S03.E12: I'm the One Who Just Goes Away

[Danielg342]

I'm the One Who Just Goes Away

Quote

While on a risk assessment trip to the Trinity National Forest, Bode and Jake attempt a daring rescue despite avalanche danger

 

Edited Yest. at 03:10 AM by Danielg342

[DanaK]

Another good one that’s character driven. And only one (attempted) rescue so I’m starting to sense a pattern. It seems these writers are writing better or have a better handle on the show

[possibilities]

Death is hard. 

I thought it was confusing that Bode was getting the bar ready to open and then just took off. I also was horrified that they just left that really young kid all alone most of the day. And it seems like a huge plot hole that Sharon and Vince don't have a plan for who will be with Walter while both of them are at work.

But I still liked the episode.

 

[DanaK]

29 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Death is hard. 

I thought it was confusing that Bode was getting the bar ready to open and then just took off. I also was horrified that they just left that really young kid all alone most of the day. And it seems like a huge plot hole that Sharon and Vince don't have a plan for who will be with Walter while both of them are at work.

But I still liked the episode.

 

It seems the little boy chose to not participate no matter how hard they tried, until Manny showed him how to punch the bag. But maybe they should have found a way to send him home or to the hospital to see his dad

I think Sharon and Vince weren’t quite prepared for Walter to live with them. Vince was in denial until recently

I enjoyed Levan’s singing at the end, especially over the various scenes. I’m a sucker for that

I enjoyed seeing the inmate completely and easily accept his son coming out to him

[Danielg342]

There's a part of me that feels like Audrey is being set up for a tragedy. She foreshadowed it herself by bringing up the episode title (with some additional foreshadowing with all the things about Riley in this episode).

I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, I love Audrey as a character. I think she fits far better with Bode than Gabriella does.

Her presence is almost seamless with the rest of the cast and, if I didn't know any better, I would have thought Leven Rambin was a main cast member already.

...but...

Unlike the previous attempt where they teased Audrey's death, this time she's a much more developed character and would be completely someone we'd miss if she was gone.

In other words, her character would not be a waste if the show actually did pull the trigger on her.

Now, I'm not sure I want Audrey to bite the dust. I would prefer a storyline where Audrey becomes more a part of the Leone family just like Jake and Eve have done. I think Audrey has more than proven her worth that she belongs on this show, and she should stay.

...but I can't deny the tragedy storyline may actually work this time. We'll see where it goes.

Other things...

I almost confused Rafael with Diego in this episode, because the actor who played Diego is named Rafael. Rafael and Bode had a nice bond, though.

I liked learning a part of Eve's backstory in that her situation where she came out of the closet to her parents went smoothly. I'm sure there are a few naysayers who will say "too smoothly" but I don't think it's too smooth at all and I appreciate the narrative choice.

Don't know why they couldn't send the kid to the hospital to see his dad. It's not like he wouldn't be supervised at the hospital. I also have to question the wisdom of teaching a kid that it's OK to deal with anger by punching something.

Another nocturnal rescue...though this time it would actually make sense.

Lastly, I liked that Cole didn't just immediately accept his kid coming out as gay, Cole totally jumped right in and offered advice on how his kid could win the affection of his love interest. That's next-level acceptance right there. The only thing I would have done differently is that I would have actually shown the kid tell his dad "I'm gay" and we see Cole's easy acceptance play out in real time, instead of starting the scene with Cole's acceptance. The scene would have been more powerful if we saw the kid go from tension to an eased mind right away.

Overall, it was a great effort. Maybe not as great as episodes before but it's a sign that this show has finally hit its groove.

[Dowel Jones]

I'm rather curious as to why a couple of CalFire employees were sent off to a distant forest/park for tree assessment when the agencies have, you know, actual foresters to make that kind of assessment.  But, then again, Bode is the all-knowing sage of the world.  It's a good thing, too, because that camper would have been there a loooong time otherwise.  

[possibilities]

I really hope they don't klill Audrey. I don't need them to bring back the atmosphere of depression and I think killing her off would be a gratuitious misery-machination. I know why you would suspect it-- it's a total writing cliche to build her up, hint at the sadness, and then pull the trigger. But the show has been improving, and I'd like to see it keep going in that direction, not have it revert back to the misery mean.

[Danielg342]

I agree with your points, @possibilities, and I'd like to add that of the two big tragedies the show has given us- Rebecca in S1 and Cara in S2- they have both been women, so killing a third woman off is not a good look (and not just because it feeds that long running cliche of how Hollywood treats female deaths).

I just think that an Audrey tragedy could actually work if that's the narrative choice, simply based on how they've built it.

It doesn't mean I would actually want them to do it- just because you can doesn't mean you should.

Besides, now that I think of it, Walter's impending tragedy might be the more interesting story. Seeing the Leones go through those final moments of joy before the inevitable end could make for some nice stories, and Audrey could help them get through it.

...and help them write a new chapter once it's all said and done.

I suppose the wildcards in the Audrey story as "Bodiella" and Leven Rambin herself.

On the former, it will all go down to whether or not the writers are still convinced "Bodiella" is the viable endgame. I'm not and it looks like the writers may be realizing this too, but you never know with Hollywood.

The part about Rambin is less certain. I'm going to guess the show may hold off on announcing if she'll join the main cast until this season wraps up, but I think Audrey's future depends on whether or not Rambin wants to come back. She may want to leverage her Fire Country fame into a TV series or a movie of her own, and I'd say Rambin has earned that.

So I guess we'll see. Maybe all I'm doing is steeling myself for Rambin's potential exit because her future is unknown and anticipating the disappointment may soften the blow.

On to another topic.

The past two episodes have dealt with the theme of "coming out" in a roundabout and interesting kind of way.

In the last episode, it was all about Eve proclaiming about how much love she had for the fantasy genre and how much it was a part of her and how people need to accept that it's a part of her identity.

The speech gave me "coming out of the closet" vibes, which were further cemented by the speech allowing Eve to win Francine's heart.

In this episode, Eve helps someone else come out of the closet to his own father and, though we missed the crucial moment where Cole's son declares his orientation, we at least got to see the son's relief at his dad's acceptance. As well as his dad get further into it by giving him dating tips.

I find it interesting because Eve's sexuality has hardly been touched upon on this show, a decision I agree with because the show is treating Eve and her lesbianism as completely normal (as the show should). Eve's characterization bucks Hollywood's trend to make a character's queerness the central part of the identity of a queer character, which is something that is long overdue in Hollywood.

Furthermore, we've seen Eve go through struggles and pains and rejections and none of that has anything to do with her lesbianism, as we might expect.

So I have to appreciate the writers showing a great amount of restraint in that area.

Having said that, I have wondered how they might incorporate Eve's sexuality into the storyline, so by doing it where Eve's love of fantasy is an analogue to "coming out" and then by having Eve help someone else come out is a clever and well-played way to broach the subject without compromising the integrity of how the series has gone.

In this way, Eve's normality is preserved and the show still gets to broach a very important subject.

I have to commend the show on how well they've treated addressing that subject.