the actress says of first reading the script for Monday’s episode, “Tomorrow.”

Monday’s9-1-1saw Karen move from the sidelines into the thick of the action.

“It’s one of those ‘careful what you wish for’ things.

It’s like, ‘I want to be part of the action.

I want to do more on the show.’

But then they were like, ‘Okay, great.

And you’re like, ‘Wait, what?

I have to do what?!'”

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you first learn Karen was going to get a big episode like this?

TRACIE THOMS:I learned about it in pieces.

I knew I had a wig fitting first.

I was like, “A wig fitting?

What does that mean?

Is there a flashback?

Oh, there’s a flashback.

Okay, why is there a flashback?”

Then I heard there was an explosion.

The actors usually get the script last.

It really required me to use all of myself except forsinging.

It was like every genre of movie and TV show in one episode.

Had you been itching to get in on the action scenes?

I’ve always been so jealous watching the episodes.

I’m like, “You got to hang off a building?

There’s fire, and smoke, and a landslide?”

It’s like magic.

I didn’t know how much practical effects went into what they did.

It’s really exciting.

Did anything surprise you when you read the flashback scenes?

Anything new you discovered about Karen or her relationship with Hen?

But now you get to see all that in action.

The episode starts with Hen procrastinating instead of signing her 118 resignation papers.

What’s Karen’s take on all this?

You’re falling asleep at the wheel.

you’ve got the option to’t do both.

But I’m here to support you, so make a choice.

Whatever choice you make, I’m here for you."

I think because Karen is such a high achiever herself, she understands it, being a scientist herself.

I think they’re such a good couple because they’re so evenly yoked.

They understand each other in a very, very practical and intimate way.

Karen went through the same thing with being an astronaut.

She learned that her priorities had changed, and she would rather not go to space.

She would rather be here on earth, with her wife and her son.

It was going to be difficult, but she was ready to do it.

But I think moving forward, we’ll see if Hen regrets that decision or embraces that decision.

What can we expect for HenRen moving forward?

As Denny gets older, the questions are going to start coming up about his birth parents.

I imagine all these things cause a whole new era of parenting that we have to be ready for.