We've waited a long time for a Henren Begins type of episode, and the wait was worth it.

9-1-1 Season 6 Episode 6 is a beautiful ode to one of the series' best relationships and a lovely showcase for Aisha Hinds and Tracie Thoms, who do some incredible work here.

Hen and Karen have been to hell in back throughout their relationship, and here we got to see how they met and the little pieces along the way that we could only guess at. It's nice to now have a better picture of the couple who've captured our hearts over the years.

9-1-1 does an excellent job with flashbacks; they've become an integral part of the series. The most effective glimpses into a character's past will always be the ones that inform what's going on in the present day.

And this hour does a tremendous job of paralleling the events in Henren's earlier days, as they deal not only with the emergency, Karen and Denny find themselves in but also Hens' decision regarding her future.

There are a lot of episodes of 9-1-1 at this point, and it can be hard to remember every minute detail, but I don't recall knowing much about the origins of Henren's relationship. So, seeing their first date play out and how it was truly fate (and a little interference from Chinney) was a treat.

They were younger, perhaps a little greener, and less stressed than the Hen and Karen we know today, but they still felt familiar.

Karen bursts into the date like a woman on a mission to get in and get out, and Hen is her laid-back self, assessing the situation and figuring out how to proceed. The chemistry was there from the jump, and it's no wonder their relationship skyrockets from there, even if their initial meeting was a little awkward at one point.

I've always been curious how much Eva affected them outside of what we've seen because Eva is such a massive part of Hen's past. And seeing how Hen throws her into the conversation and gauges her reaction says a lot about Hen's comfort level and how much she wants things to work.

She's laying it all out there for Karen, almost giving her an out if she wants to take it. But Karen doesn't want an out, and it feels like a pivotal point in their evolution, especially considering the next time we see them in the past, they've bought a house together!

The conversation surrounding the baby, who'll end up being Denny, was sad but ultimately realistic. Of course, we know that in the end, everything works out, but you can sympathize with both Hen and Karen during that conversation because it's a lot to take on.

Hen has this connection to Eva that Karen will never understand, and on the surface, it has to feel like another way for Hen to hang onto Eva in a different way.

And for Hen, she spent so long trying to do right by Eva and trying to save her from herself. Now she has this opportunity to save an extension of Eva, and it's not only something she feels is right but also something she wants.

The way the hour jumps back and forth between the emergency and the flashback could become annoying, but 9-1-1 has perfected it over the years.

Coming off the end of 9-1-1 Season 6 Episode 5, you know the explosion is coming, and it's just a matter of when it will happen.

It's nice to get a glimpse into Karen's world because even though she's been around since the early days, there's still so much of her we don't get to see simply because she's not a main character.

We don't get a lot of glimpses into her life outside of the Wilson household, so seeing a day in her life was cool, though, this winds up being a day worth forgetting.

There is an awful lot of science terminology being thrown around in the leadup to the blast, but something unsafe happens in that lab, and suddenly a massive explosion rocks the place, killing at least one and causing a host of other horrific injuries.

The 118 does what the 118 does, but it was a nice touch to have both Hen and Athena outside the lab trying to help in their own way. You know Hen's emotions were through the roof, but she was steady enough to do her job like she always does to work on saving Alvin, whose last-second note potentially saved lives.

At first, Karen walking out of the lab with nary a scratch felt like fool's gold, and it ultimately was. 

The whole idea of it never being too late to try again feels like the soundtrack for Henren's entire relationship. They've put A LOT of work into their marriage. And they put in that work because they love each other and are willing to do whatever it takes to show up for one another.

Karen busting in on Hen and basically not taking no for an answer was such a classic Karen moment. Because it isn't too late to keep trying if that's what two people want to do. And if a near-death experience gets you a place where you recognize that, then so be it.

Sometimes we have to be confronted with the worst-case scenario to open our eyes to what we want out of life.

For Karen, that's Hen and, ultimately, Denny. It's her new family, one she's willing to alter her life's plans for. And in the end, it also drives Hen to change course.

Karen: Hen, are you sure? That was your dream.
Hen: This. This is my dream.

• Permalink: This. This is my dream.

Though, if we're being honest here, the fact she was still hanging onto those papers felt like a pretty big indictment.

I thought that when push came to shove, Hen would end up staying at the 118. It wouldn't make much sense to add another setpiece when things are already spread between the 118, the dispatch center, and the police station. But I was never entirely sure how they would get Hen to this place.

In the end, it wasn't that Hen couldn't hack it or that it wasn't the right fit. But it was a change of plans and a recognition of what she had right in front of her.

It's natural to get so wrapped up in a dream that you fail to see the realities. Almost losing Karen reminded Hen of the dream she had right in front of her; her family. 

This was an extensive and beneficial arc for Hen, and as it gets closed out here, I look forward to seeing what else will come up for the Wilson family next. However, please let it be good because this family has been through enough!

Loose Ends

• I would smack Chimney (playfully) every time I saw him if he called me up and told me my ex was dead to teach me some kind of lesson. Not cool, sir.

• We've seen some genuinely grotesque injuries on this show, but Alvin's face caught me totally off-guard!

• Chimney catching Hen doing the walk of shame feels like something Chimney would still bring up all these years later.

• It was a subtle moment, but I loved how Hen looked at Chimney after Bobby told her she couldn't go into the building. That's really her best friend and a person she looks to when she needs some reassurance.

• Deidra's reappearance makes me wonder if they'll tap back into Hen and Karen's fostering journey.

• Aisha Hinds and Tracie Thoms put their hearts and souls into this hour, and it came out beautifully. Bravo.

This hour was a delight, even with the mini freakouts along the way. Drop your thoughts into the comment section below, and let me know how you felt about the hour!

Were you surprised Hen gave up medical school?

Did anything from Hen and Karen's past surprise you?

As always, you can watch 9-1-1 online right now via TV Fanatic, so you're not left behind!

Whitney Evans is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is a lover of all things TV. Follow her on X.