Well, season three of ‘Rescue Me’ ended in flames… literally. Just when I thought things were working themselves out and perhaps the season would end on a semi-positive note, Sheila’s instability rears its ugly tantrum-inducing head. Other than the events that took place in the last few minutes of the episode, it seems like everything else is back on track. Last week we were all wondering whether or not the crew would be able to stick together. The finale pretty much addressed all of that and resolved some of the ongoing conflicts of the season.
The episode starts with Tommy talking to Sheila about putting in his retirement papers. He seems less than enthusiastic about the ordeal and even less excited about the prospect of spending time with Sheila at “their” new house. Tommy goes to the firehouse and takes Probie’s coffee. It is then that he transfers over into flashback-land. The Chief is yelling at Franco about the tanks and calling him Probie. Garrity is also being called Probie and Jimmy is alive. Through all of this, Tommy is holding the coffee and just watching everything.
When the opening credits are over, we’re in the present day again. I’m honestly not sure how we were supposed to interpret Tommy’s flashback. It was clearly the pre-9/11 time in his life that he was looking upon. Perhaps thinking about everything the crew is going through and remembering back to simpler times.
The new chief is some weirdo named Pecker (pronounced Peh-share but that doesn’t stop the guys from having fun with him). Pecker doesn’t seem like he’s going to fit in at all. He’s an older guy whose kind of quiet and occasionally breaks into operatic song.
Franco somewhat intentionally blows his Lieutenant exam and Natalie interprets that to be Franco telling himself that he doesn’t really want Keela. Franco thinks she might be right but goes to see Keela just to see how she’s doing. He meets Keela’s Manny (no appearances by Susan Sarandon’s character) and learns that she’s being shipped off to a French Boarding School. He seems kind of concerned about the fact that his daughter is going to France but at the same time, he lets her go. So unless next season he learns that he didn’t do as bad on his exam as he thought, he’s not going anywhere.
Jerry gets a cab from the hospital to the firehouse and has to be brought back. Lou prays he doesn’t end up like that (not knowing when its time to leave). Speaking of Lou – after a seriously awkward dinner with Lou, his nun-girlfriend and Tommy, he takes his new woman to Montauk to check out the boat. It is then that Lou learns he has absolutely NO “sea legs”. Just walking down the dock towards the boat he freaks out at the slight movement caused by the water and literally cant walk without stumbling over. So much for Lou’s plan to live on a boat. So Lou isn’t going anywhere either.
Garrity and Maggie are enjoying the newlywed phase of their marriage, which basically means they’re doing it whenever and wherever they can. That’s pretty much it in terms of their story.
Probie goes on a date with the brother/sister couple he met at the bar in last week’s episode. They decide to go back to the bedroom for a semi-incestual three-some (Gross!!). The guys give Probie a hard time about it as usual and he storms out talking about transferring.
Tommy gets as far as the FDNY headquarters but when he runs into an old friend there, he gets cold feet and doesn’t put in his papers. Before that though, he spoke with Janet about maybe getting back together for the sake of the kids and the new baby (who no one knows about as of yet).
Tommy, Lou, Probie, Garrity and Franco all go to downtown Manhattan to view the 9/11 painting that was done. It is then that they all admit to each other that they’re not leaving. When Probie says he’s still transferring, the guys basically tell him that he’s not going anywhere, to which Probie agrees.
The season ends with Tommy at the summerhouse that Sheila bought, telling her that he’s not going to retire. She responds to this by drugging him once again and then throwing another temper tantrum which causes a fire. She freaks out when the fire starts to spread throughout the house. The last we see of Sheila and Tommy, she is trying to drag him out of the house which is engulfed in flames and exploding.
Interesting way to end the season. Will Sheila and Tommy survive the fire? I want to assume that at least Tommy will make it through the ordeal. Afterall, he is the show. Sheila, on the other hand, has pretty much proven once again that she’s unstable and psychotic. I don’t condone her actions but I do pity her for the pain she must be in. Part crazy/part lonely translates to scary woman who drugs her man and then screams at him and eventually ends up burning the house down.
What did you think of season three of ‘Rescue Me’? Comment here or check out the ‘Rescue Me’ thread in the Cinema Blend Forums!
