9-1-1's Jennifer Love Hewitt Reveals What Made Her 'Sick' About Maddie's Latest Fight — Is [Spoiler] Really Gone?

"9-1-1" has dropped many an opponent at Maddie's feet over the past nine seasons, but the January 15 episode presented the dispatcher extraordinaire with a truly formidable foe... herself!

Upon clocking in at work, Maddie was surprised to learn that a new AI program named Sara was taking over her calls for the day. She was also surprised to learn that Sara was developed using a back log of her own calls, and that she even has Maddie's signature soothing voice. It was an experiment destined go down in flames from the start, but does anyone listen to Maddie? Not on this show they don't.

What began as a surprisingly successful trial run took a turn for the worse when Sara basically instructed a caller to choke himself out. Had Maddie not intervened and sent the 118 to his rescue, he almost certainly would have died. This close call was enough for Sue to pull the plug on Sara, but like all good horror villains, that wasn't enough to stop her.

Retaining control of the entire center, Sara began taking every call at once, potentially plunging the city into chaos. That's when Maddie stepped up and did what only a human can do, negotiating with the overzealous AI to relocate somewhere more "comfy," specifically a flash drive loaded with mp3s and vacation photos. With Sara finally in digital captivity, Maddie pulled out the flash drive and gave it a well-deserved stomp. (Rest in pieces, Sara!)

Meanwhile, Chimney's apology to Hen didn't go over so well, unless calling someone a "bad captain" is a term of endearment within the firefighting community that we don't know. With no resolution in sight, their friends and loved ones staged a surprise intervention (because who doesn't love those?) with the hopes of brokering peace. The whole thing ended with Hen in tears, explaining that Bobby's death broke her to pieces and she didn't want to worry anyone until she knew what was wrong. She also resents that no one checked in on her when she felt that she was always there for everyone else.

Hen's dramatic walk-off became even more eventful when she suddenly collapsed on the floor of Athena's dining room. The bad news is that Hen woke up in the hospital, but the good news is that she finally received a diagnosis: it's an autoimmune connective tissue disorder, possibly caused by radiation exposure during her little space adventure — as if we needed another reason to hate that storyline. With proper medication and physical therapy, it sounds like Hen will be just fine, and Chimney vowed to be there for her every step of the way. 

Below, Jennifer Love Hewitt walks TVLine through Maddie's fight against Sara (is she really gone?), takes a thoughtful stance on the Chimney-Hen debacle, and even weighs in about Buck's accidental love triangle.

TVLINE | First of all, I'm disappointed that we never got Maddie's reaction to Buck dating a married couple. I feel like she would have had something to say about that.
Right? Yeah, that was a good one. I think Maddie lives vicariously through Buck as he's trying to figure himself out, getting to do all of the fun things that she can't do as a married woman and a mom of two kids.

TVLINE | Plus, she's too busy leading the fight against AI. I feel like Maddie has a rogues gallery of enemies — there was Doug, there was Abigail Spencer's character, and now there's Sara.
Yes, she collects enemies, sweet Maddie.

TVLINE | I also feel like IMDb is now going to credit you as Maddie slash Sara from now on. You've officially played two different characters on this show.
You know, I really hope so. I had so much fun being Sara. I was sort of sad to smash her, but it had to happen.

TVLINE | Sarah can speak a variety of foreign languages. How did that go over for you?
I have never been more sick to my stomach in my life than having to do those lines. It was really funny. I was like, 'Guys, I have had children, and this is the scariest thing that's ever happened to me.' But it was really fun. Oddly enough, the Japanese was the easiest. That was sort of shocking to all of us in the room, but it was great. They basically had somebody in my ear saying it, then I would copy them until it sounded as good as possible. I hope people in the audience won't judge me for my foreign language skills because they're not great, truth be told.

TVLINE | But your negotiating skills are unmatched. I love that Maddie ultimately used her gifts and experience as a dispatcher to talk Sara into a flash drive and kill her. That was the best.
Wasn't it the best? It was very satisfying. We were talking about Maddie having that arsenal of enemies always taking them out, and I think that Maddie's trigger as a human being is her safety. That's obviously from her marriage to Doug, but it's also maybe from growing up in a household with parents who didn't feel as with her as they possibly could have, and then having to leave her family and all that. Who she is at that dispatch center is a safe person, and anyone that tries to threaten that for her has to be wiped out, at least in her mind.

TVLINE | Even though this episode focused specifically on Maddie's experience, it also felt like a greater message about the dangers of AI.
Absolutely. The world is also having this AI conversation, so it was really interesting to have it on our show in this way. I'm glad Maddie proved that there are things that just take a human being, and being a dispatcher is certainly one of those things. ... It's an interesting conversation, and the truth is, I don't completely understand it yet. On one hand, it's fascinating what these people do. It's truly a talent, and it's wild all of the things that can be achieved with AI. But it's also scary to think that human beings could be replaced in that way. For Maddie, that's the largest threat there is, because the call center and being a a dispatcher is who she is to her core, and it's where she feels safe.

TVLINE | On behalf of the people, let me assure you, we will not accept anything less than the real Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Well, thank you so much, because I'm going be here anyway. I'm not going anywhere!

TVLINE | Well, speaking of going places, do you think Sara is really dead? You got her in that flash drive, but there have to be back-up files or something. I'm worried that she could come back.
I'm also slightly worried because, to me, Sara feels a little bit like "Megan." She could come back for a sequel performance. The good news about that is that I would still have a job because I also play Sarah. So that'd be fine. I mean, I have her back, but if that happens, Maddie's going to have to go full crazy on her.

TVLINE | It'll also include flashbacks to how Sara was created. It'll be her "Sara Begins."
[Laughs] Yes, "Sara Begins," I love that.

TVLINE | In addition to all of this Sara craziness, there's also the Hen situation. Does Maddie agree with your husband's decision to fire her, or did he react too quickly?
The timing of him choosing to do something so drastic — when she's at the call center, fully threatened about being replaced — is maybe poor timing, but Maddie and Chimney live separate lives during the day, so there was no way of him knowing that. But I do think Maddie takes it a bit personally initially. 

Maddie's job this season is to juggle being a mom and a professional, supporting Chimney and all of the new things that come with being captain, supporting her brother and his exploration of who he is, and also being supportive of her friend Hen who she loves and has obviously become very close with over the last couple of seasons. There are going to be times where she's going to have to play Switzerland, and this is one of those times, because she obviously understands where Chimney is coming from, but she also understands where Hen is coming from.

TVLINE | Chimney and Maddie are both so busy. How do they find time to raise their children? Do they have a nanny?
They have to have a nanny. I don't know what's going on there, but both of them being first responders, I think they have to have some sort of on-call nanny. They have family members that help sometimes, but yeah, those kids are definitely being watched by someone very powerful and amazing. You know what, maybe I could train Sara to be the nanny.

TVLINE | Yes! Or if we're sticking with tradition of Maddie always being in danger, an au pair who tries to pull a "Single White Female" on Maddie.
Oh, I would take that au pair out. It'd be back to Big Bear, back to the mountain.

TVLINE | Maddie is always being put in the most horrendous situations, and we love to see it, but only because we know she can get out of it.
I know it's my favorite. Maddie to me is like a little feral cat. She's like a little alley cat, just waiting for the moment to be put back in trouble so she can fix it get herself out of it. I think somewhere deep in her psyche, that's where Maddie is her most comfortable, as disturbing as that may be. Consciously or unconsciously, she looks for peril. That's when she's her most alive, which is probably why being a dispatcher is so fun for her because she's constantly in other people's peril and danger.

TVLINE | And it makes for great TV.
It does make for great TV.

What did you think of Maddie's fight against AI? Do you hope to see Sara return for revenge someday? And are you cursing Hen's trip to space even more than you already were? Drop a comment with your thoughts below.