Warning: spoilers ahead for the spring premiere of 9-1-1 Season 4 on Fox, called "Blindsided."
9-1-1 returned with a new episode for the first time in over a month to quite literally deliver the very long-awaited birth of Maddie and Chimney's baby, but "Blindsided" also served up a tragedy that guaranteed the happy event was tinged with some dread. The good news is that Maddie gave birth safely despite the baby coming two weeks late and very nearly while Maddie was still at work; the bad news is that Chimney could have lost his brother in the same episode that he gained a daughter. What happened with Albert resulted in my biggest surprise of 9-1-1 Season 4 so far.
I've watched enough television that as soon as it became clear that Maddie was going to safely deliver but Chimney had left the baby bag in his brother's car, I was convinced that Albert had been a victim in the massive drunk driving pile-up and he wouldn't survive. Then, when the reveal came that Albert was badly hurt, his car flipped upside down, and blood everywhere, I was all but positive that Albert was doomed to die to juxtapose the birth of Maddie and Chimney's healthy baby girl. I was just about ready to head for the tissues during the next commercial break. This is a show that delivers deadly disasters on a weekly basis!
So, it came as the best kind of surprise when Chimney's emotional plea to his unconscious brother to wake up actually worked, and Albert is on the mend. Maddie and Chimney's daughter was safely born and healthy enough to come home even faster than Chimney expected, and Albert survived what seemed like certain death. 9-1-1's big tragedy that came along with the big birth was ultimately only tragically suspenseful for one episode! It was a wonderful surprise that 9-1-1 wasn't getting the second half of Season 4 off to an incredibly heavy start and overshadowing the day that Maddie and Chimney really deserved to be happy after everything they've gone through. Thanks, 9-1-1!
That's not to say that 9-1-1 is going to just magically heal Albert between "Blindsided" and the next episode. Jennifer Love Hewitt, who plays Maddie, confirmed to TV Insider that a time jump is on the way after the spring premiere, but not so much that Albert will be all the way recovered, saying:
His recovery is going to be fine. Albert will initially be living with them and the baby, but eventually [taking care of him] will get a bit hard to do with the newborn, so other arrangements will be made.
Taking care of a grown man coming off of serious injuries and a newborn baby will apparently be too much even for Maddie and Chimney, and they'll find another solution for Albert. I'm guessing that those "other arrangements" will take Albert back to live with Buck (who also hasn't had an easy season) again. Buck was clearly upset that Albert was injured, and they seemed to be doing well enough as roommates. I'm just relieved that the arrangements that need to be made aren't of a more permanent sort, since Albert survived.
See how 9-1-1 continues the story of Albert's recovery with the next new episode on Fox, on Monday, April 26 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by a new episode of spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star.
