Fire Country Season 3 Episodes 2 Recap: 8 Biggest Moments & Reveals
With the helicopter crash still being a major part of the story in Fire Country season 3, episode 2, the episode also introduced Bode’s dream job story at full steam, painting a very different season ahead compared to past ones for the firefighting drama. While Fire Country season 3’s premiere managed to secure most of the victims of the helicopter crash at Smokey’s and beyond, the ending explosion still meant a new danger for others. Fire Country season 3, episode 2 quickly established how two firefighters bore the brunt of the explosion, setting Bode and Gabriela’s dangerous operation in motion.
Fire Country season 3, episode 2 continued many of the storylines introduced by the season premiere, including Jake’s problems with Rick’s request for a paternity test, the definite end of Diego and Gabriela’s relationship, and even Bode’s massive strides forward in pursuing the goal of becoming a Cal Fire firefighter. However, with the major storylines introduced by the episode hinging on Bode and Gabriela’s mistakes at the helicopter crash explosion and the call being discussed during Bode’s hotwash that got him into the Cal Fire training program, it’s inevitable that the consequences will be felt throughout Fire Country season 3.
8. How Bode & Gabriela Save Gilmore Proves Manny Right
Bode & Gabriela Break Many Rules To Save The Firefighter
Bode and Gabriela launched themselves toward the explosion together with Diego in Fire Country season 3, episode 2, and while Gabriela and Diego are qualified medics, Bode was there only in a good Samaritan capacity. Still, there being two patients led the three of them to separate, and Bode and Gabriela’s choices while saving Gilmore proved how reckless the two could be. Although Bode and Gabriela consulted each other before, they still went close to the flames without the cover of firefighters trying to extinguish them to bring Gilmore to safety.
In the spirit of doing the most to try and save Gilmore, Bode and Gabriela broke protocol twice, to reach Gilmore and to move him away from the fire without the appropriate equipment. Considering how the incident involved even bigger and more important mistakes on their part, Manny’s betrayal request to Sharon in Fire Country season 3 started to make sense. Indeed, their hasty tendencies to decide what to do quickly and act on those put them in danger in the past, and they endangered their patient in Fire Country season 3, episode 2, making Manny’s perspective unfortunately accurate.
7. Bode, Eve & Jake’s Sing-Along Shows Bode Finally Enjoying His Freedom
Time With His Friends With Whom He Has A Past Is What Bode Couldn’t Partake In Before
Fire Country seasons 1 and 2 focused on Bode’s challenges at the Three Rock Conservation Camp and in prison, making his storylines necessarily somber, especially considering his return to Edgewater wasn’t exactly welcomed by some of his family and friends. If one way or another, Bode had to spend Fire Country season 1 and season 2 winning over those closest to him, having received an extraordinary conduct credit that earned Bode his freedom meant his life would have been easier going forward.
This couldn’t be clearer in Fire Country season 3, episode 2, which showed Bode finally having fun. Despite being reluctant to join the sing-along, Bode eventually joined Eve and Jake in the choreography, showing how easily it was for him to get comfortable again with the kind of bond they shared as teens. Even Sharon and Vince likened the three friends’ hangout to “Spring Break of 2009,” cementing the definite change in circumstances for Bode, who could now finally enjoy his friends’ companionship without thinking about how to balance that with his inmate friends at Three Rock.
6. Luke & Sharon Getting Bode An Interview To Join The Program Highlights His Privilege
Cal Fire’s Training Program Seemed Impossible To Join But The Leone Connections Succeeded
Fire Country seasons 1 and 2 painted the transition from inmate firefighter to Cal Fire firefighter as almost impossible, setting it up in season 1, episode 10 in conjunction with the release from Three Rock of Charlie, who also wanted to join Cal Fire. Bode’s unexpected freedom at Fire Country season 2’s ending continued to pile on the impossibility of Bode’s wish, especially after Bode decided he wanted to start training to become a Cal Fire firefighter straight out of jail.
However, Vince’s good news to Bode, Eve and Jake revealed how relatively easy it was for Luke and Sharon to convince the Cal Fire higher-ups to give Bode a chance, despite having been released recently. The moment also led to the dawning realization that Jake would have had to administer the test that would have decided whether Bode could join the training program, potentially risking unbalancing Jake and Bode’s friendship. However, it nonetheless confirmed how privileged Bode was to have so many family members as part of Cal Fire that he could start the training three months later if admitted.
5. Manny & Gabriela’s Fight Puts A Spotlight On Their Massive Communication Problem
Gabriela & Manny Do Not Truly Listen To & Quickly Assign Blame To One Another
Manny’s arrest in Fire Country season 2’s finale had him miss Gabriela and Diego’s wedding, and most importantly, Gabriela’s indecision and subsequent utter relief when she could run toward the danger. However, Manny and Gabriela’s exchanges in Fire Country season 3, episode 2 completely made up for the moments the two didn’t spend together in the season premiere. Indeed, Manny proved slightly judgmental of Gabriela’s choice not to go through with the wedding and only realizing she didn’t want to during the ceremony.
Their fight right after Gabriela bailed Manny out highlighted what had already been their problems in Fire Country season 1 when Manny’s shame didn’t let him tell Gabriela about his gambling problems. Manny believed Roberta’s bad example of abandoning him and Gabriela influenced his daughter to do the same with Diego, but drawing the parallel didn’t let him listen to Gabriela’s wishes and feelings. Similarly, Gabriela completely shut him out after Manny’s unfortunate remark, not listening to her father’s perspective despite his impending travel to prison or an inmate fire camp, leading to one of their worst fight resolutions.
4. Audrey James’s Gumption To Challenge Bode Shows She Can Be A Problem For Him
Audrey Is Precise In Her Attacks & Against The Favoritism That Got Bode To Avoid Phase 1
The addition of Leven Rambin’s Audrey James to Fire Country season 3’s characters proved one of the biggest revolutions to date, and it became immediately evident the moment Audrey realized a new potential cadet would try to join their ranks late. From the few scenes she was in, Audrey asserted herself as the best in the class, or at least the most competitive. Seeing someone new arrive after the group had just completed phase one, thus letting the new cadet dodge it, greatly annoyed her, leading her to ingeniously put Bode in difficulty during the hotwash.
In the half-hour break Jake gave the cadets, Audrey not only managed to plan her attack on Bode but also to call her friend at Three Rock, leading her to have insider information about the incident Bode would have presented. Audrey’s questions for Bode were precise and ruthless, even managing to get under his skin for the way she approached him, and her intuition was also right, as Bode was hiding something, despite managing not to admit to anything until the end.
3. Vince Supporting Manny With The DA Secures Him The Smallest Possible Punishment
1 Year At Three Rock Places Manny Right Where He Belongs
Vince’s support of Manny already showed in Fire Country season 2 when he let him know about the warrant for his arrest following the Lazarus fire. However, his support of him reached a whole other level in Fire Country season 3, episode 2, when the DA decided to make an example out of Manny, letting him choose between prison for three years or going to trial. Vince’s show of support with plenty of Manny’s fellow firefighters reminded the DA of fairness instead of politics, leading to his proposal of Three Rock for one year instead of prison time.
While Vince and Manny might disagree on their opinions about Bode and Gabriela’s bond, their friendship is undeniable. Indeed, not only Vince bailed Manny out when he had gambling debts in Fire Country season 1, but he also delivered him to his perfect fate in season 3. While staying at Three Rock as an inmate firefighter will be an entirely different experience from leading the inmates as their captain, at least Manny’s punishment was fair, and most importantly, sent him to one of the few places Manny considered home.
2. Vince & Sharon’s New Projects Finally Lets Them Focus On Something Other Than Bode
Bode’s Freedom Also Gives Vince & Sharon The Chance To Be Lighthearted
Sharon and Vince’s talk about finding new projects that weren’t parenting Bode highlighted a major change now that Bode is finally out of Three Rock. If Fire Country seasons 1 and 2 were devoted to helping Bode spend his last months at Three Rock to finish his sentence, his unexpected freedom finally released Vince and Sharon from all the preoccupation of having a son in an inmate fire camp, risking being sent to jail one day without warning.
Bode’s incarceration had after all made them incredibly busy at first, especially as Vince hadn’t shared with Sharon that he had told Bode to leave Edgewater. Sharon and Vince’s plans to find something new to busy their days with that wasn’t only firefighting thus led to their fixer-upper projects, the airstream and Smokey’s. Both projects will indubitably show a different side to Sharon and Vince, especially Smokey’s, which had been a Fire Country staple since season 1.
1. Jake Finding Gilmore’s Medical Alert Necklace Puts Bode’s Future In Danger
Jake Now Has To Decide Whether To Cover For Him Or Destroy His Dream Opportunity
Fire Country season 3 started with Bode and Gabriela’s drama in full swing, even if the two have yet to discuss thoroughly their feelings for each other. Indeed, Bode and Gabriela’s choices as they were trying to save Gilmore fully highlighted their tendency to do first and think later, and that was already the case for the protocols they decided to ignore. However, all the steps that led to not seeing Gilmore’s medical alert necklace not only risked Gilmore’s health and life but also imperiled Gabriela’s career and jeopardized Bode’s before it even started.
While their choice not to include everything in the report meant trouble potentially for Bode and Gabriela in Bode’s incident postmortem in Fire Country season 3, episode 2, Jake finding the medical alert necklace has the potential of causing even more problems. Indeed, were Jake not to report Bode and Gabriela’s missteps, he could suffer consequences, but were he to do so, their careers would both end. This could mean ending Bode’s only shot at becoming a firefighter and handling the early release well, making this Fire Country season 3 storyline the most impactful.
