#’9-1-1′: 6 Characters We Expect Big Changes From in Season 4

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“‘9-1-1’: 6 Characters We Expect Big Changes From in Season 4”

Jack Zeman / FOX

After the Season 3 finale of 9-1-1, changes are in store for at least some of the characters.

The 118 may look a bit different in Season 4, with one of its members, Hen (Aisha Hinds), considering a different career path. Meanwhile, revelations in Buck (Oliver Stark) and Chimney’s (Kenneth Choi) personal lives could affect them on the job. Elsewhere, a dangerous situation on a case put Athena (Angela Bassett) in a position she’s never been in before. And good news could lead one character to have a new outlook on life.

Scroll down to see which first responders and their loved ones we’re expecting to be a bit (or very) different going forward.

9-1-1, Season 4, Midseason, Fox

Jack Zeman / FOX

Athena (Angela Bassett)

While tracking down a serial rapist, the sergeant ended up in a fight for her life, and as she healed in the aftermath, she struggled with accepting that she, too, was one of his victims. “Being put in that very vulnerable position and realizing that she is in fact not invulnerable, that she’s not immortal, has really shaken her,” executive producer Tim Minear noted, adding that she’ll end up in “a different but very satisfying place.”

Since he’d like to bring Brooke Shields back as Dr. Sanford, might we see Athena in therapy in Season 4 as she figures out just what returning to the job means for her and could look like? And will we see a different Athena when it comes to not only her police work but her home life and reaction to things her loved ones are going through?

Jack Zeman / FOX

Buck (Oliver Stark)

The firefighter finally got closure for his relationship with former 9-1-1 operator Abby (Connie Britton) when they crossed paths during the massive train derailment in the Season 3 finale. After he saved her fiancé’s life, the exes sat down and discussed how everything ended between them and why she couldn’t come back.

After that “proper goodbye,” Minear teased, we’re going to see “the next phase of Buck in Season 4.” But what will that mean exactly? Will he think twice before running into risky situations, as his captain, Bobby (Peter Krause), called him out on? Will we see him getting a bit luckier in love?

Jack Zeman / FOX

Hen (Aisha Hinds)

After a risky move in the field to save a life in Season 3, the firefighter and paramedic began thinking about a future where she helps in a different way: med school. As we saw her studying for the MCAT (and getting happier with each practice test result), we couldn’t help but wonder what this means for Hen in Season 4.

We’ll have to continue to see her in some capacity with the 118 (“I don’t see the show without Aisha Hinds,” Minear said), but whether or not she decides to continue down the path she’s on, this experience has to change her and her approach to her job.

Jack Zeman / FOX

Chimney (Kenneth Choi)

The firefighter and paramedic’s professional and personal lives are about to change. He may be losing his best friend if Hen does go to med school, but as we saw when he helped her study, he’s supportive as ever. But how will he handle whatever decision she makes?

Meanwhile, Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) found out in the finale that she’s pregnant, and as a result, we may see Chimney’s approach to the job change. Will he ask fellow 118 parents Bobby, Hen, and Eddie (Ryan Guzman) for advice?

Jack Zeman / FOX

Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt)

The 9-1-1 operator had already been through quite a bit of trauma because of her abusive ex-husband before this season, but in the second half, she and her coworkers were taken hostage as part of a heist. She was the one to take down the man in charge at the call center — and was briefly concerned she killed him — but we didn’t see that affect her after. Will anything change for her now that she’s pregnant (or, depending on when the new season picks up, a parent)?

And what will Maddie be like as a mother, whose child’s father is a firefighter (and paramedic) risking his life? (For the most part, her job is safer than his.)

Jack Zeman / FOX

Michael (Rockmond Dunbar)

It was a season of bad news (cancer) and good news (his tumor shrunk!) for Athena’s ex-husband. And it’s not just his health that was looking up in the finale: he was also on track for some happiness in his love life. During the blackout in the penultimate episode, he met a doctor in the elevator. However, after hearing about Athena’s attack, he ran out on him. In the finale, he bumped into the doctor again, and the two had dinner.

“The sky is the limit for Michael right now,” Minear promised. “His prognosis is very good.” If that remains true, we can’t wait to see how that changes him going forward. Will we see a more optimistic Michael? Will we see him living life to the fullest?

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