How Did Fire Country’s Winter Premiere Hit in the Wake of the Raging L.A. Wildfires?
CBS’ Fire Country resumed Season 3 this Friday night with Part 2 of its intense Chezem Valley blaze storyline — a little over three weeks after a series of real-life wildfires began raging in the Los Angeles area.
Was there enough distance between the real-life blazes, which as of now is almost entirely contained, and the fictional firefighting to make it not hit too close to home for some?
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And did all of the news reporting from earlier this month (about “water drops,” “containment”) lead you to a better understanding of the Fire Country storyline?
Part 1 of Fire Country‘s Chezem Valley fire storyline was punctuated by frightful, technically impressive, full-screen imagery of flames consuming the valley where Eve’s father’s ranch was situated. Characters would standing in the foreground to survey the fire-ravaged forest spanning the horizon.
Not a month later, eerily similar visuals were all over our TV screens — and outside many California residents’ back doors — as the Palisades, Eaton, Lidia and other wildfires began threatening and destroying homes, and causing at least 29 deaths. The first Fire Country rerun scheduled to air after that fateful Jan. 7 “outbreak” in California was bumped, and ahead of the winter premiere, cast members from Fire Country and other CBS programs appeared in a series of PSAs hailing the heroic, real-life first responders, and calling for donations to Red Cross assistance efforts.
Part 2 of Fire Country‘s Chezem Valley fire storyline was not quite as vivid with the harrowing visuals, though there was still fire aplenty for most of the hour. Bode and “I can’t swim” Audrey survived their swimming pool plunge, after a water drop doused the fire all around them. They then appropriated a tractor to return to base, where Audrey reluctantly tapped out to receive needed medical attention.
Realizing that Manny had gone AWOL to search for Gabriela (who was last seen storming away from Jake, into the fiery valley), Sharon grabbed Vince and ferociously steered a truck through the flaming woods, to find the father and daughter. Manny found Gabriela, who had tripped and gotten tangled in a barbed wire fence, twisting her ankle. They found brief refuge in an abandoned camp site’s cement bathroom, where Gabriela finally and fully vented to her father, about how he wasn’t there for her, but was sentenced to fire camp, after her wedding went sideways.
Sharon and Vince hit a ditch and cracked their truck’s axle, but Vince sounded the truck’s alarm to successfully lead Manny and Gabriela to their location. Alas, the four of them had no means to travel out of harm’s way — until Bode, Jake, Eve and her father galloped up on a quartet of horses, to carry them back to the ranch.
Manny and Gabriela reconciled. Eve and her dad reconciled. Vince put up with Sharon’s driving. Jake successfully took over for Vince and helped Bode and Eve save the ranch, in large part thanks to Eve getting an idea to tap into the irrigation system after the rig ran dry.
And Bode and Audrey? Well, Bode went to the hospital, flowers in hand, leading to what even a random passerby had to note was an “awkward!” run-in with Gabriela, who assumed he was there to see her. But no, Bode proceeded to Audrey’s room, and she was clearly touched by his dorkily romantic gesture. Perhaps even more so, though, she was irked that she missed out on horse riding!
One final twist awaited viewers, though, when back at the firehouse, Vince’s dad Walter showed up, in full uniform — to attend Bode’s graduation. Which… was weeks ago, of course. Walter was in no mood to be corrected, though, and clearly is on track for some sort of dementia arc.
What did you think of Fire Country‘s midseason premiere?
Want scoop on Fire Country, or for any other TV show ? Shoot an email to [email protected], and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line!
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