S03.E18: Eyes and Ears Everywhere

[Danielg342]

Quote

The station 42 crew responds to a routine house fire that escalates into a dangerous situation for one of their own

 

[Linderhill]

this whole Oxalta storyline is so stupid.  It was so obvious that TPTB decided they needed something to cause conflict between Bode and his parents this drivel was what they came up with.  The contaminated water plot point is hardly a new one but it was all solved so quickly let alone the legal issues. As stated earlier, the whole Manny getting released makes no sense, especially how quickly that all happened. 

[Danielg342]

Honestly, I don't really know where to begin on an episode like this.

This sounds like the collection of very bad ideas that someone thought would make a great episode when it doesn't.

For starters, the Oxalta storyline was already ridiculous because NDAs would not get them out of some clearly criminal activity.

Criminal activity that would have sunk the company long before this arc could even happen.

Criminal activity they continued to do in this episode.

Secondly, as much as I liked J. August Richards' performance as Attorney Merriweather, writing and directing him as a one-dimensional villain is absolutely ridiculous.

I mean, we're not getting Merriweather vs. Bode at Hell in a Cell, so making Merriweather play a poor man's version of a WWE heel just doesn't fit a TV show.

Sure, the Oxalta storyline had a very WWE ending with Merriweather getting recorded and admitting to the harassment, but it still doesn't change that the storyline itself was patently ridiculous.

As far as the "Creepy Finn" storyline went...it was already cringeworthy. Now it also benefits from plot contrivances. So fortunate- or unfortunate- for Finn that Vince brought Gabby along in the first place and made her ride with him.

Otherwise, we'd have no drama.

Lastly...the Jake storyline. Unless we're headed for a major cast shakeup for S4, I'm not sure what the point of this storyline is.

They sure are not developing it much, that's for sure.

[possibilities]

Do most stalkers use film instead of digital images?

 

[Dowel Jones]

I had no idea that Butte and Humboldt Counties were adjacent (In actuality, point to closest point is ~100 miles).  And Jake plans to transfer as a captain and in one year compete (or, as he assumes, slide right in) for the Battalion Chief job, despite all the other captains in Butte with more knowledge and seniority.  In reality, captain is the best job.  Double your base pay with overtime every year, and none of the management headaches of BC.  The downside of Butte County is that it's only 90 miles from Sacramento HQ.  As the title says, eyes and ears everywhere.  

So, Finn ran off with his cell phone.  Vince should call the FBI JOC in New York.  Within minutes they'll have him pinpointed and half the NYC field office (two agents) will be enroute for the world's roughest chase scene.

What's the over/under on Bode saving Gabrielle?  And, in their haste to wrap up the Exalta storyline, did the writers forget that Vince is still three payments behind on the bar, and knee deep in the trailer?

[cameron]

Doesn't anyone realize that Vince's ex girlfriend is a tort lawyer and she gets a cut of any class action suit against Oxalta they win.

[The Wild Sow]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

Do most stalkers use film instead of digital images?

I guess if they're professional photographers they might.  Plus, you know, actual pictures that can be touched and handled, etc.....  Making shrines in the basement, stuff like that....

And they BURN easier!

 

[Linderhill]

2 hours ago, The Wild Sow said:

Do most stalkers use film instead of digital images?

I would say not because they would want that instant gratification that digital imagery would give them.  I can't see why said stalker would bother with film surveillance when he would have to process the film and then print it with all of the necessary paraphernalia that would go with film photography. One more stupid plotpoint recycled from numerous plots of stalkers over the years on TV.  

[possibilities]

In all seriousness, though, I did kind of appreciate them taking the stalking seriously, and also not pulling any punches about how evil Oxalta is. No need to humanize evil; that's been a very popular agenda in the past few years and I like seeing the pendulum swing away from it.

The resolutions are too easy, but at the same time, if they draw it out people will say it's dragging, so I give them a pass on a victory.

--

You can print out digitally taken photos (I've done it), so I did find the chemical darkroom contrived, but I was mostly joking when I asked if that was SOP for stalkers. All I could think about, though, was that they were standing around all those chemicals during the blaze. I wondered if there was a better way to put the fires out-- I thought foam of some kind, or... I don't know. 

I liked Eve telling Jake to be a grown up. 

I don't want Jake to leave the show, though, so I'm not sure how they are going to handle his arc. 

I wondered how they were paying for Vince's memory care facility. Now we know they actually haven't really been able to. I don't really understand how ANYONE pays for those places, other than flat out oligarchs.

I am liking the friendliness between Audrey and Gabriella. I really hope they don't rekindle the Bode flames to break apart their friendship.

 

[Dowel Jones]

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

...and also not pulling any punches about how evil Oxalta is. No need to humanize evil; that's been a very popular agenda in the past few years and I like seeing the pendulum swing away from it.

There's evil, and then there's moustache-twirling evil.  The only thing Meriweather lacked was a resounding 'Bwahahahaha' as he uttered something like "Before I kill you, I'm going to tell you about my evil plan for world domination."  You could see him from left field, whereas a better portrayal would be someone who can wield real power without them ever knowing it until it was almost too late.  Then again, that would make it much harder for Sharon and Bode to burst out of the telephone booth and save the day.

[Danielg342]

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

not pulling any punches about how evil Oxalta is. No need to humanize evil; that's been a very popular agenda in the past few years and I like seeing the pendulum swing away from it.

I'm not talking about making Oxalta sympathetic. Or Finn, for that matter.

When it comes to Finn, I believe the story choice was, ultimately, wrong. Gabriella's relationships on this show have been breaking off a serious relationship with Jake and breaking off the wedding with Diego, before going back into the dating pool and meeting stalker Finn.

I really don't understand why the writers couldn't have written Finn as someone Gabby had no compatibility with- just two people who had a spark but little else.

That would have been a far more interesting story- and more realistic.

Besides, whenever there's a character who goes through a frustrating dating conga of incompatible exes, it's usually a male character.

So it would be nice for a female character go through that for a change.

As for Oxalta, what bothers me most about them is that their actions are patently unrealistic, needlessly cartoony and downright unbelievable, and their lawyer seems to have been directed to play his part as if he was playing The Joker.

First, a company can't use a non-disclosure agreement to stop people from reporting downright criminal behaviour. Poisoning a well and doing so out of outright, willing, negligence is criminal behaviour.

Secondly, Oxalta has done this numerous times. How they don't have the DOJ, the FBI, the EPA and any other alphabet soup organization breathing down their necks is beyond me. NDAs don't destroy physical evidence, after all.

Thirdly, sending out spies and harassing people to stop them from flipping on their NDAs is also illegal. Now, I don't know if this was something Oxalta has done before or if it was just shady lawyer guy doing it, but if they've done it before, there's no way the company escapes legal consequences.

Fourthly, J. August Richards was directed to play Merriweather as if he was playing The Joker (and a bad imitation of that). I'm not faulting the actor- the actor can only do the job that is asked of them, and Richards did that.

The real problem is that Merriweather came off as incredibly one-dimensional and cartoony, as if the director was so worried that unless Merriweather was "obviously evil" we wouldn't hate the guy enough.

That's the wrong way to think.

I brought up the WWE in this context because it fits. I said a cartoony villain in wrestling can work and work well, and this is because the goal in wrestling is not to sell a complex, long-form story, the goal in wrestling is to simply sell a match you'll get to see on a pay-per-view.

This doesn't always mean that cartoon villainy works all the time in wrestling, but, if you've got a performer that can pull it off (like Richards did), you can use that as the hook for the match.

Sometimes you may even have to do that because a wrestling show usually has many different storylines at once so a simplistic story is a logistical necessity.

On a TV show the dynamic is different. TV shows, supposedly, have the time and energy to prepare stories beforehand and develop those stories and characters.

They don't have the chaos of wrestling where audience reactions change week-to-week and maybe even during the show itself.

Shows also don't have 40-50 characters to write for all at once. They may have to juggle a half dozen storylines at once, if that.

So I expect Fire Country to do far better than give me a one-dimensional story for Oxalta, because they're not dealing with the chaos of wrestling. FC is supposed to be better planned and better structured, and it should be better developed.

Ultimately, though, the real issue with Oxalta?

How many times have we seen this exact story play out before on other TV shows and movies?

A super shady company doing super shady things and being completely shady about it is a story that's been around forever and done hundreds of times before.

Heck, Animaniacs did the story much better with the elevator button company...and that story was far from perfect.

You know what I would have done?

Oxalta poisoning the Three Rock well should have been a one-time thing. An accident. One the company can deny or at least argue "it's not our fault".

One where a company throwing all kinds of lawyers and specialists around to find some way to escape accountability not only makes sense but is also realistic.

You can still have Vince's ex prodding around and trying her very best to expose Oxalta's negligence, only to encounter several roadblocks along the way.

...and Merriweather can still be the guy who throws them all up. He might even still propose a legal settlement that provides compensation but it's not enough and would still come with the company not claiming any wrongdoing, while still cleaning up the well.

There would be no NDAs because there wouldn't need to be. Just the tension of Sharon wanting to taking the deal- because she'd just want the problem to go away- and Manny wanting to fight.

Oxalta would even welcome this fight, because they know they have far deeper pockets than Three Rock does and they believe they can throw up an infinite number of roadblocks.

They would just underestimate the resolve of Manny and Vince's ex.

This would still be an arc where Oxalta is clearly evil. They committed a crime and don't want to face accountability for it.

The difference is, they're not cartoony, they're not one-dimensional and this stuff happens all the time. Litigation in the Exxon-Valdez spill lasted almost twenty years, for example.

Ultimately, I'm not against someone being portrayed as evil- I just don't want cartoon villains. Give me someone believable and well-developed.

[NJRadioGuy]

On 4/19/2025 at 2:31 AM, Dowel Jones said:

And Jake plans to transfer as a captain and in one year compete (or, as he assumes, slide right in) for the Battalion Chief job, despite all the other captains in Butte with more knowledge and seniority.

Aren't these positions based on a promotions list and administered by CalFire? I don't know how that agency works, but in my part of the world you take an exam for the position, and assuming you pass, you're placed on a list to be assigned wherever they want  to put you when your number comes up.

I agree with a solid F rating for this episode. Just horrible, contrived, and unwatchable.

So let me get this straight: Numbnuts set his own kitchen on fire (if only Severide were on hand to confirm it), and the fire wasn't intense enough to kill him — with only a light smoke condition from food on the stove. But the fire traveled down into the basement? "Ye cannae chance the laws of physics, Captain." I mean, I guess if the building was fully involved and the floor collapsed I could see it, but this wasn't that. And it's not like his house was in a big city, where a working fire call would get the first-due companies there within 7 or 8 minutes. A rural department like that would probably have arrived just in time to save the foundation and pull his worthless charred carcass out for the M.E.

And of course all the chemicals in the open trays were alight. Because water-based developer, stop-bath, and fixers are just so flamable. NOT. I played with B&W film in high school and that stuff was a bit smelly but nothing worse than that. I rate this episode a solid 42, as in the number of minutes of my life I'll never get back.

[Dowel Jones]

21 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:

Aren't these positions based on a promotions list and administered by CalFire? 

In truth, there is a statewide list based on interview and maybe written scores (I don't remember back that far), but I think the local unit (generally a singular county) can pick any of the top three and offer them the job, as other units in the state can do the same.  However, as in life, the people known to the interview boards are usually the favorites.  I will add that it is often in the best interest of anyone who wants to promote to go to a different unit and see how they work.

[Jst2Wld]

On 4/18/2025 at 11:31 PM, Dowel Jones said:

What's the over/under on Bode saving Gabrielle? 

Didn't Gabrielle save Bode (in one of the first few episodes) when a car crash caused the car to dangle precariously from a bridge? IIRC Bode was still in the car (after he pulled the accident victims out) when the car went off the bridge into a river. Gabrielle dove in from the bridge and dragged Bode out of the water. 

I guess the writers started running out of original plot ideas from the very beginning.