9-1-1 's Tracie Thoms unpacks Karen's big episode — and what Hen's decision means
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Monday's 9-1-1 saw Karen move from the sidelines into the thick of the action.
"I was honestly overwhelmed and kind of terrified," actress Tracie Thoms says of first learning her scientist character Karen would find herself at the center of a deadly explosion on the Fox first responder drama. "It's one of those 'careful what you wish for' things. It's like, 'I want to be part of the action. I want to do more on the show.' But then they were like, 'Okay, great. Here.' And you're like, 'Wait, what? I have to do what?!'"
Tonight's episode, "Tomorrow," saw Karen — the wife of firefighter paramedic-turned-medical student Hen (Aisha Hinds) — playing the hero alongside Bobby (Peter Krause) as she helped rescue her colleagues. It also featured flashbacks through Hen and Karen's relationship: How they met, fell in love, and welcomed their son Denny (Declan Pratt).
Karen ultimately survives the disaster, but discovers that her near-death experience has altered Hen's plans to quit the 118 and continue medical school. Here, Thoms discusses filming the episode, what makes Hen and Karen such a great couple, and what's to come for #HenRen.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you first learn Karen was going to get a big episode like this?
TRACIE THOMS: I learned about it in pieces. I knew I had a wig fitting first. I was like, "A wig fitting? What does that mean? Is there a flashback? Oh, there's a flashback. Okay, why is there a flashback?" Then I heard there was an explosion. I got it from different people on the set because they'd all read the preliminary script, and I hadn't gotten them yet because they wait until they're really ready to give it to you. The actors usually get the script last.
When I did finally read it, I was like, "Oh my God, how am I going to embody all of this?" It really required me to use all of myself except for singing. It was like every genre of movie and TV show in one episode. You had action, you had drama, you had rom-com, you had some steamy scenes — all kinds of stuff, all in one hour.
Had you been itching to get in on the action scenes?
I've always been so jealous watching the episodes. I'm like, "You got to hang off a building? That's awesome. There's fire, and smoke, and a landslide?" Now, getting to be a part of it, it just really gave me such a huge amount of respect for our entire crew and our production team, how they make these things happen. It's like magic. I didn't know how much practical effects went into what they did. We had actual fire, which makes the acting of it very easy, because you're actually in a place with fire, and haze, and smoke, and soot, and dirt, and all this stuff. It's really exciting.
Did anything surprise you when you read the flashback scenes? Anything new you discovered about Karen or her relationship with Hen?
What's happened over the last few years is you've gotten bits and pieces of their story: We mentioned in passing how everyone else at work is so young, how they met on a blind date, and how I never got to be carefree. But now you get to see all that in action. You see how type A she was when they first met, how she's a leader at work like she is at home.
But now, we get to see how I originally heard about [Hen's ex] Eva, and how I made the decision to stay with [Hen], even though she had this very difficult past with this woman that I knew was going to be a problem. Now you understand how Karen has always been so wary of Eva, because you see the havoc she's been wreaking on this relationship since the very, very beginning. It was really great to go back and reverse engineer it, and fill in the blanks and the holes that the story has been leading us towards this whole time.
The episode starts with Hen procrastinating instead of signing her 118 resignation papers. What's Karen's take on all this?
Well, I think Karen also has a history of having a dream — being an astronaut and going to space — so she understands the aspiration that Henrietta has. I think Karen is just so proud of Hen for following her dream and wants to be the best partner that she can, but also putting her foot down when she needs to, like, "You're doing too much. You're falling asleep at the wheel. You can't do both. You have to pick one or the other, because the family needs you, so get your priorities straight. But I'm here to support you, so make a choice. Whatever choice you make, I'm here for you."
I think because Karen is such a high achiever herself, she understands it, being a scientist herself. I think they're such a good couple because they're so evenly yoked. They understand each other in a very, very practical and intimate way.
So how does Karen feel now that Hen says she wants to quit medical school and stay a paramedic firefighter?
Karen went through the same thing with being an astronaut. She learned that her priorities had changed, and she would rather not go to space. She would rather be here on earth, with her wife and her son. I think she understands that shift because she went through it herself, and she has empathy for it — and she's probably relieved a bit because it was going to be hard having a wife going through a third year of medical school, and then her residency, and then the hospital. It was going to be difficult, but she was ready to do it. But I think moving forward, we'll see if Hen regrets that decision or embraces that decision.
What can we expect for HenRen moving forward?
As Denny gets older, the questions are going to start coming up about his birth parents. I imagine all these things cause a whole new era of parenting that we have to be ready for.
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