These two were both on their A-game the whole time and never left us wanting for more from them as they went through the raw emotions of therapy as well as the guilt of feeling not good enough — on both sides. And to have the supremely talented AJ Cook and Mac Brandt alongside Maddie and Chim respectively for their separate journeys adds another much-needed layer.

Eli is the only person who is able to get through to Chim about not putting his life on hold while trying to locate Maddie. He is the reason Chim finally gets out there and starts being a medic again, in a way he brings Chim and Maddie back together.

It’s the exact kind of friend Chim needs in this situation.

Meanwhile, Maddie crosses paths with Cook’s character and it pushes her to realize that she’s actually getting better for her family. Tara is the push Maddie needs to accept her actions as what they were and return to her family with Chim, ultimately going home.

Without these characters, Maddie and Chim might’ve not been able to meet each other where they are at and work together to make sure their family doesn’t fall apart. Without Eli’s guidance, I don’t feel like Chim would’ve been as open to accepting Maddie’s fears, and without Tara, I don’t think Maddie would’ve been able to see that she’s actually loved and supported.

9-1-1 should do more of these character-driven episodes because they create much-needed balance and cleanse our palettes. By giving Chim and Maddie the room to grow before coming back together the show is telling audiences that these characters matter and have faults, fears, and insecurities that don’t come out in everyday conversation.

Now we are ready to see these two return to their LA family and get back to their lives. But, we also know that they still have some healing to do which will be explored one day at a time. 

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 Mondays at 8/7c on FOX.

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