Episode 3 - "Where There's Smoke . . . " These characters are really starting to grow on me; most of them. And Bode is looking more and more like a hero in disguise, a pretty troubled disguise at times.
The first scene shows us the recurring nightmare that haunts Bode; his sister Riley's accident. After shouting out her name and waking his fellow inmates, he goes outside where he and Manny have a chat. Both Max Thieriot and Kevin Alejandro are completely convincing in their portrayals of Bode and Manny, respectively. This seems to me to be when Max really shines, in these contemplative moments.
And Kevin's portrayal of Manny feels so authentic; his portrayal of Manny's almost paternal empathy towards Bode, getting him to believe he is a good person who made mistakes, is completely believable. Kevin is also very convincing as a Fire Crew Captain. The CAL FIRE lingo/jargon is flowing more easily with each episode - he sounds like one of us - as his character, Manny tries to balance a strict chain of command with his own instincts that suggest maybe Bode is right sometimes.
Next we see Vince and Sharon at home getting the day started. Crusty old Vince is making a kale, cranberry and bee pollen shake he read about online to help Sharon's Chronic Kidney Disease. There may be some marshmallow underneath that tough exterior after all. I may be starting to like him again?
Billy Burke and Diane Farr are so good with their characters, delivering more entertaining banter in this episode. It's one of the best parts about the show!
At one point, Vince warns Sharon that she needs to be careful using her rank to try and change Bode's circumstances. And he's right. No chief should play favorites with their families. That's nepotism and not only is it against department policy, more importantly, it has the potential to demoralize your troops and cause the chief that wields it to lose respect. But people still do it, like Sharon is. I'm not a mom but I'm thinking these would likely be complicated choices for Sharon; policy violation or not, momhood might trump chiefhood.
Jake is still delivering dialogue that's making us viewers shake our collective heads. Or maybe I should say not delivering it since he still hasn't told Vince the truth about hurting Riley. We can all see where this is going to go badly, right? Jordan Calloway does so well at making this character flawlessly believable; even if he's often unlikeable.
Just after Vince and Jake get a briefing from the crews on the fire, a young man comes running towards them with his clothing on fire and yelling about a friend who is still up on the mountain.. Vince and Jake jump on him with Jakes nomex jacket and put the fire out. Standing 10 feet away are two firefighters holding two separate nozzles and spraying water aimlessly. They barely turn around when "Burning Man," as Vince called him - funny line - comes running past them. In real life, they would have run over and extinguished his clothing, immediately. It's one of the first things you learn as a firefighter - to immediately put water on a burn; it stops the burning process. That just looked so odd.
Sharon is one tough chief, a well written balance of experienced, smart and strong; this character is an admirable one and Diane Farr does a phenomenal job with this role; she's a natural, like she's lived in those shoes. But her character, Sharon's achilles heel is definitely her son and her usual tough-but-fair persona seems thrown off kilter when it comes to Bode.
The exchange between Sharon and Manny as Visiting Day at Three Rock Camp is cut short and the crew is loading up to head to the fire feels authentic. After Sharon warns Bode not to go looking for trouble: Manny tells her "Chief, I got him," and Sharon replies, "I know you do" is spot on. I've said exactly that to friends whose kids were fighting fire under my supervision. Though you're not thinking about that specifically while on a fire, you can't worry like that when you're in the thick of things; it's a monumental responsibility, keeping other people's kids, they're all somebody's kids, safe in such a dangerous job.
Manny arrives at scene of the fire with Crew 4, briefs them and lines them out - all textbook, good stuff. But when Bode asked Manny for a word, I thought, 'Geez can't this guy just do what he's told.' Of course it turns out he has good intel on the local illegal grower that may help.
Vince and Jake find Burning Man's friend near the growers camp in a booby trap pit with a wooden stake through his leg. The booby traps, trip wires and heavily armed growers are a real concern in many forested lands in parts of California. Firefighters know these areas and use a great deal of caution. I'm fairly certain that law enforcement would have had a much bigger presence at this point IRL. Mostly for the safety of the firefighters and inmates.
When the Growers show up back at their camp pointing guns at Vince and Jake, Vince gets out a "Mayday" on the radio just before the growers tie their hands and refuse to let them give care to Burning Man's hurt friend. Vince has some great lines in the back and forth that ensues; he continues to remind me of some of my favorite "Old Forestry" folks in CAL FIRE. Billy Burke is perfect for this role.
Next we see Crew 4 cutting handline in grass in a clearing in case the fire spreads. Good place for it and the line looks legit. But when Bode hears the cops responding to the growers camp, he gets out of line and approaches Manny. Most Crew Captains would lose their . . . Cool about now with the constant push back from Bode. His concern may be valid, that adding cops to the situation at the growers camp could make things worse for his dad and Jake but now Manny is once again faced with the dilemma - disregard what Bode is saying and roll him up when they get back to camp; or put his frustration with Bode aside and hear what he has to say. Since, as the writers remind us, Manny came from that world of criminals and inmates, his grey area is much broader than someone who did not. I'm guessing this is why he once again allows Bode to convince him to do something he would never do otherwise. And, once again, it works out for them.
Things escalate when the grower gets on Vince's radio and tells everyone Vince and Jake are now his hostages, Sharon's reaction to this, calling Manny on his cell phone, telling him Crew 4 is released from the incident, to pack up and go back to camp, that would never happen. Or should never happen. It goes back to what Vince was saying that morning; that Sharon's decision making is influenced by her feelings about her son, her achilles heel. And no one, engine or hand crew, ever wants to be released from a going fire! As much as he respects Sharon, Manny would be pissed IRL.
With everyone up on the incident on Mayhem Mountain now, things start to converge. Bode, Manny and the smart ass we love as Vince all convince Mojave, the head of the growers, that if they don't give up and get off the mountain, they're all going to die up there. The fire, which has been working it's way towards them (remember that unburned fuel between them and the fire?) now has them trapped. The following scene with all of them boony crashing through the burning timber in the dope growers old SUV with the tires on fire is a blast to watch! A vehicle is probably the safest way to escape a fire so that part makes sense. But I can't say that's something I've ever seen or heard of before!
The last scene - both Manny and Sharon's exchange as well as Bode and Vince's - are nicely done; Sharon has a special place in her heart for Manny - a little more so even than the whole second family thing. The dialogue is poignant and real. Sharon letting Manny know she wasn't happy with him going against her orders but hearing Manny when he explains that Bode's desire and drive to help others is inspiring.
And we finally see a chink in Vince's armor where his son is concerned as he apologizes for telling Bode to leave. Bode also finally tells his dad about Jakes relationship with Riley and what happened the night she died. Vince did not look too happy that Jake hasn't mentioned that before. The show ends with hope for this family; the Leone's family and their CAL FIRE family too.
The first scene shows us the recurring nightmare that haunts Bode; his sister Riley's accident. After shouting out her name and waking his fellow inmates, he goes outside where he and Manny have a chat. Both Max Thieriot and Kevin Alejandro are completely convincing in their portrayals of Bode and Manny, respectively. This seems to me to be when Max really shines, in these contemplative moments.
And Kevin's portrayal of Manny feels so authentic; his portrayal of Manny's almost paternal empathy towards Bode, getting him to believe he is a good person who made mistakes, is completely believable. Kevin is also very convincing as a Fire Crew Captain. The CAL FIRE lingo/jargon is flowing more easily with each episode - he sounds like one of us - as his character, Manny tries to balance a strict chain of command with his own instincts that suggest maybe Bode is right sometimes.
Next we see Vince and Sharon at home getting the day started. Crusty old Vince is making a kale, cranberry and bee pollen shake he read about online to help Sharon's Chronic Kidney Disease. There may be some marshmallow underneath that tough exterior after all. I may be starting to like him again?
Billy Burke and Diane Farr are so good with their characters, delivering more entertaining banter in this episode. It's one of the best parts about the show!
At one point, Vince warns Sharon that she needs to be careful using her rank to try and change Bode's circumstances. And he's right. No chief should play favorites with their families. That's nepotism and not only is it against department policy, more importantly, it has the potential to demoralize your troops and cause the chief that wields it to lose respect. But people still do it, like Sharon is. I'm not a mom but I'm thinking these would likely be complicated choices for Sharon; policy violation or not, momhood might trump chiefhood.
Jake is still delivering dialogue that's making us viewers shake our collective heads. Or maybe I should say not delivering it since he still hasn't told Vince the truth about hurting Riley. We can all see where this is going to go badly, right? Jordan Calloway does so well at making this character flawlessly believable; even if he's often unlikeable.
Just after Vince and Jake get a briefing from the crews on the fire, a young man comes running towards them with his clothing on fire and yelling about a friend who is still up on the mountain.. Vince and Jake jump on him with Jakes nomex jacket and put the fire out. Standing 10 feet away are two firefighters holding two separate nozzles and spraying water aimlessly. They barely turn around when "Burning Man," as Vince called him - funny line - comes running past them. In real life, they would have run over and extinguished his clothing, immediately. It's one of the first things you learn as a firefighter - to immediately put water on a burn; it stops the burning process. That just looked so odd.
Sharon is one tough chief, a well written balance of experienced, smart and strong; this character is an admirable one and Diane Farr does a phenomenal job with this role; she's a natural, like she's lived in those shoes. But her character, Sharon's achilles heel is definitely her son and her usual tough-but-fair persona seems thrown off kilter when it comes to Bode.
The exchange between Sharon and Manny as Visiting Day at Three Rock Camp is cut short and the crew is loading up to head to the fire feels authentic. After Sharon warns Bode not to go looking for trouble: Manny tells her "Chief, I got him," and Sharon replies, "I know you do" is spot on. I've said exactly that to friends whose kids were fighting fire under my supervision. Though you're not thinking about that specifically while on a fire, you can't worry like that when you're in the thick of things; it's a monumental responsibility, keeping other people's kids, they're all somebody's kids, safe in such a dangerous job.
Manny arrives at scene of the fire with Crew 4, briefs them and lines them out - all textbook, good stuff. But when Bode asked Manny for a word, I thought, 'Geez can't this guy just do what he's told.' Of course it turns out he has good intel on the local illegal grower that may help.
Vince and Jake find Burning Man's friend near the growers camp in a booby trap pit with a wooden stake through his leg. The booby traps, trip wires and heavily armed growers are a real concern in many forested lands in parts of California. Firefighters know these areas and use a great deal of caution. I'm fairly certain that law enforcement would have had a much bigger presence at this point IRL. Mostly for the safety of the firefighters and inmates.
When the Growers show up back at their camp pointing guns at Vince and Jake, Vince gets out a "Mayday" on the radio just before the growers tie their hands and refuse to let them give care to Burning Man's hurt friend. Vince has some great lines in the back and forth that ensues; he continues to remind me of some of my favorite "Old Forestry" folks in CAL FIRE. Billy Burke is perfect for this role.
Next we see Crew 4 cutting handline in grass in a clearing in case the fire spreads. Good place for it and the line looks legit. But when Bode hears the cops responding to the growers camp, he gets out of line and approaches Manny. Most Crew Captains would lose their . . . Cool about now with the constant push back from Bode. His concern may be valid, that adding cops to the situation at the growers camp could make things worse for his dad and Jake but now Manny is once again faced with the dilemma - disregard what Bode is saying and roll him up when they get back to camp; or put his frustration with Bode aside and hear what he has to say. Since, as the writers remind us, Manny came from that world of criminals and inmates, his grey area is much broader than someone who did not. I'm guessing this is why he once again allows Bode to convince him to do something he would never do otherwise. And, once again, it works out for them.
Things escalate when the grower gets on Vince's radio and tells everyone Vince and Jake are now his hostages, Sharon's reaction to this, calling Manny on his cell phone, telling him Crew 4 is released from the incident, to pack up and go back to camp, that would never happen. Or should never happen. It goes back to what Vince was saying that morning; that Sharon's decision making is influenced by her feelings about her son, her achilles heel. And no one, engine or hand crew, ever wants to be released from a going fire! As much as he respects Sharon, Manny would be pissed IRL.
With everyone up on the incident on Mayhem Mountain now, things start to converge. Bode, Manny and the smart ass we love as Vince all convince Mojave, the head of the growers, that if they don't give up and get off the mountain, they're all going to die up there. The fire, which has been working it's way towards them (remember that unburned fuel between them and the fire?) now has them trapped. The following scene with all of them boony crashing through the burning timber in the dope growers old SUV with the tires on fire is a blast to watch! A vehicle is probably the safest way to escape a fire so that part makes sense. But I can't say that's something I've ever seen or heard of before!
The last scene - both Manny and Sharon's exchange as well as Bode and Vince's - are nicely done; Sharon has a special place in her heart for Manny - a little more so even than the whole second family thing. The dialogue is poignant and real. Sharon letting Manny know she wasn't happy with him going against her orders but hearing Manny when he explains that Bode's desire and drive to help others is inspiring.
And we finally see a chink in Vince's armor where his son is concerned as he apologizes for telling Bode to leave. Bode also finally tells his dad about Jakes relationship with Riley and what happened the night she died. Vince did not look too happy that Jake hasn't mentioned that before. The show ends with hope for this family; the Leone's family and their CAL FIRE family too.
