S02.E06: Alert The Sheriff

[DanaK]

Quote

After a fire camp inmate escapes from Three Rock, the deputy sheriff with a surprising connection to the Leones, Mickey (Morena Baccarin), is called to investigate, on FIRE COUNTRY, Friday, April 12 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+

 

[Danielg342]

Well, that was actually fun.

It was led by Morena Baccharin and Diane Farr, who were electric together and managed to humanize each other's characters. Yeah, some of the dialogue felt contrived and forced, but they still bickered like they were sisters and the two of them seemed to actually "grow" into each other and form a natural bond, which was great to watch.

The only problem is, on a prospective Sheriff Country show, Farr won't (likely) join Baccharin in the cast, just how Baccharin is likely not coming to Fire Country.

So their insane chemistry is melancholic, because I don't know how often we'll see it.

The story itself was serviceable, even though this felt like more of a police procedural than a "fire" episode. I had thought the deputy would be joining Baccharin on a prospective SC show so I hadn't pegged him to be the ultimate criminal in the end.

Still, the story choice felt natural and was the right call. The escaped inmate was far too sympathetic for the show to turn him into an even worse criminal than he actually is.

Though...Manny was right. The inmate could have applied for compassionate release and he likely would have gotten it, since, by making it to Three Rock, he was already seen as a "good" prisoner.

Of course, if he did that we wouldn't have had an episode. Which is really the only real down point about the whole plot, since this big and glaring plot hole was never adequately addressed.

Oh, and for once Bode did things and actually felt heroic without looking dumb. I have to give the writers credit for that.

Lastly, I did like the subplot of Genevieve and her science fair experiment. Yeah, there wasn't much to it, but seeing the "family" bond over the exploding volcano was heartwarming.

Going forward, I don't know what this means for Baccharin's prospective show or Farr's current show but if the writers wrote more stories like this- where the characters drive the narrative instead of forcing them into their spots- they can really make something special.

[possibilities]

I liked it, too! 

I might even consider watching the pilot, at least, of the spin-off show.

Good job, show!

 

[Artsda]

I liked Mickey, she made me even like Sharon this episode. 

Since Bode isn't the father do they know who the other option was? I am guessing another friend from highschool. 

Jake should adopt her. 

 

[Dowel Jones]

Yabber yabber yabber.... I almost fast forwarded through their scenes because I hate bickering.  Show of hands, here - how many of you said "The deputy did it," when Mickey and Sharon drove up on the two down sheriffs and no Rudy?

Rudy should have been yanked from camp and put in a prison hospital (not just the infirmary) when he was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  You can't work on a fire crew in that condition (although he was outrunning Bode at the end there) and there's a ton of liability if they do keep him there.

Ahh, Gabriella is in love again.

"Let's get some water on that fire, folks!  Let's knock it down!"  I think you're a bit behind the power curve there, boss.  Won't save much.

Management should never have placed Eve up in front of the cameras.  That's why you have Public Information Officers, and CDCR would have handled that situation so much better.  It wasn't CalFire's fault that the inmate escaped from the camp; that would be on CDCR.

[Danielg342]

3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

"Let's get some water on that fire, folks!  Let's knock it down!"  I think you're a bit behind the power curve there, boss.  Won't save much.

I looked at that as more about stopping the fire from spreading as opposed to saving the log cabin. There were a lot of trees surrounding the cabin so it'd be a risk to allow that fire to spread.

[mommalib]

I don't know if Mickey is interesting enough to have her own show. Sometimes I watch this show and it seems the only character I actually like is Jake everybody else annoys me to different degrees. 

[Madding crowd]

I don’t know why they introduced the idea of Bode being a father and just took it away. That’s just going to make him spiral more into his usual fugue. I liked the episode in general.

[DanaK]

So Mickey and Sharon are half sisters or step-sisters? I initially thought it was the former but I relistened to how they described their relationship and it sounded like the latter

Overall, I liked Morena though at times she and the dialog seemed stilted, but it was interesting to watch the byplay between Sharon and Mickey

I did have some background suspicion about the shooting with the deputy only getting shot in the arm while the sheriff was shot in the head, but I didn’t fully twig to the deputy being dirty. And of course he was dumb enough to spill his whole plan to Bode and the other inmate

The sick inmate certainly ran well for someone with stage 4 cancer. He didn’t look sick at all

[Danielg342]

On 4/13/2024 at 7:08 AM, Madding crowd said:

I don’t know why they introduced the idea of Bode being a father and just took it away. That’s just going to make him spiral more into his usual fugue. I liked the episode in general.

It does open the narrative possibility of having a story where Genevieve meets her real dad for the first time, which can be a good story if they work it right. It also allows them to write out Genevieve if they want to do so without having to kill her.

Personally, I would rather have Bode be Genevieve's actual father than one by proxy because it gives that relationship more meaning, but I can see why the writers went with this choice.

[Raja]

9 hours ago, DanaK said:

So Mickey and Sharon are half sisters or step-sisters? I initially thought it was the former but I relistened to how they described their relationship and it sounded like the latter

Sounded like they Brady bunched as teens to me

[possibilities]

I think chosen family could be very meaningful, IRL and also as a story. I would love to see them commit to that idea. But I do worry, like you said, that they may have gone that route to give themselves an out if they decide to get rid of the character.

[Danielg342]

7 hours ago, possibilities said:

I think chosen family could be very meaningful, IRL and also as a story. I would love to see them commit to that idea. But I do worry, like you said, that they may have gone that route to give themselves an out if they decide to get rid of the character.

Alix West Lefler- who plays Genevieve- is 12 years old and lives close to where Fire Country shoots (the show shoots in Vancouver and Lefler is from the suburb of Burnaby). I don't know if there's something with the laws or anything but maybe that played into the writers' choice. I know that having actors younger than 18 can cause some logistical concerns and, since Genevieve isn't exactly a major part of FC, I could understand the need to give them an out, even if I don't agree with it.

[Stevie Nicks]

I actually enjoyed this one. Maybe because there wasn't so much contrived drama. Idk. But it was much better than the other episodes. I'm not surprised Bode isn't her bio dad. My one nitpick is why did Sharon get the results though text or email? I didn't quite see what platform it was. Wouldn't that be a HIPPA violation to send results like that without having to sign into something? 

On 4/14/2024 at 7:16 AM, DanaK said:

So Mickey and Sharon are half sisters or step-sisters? 

The sick inmate certainly ran well for someone with stage 4 cancer. He didn’t look sick at all

I think they're step sisters I think. 

And as for the sick inmate, he didn't look sick any more than Sharon did when she was in stage 4 kidney failure or whatever. 

[NJRadioGuy]

On 4/13/2024 at 2:35 AM, Dowel Jones said:

"Let's get some water on that fire, folks!  Let's knock it down!"  I think you're a bit behind the power curve there, boss.

Why would those words even need to be spoken to actual firefighters rolling up to a scene like that? The kicker, though? They were exactly the wrong words. "Defensive operation. Let's keep it contained" might be a better tactic here.

On 4/13/2024 at 6:11 AM, Danielg342 said:

I looked at that as more about stopping the fire from spreading as opposed to saving the log cabin. There were a lot of trees surrounding the cabin so it'd be a risk to allow that fire to spread.

Exactly this. You've got a fully involved wood frame structure and one engine with, what, 500 or so gallons of water in the tank? What are they going to do after they empty the tank in a futile two minute attack? The best hope is to knock down any brush that lights up and (IRL) hold the line until more water and more manpower arrives to prevent this from turning into a massive forest fire.