Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
4.5
Luckily, Fire Country never misses a chance to fill every episode with non-stop, wall-to-wall intensity and still have time for characters to bear their souls. What I’m saying is that was a fantastic first episode after the winter break.
After barreling through the first two seasons, I had a laundry list of complaints about the show, but it looks like nature is healing itself. That said, there will always be little plot choices that make us see question marks.
Even though it has been a slow build on Fire Country, seeing Jake, Bode, and Eve in the field together and then embracing each other as lifelong friends is too heartwarming not to love.
While it looked like the series would be backtracking to previous storylines, they have instead recycled one for something slightly different and just as exciting. That was my way of saying, “What a fun twist with Walter at the end!”
Also, why did Fire Country introduce those PASS devices only now when they are mandatory for all firefighters to wear? It was just something that occurred to me.
Fire Country May Be onto Something by Letting the Actors Have a Turn Wearing the Director’s Hat
First, we must give props to Manny’s Kevin Alejandro for directing such a spectacular episode. Honestly, I was at the edge of my seat because the pacing was perfect.
Fire Country is the kind of show that likes to keep it in the family, not just in front of the camera. Alejandro isn’t the only cast member to take an episode by the steering wheel.
Max Theriot and Alejandro have sat in the director’s chair multiple times throughout the seasons. However, the actor of one over-parenting character has already had a turn in Season 3.
Sharon’s Diane Farr directed Fire Country Season 3 Episode 3, the one with the structure fire training drill where Papa Leone told Bode that the dummies are usually hidden in a closet.
So, if you have issues with that or this episode, you know whose official social media accounts to blow up. As always, my issue with “Coming in Hot” has to do with Bode.
Once Again, Bode’s Heroics Get a Pass Despite Putting His Fellow Firefights in Blazing Danger
Let me start by saying that I love the direction that Fire Country Season 3 is taking Max Theriot’s (SEAL Team) Bode. His character, while still a self-destructive hero, is not getting passes for his heroics. Well, he isn’t, for the most part.
Listen, I think the possible budding romance between Bode and Audrey is very much needed and appreciated, but she should have ripped him a new one.
That man almost got her killed because of a promise he never should have made. Now, watch. The series won’t show that homeowner again.
Then, Bode had the nerve to acknowledge that he was right about Audrey needing medical attention because of the smoke and water. Bode was the reason she had to panic in a pool in the first place; he wouldn’t listen to the chain of command.
I feel for the man who lost his house, but as Jared Padalecki‘s Casey said in Fire Country Season 3 Episode 7, “Edgewater is a fire factory.” You couldn’t pay me to live in that disaster-ridden town.
Especially since the residents seem mean as hell when you try to help them.
Despite Being the Very Definition of Cantankerous, Eve’s Father, Elroy, Wasn’t All That Bad in the End
Seriously, what is it with the town’s residents being so surly towards the fire department whenever they come around trying to save their lives?
Remember when Mrs. Renkin called out Eve as that girl who chose fire over ranching in Fire Country Season 3 Episode 2? What a mean thing to say from a character we’ll probably never see again.
Now there’s Eve’s father, who had the mother of all sticks jammed up his butt. I know he and Eve worked things out in the end, but he was a really nasty piece of work there for a minute.
Still, it was great plotting to have the tables turn from saving the horses to using them to save the day. That was some nice storytelling on Fire Country’s part.
Of course, they wouldn’t have needed the horses if not for one Miss Perez.
When One Dramatic Door Closes, Fire Country Smashes in the Window of Another Character’s Life
So, like Bode’s character, Fire Country addresses the previous plot points and character choices since Fire Country Season 1.
Side note: I involuntarily chuckled during Gabriela’s vulnerable monologue because that crazy chick thought all her problems had started when she left Diego at the altar. Firefighter, please.
Hell, at this point, it’s clear her issues are long-standing and rooted in core memories that she needs to deal with.
That is why I love that “Coming in Hot” finally had her confess and own up to all of her chaos to the point that she seemed sincerely happy about Bode and Audrey. Nature is healing itself.
It’s always nice when CBS‘s Fire Country can end an episode with most, if not all, of the drama squashed and dealt with. However, this episode did the smart thing by capitalizing on that brief moment of peace to time the introduction of a new plot perfectly.
Gabriela is going to teach Audrey how to swim — just kidding. I’m talking about Walter and this new illness plot, which thankfully isn’t about Sharon.
It looks like Water has developed a case of Alzheimer’s disease. Now, anyone who has experienced Alzheimer’s disease firsthand, this TV Fanatic included, can tell you it affects the lives of everyone around the afflicted individual.
The hardest part for those trying to help is watching someone they love lose their agency and ability to care for themselves.
Walter is also the definition of proud. There’s no way a man with a decades-long career fighting fires is going to roll over and let a disease take him out.
Fire Country Season 3 might see the Leones lose another family member. Yikes.
What do you think about this new Walter storyline?
Will Bode and Audrey make a good couple?
Drop a comment below to let me know what you liked about this episode, and join me again when I review another episode of Fire Country!
Watch Fire Country Online
