Finally! Fire Country is back!
No, not back on the air. We’re already halfway through a shortened season due to a delay in production caused by the 2023 writer’s strike.
But Fire Country Season 2 Episode 6 gave fans what we’ve been expecting since the success of Fire Country Season 1.
Action. Family. Redemption. The feels. And boy, was there a lot to feel with this episode!
After a slow start and weird pacing, many wondered if Season 1 was a fluke. The first five episodes of Season 2 dragged along, with a lot of matches thrown into a pit, hoping they’d catch flame. It didn’t happen.
No offense to Max Theriot, the mind and main actor behind the series, but things didn’t work for the first half of Season 2. Everything was off.
However, there’s hope for more success for Fire Country and sexy bad-boy prison firefighter Bode Leone, and not just because CBS recently announced there will be a third season.
Despite starting with a slow burn, this episode lit on fire.
It’s no secret that we would meet a new series regular this season, a Sheriff’s Deputy with a surprising connection to the Leones.
Let me tell you, this uber-fan did not see the direction in which the wind would blow the story. Discovering that Deputy Mickey Fox — played by Morena Baccarin — wasn’t just an old friend from the past knocked this viewer for a loop.
Vince: It’s Mickey. Want to take that?Sharon: No. She’s calling you. Vince: You’ve been wanting to make up with her. So.Sharon: I know. Not now. Not ready.Vince: She’s not the enemy. She’s your sister.Sharon: Alright, fine.
Well done, writers!
Did you figure out that Deputy Fox would be Sharon Leone’s sister? Or did you think she would play a different role from their past? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
The show engages viewers from the opening scene when Bode and Cole talk about Gen. It’s cute how invested Bode is in being a father. And Bode seems to be handling Cara’s passing pretty well. A lot better than Jake.
Cole: Bode, how’s Gen doing?Bode: Gen’s with my folks now. She’s adjusting, but she’s dealing with a lot of grief. Trying to hustle up a bunch of support for her. But you know, it’s not easy being a dad when you’re in prison.Rudy: Amen to that.
Many fans have been disappointed thus far in the series that we aren’t seeing more focus on the other inmates at Three Rock.
We usually only see Bode with his side-kick. In season one, it was Freddie. In Fire Country Season 2, it’s Cole.
We also got to meet another inmate, Rudy, a crass old man with whom we struggled to empathize despite learning he had terminal cancer with less than six months to live.
It’s not surprising that Bode connected with an older father figure inmate. He also felt responsible for saving Rudy when he escaped. He has that hero complex down pat.
But it looks like it runs in the family, from his firefighter parents and uncle to his law enforcement aunt.
Fox lives up to her animal name, being sly and sexily sarcastic as she outwits and solves the case.
You can tell that she’s serious about her job and sticks to the rules. She has the potential to be a great sheriff. Whether she’ll be as good at her personal life remains to be seen.
There is a lot of opportunity for story development, such as seeing her interact with her drug-addicted child.
Ironically, she’s on the right side of the law when she has a criminal father, nephew, and daughter.
It was exciting how the writers intertwined so much in one episode without it feeling as congested as previous episodes.
Each scene gave hints for what was to come. The whole crooked cop scene was obvious from a mile away. You could tell there was something off about him from the moment they were in the interrogation room.
And while previous episodes have been too soapy for many viewers — including this one — this time, the drama was on point.
The dynamic between Sharon and Mickey brought the episode to life. The first season’s strong family undercurrent has been lacking thus far this season.
Seeing that tension between the estranged sisters only intensified the action.
But now that things seem on the mend, we’ll have to wait and see where they’ll steer the family drama next. Maybe the daughter from rehab will come in next.
It would be interesting to see Bode interact with his troubled cousin and maybe steer her in the right direction.
He’s doing so well with the fatherly instinct and the helping others ordeal.
He might stand a chance at saving yet another troubled soul. At this point, we’ve lost count of how many people he’s helped.
This episode gave us more of the family feel than the unnecessary drama of the five previous episodes. There wasn’t as much danger, and the focus was more on the inmates than the fire, which was a nice change of pace.
And we got back Bode as the sexy, badass, self-righteous hero we fell in love with in Season 1.
It’s awesome that he’s not acting stupid over Gabriela and that he wasn’t overly heroic to the point that it was a dumb risk.
It’s fun to see another side of him, one in which he uses reasoning and emotion to solve situations rather than a physical task.
Mickey seemed to agree. But I’m hoping her recommendation doesn’t do much to persuade the courts to reduce Bode’s sentence.
In my report, I’m going to give Bode credit for what he did today. You guys should be proud.
Mickey
I’m enjoying the different spin on the typical criminal first responder scenario. So, I belong with the fans who aren’t ready to see Bode sprung from the slammer.
He has too much work to do at the camp and still needs to grow emotionally and mentally, especially after the abrupt passing of Cara, his former (and Jake’s current) love interest.
As much as Bode has matured since coming to Three Rock in Fire Country Season 1 Episode 1, putting him on the outside too early could damage his progress.
And speaking of progress, seeing the changes in Eve’s character was super exciting. Throughout Season 1, Eve was the charismatic Bode supporter kick-ass chick firefighter.
But as many fans have voiced since Fire Country Season 2 started, we aren’t getting the same alliance towards her since taking over Three Rock.
She’s been caught up in being in charge and trying to keep the fire camp open. And that has led to some sparks flying between her and the inmates.
And Manny.
Seeing her joking alongside Manny in the opening scene was awesome. The writer who made up that scene deserves a raise.
Eve: Gabs, your dad said the daddiest dad joke of all time. I go good job putting out the fire. He said…Manny: We fame to please.Eve: He — no. Boo. Gabriela: Stop.Manny: What do you think, Jake? Does that joke belong in the Hall of Flame?Eve: Oh no.Gabriela: No.Manny: Come on.Eve: Boo.Manny: Come on. That was good.Gabriela: Dad.Manny: That was good. Gabriela: No.Jake: Yo, Eve. You and your crew are on mopup, okay?Manny: Guess he doesn’t like my jokes.Eve: I’m a little worried about Jake. You know, it’s been like a month since Cara passed. And he hasn’t taken any time off.Gabriela: That’s how he’s dealing with his grief.
But it wasn’t just Manny with whom Eve acted differently. She was also more in tune with her charges, so she wasn’t a hardass when she thought Rudy was just sleeping in — not missing.
It will be interesting to see how Eve fights for the prisoners now that the town has started a petition to close Three Rock.
The camp has some powerful supporters. But we have to wonder if it will be enough to save the program after the disaster and bad publicity of Rudy’s escape and the sheriff’s death.
Manny: Listen. It looks like these DOC guards are sticking around. And there’s a petition to shut down Three Rock.Eve: Yeah, I, uh I saw that. Look, I think when everything settles, people will realize that Rudy didn’t kill the Sheriff.Manny: Naw. It doesn’t matter. They look at us. All they see are convicts.Eve: So we have to do better at defending ourselves.Talk about the programs and how it helps these guys.Manny: Eve. Eve. Eve. I made my own daughter okay with my incarceration. Now we gotta do the same thing to this town. We gotta flip the narrative. Make them proud to be associated with people who are fighting to turn their lives around. Three Rock doesn’t make this town dangerous. Three Rock makes this town great. Eve: You think they’ll believe that?Manny: Absolutely. Cause it’s true.
What will Fire Country Season 3 look like if there’s no Three Rock prison fire camp?
Then there’s poor Jake. Just as he finally found a woman he wanted to settle down with, the universe snatched her away. His disconnection with everything is relatable and heartbreaking.
It was a harrowing feeling wondering if Jake Crawford would withdraw from those around him so much that he alienated the also mourning Gen. It soothed the soul to see him show up for her when she needed it.
As action-packed and emotional as the entire episode was, nothing was more powerful than the final two scenes.
Sharon: We were a family. And cause we didn’t share any DNA, when our parents split, we split.Mickey: But here we are. Fighting. Apologizing. Almost like real sisters. I mean, look at them. None of them share your DNA. But they’re your family. You did that. You created this big, amazing family that we all want to be a part of. Least, most of the time.
Not only did we get to witness Sharon and Mickey taking their first major steps toward forgiveness and redemption, But we also got to witness Bode’s devastation when he found out he was not a father.
The anticipation of where they will take the storyline next is too much to handle.
From the convo between Bode and his parents, it doesn’t sound like we’ll be seeing Gen going anywhere. This begs the question of how she will react when she finds out Bode isn’t her dad.
Bode: You got the results. She’s not mine. Sharon: No. But it doesn’t matter. Nothing has to change. Vince: Custodial judge said that DNA is not a determining factor. That custody will go to whoever has the kid’s best interest at heart.Sharon: And that can still be you.Bode: Does she know?Sharon: No. Bode: I promised her mom. I promised Cara.Sharon: I don’t think that promise has to change.Bode: I’ve messed up so much. I wanted this to be, just the one good thing that I do. I wanted her to have a family. Even if we aren’t her family.Sharon: We are.
Will she want to find out who is? Will she rely on Jake or Vince to fill that role? Or will she embrace the fatherly love Bode already feels for her despite the same DNA?
Another looming question left unanswered is whether Bode is adjusting well to the loss of Cara. The emotion he displayed when he said he didn’t fulfill his promise had to be the most painful moment of the episode.
Is he okay? Or will grief sneak up on him when he’s less prepared and cause a setback? Be sure you’re tuning into Fire Country every week to find out.
We’re eager to see what else awaits the Leone family and friends, the fate of Three Rock, and how fans react to the new face on the scene.
If there’s enough love shown for Deputy Sheriff Mickey Fox (who might be up for a promotion now that the current sheriff is dead and the other deputy is in jail — we might be looking at yet another series spinoff.
Here’s all we know about the Fire Country spinoff Sheriff Country, featuring Morena Baccarin as Mickey Fox. Let us know what you think of the newest family member in the comments.
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Sara Trimble is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow her on X.
