The Sheriff Country hour kicks off the two-episode event with Fire Country.
Up to this point, we’ve had small moments of crossover to remind us that the two shows are set in the same universe. Bode, Sharon, and Manny have all stepped into the world of Mickey Fox in small ways.
This two-hour crossover event sees everyone working together to help solve a terrifying case that is a parent’s worst nightmare.
A Slow Start with So Much Baseball Focus
Sheriff Country opens up in a bit of a slow but also somewhat jarring way.
We’re thrown into this baseball rivalry between the Sheriff’s office and Cal Fire, and I’m not sure that I was convinced by it.
I know there had to be a reason to bring the two teams together from the start, but there’s never been a mention of a baseball rivalry between the two of them.
It’s not even clear if this will actually become a yearly event.
What was even more off was how Boone clearly knew Bode and some of the other Cal Fire lot, but not everyone else did.
This is a great way to introduce characters to the Sheriff Country crowd. There are sure to be some who don’t watch Fire Country (and vice versa), and there needs to be a way to introduce them to the audience.
However, wouldn’t Hank have known someone like Eve? Eve runs Three Rock, so surely they would have some run-ins now and then.
As Wes points out, Three Rock is the convict camp. I love that we get to see his point of view, because there have been times that I’ve questioned it.
Prisoners are putting their lives at risk with minimal training, and it’s all in the hope of being paroled.
Sure, there is a good element to it, and it did help Bode turn his life around. However, from an outsider perspective, it’s questionable.
Yet, while I fully understood Wes’ viewpoint, I had to question why it hadn’t come up before. This isn’t the first time Sharon has appeared on Sheriff Country, and she’s spent time with Wes.
Why wouldn’t he mention it before then? It came out of the blue, all because Eve was there.
The writing needed a bit of work there.
It was all these introductions and connections that made the episode fall a little flat. More time was spent on that than on the actual case, which was harrowing for parents.
Mickey Races Against Time to Find the Missing Kids
Mickey’s primary job is to try to keep the town safe. Her secondary job is to keep it calm.
Not giving the parents all the information after the bus explosion was perfectly understandable.
Would I like it as a parent? Hell, no! Would I understand it? Once I saw how all the parents started to react, yes!
Look, they just wanted their children back, and they thought that Mickey was doing nothing to help with that.
But you can’t negotiate with terrorists. Time and time again, we’re told that, but people act on an emotional level.
Sharon started acting on an emotional level, while Mickey could take a step back. That’s why Sharon is fire, and Mickey is the police.
They should have gone into the initial meeting with the parents with clear guidelines and rules. That’s where Mickey messed up royally.
Part of that didn’t help that Mickey and Sharon were also feuding, all because Sharon’s mom unexpectedly turned up.
Mickey’s heart-to-heart with Sharon came a little late, as I do feel like Sharon should have known why Mickey liked Sharon’s mom — a girl missing her late mom was always going to cling to a woman who could be a mom to her.
But coming late wasn’t what annoyed me. Sharon’s inability to keep her own emotions in check was the worst part.
There were parents terrified for their children, and Mickey was there trying to keep the town calm. Sharon made it all about herself rather than just stepping back and focusing on the problem.
For Sheriff Country fans, this is somewhat out of character for what we’ve seen of her.
If you’ve watched Fire Country, you’ll know Sharon reacts like this. It’s sometimes a wonder how she ended up in such a position of authority!
Fortunately, Mickey remained focused on the case. It was because of her that they were able to get to the bottom — slightly — of who took the children and where they were being kept.
Sure, it took a few listens to that tape, but that’s okay. She listened because she knew there would eventually be something in it. It was a little High Potential in that way.
Bode Needs to Take a Leaf Out of Boone’s Book
This all led to the final moments, as Boone and Bode find where the children are being held.
The problem is that they’re not in any of the buildings in the quarry.
Did anyone else figure out what the hostage-taker meant when he said the children were running out of time?
While Mickey focused on the money, my mind went straight to wondering why these children would be running out of time.
The person who took them wasn’t in the room. He (or she) was watching them just like everyone else.
So, the children were in one of two places: a shipping container or underground. My mind always goes underground, mostly because I’ve seen way too many psychological thrillers, and it’s a huge fear.
As Boone and Bode rushed to the recently disturbed sand, I started screaming at the TV.
I needed them to stop, because something wasn’t right.
Boone, with his military training, worked with a cooler head, and it shows the type of training everyone has had.
He knew they shouldn’t open the hatch, and it wasn’t surprising that he found an explosive timer.
Why wouldn’t Bode think of that, though?
The whole hour had started with a school bus exploding, and Sharon and Bode made a point that it was a bomb.
How did nobody think that the place where the children were being kept could be rigged?
And why didn’t Boone shout at Bode to stop pulling at the door when he realized the wires were there?
Sometimes, it’s frustrating to watch characters not fully think things through, and that was a weakness at the end of the two-hour event.
That being said, I am sticking around, of course. I am invested in those children being saved.
For that hour, I’m passing it over to Denis Kimathi, our resident Fire Country reviewer. Enjoy!