I just became transplant eligible.
There are no better words than that. And when it comes to Fire Country, I’d love to focus on that. I would love to focus on anything else than Jake and Gabriela. I would love to focus on anything else than those two, because Jake is the most unlikable character on this show.
But it doesn’t take long before I don’t have to worry about hearing about him. It’s kinda fixed quickly, because after Gabriela tries to comfort him and tell him that he doesn’t need to worry about Bode. They are just friends. Apparently Gabriel is in a state of denial. Jake quickly finds himself wanting to believe her, because when she tells him that they are friends, he believes it.
After all of that we turn to what’s happening at Cal Fire for the day. The inmates are coming to train under Eve’s supervision. Vince and Jake are teaching the local business owners how to put out a fire. Charlie’s getting early parole. Everything is supposed to be a good day.
Yet, we’ve learned quickly with this show, there doesn’t seem to be a good day anywhere. So, here we are, an accident and an electrical outage that changes everything for everyone.
THE ACCIDENT
Eve is excited to be leading the training for the inmates. She’s definitely excited to be able to give Bode a hard time for the day. All of the inmates are excited to learn, and it seems like it’s going to be an even better day because Charlie is being paroled.
Not too long into training, Charlie announces that he’s submitted an application for Cal Fire. It doesn’t matter how old Charlie is, he knows that he would be a good firefighter. He knows that he has what it takes. He’s motivated.
There’s a noise and suddenly the electricity is out all over town. At the fire station, the generator kicks in and they hear that there has been a wreck in front of the station. Eve tells Vince she’ll take a look and assess the situation.
As she opens the garage door, a truck barrels in and hits the fire truck, shaking the fire house and knocking over things, and making the contained fire not so contained. As Vince and Jake jump in to contain the fire, on the other side of the house, Manny and Eve jump in to save the man that was driving the truck that slammed into the fire house.
Gabriela instantly jumps in to triage all of the injured. She’s so calm under pressure and it doesn’t phase her. Well, if it does, she hides it well.
The thing about Gabriela is that she makes a connection with everyone that she meets. People are drawn to her. They trust in her and really respect her. In that same respect, Gabriela also respects those around her. She listens to everyone around her, she takes in the things that they have to teach her.
The woman that she is treating talks to her about giving up on dreams, waiting to chase them and not following her heart. She tells Gabriela to be honest with herself. She takes this to heart.
Am I sad about Gabriela being the type of person that learns something from every situation? Again, no. If anything, I think that one of the shortfalls of her character is that she spends so much time trying to please everyone else, that she spends a lot of time neglecting herself. So seeing Gabriela realize that she needs to put herself first – it’s like ABOUT TIME.
Gabriela is just starting life on her own terms and though I do believe that she and Bode are end game, I also believe that in order to be a good partner to anyone, she’s going to have to figure out who she is first.
THE FIRE TRUCK
In the midst of everything going on, people can be lost in the shuffle. No one is realizing where everyone is, but people are just following orders. As Bode is working to get a hose through to his Dad and Jake, when it’s noticed that Charlie is pinned underneath the fire truck.
Freddy may be the person freaking out the most here, unable to remain calm. It’s up to Eve and Bode to remain calm. Manny is still with the truck driver, working with him to keep his composure. One thing I will say about Eve is that she’s always underestimating herself and not seeing just what a leader that she is.
She instantly goes into saving Charlie mode. Charlie is definitely in shock and when he realizes that he’s pinned and the truck is on his leg, he starts to freak out. Yet, it’s Bode that keeps him calm. It’s Bode that makes sure that he’s focused. It’s Bode that doesn’t stop and instead is listening to everything that he’s being told to do, because he’s not going to loose his friend.
Charlie is concerned about loosing his leg. He needs to be a firefighter and a part of Cal Fire. Why? Because he wants to give his grandkids something to be proud of. He doesn’t just want them to think of him as the man that went to prison. He wants them to think of him as a hero.
It’s Bode and Vince that remind him that no matter what happens, he is a hero.
There are some issues trying to get Charlie out from underneath the truck. What you see from all of the people in that fire house is that they are family and that they are all emotionally affected by what he’s going through. He was so close to being paroled and here we are, the possibility of him dying.
Leave it to Bode to talk Charlie through, but also in the same moments, find himself. Bode knows that he’s not perfect. He knows that he has made so many mistakes, but he is learning about how those mistakes aren’t the definition of who he is. Those mistakes are a part of who he was and he knows now that he was reacting, that he was hurting, but it doesn’t mean that he’s that person. He used to think that he wasn’t worthy of the Leone name or being part of Cal Fire.
Bode reminding Charlie that he’s worthy of family and they will believe that he’s the amazing man that they all know that he is.
THE BREAKUP
As much as I dislike Jake, I will say that he’s good at his job. He is there for Eve, calming her down and helping her focus. Charlie is bleeding out, and his presence and talking it out with Eve helps her focus on the plan.
Get Charlie out, pack the wound immediately and get him help.
Jake, underneath it all, I am sure that he’s a good guy and just has his own shit to work through. Personally, I think he’s always been in competition with Bode and isn’t sure how to deal with him being back. Bode makes him face all the things that he would rather forget and not face.
Jake is good at what he does and is a “good” friend to those that stay out of his way.
He especially doesn’t want Bode to get in his way, but that’s exactly what happens. Gabriela sits Jake down and tells him the truth. She has feelings for Bode. She doesn’t want to act on them, but she has feelings for him.
You have to respect Gabriela that she tells Jake the truth and doesn’t want to hurt him. Admitting feelings isn’t easy. She does love Jake, you can see that. Choosing herself and putting herself first so that she can figure out what she does want is one of the strongest things that anyone can do.
SHARON AND BODE’S OLD GIRLFRIEND
Sharon has gotten some great news – her numbers have gotten better and she’s back on the transplant list. This is amazing news.
I do believe that she eventually will get a transplant from Bode. He loves his Mom and would do anything for her. I just really think that Bode is going to be the person that does it. But that’s besides the point in this episode.
When the electricity goes out, she’s in the middle of dialysis. That and the A/C going out makes Sharon woozy. But as always Sharon’s asked to rise to the occasion and solve an issue.
While I think that Sharon is one of the strongest characters in the show, I also think that she’s someone that needs to be a little more selfish. Selfish with her time and well, herself. She’s always thinking of her family and yes, that’s not a bad thing. The issue is that she rarely thinks of herself.
Her next door neighbor, Cara, is Bode’s ex. She had thought that the two of them would end up married. They were young and they were passionate about each other. But they broke up and Bode’s parents had always thought that Cara had broken Bode’s heart.
When the electricity goes out, Cara gets an electrical burn and heads to Sharon’s for help. With both of them in a bad place and ambulances not coming, it’s definitely a bad thing. Cara in cardiac arrest and Sharon having kidney issues.
Luckily, Vince calls and is able to get an ambulance to them and get to Sharon.
When this show started, I thought that I would hate Vince with every fiber of my being and yet somehow he’s the character that has found redemption. He’s so much like his son and it’s taken him a bit to get there, but he’s gotten there.
And it’s been a great thing to watch – his growth and the growth of the Leone family.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- Vince telling Bode to put his real name on his hat – I cried.
- Bode embracing being a Leone – it’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for.
- Sharon telling the ambulance they have a bad response time… I died laughing. Cause they do.
Fire Country airs Fridays on CBS.
