S03.E05: Edgewater's About To Get Real Cozy

[Danielg342]

Quote

Station 42 and Three Rock jump into action when an airplane makes an emergency landing outside of Edgewater. Jared Padalecki guest stars as Camden, a SoCal firefighter who immediately recognizes Bode’s raw talent

Via Paramount Press Express.

[Danielg342]

I'm not going to say this was a stellar episode or one that was particularly well-crafted.

It just had enough engaging and memorable moments that, in the sum of its parts, made for a solid and entertaining installment.

I mean, many of the problems that plague this show still plagued this episode, like characters acting the way the writers want them too instead of organically (e.g. Jake "I'm going to be angry for no reason" Crawford).

Plus, didn't the above shot scream "our special effects team repainted a toy airplane and planted in a toy field"?

Yikes.

Yet, despite all the inanity, there was something that made this episode fun.

Sharon and Vince were at their bickering best.

Eve and her brother actually seemed to have some familial chemistry.

Jared Padalecki seemed to have a heck of a lot of fun playing Camden, even if his lines weren't really all that great.

There was also quite a lot of hilarity to go around with the passengers, who made the chaos- and Gabriella's stress- more developed and bring it to the forefront.

Especially the stoner dude and idiot photographer. They were especially fun.

Oh, what a joy it was to see Leven Rambin on stage singing with Billy Burke. The cover of Miranda Lambert's "Vice" was prescient given the episode's subject matter.

I'm not sure that Rambin has a Grammy inside of her but it's always great to see other sides of actors and actresses that they might not always get to show on screen.

I want to close with something I noticed about this episode that I think the show has done too much from the start, and that's how often this episode spent talking about Bode.

One of the main rules about writing is the principle "show, don't tell". Sometimes you don't have a choice, like in matters of expediency or you have a murder on a network TV show.

Other times, it's really just the laziness of the writers. It's a lot of work to craft a scene or a series of scenes and episodes that can effectively portray what you want to portray, so it can be easier to skip all that and have the characters just talk about what you want to portray.

"Easier" isn't always satisfying.

With regards to Bode, I'm not necessarily stating that Bode's tendencies to go rogue and play hero have been all "tells" and not "shows", because we've seen it a lot.

However, the show's characters talk a lot about Bode's tendencies making him reckless and dangerous, which we've never seen in action.

Sure, Bode has done some things that have gotten him and others into trouble, but those were all actions that were just patently stupid, like stealing the Medic Alert necklace.

What hasn't happened is an episode where Bode's hero instincts go sideways on him and he compromises part of- or even the whole- operation.

Every time Bode has "gone against the book", Bode has been proven right. Not once has he been shown to be wrong.

Perhaps Padalecki's character, Camden, is there to shed this light on the other characters who may start coming around on Bode and realize his hero instincts are a positive, not a detriment.

Or, we're building to that great character-defining moment where Bode's hero instincts actually do go south on him in a major way, forcing Bode out of the Cadet program and making him have to work his way back into the program.

Which could be a nice redemption arc, even though it would feel like Bode's caught in a storytelling loop and his character isn't really progressing.

Still, otherwise...what would we have left with Bode?

See, this eventually goes back to the bigger problem with Bode's characterization, in that so many of the details surrounding him have been told to us by the other characters and have not been shown.

Bode's backstory is a great example of this. He might have one of the best backstories I've ever heard. The show even seemed to lean into it early in S1 by talking about the work Bode needs to do to regain the good graces of everyone he let down.

...but then the show abandoned that storyline...and they have not figured out anything to do with Bode ever since.

That's a big problem, especially considering Bode is your lead character.

Yes, it's great that the show has recognized this and Max Thieirot allows the other actors and actresses to take the spotlight when needed, and the show has done a decent job creating an environment where no one character is really needed to carry the torch on the show.

However, Bode is still the central guy and the central force, and it's troubling that, halfway through S3, they haven't figured out, really, what to do with him.

At this stage, blowing the Cadet program- while not exactly being very satisfying- might be the writers' only option. They can do that story right if they put the work in, but these writers aren't always the best at that.

The ball is in their court now.

[Dowel Jones]

1 hour ago, Danielg342 said:

Plus, didn't the above shot scream "our special effects team repainted a toy airplane and planted in a toy field"?

I kind of wondered how they fit 172 people in a 50' long plane.  And why is the front exit 20' off the ground when the back exit is ground level?  And to hell with sleeping on the floor of the bar.  I'm paying someone to take me to the next town over.  Edgewater isn't that isolated.

Eve, take off the damn fire shirt.  Nobody, and I mean nobody, wears those things anywhere but on an incident.  They're rough, scratchy, and smelly.  Tee shirts are fine.

Gabby can't stay in that trailer on her days off.  Listening to all the daily noise of the fire station with the alternate employees, alarms going off at night, etc.  I don't think so. I'd be gone.  But that means that B shift is playing tonsil hockey when their captain's back is turned, too.

Levin Rambin does have a voice, I agree.  I wonder if the producers sought her out right off the bat, so she could follow in Lainey Wilson's footsteps over at Yellowstone.  I seem to remember that she did some singing too, before people actually started noticing her.

 

[Danielg342]

3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

I kind of wondered how they fit 172 people in a 50' long plane.

What's also odd to me is that- it appears- the studio built a makeshift plane for their set, or at least parts of it. I'm not sure why they couldn't just build a whole plane and use that for the wide shot. It would look better than the cheesy painted over toy plane they did use.

3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

And to hell with sleeping on the floor of the bar.  I'm paying someone to take me to the next town over.  Edgewater isn't that isolated.

They did get free food. I'd take that. Though it is strange the show portrayed Edgewater as some kind of remote place. I've been to northern and rural California- within an hour's drive (at most) you can be at another city, or at least another place with motels/hotels, etc.

Also- and Californians can correct me on this- is Edgewater really "NorCal"? Max Thieirot says he based Edgewater on his own hometown, Los Altos, which is south of the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't doubt Los Altos would have closer ties to the Giants than the Dodgers, but it looks to be in the southern geographical half of the state.

[laugard]

2 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

What's also odd to me is that- it appears- the studio built a makeshift plane for their set, or at least parts of it. I'm not sure why they couldn't just build a whole plane and use that for the wide shot. It would look better than the cheesy painted over toy plane they did use.

They did get free food. I'd take that. Though it is strange the show portrayed Edgewater as some kind of remote place. I've been to northern and rural California- within an hour's drive (at most) you can be at another city, or at least another place with motels/hotels, etc.

Also- and Californians can correct me on this- is Edgewater really "NorCal"? Max Thieirot says he based Edgewater on his own hometown, Los Altos, which is south of the San Francisco Bay Area. I don't doubt Los Altos would have closer ties to the Giants than the Dodgers, but it looks to be in the southern geographical half of the state.

Los Altos is most definitely considered Northern California. It’s north of San Jose, which is the largest city in the Bay Area. And geographically Los Altos is 350 miles from say, Los Angeles. Even before reaching the SoCal area there is still Central California to drive through. The show may strain credulity in some areas, but if Edgewater is supposed to be in a similar area as Los Altos, NorCal is one thing they got right. 

[Dowel Jones]

Some years ago, there was a ballot proposition in California to split the state into two.  The dividing line would mostly run the county borders in the center of the state and on out through the Bay and the Golden Gate.  I looked at it and said "You idiots; you put San Francisco in Southern California.  This is doomed!"

[possibilities]

So: Do we think Sharon actually has a medical problem they are failing to diagnose? My first guess was menopause. I'm in the throes of it and let me tell you-- it's chaos. 

I have no idea whether they are leading us toward "Bode's heroic tendencies are right on! All the people in his life have been holding him back!" or whether they are going for "New Guy is wrong about Bode and encouraging B's rogue behavior will get a lot more people killed!" Dude SAYS his entire crew died because he didn't trust his instincts, but we don't know if that's true or not. We had a previous character who was an arsonist masquearading as a hero, so at least check the dude's resume before taking him at his word.

They would need a bus to take everybody to the next town over. But I'd think the airline might be forced to pay for it-- as well as for the food provided by Smokey's.

Also, I liked Diego. I wouldn't have guessed his friends would be thugs.

And New Guy thinking fighting the thugs was a great way to solve the problem makes me think he's just another rogue type self-justifying, and not a decent role model or leader.

Eve's family disowning her because she's a firefighter struck me as... odd. I thought it was going to be because she's a lesbian. But bro blaming her because he turned down the full ride to his marine biology dream is not her fault. I get that the parents wanted to carry on the family tradition, but I am not sympathetic to him blaming Eve for his decision to comply.

Edited November 16 by possibilities

[Dowel Jones]

Another question I have is, a plane goes down with 172 people on board and there is not one media person or television crew there throughout the ordeal? 

[Danielg342]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I have no idea whether they are leading us toward "Bode's heroic tendencies are right on! All the people in his life have been holding him back!" or whether they are going for "New Guy is wrong about Bode and encouraging B's rogue behavior will get a lot more people killed!" Dude SAYS his entire crew died because he didn't trust his instincts, but we don't know if that's true or not. We had a previous character who was an arsonist masquearading as a hero, so at least check the dude's resume before taking him at his word.

I feel like the show has painted itself in such a corner- particularly with Bode- that it has almost no choice but to go in this route. Bode has never faced true consequences for being "heroic" that a storyline where this happens is a practical necessity.

The only problem is that it would regress Bode's progress and we've done that already by putting him back in jail.

The only thing I can really agree on with myself is that the writers have made a total mess of things with their lead character.

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

I thought it was going to be because she's a lesbian.

They may still play that beat. It may not be spoken at first but something tells me the "we're disowning you for becoming a firefighter" line is a smokescreen for the reason reason for the disownment.

[Danielg342]

7 hours ago, laugard said:

Los Altos is most definitely considered Northern California. It’s north of San Jose, which is the largest city in the Bay Area. And geographically Los Altos is 350 miles from say, Los Angeles. Even before reaching the SoCal area there is still Central California to drive through. The show may strain credulity in some areas, but if Edgewater is supposed to be in a similar area as Los Altos, NorCal is one thing they got right. 

Thanks. I think what threw me off is that the Bay Area feels more distinct than the more northerly areas of California- i.e., Redding, Crescent Bay, Eureka, etc.- and even the Sacramento Valley. The Bay Area also felt like it has more ties to SoCal than the more northerly areas.

I feel a similar disconnect where I live- in the Canadian province of Ontario. I get people who think places like Barrie, Sudbury and North Bay are "northern" even though they are closer to Toronto than more northerly places like Hearst, Kapuskasing and Timmins. Those places feel distinct from Toronto, for sure, but they're also more distinct than the other, more northerly, places.

Of course, these are just musings of someone who's merely travelled to Cali and never lived there (despite my best intentions).

[Sake614]

Not a horrible episode. Best part is new guy. He’s definitely trouble but he’s easy on the eyes, and this show needs some eye candy. Bode certainly isn’t it!

[possibilities]

I used to know a lot of people in the Bay Area and all of them felt connected to the places north of them. That's just my anecdotal observation, but it was very consistent-- for whatever that's worth.

[buckboard]

Bode and Gabs are toxic for each other.  Her father is right.  Before the luggage filled with celluloid caught on fire, Gabs had been luring Bode into coming to her trailer and he was about to go with her - even though it was in the middle of a shift.  Very mature on both their parts.  

[possibilities]

I thought Bode was making eyes at the other cadet while she was singing, and ignoring Gabriella's plea that he ditch the group and go to her trailer. 

I don't want to see a love triangle, but I do think they are teasing a crack in the Bode-Gabriella devotion.

Everything about Bode's romantic life feels toxic to me, but it seems like the network has decided to feature it endlessly. 

Meanwhile, they've totally dropped Eve's love life, which I was enjoying in early season 1. It was fun and seemed healthy. I guess we can't have that!  Apparently toxicity, juvenile behavior, and angst is what the network wants. And filthiness-- Bode still looks like he hasn't bathed in the past 6 months, even though all the other firefighters manage to look clean.

[Dowel Jones]

I think that's exactly what Bode was doing, even though she specifically said earlier that she had a boyfriend. "She sings. She fights fire. She has blond hair, and tattoos.  I'm in love."  Who has money on a potential confrontation with the boyfriend in a future episode?

[Danielg342]

I feel the problem with "Bodiella" ties back to my earlier point about Bode- there has sure been a lot of talking about it but very little showing.

I fail to see what Gabriella sees in Bode that would convince her to end her budding marriage to Diego. I also fail to see what Bode sees in Gabriella that makes him want to pine for her.

The only thing I have seen from the two of them are a relationship between two friends where they sometimes shack up together. All their conversations have been cordial, except for the few moments of contrived dramatic tension that the writers awkwardly insert to make us think the two have some romantic tension between them.

Heck, the show's done a far better job setting up the eventual tragedy of Jake losing Genevieve then the show has done creating any kind of issues between Bode and Gabriella.

It's not like we've learned that, say, Gabriella is the only person who didn't see Bode as "just an inmate", or that Gabriella is the only person Bode feels he can talk to about his problems without judgement (or vice versa). The show has done very little to actually show us why the two of them feel any kind of connection with each other, let alone establish the kind of connection that suggests they are "the lovers of destiny".

The writers seem to have thought that because Bode fixed Gabriella's car in the pilot and they have random sex that they've done enough to show their relationship has legs. They haven't- they haven't done near enough.

[possibilities]

It's just lust, as far as I can tell. And that's why it's so easy for him to forget about her when she gets depressed, and instead goggle at the other woman in this episode. And it's also why Gabriella was so happy when Bode was in prison and she was with Diego.

 

I get it: chemistry can be a powerful thing. And both of them are young and inexperienced-- her because she was busy being in Olympic training and heavily enmeshed with her father, and him because he was a mess and in prison for umpteen years of his youth.

 

If the show is attempting to show us how stupid this makes people when it comes to relationships: kudos! Job well done! If they mean for us to see the two of them as soulmates... not so much.

Edited Monday at 12:15 PM by possibilities

[possibilities]

5 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Who has money on a potential confrontation with the boyfriend in a future episode?

Because women are property! Prizes to be fought over, not people with agency who make choices and take responsibility for their own decisions about who to be with!

[Danielg342]

12 hours ago, possibilities said:

It's just lust, as far as I can tell.

That's the thing, though. I know mileage will vary on this, but I'm not sure the show has done enough to really show them as simply lustful for each other. Bode and Gabriella just seem to have sex at random points. Other times they look and act like they do with everyone else.

Everyone on this show seem to be very cavalier about their relationships. The only real chemistry I see among any of the couples- potential or not- are the elder Leones. Everyone else just treats the others as if they're just there to fulfill whatever the plot needs for their relationship.

[PupCal]

Bode needs to ditch Gabrielle and get with Camden! You get that sexy new firefighter, Bode, help him overcome his grief!