9-1-1 2.09 "Hen Begins" final thoughts! (re: Capt. Wilson!)
Watching this episode, and seeing Hen called "the future of the LAFD", does make me much more disappointed that she turned down the captaincy in 8b, especially because she's clearly worked under SO MANY different white men. They set it up like one day SHE would be on the other side of that desk, so to see that energy kind of...deflate in season 8 is a bummer.
Like, obviously, irl, as women and minorities, we DO face this pressure to be "good representation", to excel in order to prove that we're worthy of recognition in our careers, both as individuals, and to prove that the communities we represent are just as capable as the majority. Which is sometimes at odds with doing what's best for our health or our personal lives. And sometimes we DO have to choose ourselves or our families over success and accolades, and it DOES feel a little like we're letting down the people who might look up to us.
However, the whole show is literally ABOUT how the 118's careers are their lives, they are a family, etc, so, like, I don't think having Hen turn down the position was a meaningful dose of realism. Like, she didn't even really give a specific reason?
(Especially bc Chim literally has a newborn baby at home? And Hen's kids are decidedly older and more independent than his? Like, let's maybe revisit the point we were making about sexism...?)
I'm gonna be honest, I was fine w Capt. Han before, but watching "Hen Begins" has made me hope that we actually do end up with Capt. Wilson in season 9.
Like, originally I was like, "no, I get it, I don't want that much responsibility, either." But this episode showed how driven and ambitious Hen has always been! And it really sheds light on how...kind of insulting? the writing of her character in 8b was. Like...they forgot her birthday?? That's the best we got? And then she gets offered the job her whole career has been leading up to, and she's like, "nah, I don't feel like it."
