It’s funny until it isn’t, and then it works its way up to being hilarious.
It’s a reminder that9-1-1is quite skillful at switching between different tones when it wants to.
It could have been worse.
Archie returns to his place, which he shares with his wife-to-be and his cousin.
He calls 9-1-1, and the 118 responds.
Buck (Oliver Stark) is giddily excited at the chance to ram his way through the door.
“Invisible” is written by Lyndsey Beaulieu & Taylor Wong and directed by Brenna Malloy.
But when she goes downstairs to greet her family, none of them remember.
To make matters worse, Karen asks Hen to get some takeout.
9-1-1 is a television series that explores the intense experiences of police officers, paramedics, and firefighters. Premiered in 2018, it follows these emergency responders as they navigate high-pressure situations and attempt to balance their demanding work with personal challenges in their own lives.
It is a very amusing scene.
She adds that she was planning to call her daughter later.
Hen’s face lights up and then falls quickly when Antonia asks to borrow her car.
It’s some great phone acting from Hinds and Warfield.
That, of course, refers to the high-efficiency nozzles that the 118 received.
It’s sound advice, though Hen might be mostly projecting.
During her rant,she accidentally lets slip that the 118 forgot that it’s her birthday.
Archie wishes her a happy day.
Bobby, Howard, and Buck are especially mortified.
That escalates when Hen returns home, delivering the episode’s best scene.
Having been informed of the birthday blunder by Howard, Karen is all apologetic.
The schedule has been packed, she says, and she might have deleted the reminder from her calendar.
Denny (Declan Pratt), Mara (Askyler Bell), and Antonia show up with cake.
What works best for me is that this is a storyline that involves nearly all the main cast.
It even comes up, played well, during a conversation between Buck and Eddie.
Eddie runs into Helena while in the parking lot, buying groceries for an Uber customer.
Buck and Eddie have another video call.
In a perfect exchange, Eddie reveals that he remembered Hen’s birthday because they’re friends on Facebook.
How old are you?!
Buck mocks in response.
All the same, Eddie has other things on his mind.
Eddie takes Buck’s advice, which is exactly right for the second week in a row.
Eddie watches from a distance, springing into action when Chris vomits on himself during a match.
The pressure apparently got to him.
Eddie helps Christopher clean up in the restroom.
Because youre my kid.
Chris: Youll be my dad again?
Eddie: Ive always been your dad.
Now Ill start acting like it.
The time jump also erases Chris' process of forgiving his father and understanding him better.
That’s been true for as long as Guzman has been on the show.
As long as the focus remains on Texas, I don’t expect that this disagreement is fully over.
Archie’s solution is bloodier.
Maddie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) takes the distress call and gets the 118 the information.
Wearing a safety vest, Hen gets on the bus to negotiate with Archie.
It’s actually just a keychain from the fast food joint where he used to work.
He wants to give it to Hen for her birthday.
She’s not exactly deeply moved by the gift, watching Archie get hauled away by Athena in handcuffs.
There, too, Hen needed time to figure out when to use her voice and how.
In the end, Hen says, it just might be her best birthday ever.
It’s a parting punchline that’s just right and true to character, punctuating an exceptionally breezy9-1-1episode.
9-1-1season 8 airs Thursdays at 8 PM ET on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
