ABC released a new promo for 9-1-1 Season 9's winter premiere in January 2026, which heavily teased Hen's exit from the series. One of the major storylines of 9-1-1's latest season mainly revolved around continuing Bobby Nash's legacy following his shocking death in Season 8.
While Henrietta "Hen" Wilson (Aisha Hinds) was first in line to replace Nash as Firehouse 118's Captain, the responsibility fell into Howard "Chimney" Han, with the midseason finale finally confirming that he is the team's new captain. Although things are looking up for the 118, Hen's secret about her deteriorating health could add another major challenge to the team.
Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Tim Minear, 9-1-1 is ABC's first responder drama series that focuses on the highs and lows of the firefighters, 911 operators, and police officers of Los Angeles. Season 9 premiered on the network on October 9, 2025.
9-1-1 Season 9 Trailer Teases 'End of the Story' for Hen
9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 6, "Family History," introduced Hen's mysterious sickness, which began to hound her at the top of the hour. She noticed that there was an issue with her hand after responding to a call involving a family reunion that lost most of their fingers following a brutal game of tug of war. The tremors in her hand continued throughout the episode, leading to her passing out in the middle of her living room.
The "Family History" title is quite fitting since Hen dug deeper into her own family's history of strokes. Ultimately, Hen kept her investigation of her mystery sickness on the down low by going to the same medical spa the 118 visited, and where a scam artist "doctor" didn't notice that his own patient was dying. Hen agreed to do a full body scan to find out what's wrong with her, with the condition that this doctor would keep their encounter a secret.
While the episode ended without the answer to what's really going on with Hen, ABC released the trailer for 9-1-1 Season 9, Episode 7 (aka the show's winter premiere in January 2026) teased what lies ahead for the franchise mainstay.
The 30-second promo begins with Hen finally telling Athena (Angela Bassett) about her sickness, admitting that she needs to tell everyone, but she is not ready for it to be "the end of [her] story:"
"I know. I got to tell them. I'm just not ready for this to be the end of my story."
The trailer continued to show Hen's tremors in her hands, and it appeared to be worse than before because she pushed Eddie Diaz (who briefly left Season 8 as a series regular) to take over for her during one of 118's calls:
The trailer then showed the 118 responding to a burning building, where Captain Han (Bobby Nash's official replacement) assigned Hen with "search and rescue" responsibilities, meaning that she would be at the forefront of the disaster:
The trailer ended with Hen collapsing inside the burning building, with her fate left ambiguous.
Watch the full trailer below:
The shocking reveal about Hen's mysterious condition has led to major concern among the fanbase, considering that they already lost Bobby Nash, who served as one of the strong anchors of 9-1-1. Hen's possible death could lead to a seismic shift for the series, further dampening the morale of Firehouse 118.
Will Hen Really Die in 9-1-1 Season 9?
Hen has been a core character of 9-1-1 since Season 1, and losing her would be another devastating blow for the series, especially after already featuring the death of Captain Bobby Nash.
At this stage, it is unknown if Hen will really die, considering that 9-1-1 has been notorious in teasing potential deaths that never came into fruition. One good example is the Season 8 trailer that strongly hinted at Chimney's departure, before turning the tide completely and killing off Bobby Nash instead.
It is unknown what kind of sickness Hen has in 9-1-1, but it's possible that it could be tied to the earlier space mission that she and Athena were part of in the earlier batch of episodes. If not, then Hen's family history could be blamed, especially after the latest episode didn't provide a concrete answer to whether her relatives had any history of strokes in the past.
While the setup of Hen's possible death could simply be the show's way of raising the stakes in the midseason finale, the character's potential exit is expected to have a lasting effect on 9-1-1, mainly because she is one of the glues that keep the team of Firehouse 118 together.
Given that the station is still reeling from Captain Nash's death, Hen's demise could further deepen the 118's collective trauma, affecting everyone and making their jobs a lot harder. Aside from the 118, Hen's family will also be impacted, especially her wife, Karen. In fact, Karen was greatly concerned about Hen when she was stuck in space, and her wife's death could put her over the edge.
It's reasonable to assume that Hen will not die in 9-1-1 Season 9 because it would be too soon for the show to kill off another major character. If Hen does end up dying, then it would signal a massive shift for the series since it could lead to introducing new characters that would offer fresh storylines for the first responder drama.
