Luckily, Chimney is eventually recovered in this season 7 episode, but it isn’t a totally happy ending. While he’s being treated, Maddie insists they not postpone their marriage — seeing as how they’re always in peril, good timing is never guaranteed. Consequently, Maddie and Chimney get married in a hospital room in 9-1-1 season 7, with Chimney still hooked to an IV. The gesture is meant to be romantic; to an extent, it is, thanks to Jennifer Love Hewitt’s acoustic cover of the couple’s song (“Islands in the Stream”) that plays overhead as Maddie walks down the “aisle” (hospital wing).
For every sweet aspect of the wedding, however, there are two sour notes. Maddie and Chimney are one of the best couples in 9-1-1, and they deserved one episode spotlighting their relationship without a tragic twist. Chimney’s fever dream functions as a way to work through his trauma from Doug and grief over losing his adoptive brother, Kevin Lee (James Chen), but the character-driven narrative shouldn’t have come at the expense of the couple’s wedding. 9-1-1 could have made the wedding a two-part event (shortening the exhaustive three-episode cruise ship story) and given Maddie and Chimney the celebration they deserved.
A Wedding That Was Never Meant To Be?
In 9-1-1 Season 7, just when fans were prepping tissues for a joyful tear-fest wedding between Maddie and Chimney, the show threw a devastating curveball. A sudden encephalitis case turned everything upside down, stealing what could’ve been one of the most heartfelt moments in the series’ history. Let’s dive into the emotional rollercoaster that blindsided viewers and shattered long-awaited wedding dreams.
The Encephalitis Case That Changed Everything
Just days—or hours—before their planned wedding, Maddie and Chimney got entangled in a horrifying medical emergency. A guest at their pre-wedding celebration fell ill, and it spiraled into a full-blown encephalitis scare.
Emergency Turns Personal
What made the scene hit even harder? It wasn’t just another 9-1-1 call. This was their wedding. Their future. Their moment. The encephalitis twist was shocking, heartbreaking, and arguably brilliant. It turned a fairy tale into a fight for survival. But in doing so, it denied fans a moment they’d long waited for. Let’s hope the showrunners haven’t closed the door entirely on Maddie and Chimney’s happily ever after.
