Rescue Me
Episode 4: DNA
By: Carlos Uribe
Rescue
Me is about firefighters in New York City. It aired from 2004 until
2011 on FX.
Spoilers
Ahoy!
It
should be noted that my memory of some scenes aren't as clear as they
usually are. This is because I watch this series on Netflix and
yesterday, near the end of the episode, the internet and television
both gave out thanks to a thunderstorm. I finished watching the
episode today.
This
is an episode that had a lot of surprises for both the viewer and the
characters. One of the characters to be surprised is Franco. When his
crazy, drug-addicted ex-girlfriend comes to visit him at the
firehouse, he doesn't want anything to do with her. He ignores her
when she reveals that he has a five-year old daughter. This is a big
twist for the character, although we don't really know him that well.
I had a hard time remembering his name, as he still blends together
with some of the other firemen. The DNA results come back in and they
claim that he is indeed the baby's father. He doesn't seem to accept
the results as he continues to block out of his ex-girlfriend. This
is a plot that could help establish Franco beyond just another one of
the guys but it would have been nice if the series had found way to
do that before this episode. Being friends with Tommy isn't enough,
since Tommy could be friends with most of the firemen in the station.
This plot could be something bigger but it lost some of it's initial
impact since Franco hasn't been that well defined.
A
firefighter who is more defined is Mike. Mike is the probie who gets
awkward really easy. He's been getting stalked by his first save for
a couple episodes now. This guy game across as someone who was
desperate for a date with Mike and his desperation and general
creepiness had me be wary of him. It comes as a big surprise to both
Mike and me that the guy turned out to not only be straight, but to
have a fiance. There is still a sexual component to what he wants,
since he and his fiance want a three-some before they tie the know.
Mike is awkward so he runs away from the situation (as would I) but
this was a big twist on both the viewer and the character. If this
plot hadn't existed for the last episode or so, then it wouldn't have
worked so well. The series took time to establish the guy's seeming
desperation and in doing so managed to fool the viewer into this
twist. If the series had the entire plotline in one episode, it
wouldn't have worked so well. It would have felt rushed and it could
have even become predictable.
While
Mike and Franco are dealing with their problems, Tommy continues his
love...square? He's currently in love with his wife, is sleeping with
a blonde whose name he doesn't know, and he's also started to date
the widowed wife of his cousin. Did I mention that he's seeing the
ghost of his cousin, who is still very much in love with his wife?
This situation becomes even more complicated when the blonde reveals
that she loves Tommy and he makes the mistake of saying it back to
her. His wife is back with Roger, but it appears that their
relationship isn't back on the solid ground that it was in the
premiere. The show is juggling Tommy's complicated love life rather
well and it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Let's just
hope the show doesn't chose to complicate this plot even further,
since that might be too many pieces for this show to handle.
The
episode had a pretty good third act due to Colleen. The plot starts
harmlessly enough, with Colleen asking for permission to go to a
concert with her boyfriend, Sean. To absolutely no-one's surprise,
she fails to get permission and then decides to sneak out and go
anyways. The plot becomes a lot more serious and even
life-threatening when Sean gets the two of them in a serious car
accident. Tommy, Roger, and Janet rush to the hospital and there's
some fighting going on. The episode doesn't end with Colleen's
recovery, which is obviously going to happen, but with Tommy going to
church and doing some catholic rituals.
To
be honest, this was going to be a mini-review before I saw the
episode. I saw it and too many important plot points happened and it
was too good to not give it a full review. This was a pretty good
episode and that song that closed the episode fit everything
perfectly. Even the ghosts in the Church worked exceptionally well.
This was an episode that had a surprise car accident, but it used it
to go deeper into Tommy's beliefs. He might not be happy with God,
but he's still willing to light candles at the altar.
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