9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 12 Review: Boston

It was very nice to have Maddie and Chimney back on our screens.

And while we’ve never forgotten about them, there was still a massive hole throughout 9-1-1 Season 5 where they should have been. But we got a lot of answers on 9-1-1 Season 5 Episode 12 about the two beloved characters and a bit of insight about where these two will go from here.

Let’s dive into the Madney hour!

9-1-1 doesn’t always hit on everything they try to pull off, but they’ve done a beautiful job highlighting the very real and challenging journey of postpartum depression.

You must handle this subject with care, and Maddie’s story from the beginning has felt genuine and authentic, as have the journeys of the characters surrounding her, like Chimney. And this hour, while heavily focused on Maddie as it should have been, also did a fantastic job of allowing us a greater look into the months Chimney was in Boston.

For Maddie, we learned early on in the hour that after dropping Jee-Yun at the firehouse, she attempted suicide. It’s a gutwrenching moment to see Maddie cycle through some of the most challenging moments of her life, knowing that she felt as though the people in her life were better off without her there.

Thankfully, she freed herself from the water before making her way to Boston, a place she had called home for the past six months.

Maddie’s inpatient stay yields a tangible diagnosis that medication can help. But what is nice about this story is that the journey doesn’t end there. Maddie doesn’t accept that and stop putting in the work.

And even though we don’t see every therapy session and every single thing she does to better herself throughout that time away, we can see that she’s fighting. Maddie’s determination is strong and something to be applauded for because even when she is scared, she’s always fought to get better for herself and the people she loves.

Nothing about this situation had to do with a lack of love for her daughter or Chimney. Maddie had years and years of trauma she never addressed adequately. And she took those months to start healing from trauma that started at every young age and followed through to adulthood.

The notion that Maddie runs away isn’t wrong because there’s proof of that in her history. Whether or not she had reasons to flee isn’t really what matters here, though; it’s what she has to do to stop that from happening moving forward.

And that’s really what her stay in Boston was all about. 

If you want to debate whether or not she should have told Chimney and the rest of her loved ones where she was and what was happening, then that’s certainly your right. But it seems pretty clear that everything she did was solely to try to be the best Maddie Buckley she could be.

Staying in Los Angeles wasn’t going to make her better, and that’s just a fact. She had to return to a place she felt safe, and she had to fight for herself without being pulled in different directions by others, even if they were always coming from a place of love.

And that brings us to Chimney, who goes through every emotion possible during this hour.

He’s hopeful one second, devastated and overwhelmed the next. But much like Maddie, Chimney doesn’t quit, and he builds his own temporary life for himself and Jee while he never gives up hope that he’ll run into the love of his life one day.

The lead-up to their eventual reunion is so nerve-wracking, as they fight throughout the chaos of St. Patrick’s Day in Boston, of all places. The city is a mess, and Maddie is searching for the one friend she made in Boston, and then just like that, the two of them are locking eyes for the first time in months.

It’s such a powerful moment between the two, and Jennifer Love Hewitt and Kenneth Choi still have all the chemistry in the world. They look at one another, and everything comes to a screeching halt instantly, even though they’re in the midst of an emergency.

Frankly, it’s precisely how these two should have come back to one another. They both live so much of their lives helping others that it only seems appropriate for them to be helping someone when they slot back together.

Jennifer Love Hewitt puts in such beautiful work throughout this installment, and you can feel the highs and lows of Maddie’s story with every word she speaks and the way she carries herself. I’m always blown away by how much emotion she packs into Maddie and how easy she is to relate to.

She’s a fantastic actress, and all her talents were on full display here, but none more so than during the conversation with Chimney on that bench he spent so much time occupying.

Maddie: I got out of the ocean for you. For both of you. But I had to stay here to learn to stop running.
Chimney: Maddie. I would have done anything to help you. I beat myself up every day that I didn’t do more.
Maddie: I’m so sorry for everything that I put you through.
Chimney: I’m sorry that I wasn’t there for you.

It’s a talk that could have gone several ways, from pain and agony to plain anger. But it ends up being a chance for them to be honest with one another and incredibly vulnerable.

Maddie details her suicide attempt and admits all the reasons she stayed away. And for his part, Chimney admits his faults, and if you walked away without shedding a tear, tell me how because it was such a sad moment, yet uplifting in so many ways.

Mistakes were made, they both acknowledge that and accept the other for what they have to say, and it sets them on a path to move forward. And that’s what Chimney has wanted all along, while Maddie still has some more work to do regarding letting the past remain in the past.

It always seems so easy when people say things like ‘leave the past in the past,’ but it’s not that simple. The past shapes who we are and who we become, and Maddie will always have to live with her past and her actions.

But you can make what you want of your future. And that’s what that sweet ending with Maddie, Chimney, and Jee-Yun feels like; the start of their new future.

They still have a lot to discuss and figure out, but reuniting as a family is a step in the right direction. I loved that they didn’t immediately rush into getting back together because it’s not about that right now.

It’s about the continued process of growth, understanding, and grace as they figure out what comes next.

Loose Ends

• Even though this hour was all about Maddie and Chimney, it was nice to see those phone calls with their California family sprinkled in. It just made me nostalgic for them to all be together again soon. We need a barbecue at Athena and Bobby’s ASAP!

• Eli and Kira being the support Maddie and Chimney needed in Boston was lovely. They both learned a lot from their new friends, and they were both such essential pieces of this story.

• Any Boston natives want to talk to the realism of that St. Patrick’s Day business. Is that really what it’s like?

• Chimney becoming a volunteer paramedic is so Chimney. We didn’t get to see much of Randall, but I know he learned so much from spending all that time with a true professional.

• Jee-Yun is the cutest baby!

Madney is coming home! And we have six more episodes to go!

Let me know in the comments what you thought about this emotional hour and what you’re looking forward to when the series returns!

As always, you can watch 9-1-1 online via TV Fanatic anytime you like!

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Whitney Evans is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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