S02.E04: Too Many Unknowns

[DanaK]

Quote

The station 42 and third rock crews respond to a chemical plant after a dangerous toxic spill goes up in flames, on FIRE COUNTRY, Friday, March 15 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+

 

[Madding crowd]

Bode should change his name to Job from the Bible; one tragic thing after another. I seriously can’t see him getting in trouble for not leaving a lost and terrified girl in the woods .Obligatory Sharon and Vince are a hot,  sexy couple scene. Then more people talking about their personal lives during an emergency. 

Edited March 16 by Madding crowd

[Danielg342]

Well, I was prepared to give this score before that final scene...that just sealed it.

That's now two straight cheap mini-cliffhangers on CBS dramas tonight to tide us over for their show's hiatuses, counting the mini-cliffhanger that was on S.W.A.T. an hour earlier.

Which was more of a trainwreck than this one but I'm going to stick to the topic at hand.

So...we've got a felled ambulance. One with Bode inside...and Cara (Jake's partner) and Diego (Gabriella's fiance).

We know one of those who will make it out alive...'cause without him we presumably don't have a show.

The other two? Who knows...and maybe who cares, too.

OK, I might actually miss Cara...and I want Diego to live because then maybe the faint prospect of Gabriella ending up with someone other than Bode might actually happen.

...but, all in all, this mini-cliffhanger is, like the S.W.A.T. one, just another cheap, lame, poor excuse for tension that is the product of a show that is bereft of ideas.

Because...really...what are we left with?

If Cara dies, Jake has had his heart broken twice now in this series in ridiculous circumstances.

If Diego dies, then the writers are telegraphing their intentions to continue keeping Gabriella in that awkward orbit with Bode that continues to make less and less sense the longer it goes on.

If both live, then what was the point of this stupid cliffhanger?

At least I know one character that won't be back...Freddy 2.0, who I might actually miss but who was also so stupid that he sealed his face getting up in Eve's grill.

I mean, really, does this show get a discount on Idiot Balls or something?

See you all back in two weeks is all I can say now.

[DanaK]

35 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

At least I know one character that won't be back...Freddy 2.0, who I might actually miss but who was also so stupid that he sealed his face getting up in Eve's grill.

I kept getting him confused with Freddy 1.0, but it turns out he looked so familiar because he was on American Auto

And weird how this was the second CBS cliffhanger of the night

[Artsda]

Eve's a bad captain, I don't blame new Freddy to hate her...They need real Cap back there.  

Diego or Cara, I feel bad for the kid if it's Cara she already lost one set of parents. Jake deciding to propose now makes me think it's her. 

Diego I think is cast regular added? So I say he lives too just to make it to the wedding that Bode will probably try to stop.

[Danielg342]

15 minutes ago, Artsda said:

Diego I think is cast regular added? So I say he lives too just to make it to the wedding that Bode will probably try to stop.

Rafael de la Fuente, who plays Diego, is only a recurring cast member, so his future is also in doubt.

Though I agree that Diego is more primed to die in the finale so Gabriella doesn't have her wedding and the show can continue her awkward dance with Bode.

[buckboard]

Explain to me why Bode was arrested for bringing a lost girl back to the barracks.   And after the girl's mother thanked him, he was still handcuffed and taken into custody? 

 He didn't go off with her into the woods with her to look for the grandfather, he brought her to the authorities.  Then he helped the girl give information that led to the successful rescue of the grandfather.  How is this criminal activity?

[Danielg342]

15 minutes ago, buckboard said:

Explain to me why Bode was arrested for bringing a lost girl back to the barracks.   And after the girl's mother thanked him, he was still handcuffed and taken into custody? 

 He didn't go off with her into the woods with her to look for the grandfather, he brought her to the authorities.  Then he helped the girl give information that led to the successful rescue of the grandfather.  How is this criminal activity?

This confused me too. As far as I can tell, it's something about protocol...inmates aren't supposed to touch civilians apparently...which may be true, but how many times has Bode and the other inmates gotten away with it? Not just last season, but this season too?

It just feels like another example of the show forcing things on to its characters...Bode's presumptive daughter needed a reason to second guess wanting to see Bode, so there was the show, pulling out this protocol that was never enforced before.

[Just my 2 cents]

2 hours ago, Artsda said:

Eve's a bad captain, I don't blame new Freddy to hate her...They need real Cap back there.  

Diego or Cara, I feel bad for the kid if it's Cara she already lost one set of parents. Jake deciding to propose now makes me think it's her. 

Diego I think is cast regular added? So I say he lives too just to make it to the wedding that Bode will probably try to stop.

Eve really is a bad captain or maybe just not the right one to lead a group of male prisoners.  She's never walked a mile in their shoes so how could she possibly relate.  

After reading your post and thinking about it, I'm going to go with Cara.  Diego needs to be on a little longer to stir up some drama.  He's injured and Gabriela feels guilty so she stays with him until he calls it off.  Cara dies or is comatose. Vince and Sharon are no longer empty nesters.  They get to be grandparents and raise their granddaugher as if she were their own daugher until Bode can step up.

[Dowel Jones]

Convicted murderer in a fire camp.  Yeah, no.  Not gonna happen.  That being said, Eve doesn't get to determine who stays in camp, and who gets transferred, unless there was some violation of fire department/CDCR rules, and even then the COs determine the inmate's fate.

Vince sure got huffy when he was replaced as Incident Commander.  That's the way it works, boss, although there should have been an orderly transfer and briefing, but, hey, why quibble.

I'm sure glad that Bode could hold his breath for however long it took to rescue Vince from the burning building.  Because, you know, all those toxic fumes might actually do some damage to a lesser man.

Why is there a chemical plant in this isolated village?  I mean, you have to truck all the raw material in, and the chemicals back out, which adds to the cost of production, but I guess it's not so bad that one engine company and a hazmat squad can't handle it.

11 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

As far as I can tell, it's something about protocol...inmates aren't supposed to touch civilians apparently...which may be true,

That is true.  He should have walked her back to the camp, and sent Freddy 2.0 on ahead to get help, but that's real life.  It serves to protect both the civilian and Bode; her from possibility of assault, and him from the possibility of a false claim of assault.  Here it's required that he get arrested to drive the plot.  

[The Wild Sow]

On 3/10/2024 at 4:28 PM, DanaK said:

The station 42 and third rock crews respond

Attention to whoever writes that little synopsis for CBS (yeah, I know it's no one on this forum, it's whoever writes the guide for the network....)

 

Anyway -- they keep writing it as "Third Rock."  No, it's THREE Rock!  Three.  Not Third!  Pay attention!

Third Rock (from the Sun) is an old sitcom about space aliens exploring Earth.

30 Rock is the nickname for 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, home of the NBC Studios -- also the title of a sitcom set at that address.

Just had to get that off my chest because it's SO annoying.  Heh heh, I just checked IMDB and it's been corrected since last season. 

[Danielg342]

5 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

That is true.  He should have walked her back to the camp, and sent Freddy 2.0 on ahead to get help, but that's real life.  It serves to protect both the civilian and Bode; her from possibility of assault, and him from the possibility of a false claim of assault.  Here it's required that he get arrested to drive the plot.  

Thanks.

This only adds to the frustration. You would think that Bode would know better and/or you'd think this would be an opportunity for Eve to "lighten up on the rules" (which seems to be her story this year) but then, we'd have no plot for the episode.

[Sake614]

I mean, could this show BE any more predictable? Diego offers Gabi a job at 58, she gets pissed because she really wants to be at 42 with Bode. They fight. Bode gets hurt in a fire because he was stupid enough to go into the building in case anyone else was trapped. Comes out fine, albeit with some burns and bruised ribS. Tells Gabi he loves her, which of course is overheard by Diego. Gabi then wants to go with them to the hospital because Cara can’t possibly handle ONE patient all by herself. 🙄. Winds pick up, tree falls and ambulance topples. I saw that coming as soon as they started moving.

I hope Diego lives, at least long enough to tell Gabi the wedding is off because he doesn’t need this shit. If she wants Body, she can have him. I have no use for Cara but her kid doesn’t deserve to lose her sister/mom. And Body doesn’t deserve to be anyone’s father. He’s a train wreck who needs to learn to care for himself first. 

 

[Danielg342]

23 minutes ago, Sake614 said:

Gabi then wants to go with them to the hospital because Cara can’t possibly handle ONE patient all by herself. 🙄

I agree with your points, but just one correction- Diego went with Cara to the hospital, not Gabby.

[possibilities]

But Gabi asked to accompany them, and was refused.

For a seocnd I thought they had heeded the criticism and killed Bode (when he went into the building). I'm either a sucker or an eternal optimist.

[Sake614]

18 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

I agree with your points, but just one correction- Diego went with Cara to the hospital, not Gabby.

Right, but she asked Diego if he was sure he didn’t need another person. She very clearly WANTED to be in that ambulance. I kinda wish she was, because maybe she’d be the one to die and put us out of our misery. Of course then we’d have both Diego and Bode fighting over who loved her more and who was responsible for her death. So maybe not…

[jabRI]

On a shallow note, what in the heck did Sharon wear to the roller rink? Roller rink? Could she be portrayed as any more infantile?  And back off Jake and Cara, how is this any of your business?  Annoys the heck out of me because I've admired the actress for years in other roles.  This is just WAY beneath her talents.

[Danielg342]

5 hours ago, Sake614 said:

Right, but she asked Diego if he was sure he didn’t need another person. She very clearly WANTED to be in that ambulance. I kinda wish she was, because maybe she’d be the one to die and put us out of our misery. Of course then we’d have both Diego and Bode fighting over who loved her more and who was responsible for her death. So maybe not…

I misread it...sorry about that. Gabby did want to, and conveniently for her, she wasn't. Just so that, next time we see her, she'll be "conflicted" over who she'll be worried about more- Diego or Bode.

I just don't get Gabby's story. It's obvious they've cast her as the "one who loves Bode but doesn't want to admit it", as she keeps finding excuse after excuse to "not go after the one she loves".

...but the execution of this story is so far off. We're not just seeing Gabby simply dating and burning through guys she doesn't like.

We've seen Gabby twice in a serious relationship, with one ending in an abruptly contrived way and this current one I presume will end just the same way.

Yeah, there are lots of people who marry others they've only talked themselves into falling in love with, but it's still no excuse for Gabby's rotten abilities in judgement.

If she supposedly loves Bode so much, why does she allow herself to get so deeply involved with someone else when her heart is really not there?

This ain't Medieval Europe...if Gabby doesn't want to marry someone, she doesn't have to.

I think Gabby's story would have worked a lot better if she and Bode went slowly and tried to figure out ways to make things work, and Gabby does so despite others telling her it's a bad idea.

Yes, this story too is a cliche...but I think it's also more interesting and more realistic.

At least then the inevitable romance can feel earned, and not be the result of this inconceivable mess we've been given.

[christie]

21 hours ago, jabRI said:

On a shallow note, what in the heck did Sharon wear to the roller rink? 

Not gonna lie, I was wondering how she would go to the bathroom in that thing.

[Tdoc72]

On 3/16/2024 at 12:46 PM, Dowel Jones said:

Convicted murderer in a fire camp.  Yeah, no.  Not gonna happen.  That being said, Eve doesn't get to determine who stays in camp, and who gets transferred, unless there was some violation of fire department/CDCR rules, and even then the COs determine the inmate's fate.

Vince sure got huffy when he was replaced as Incident Commander.  That's the way it works, boss, although there should have been an orderly transfer and briefing, but, hey, why quibble.

I'm sure glad that Bode could hold his breath for however long it took to rescue Vince from the burning building.  Because, you know, all those toxic fumes might actually do some damage to a lesser man.

Why is there a chemical plant in this isolated village?  I mean, you have to truck all the raw material in, and the chemicals back out, which adds to the cost of production, but I guess it's not so bad that one engine company and a hazmat squad can't handle it.

That is true.  He should have walked her back to the camp, and sent Freddy 2.0 on ahead to get help, but that's real life.  It serves to protect both the civilian and Bode; her from possibility of assault, and him from the possibility of a false claim of assault.  Here it's required that he get arrested to drive the plot.  

He didn’t get arrested. After he touched a civilian, 3 Rocks did some kind of inmate count and they had to line up. Later, he had to be handcuff for ambulance transport b/c he’s inmate. It was two different things. 

[Danielg342]

4 hours ago, Tdoc72 said:

He didn’t get arrested. After he touched a civilian, 3 Rocks did some kind of inmate count and they had to line up. Later, he had to be handcuff for ambulance transport b/c he’s inmate. It was two different things. 

I'll defer to @Dowel Jones because Dowel has experience here and I don't, but I know they showed Bode getting his hands handcuffed as if he was getting arrested. Plus Freddy 2.0 made a reference to getting some kind of reprimand for putting his hands on a civilian.

Now, I don't know how the procedure is supposed to work, but I assume Bode and Freddy 2.0 get handcuffed and then get led off to the Captain where they have a meeting and they discuss what happened. If not just simply get sent back to prison.

However, because the Captain is Eve and Bode and Eve are friends, they likely just went through the motions and Eve cleared Bode and his other friend right away, with, I guess, the intention of doing the paperwork later.

Of course, it's difficult to tell what is really supposed to happen because the scene merely existed so that Cara could get a visual of Bode getting handcuffed so she'd have the excuse to second guess bringing her daughter to see Bode for the first time. It's obvious that the writer didn't think any of this through because- as happens so often on this show- the writer really wanted that visual and contrived the scene so that the visual could be presented.

Edited March 25 by Danielg342

[cameron]

On 3/18/2024 at 6:05 PM, christie said:

Not gonna lie, I was wondering how she would go to the bathroom in that thing.

She looked like a hooker in that outfit and makeup.  Who goes to a roller skating looking like that.