‘9-1-1’ Season 8 Episode 13 Review: Hen and Eddie Are Too Forgiving in My Least Favorite Episode So Far This Season

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 13.I was wondering if we were going to get a movie homage in this week's episode of 9-1-1 after seeing Hen (Aisha Hinds) start the episode with a classic '80s movie montage of her trying on different outfits. And we do, but unfortunately, that movie is Sixteen Candles, which I didn't like when I saw it. See, as it turns out, in 9-1-1 Season 8, Episode 13, "Invisible," pretty much everybody has forgotten Hen's birthday. This is not in the "fun" tropey way that I dislike anyways, either, where everyone pretends to have forgotten in order to make the eventual surprise party that much sweeter. They have actually forgotten – even her literal wife, Karen (Tracie Thoms), platonic soulmate, Chimney (Kenneth Choi), and her mother, Toni (Marsha Warfield), who birthed her!

Do I buy it? Absolutely not. Do I like it? Even less than that. Nevertheless, some people do remember. Athena (Angela Bassett) had it in her calendar, which Bobby (Peter Krause) just conveniently happened not to look at, and somehow, the topic didn't come up between them at all that morning. Eddie (Ryan Guzman), whose story line this week saved an otherwise disappointing episode, also remembered, but only because he and Hen are Facebook friends ("How old are you?" Buck says when he tells him this during one of their phone calls). This is ultimately just a plot device for a storyline that becomes much more interesting later on in the episode. Still, I would have preferred if 9-1-1 had just done something else instead that wasn't so out of character for so many.

In '9-1-1' Season 8, Episode 13, Nearly Everybody Forgets Hen's Birthday

The episode opens like a typical 9-1-1 episode, focusing on the subject of a call. The person in question, Archie, ends up being involved in all three calls in this episode. Archie is having a very bad day when he gets fired from his job, and then trapped inside a bed while doing chores (to the tune of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's "On Your Bike" by Heinz Kiessling, which I appreciated quite a bit). To make matters worse, Archie's fiancée and his cousin are having an affair, and they hook up on that very bed, with him underneath. Archie's not the only one having a bad day this episode, and he at least gets saved by the 118. On what looks to be the following day, Hen wakes up to realize that everyone has forgotten her birthday.

It's just salt in the wound when Hen shows up at the 118, where they're celebrating HEN Day: High Efficiency Nozzles that have just arrived for their hoses. Archie's streak of bad luck continues, and he winds up trapped in the wheel of a truck. When the 118 comes to save him, Hen just can't help but let the personal blend into the professional. It's understandable, considering the day that she's having, but it still feels out of character for her. When Archie tells Hen how all of this is a result of him being invisible to the people around him, she gives an intense speech that is meant more for herself than for him, where she tells him to stop making himself disappear and to finally take up space. This is when Hen says that it's her birthday, and the others realize that they forgot. Naturally, considering the promo for this episode and how these things usually go in 9-1-1, this speech was received about as well as you would expect.

Eddie's Parents Are More Infuriating Than Ever This Week

Back in El Paso, Eddie is trying to cook the perfect meal for Christopher (Gavin McHugh) in an attempt to butter him up so that he can ask him to move in with him. In a scene I loved, Eddie and Buck (Oliver Stark) cook together over Facetime. It's great to see that the distance hasn't come between them at all, and it also gives us further evidence of the fact that 9-1-1 is indeed continuing to build up to Buddie. Since Buck was confronted with his feelings for Eddie two episodes ago, each of the episodes has shown them talking constantly, giving each other advice, and not really acting any differently than they would if they were in a long-distance relationship.

Of course, the dinner doesn't go as planned: Helena (Paula Marshall) brings takeout even though Eddie is cooking, and Eddie's surprise tickets for Chris for the weekend are pointless because Ramón (George DelHoyo) is taking Chris to a chess tournament (which Eddie's parents conveniently neglected to tell him about). Rounding out the dinner are passive-aggressive slights about Eddie's new job and Eddie being pushed out of going to the tournament. Eddie runs into Helena the next day while doing a grocery delivery, and it's more of the same, leaving Eddie feeling frustrated and dejected. It hurts my soul to see Eddie so down again, but after some advice from Buck during another one of their phone calls, Eddie decides to drive to the tournament and watch Chris play chess.

Eddie Finally Fights for Chris at the Chess Tournament

When Eddie arrives at the chess tournament, there's a gut punch of a moment where he learns that the people running the tournament know Chris and Ramón very well and that they actually think Ramón is Chris' father. This adds to what has already been building up as Eddie starts to reach the point of taking action against his parents. Finally, Chris vomits in the middle of the match, and Eddie rushes to his aid. The two get to talking, and it turns out that Chris actually hates chess and that he has only been playing to please his grandparents. Eddie was holding back because he thought that Chris was happy, but seeing him upset, he finally jumps in and allows himself to act like Chris' dad again. This is when Eddie makes the executive decision to bring Chris back home to live with him, to which Chris happily agrees.

Although it's much later in the season than I would have preferred, I've been wanting to see Eddie take action like this ever since the Season 7 finale. To no one's surprise, Chris seems to have been having a hard time living with Helena and Ramón, as he asks Eddie to ask them if he can quit chess because he's scared that they will be mad at him. I would've liked to see more of a discussion between Eddie and Chris about everything that happened, but at least it's finally resolved (and "You'll be my dad again?" absolutely shattered my heart). Eddie's been walking on eggshells around his son all season, so it's an excellent change of pace to see him make a decision for Chris, leave Ramón at the tournament, and tell Helena off. Ultimately, Eddie still defends them and forgives Helena a little too quickly, but the important thing is that Chris is back where he belongs.

Everything Gets Resolved a Little Too Easily With Hen's Forgotten Birthday

There is no salvaging Hen's terrible birthday, which ends in a bunch of apology gifts, some weak excuses from Karen, and a fight with her mother. The next day, things escalate because Archie has taken Hen's speech a little bit too literally. While Archie is walking home with his stuff that his ex left out on the curb for him, some guys bump into him. Finally, Archie cracks, and in a misinterpretation of Hen's words, he chases the guys onto the bus with a knife (Hen really can't catch a break on her birthday). Archie accidentally stabs one of the guys, but Hen goes onto the bus and is able to stop the bleeding, get everyone out, and talk him down. There are no fatalities, which is great, but the situation seems to have taught Hen to forgive everyone for forgetting her birthday, which is less great.

While I loved Eddie's storyline in this episode of working towards standing up to his parents and finally making things right with Chris, Hen's storyline felt like a disservice to her and her loved ones. I firmly believe that none of them would have forgotten her birthday, that Bobby probably would have cooked something, and that Buck would have baked something. The episode ends with a belated birthday dinner, where, for some reason, Buck is the only one being punished for something that all of them did, and he has to do yard work while the rest of them eat. I always love getting to see Hen be the hero, but there are better ways that 9-1-1 could have built up to that moment without making so many of my favorite characters act so out-of-character.