Fire Country Round Table: Too Much Trauma in One Episode?

Things took a bad turn on Fire Country Season 1, Episode 15.

Despite having waited for a transplant for a while now, Sharon didn’t get the kidney. The show had us know Rebecca’s dreams and aspirations, only to kill her in the same episode. Finally, Gabriela and Manny went back to square one.

Our Fire Country Fanatics Jasmine, Dale, and Denis got together to discuss some of the episode’s biggest moments and what they thought of it.

Sharon didn’t get the kidney. How does this make you feel, and based on her reaction to the news, what do you think she’ll do?

Jasmine: I’m devastated and exhausted by this. I love Sharon, I really do, and I hate that we were making progress with his storyline, and now we’ve hit another snag with no idea what the outcome will be. I do think that her clear solution is Bode, and she has to accept that and move on with that process.

Dale: It was sad that Sharon didn’t get her kidney. But I feel she’s missing the boat as far as a solution. Bode is willing and able to give one of his to her, so what’s the problem? Sharon is making the situation unnecessarily complicated.

Denis: I was annoyed by the decision. Can’t they find something else to write instead of putting her through constant pain? They are genuinely wasting Diane when she has so much more to offer in scenes that demand something different.

That said, sometimes cancer patients don’t have the fight in them anymore, and I’d understand her not wanting to go through it again.

Rebecca died. React!

Jasmine: I didn’t expect to be this affected by Rebecca’s death because she’s one of those characters I could take or leave. At least she was. Now that she’s “left,” I’m bummed she’s gone. Rebecca was a genuinely good person trying to make and do right; we saw that with how she died.

She died a hero’s death and helped Freddy and Bode before she did. I’m going to miss her.

Dale: We were told that a “she” would die. And Rebecca was the least important of the three options in this episode. At least they didn’t introduce a new character to write her off.

Rebecca was discardable. And this way, she went out a hero. This way, we got the full drama, and the series cast is no worse for wear afterward.

Denis: That death hit differently. She could have died an episode earlier, and we would have been like, “moving on.” They made her familiar to us in one episode, only to kill her. It was sad because it felt like we had just gotten to know her.

Eve’s first day as the captain had huge tragedies. How do you think these will affect her henceforth?

Jasmine: I don’t see her getting past any of this. She really has pulled the short end of the stick here. Do the writers hate Eve or just love her so much that they’re willing to pile on all the trauma? I can’t always tell.

I think these are more setbacks for her, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she pulled back and reevaluated some things after this. She can’t win for losing, and I wouldn’t say I like that for her. 

Dale: That will be intriguing to watch going forward. Eve is a sensitive soul, despite her gruff exterior. I feel she’s going to carry Rebecca’s death with her. But she’ll use it to inspire herself and others positively.

Also, how long will any injuries she received keep her out of action? Will Jake also miss time from his mishap during surgery?

Denis: Eve is the other character they can’t wait to put through traumatic events. How much trauma can one person take before they say enough is enough?

Do we like Jake’s mom?

Jasmine:  I loved Jake’s mother. I felt like she had a very realistic response to this situation, both caring about her son and her friend. I appreciated the series depicting that.

Dale: She was great! She readily admitted she was conflicted. Sharon is her friend, and she wanted her to get her transplants. But at the same time, she didn’t want Jake to face any risk and encouraged him to back out. It turned out that she was right to be concerned since Jake reacted badly to the anesthesia.

Now she’ll fight hard to find Sharon, a donor who isn’t her son.

Denis: She’s all right.

Eve was hurt again, Sharon still has cancer, and Gabriela and Manny are on bad terms again. The episode made the show feel like it had regressed and relied too much on traumatic storylines. What are your thoughts on this? Do you agree or disagree?

Jasmine: I can definitely agree with this. I happened to be watching this one with my mother, and every scene was something traumatic, and she kept commenting on it being too much. It was a great watch, but too much trauma at once. 

They need to lighten up the series a bit. I know it’s a drama, but if there’s one thing I learned via the pandemic and COVID plots and viewing, there IS such a thing as too much trauma at once, and there needs to be more focus on the escapism of television. 

Dale: I think it would be a pleasant change of pace to tone down the trauma for an episode or two. Would a little good news be such a bad thing?

Fire is inherently bad. How about balancing things out a little? How about something minor, like Freddie making progress on his appeal? It’s a positive development that doesn’t take away from the drama for the main characters.

Denis: The show is already about emergencies and life-or-death situations; we don’t need much more negativity. It felt like we were back in the early episodes, where every storyline was new, except that none of it is now.

What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from the episode, and why?

Jasmine: I grew to love and appreciate Rebecca during this episode, so I was invested in her storyline. I also LOVED how Sharon worked to save people until she got wheeled away.

Dale: My favorite was how Bode set aside his concerns about Sharon’s surgery when he needed to focus on the crisis at hand: Freeing Eve from the tree. Also, he and Rebecca worked together to fight the mutiny among the con firefighters.

Denis: Sharon is always a joy to watch when she is working. She is one strong woman, and we don’t see enough women on TV written as being strong without it having to be mentioned every two minutes.

Anything else, good or bad, you would like to point out about the episode?

Jasmine: Sharon and Vince are such a dream couple. Seriously, I couldn’t care less about the younger pairings when we have them. And that’s why I can’t deal with Sharon not surviving. 

I also loved that Jake’s mother was there and reminded him that he could back out of this if he wanted It was such a mom thing to say, and that moment instantly resonated with me.

I’m a person like Jake who would’ve made this commitment and followed through with it because it’s the right thing to do, even if it scared me and even if I had second thoughts. My mom, like Jake’s mother, would be that person to remind me that it’s okay if I can’t, advocating for me, to me if necessary.

I loved that scene. 

Dale: I’m conflicted about Gabby and Manny’s relationship. 

Manny has been evasive lately because he’s done things he’s not proud of. But at the same time, Gabby has to cut him some slack as he tries to dig his way out. She’s got to have some faith in the father that’s been there for her most of her life and who put himself in a financial hole trying to fund her dream.

Denis: It annoyed me that Gabby’s first thought was that her dad was gambling. Their relationship is four five seconds from turning toxic.

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What do you think? We always love reading your comments, so don’t hesitate to leave one.

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Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.

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