Bode’s Future at 42 at Risk, Mysterious Note to Vince

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Fire Country Season 4 Episode 3 “The Tiny Ways We Start to Heal.”]

“The next battalion chief will need to cut bait and let him go,” Richards (Shawn Hatosy) warns Jake (Jordan Calloway) at the end of the latest Fire Country. The good news? He’s thinking that chief could be Jake. The bad news? The “him” he’s referring to is Jake’s best friend — sure, they may be on the outs right now, but that’s still true — Bode (Max Thieriot).

This comes after the episode begins with Richards eyeing the two as they discuss him and then fight after Bode learns his father left Jake his ax. Jake heard that Richards is asking around to see which stations need firefighters so he knows where to send people if he disbands 42, and Bode can’t believe he didn’t tell him immediately. Then, he’s upset that Vince gave Jake something that had been in the family for generations. Jake argues that Vince made his will after Riley died, before Bode was a firefighter, and Bode takes offense, thinking that Jake’s calling him out on his previously destructive behaviors. What’s important is they make Richards think they’re a solid house and that means faking it if necessary, Jake stresses.

“Sure, I’ll pretend if my dad had gotten out of that fire alive, he wouldn’t have ended your career right then and there for holding me back from helping,” Bode tells him, and Jake retorts, “I didn’t realize you were back to being the Bode who didn’t give a damn about anything other than himself. And if your dad had gotten out alive, he would’ve kicked your ass out again.”

Eve (Jules Latimer) is the one to clue Jake in on something he forgot: It’s Vince’s birthday. But when Jake tries to talk to Bode about it, the other man brushes him off (“Not your dad,” ouch!) during a call that Richards is looking at for 42 to prove the house isn’t dead and doesn’t need to be disbanded. And the firefighters both do and don’t.

Eike Schroter/CBS

Manny (Kevin Alejandro) continues to really step up, helping Audrey (Leven Rambin) when a victim’s injuries remind her of what happened with Finn in the Season 3 finale, and Richards takes note. (Maybe it’s just us, but Battalion Chief Manny Perez has a nice ring to it…) Jake tries to rein in Bode when he shouts at the guy who got stuck up on the zipline, whose friend fell (but fortunately survived), and who set off fireworks, all for a proposal. Bode’s upset that this guy could have caused another fire that consumed the town and brought them out to risk their lives. Richards finally intervenes and warns Bode to listen to his captain or he’ll be suspended.

Then, near the end of the episode, Richards opens up to Jake about his cats and garden, which he likes and loves and would much rather be with than at 42. He also admits that he thought he would be at 42 for the long haul, but now he’s thinking he can leave sooner rather than later — and that Jake can take over as chief.

“But leaders have to make hard calls, and whoever ends up in charge here is going to have to make a real hard one. 42 has a problem. Bode Leone. Yesterday, you handled him. That’s not going to be every day. I know he came out of con camp, I’m the first person to believe in the power of turning things around. I love a good redemption story. But Leone is not one,” Richards warns Jake. “The way things are going, there’s a damn good chance the next battalion chief will need to cut bait and let him go.” Uh-oh.

Meanwhile, Sharon (Diane Farr) continues to grieve for her husband. Since there are some people in Edgewater who lost everything in the fire, she’s sorting through Vince’s belongings to donate — and his favorite jacket accidentally ends up given away. She and Vince’s ex, Renee (Constance Zimmer), try to track it down, and when Sharon finds someone wearing it, she simply asks for a hug. She also continues to pass out the items that Vince wanted his loved ones to have. For Manny, it’s his challenge coin. (We also continue to get great moments that highlight Sharon and Manny’s friendship, with him offering to stay on her comfortable couch when she admits to struggling sleeping in the house alone and not wanting to ask Bode.)

Bode confides in Audrey that he doesn’t expect there to be anything for him from this father, given where their relationship was when Vince made out his will. But he’s wrong.

Sharon finds Bode in the locker room after he’s returned from the call and remarks he’s inherited his father’s lack of patience for fire hazards. She also wants to know why he hasn’t stopped by the house to find out what he left him. Bode explains he doesn’t expect anything, but Sharon reminds him that he and his dad were in a much better place when they lost him. She and Vince talked about that, Bode, the life he’s made for himself, and how proud they are of him all the time. Vince left Bode his wedding ring. “He loved you so much, right up to the day he died,” Sharon assures a crying Bode and wipes away his tears. “This is so hard,” she admits. “I miss him so much. I miss you, too.” Bode hugs her and tells her not to worry about him. It may be the best scene of the season so far.

Sharon should probably be worrying about Bode, however. The good thing is Manny and Audrey are keeping an eye on him — especially now that Audrey’s told Manny about the pills she found that he did not flush.

Oh, and the episode sets up a mystery. Eve finds a note in Vince’s guitar case (what he left her): “Vince, call me back or I will blow up your life. I have Sharon’s number and I will use it. From R.” Eve thinks it’s from Renee. Is she right? What is this about?!

What did you think of the latest episode? What are your theories about that note? Let us know in the comments section below.

Fire Country, Fridays, 9/8c, CBS