“9-1-1”’s Aisha Hinds details the perils of filming in ‘space,’ that “Nashville” crossover, and Athena’s death wish

Coming off an emotional end to season 8, in 9-1-1 star Aisha Hinds‘ wildest dreams could she have predicted her character Hen would head to space at the start of season 9?

“I have been on this show long enough to never be surprised,” the actress tells Entertainment Weekly. “There’s no room for shockers anymore. That’s the nature of the show: Nothing makes sense and everything makes sense, all at the same time. So yeah, we went to space.”

Season 9, episode 4 of the ABC first-responder drama concluded with Hen and Athena (Angela Bassett) safely back on Earth — but getting there wasn’t easy.

Speaking to EW shortly before the episode aired Thursday, Hinds breaks down what it was like filming those “zero gravity” scenes, that emotional moment between Hen and Athena, and the seamless inclusion of 9-1-1: Nashville‘s 911 dispatcher Cammie (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) on last week’s episode.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was it like filming those zero gravity scenes?

AISHA HINDS: The first few days was like a learning curve, for sure. So many things were done practically — even the shaking and the turns. It added to the intensity of the scenes. And it was about 90 percent wire work. We worked with our stunt coordinator, Pete Turner, on weekends to make sure that we were comfortable on the wires, and we were able to do the stunts and flips. It was adventurous and fun, but there were days where you’re like, “Ooh, my back, my hip,” you know? But they were so thoughtful to check in on us between takes and give us padding. It was a lot of wire work, but it’s so cool watching it back and you can’t tell. I’m like, “Where’s the wires?!”

Amid all that, the scene between Hen and Athena was incredibly emotional, when they are deciding who will attempt the space walk.

You feel the fabric of their friendship when they have that conversation. They are trying to figure out how to get out of there, and they have two different perspectives about what that looks like. For Hen, it’s like, “We have so much to live for.” And Athena feels like “I don’t have anything left to live for.” Both perspectives are valid in this moment, and you have two friends who are looking at each other with such desperation — and the desire is to save each other.

Hen has to convince Athena to choose life.

There’s this moment where Hen says that quiet thing out loud: Bobby’s not out there. And they’re both grappling with deep grief in a different way. But ultimately I think the driving force is a love for one another. I think Hen had a sense of guilt for bringing Athena on this voyage. But, ultimately, I think their history prevails. Hen knows that her friend is going to put it all out there to make sure that Hen lives. And equally it’s like, “I’m gonna let you go, but do not need me to come out there.” Hen’s not going to let Athena die on her watch.

It was impressive how effortless it was to include 9-1-1: Nashville‘s Cammie during last week’s episode when they needed to patch a call through their call center.

Yeah! When I saw that was happening, I was like, “Ooh, we’re talking. That’s so cool.” It was just like a little pop in, and it folded in so seamlessly. It was so well done. The story point to get us there was so amazing. Genuinely, when I said the line to Karen, like, “You are a genius.” It literally is like speaking to Karen, but also speaking to our writers, you know, like, “That’s good, guys. That was good.”

So now that Hen is back on solid ground, what’s next for her?

Who knows! Maybe the earth might be pulled out from underneath her. If you have been rocking with us, you know that no one’s safe at any given moment. [laughs] But at this time, I think she’s just grateful to be back with her family — to be home and just to touch her bed and her living room, and her children and her wife. We’re just gonna savor that for a second.

Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.

9-1-1 season 9 airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly