“Fire Country” Season 3, Episode 3: Jake Is the Only One Standing Amidst the Drama
It’s Bode’s (Max Thieriot) first day in cadet training for the Edgewood Rescue Crew on Fire Country Season 3, so naturally, it can’t start without a little controversy. Jake (Jordan Calloway) wastes no time in confronting Bode and Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) about Gil’s (Paul Moniz de Sa) necklace, which he found in Bode’s locker. There are small mercies because Bode and Gabriela don’t attempt to lie to Jake, but he’s pissed because they have put him in the worst possible position. He tries so hard to be a cool boss, but they make it so damn hard! My favorite part of this entire exchange is when Bode has the nerve to deploy a sullen teenager routine and calls Jake out for going through his locker. Jake immediately reminds Bode that Bode does not own the locker, Cal Fire does, so Jake is the captain of the station and can search for whatever he wants. The fact he doesn’t rub in how freakin’ dumb it was for Bode to hide the necklace in his locker makes Jake a better person than I could ever be.
It’s “Drill Den” Day on ‘Fire Country’ Season 3 Episode 3
Jake benches Gabriela and Bode is on thin ice as he enters his first day. It’s a “drill den” for the cadets, which means they must save a hidden dummy from a practice fire. If you fail the drill, you get a strike, and three strikes mean that you are out of the program. Bode is paired with Audrey (Leven Rambin), who’s changing her tune about Bode after trying to get him hosed during his “hot wash” audition for the crew. Now that they are partners, she wants them to work together, though she is obviously resentful of his Cal Fire legacy family.
Leading up to the drill, we discover that Audrey has her own history with drugs and being locked up. She’s already failed out of the Cal Fire program twice but is determined to make it work this time. That means she wants nothing to do with a strike and needs Bode to have his head on straight. Bode is also trying to get back in Jake’s good graces so that Jake doesn’t feel compelled to report him and Gabriela to his parents and risk both of their careers.
That legacy family does them both a huge favor, though, as Grandpa Walter Leone (Jeff Fahey) returns for Bode’s first day and drags Vince (Billy Burke) to watch the drill den. Before Bode and Audrey take their turn, Walter tells Bode they usually hide the dummy in the closet because that’s where kids like to hide during a fire. It’s knowledge Bode can’t pretend he doesn’t have when he and Audrey are nearing the end of their drill and haven’t found the dummy on their own. They make the miraculous save with only 30 seconds left.
However, Jake wasn’t born yesterday. Part of the drill is reporting your every move as you make it. Bode and Audrey were on the Charlie side when, at the last second, they pivoted to save the dummy from the Delta side of the building. When Jake questions the change in direction – and the lack of radio communication about it – Bode reveals what Walter told him. Jake can no longer pretend to be the cool boss and kicks Bode out of the program. Today was supposed to be about trust, but Bode just can’t stop lying! I cannot blame Jake for putting his foot down, because why would he want a liability on his team? It seems that Audrey and Bode really bond during this exercise, though it’s because she’s not chill with him taking all the blame. She goes and pleads the case to Jake so she takes one of Bode’s strikes. This means they are both at two strikes each. One more mistake for either of them, and they are out of the program.
Bode’s fate is also secured when he and Gabrielle decide they need to come clean to Gil about the necklace. Sweet ol’ Gil is grateful they are honest, but even more grateful to be alive so he can take a desk job and squeeze in some extra fishing trips with his daughter before she leaves for NYU. He wouldn’t be able to do that if Bode and Gabi hadn’t saved his life in the first place. Once again, the duo are saved from any real consequences for their reckless actions. This near-career-ending screw-up has given Gabi some rational perspective, though. She recounts to Bode how Jake said 99 out of 100 firefighters would not have chosen the cover-up path as he did. Then she points out how Bode was willing to blow up Gabi’s wedding, and she wanted him to do it.
She realizes that she always makes dangerous choices whenever Bode is involved, and that isn’t good for anyone. Poor Bode thinks the Gil fiasco was a soul-bonding experience that was going to set them back on the path to true love. Gabi is the one thinking clearly here, though, and says they both need time to figure out how to be normal people who make sane decisions before they can contemplate a relationship. They’ve had this conversation before, and it’s never really stuck, but maybe the bajillionth time is the charm! (We already know this conversation is really just an excuse for Bode to hook up with Audrey soon, but let’s be delusional and hope some growth can come out of it as well.)
Manny Is Back at Camp in ‘Fire Country’ Season 3 Episode 3
Bode isn’t the only one with first-day jitters, as Manny (Kevin Alejandro) reports for his first day at Three Rock at the beginning of the episode. Both he and Eve (Jules Latimer) are concerned about how the other inmates are going to receive him, but that’s not actually Manny’s problem at camp. The other crew members give him a hero’s welcome and treat him like the respected firefighter that he is. It doesn’t seem like anyone will give him a hard time for being back at camp. They are proud he stood up for them at the Firefighter’s Banquet.
Manny proves how much of an asset he is when Three Rock goes to Smokey’s to help clear out some of the damage. Some of the wood splinters, injuring one of the other inmates, but Manny is the first to help him out. As they are putting bandages on, the inmate says how Gabriela following in Manny’s footsteps is even more of an inspiration for the rest of the guys than Manny making it to Cal Fire. They want to be the kind of dad he seems to be and have their kids respect them like that. This is salt in Manny’s open wounds. He grins through the exchange, but Eve doesn’t miss how painful it is for him to talk about. She gets even more concerned when she checks Manny’s visitor paperwork and Gabriela isn’t listed as one of the people he wants to visit. “It takes support on the outside to do good on the inside,” she tells him as he’s cleaning one of Three Rock trucks. After being so stubborn in Episode 2, Manny now realizes how much he’s disappointed his daughter. He thinks it’ll be better for her if he keeps his distance.
Eve, who is about to have her own reunion with her rancher family, calls Manny out on his crap. She hasn’t spoken to her parents in six years, but she wishes they’d cave and call her all the time. She doesn’t want to see the same rift happen with Manny and Gabriela, so she urges Manny to let go of his pride and be the first one to call. Eve genuinely thinks that Gabriela will be glad for the call. It seems like Manny is going to sleep on it.
Gird Your Loins for Rockstar Vince in ‘Fire Country’ Season 3 Episode 3
Having Walter in town reminds Vince of exactly the kind of father he doesn’t want to be, which pushes him to accept Sharon’s (Diane Farr) midlife crisis decision to buy Smokey’s. He doesn’t want to hover over Bode or be one of the old guys watching cadet training. He will take over the restaurant and rebuild the stage in the corner for musicians to come play. This is a small exchange in the episode, but it is perhaps the most exciting development. Firstly, it could mean more on-screen guitar performances from Billy Burke. As an aging millennial who now realizes that man was always the sexiest part of Twilight, I cannot say yes to this enough. Please let Billy Burke get out his acoustic guitar and give us husky covers of folk tunes past in every episode.
Another option is that Fire Country could use this stage to One Tree Hill itself and have random real-life musicians come perform on the show. Maybe Pete Wentz will show up here, too, and offer to take Gabriela on private jets around the world. Fire Country will probably lean more into country artists — Kane Brown has already guest-starred on the show – but this new development means that some new A-list talent could be rolling through Edgewater and soundtracking the latest bit of Cal Fire soapy drama. We are ready to get our karaoke on at Smokey’s either way. I would still love to see Sharon’s 401K stock portfolio to understand how she can afford this restaurant, but we love the direction this is taking.
