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9-1-1 season 9 episode 4 concludes Athena and Hen's space odyssey. For the last three episodes in the series, fans have watched the two, along with the other Inara 2 crew members, head to space and fight to survive during a geomagnetic storm and get almost blown into pieces in the middle of a debris field.Throughout their space journey, the biggest question has been whether or not they can come back down to Earth. And up until the last minute, there is a lingering question of whether they can return alive. The end of 9-1-1 season 9 episode 4 confirms that Athena and Hen safely return to Earth with the other two Inara 2 crew members and the astronaut they rescued from the ISS.Everyone gets a happy ending at the end of the episode titled Reentry, even with Lewis Kern not making it back on Earth, except for Tripp Hauser.Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for 9-1-1 season 9 episode 4. Reader's discretion is advised.How do Athena and Hen get back to Earth in 9-1-1 season 9 episode 4?Athena Grant (Image via @The911onABC/X)The ISS turns out to be a less safe place than the team realizes, and in 9-1-1 season 9 episode 4, they experience their first hit from the debris. It's the fourth one since the geo storm started, but everyone thankfully survives it. The problem is that the debris will circle back, and they only have some 40 minutes to find a way to leave the ISS and return to Earth.Not all is lost because there's an escape pod they can use, but their return doesn't come easily. Athena has to repair a stuck robotic arm, and Kern has to rework the escape pod so it can seat more people. Athena also damages her oxygen regulator and floats untethered in space, bringing tension to the entire scene, with the question of whether she's going to die in space or not.But at the end of 9-1-1 season 9 episode 4, Athena, Hen, Tricia, Parker, and Captain Stanton return to earth aboard the escape pod. They are safe, but their descent to Earth is tension-filled until the very last minute because no one is 100% sure the escape pod is able to make it to Earth safely. But the heat shield of the old Soviet technology doesn't disappoint, and everyone is alive.Why doesn't Lewis Kern return to Earth in 9-1-1 season 9 episode 4? Does he survive the debris?While five people are able to return to Earth via the escape pod in 9-1-1 season 9 episode 4, only four of them are from the Inara 2 crew. The fifth one is Captain Stanton, which means one of the crew members is left behind at the ISS: Lewis Kern.Maya and Harry watch the escape pod's return (Image via @The911onABC/X)Besides the fact that the escape pod can only seat up to five people, and the fifth seat is a makeshift one, they also need someone to operate the arm and launch the escape pod. Kern makes the difficult decision to stay despite the fifth debris hit coming soon. In the end, he gets the ending he deserves. He survives the debris hit, and Kern is now the Captain of the ISS.Read more: 9-1-1 season 8 recapOther highlights in 9-1-1 season 9 episode 4Athena's emotional arc is one of the highlights in 9-1-1 season 9 episode 4. Reentry hops back and forth between the present timeline and flashbacks to when Athena is still young, already a cop, and seven years after the murder of her former love. Like her life in the present, her old self is also struggling with moving on, and her choices are always brave but also reckless.Athena and her partner, McCluskey, get involved with a robbery gone wrong, ending with her partner's death. However, before McCluskey dies, he makes Athena promise that she would choose to move on with her life and not let her grief cage her, the same decision her present self is also struggling to make after Bobby's death.Another highlight is Athena's reconciliation with her kids, especially Harry, who has also made a huge decision about his future. He's going to be a firefighter. Also, Tripp Hauser has been ousted, thanks to his fiancée Tricia's 1% stake in the company. Tricia has also left him for Parker, whom she realizes is more attentive than Tripp has ever been.Catch 9-1-1 season 9 episode 4, along with the show's previous episodes, on ABC and Hulu.
