Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for the Season 3 finale of Fire Country.In the second half of Season 3,Fire Countryembarked on one of its most interesting plotlines yet, all revolving around the company Oxalta. It turns out that Oxalta International Holdings is the biggest chemical company in California, and they’ve beenillegally dumping their waste into the water that runs through Three Rock. This is why Nathan Birch (Jeff Gladstone) got sick so suddenly, resulting in his death, and Manny’s (Kevin Alejandro) life was likewise threatened. If not for a settlement between our heroes and the corporation, there would likely have been even more heartbreak on the show — and after what happened in that two-part finale, we can’t handle any more tragedy. Still, I’m not convinced that this Oxalta plotline is done, and if it is, I’m not sure if that’s for the best, either.
‘Fire Country’s Oxalta Plot Seems To Have Ended a Bit Too Easily
Only five episodes after Birch’s death, andSeason 3, Episode 18’s “Eyes and Ears Everywhere” seems to “defeat” Oxalta after Meriweather’s (J. August Richards) blackmail scheme is exposed. Having tried to coerce the Three Rock inmates and their families into leaving the corporation alone,the whole controversy involving misplaced chemical waste is now in “the court of public opinion.“Even though I’m glad that our heroes got out of this whole thing relatively unscathed, I also agree with Bode (Max Thieriot) that Oxalta can’t just get away with this. The way the whole thing ended feels a bit too convenient. Of course, this isn’t the first time thatFire Countryhas kickstarted a major plotline only to drop it after a few episodes (more on that in a minute), but it seems that a company like Oxalta would warrant a larger story,especially if they’re the biggest chemical waste producers in the entire state.
For a plotline that was quite a bit more interesting than many ofFire Country’s antics this season (though,the second half was certainly better than the first), it feels like there wasn’t really any payoff. The lack of discussion about Oxalta in the two-part finale — despite everything that was going on — leads me to wonder if that story is meant to be done. If this is supposed to be it, we’re just supposed to accept that nothing more can or will be done about it. Butmy hope is that the company will play a partin the upcoming fourth season, or perhaps even inthe long-anticipatedSheriff Countryspin-off. Otherwise, it seems like a lot of set-ups for a story that sort of just fizzled out. Yes, there was a “conclusion” of sorts, but it wasn’t exactly satisfying to either us or the characters.
Ever since the first season,Fire Countryhas had a bad habit of starting story ideas only not to pay them off well or finish them. Sometimes, when the show is called out on it, there is a course-correction made, but even then things may fall flat. TakeFiona Rene’s Rebecca Lee from Season 1. There was something special between Rebecca and Bode in that first season, and for several episodes, the show wrote her out entirely. Eventually, she was killed off altogether. Even worse, we haven’t had a proper female inmate plotline ever since. With Three Rock now burned to the ground and Audrey James (Leven Rambin) potentially in some legal trouble, that could finally happen in Season 4, but it’s been some years in between. And this isn’t to mention all that talk in Season 2 about Jake (Jordan Calloway) being a father to Gen (Alix West Lefler), only for the showto write her out entirely as well.
We Wanted Jake To Stick Around on ‘Fire Country,’ but Not Like This
With so many character fates up in the air, there’s a clear path ahead for Jake.
What I don’t want is for Oxalta — even if our heroes can’t fully take the corporation down —to go the way of Freddy Mills(W. Tre Davis) after the first two seasons. It’s easy for network shows likeFire Countryto introduce characters or plotlines and then avoid paying them off. After all, in a procedural, the next case (in this case, the next fire) always takes precedence over everything else. Still, it seems highly likely that — ifFire Countrywere anything like reality — Oxalta wouldn’t just go away or even leave Edgewater entirely.In my mind, they may have gone dormant for a time, but they could easily come backand cause more trouble for Bode, Manny, and their families again. More than that, they should, especially if they’re as big a threat asFire Countrywants us to believe they are.
How Could Oxalta Come Back in ‘Fire Country’ Season 4?
With the destruction of Three Rock inSeason 3’s finale, “I’d Do It Again,“Fire Countryis no longer the show it once was. Whether that is a good thing long-term or bad is yet unclear, and we won’t really know for sure until Season 4. Still, I’m hopeful that this doesn’t mean the end of the show’s commitment to the inmate firefighting program, as that is a major part of what makes the show tick. But if Oxalta really wanted to get the public’s favor,I think thatFire Countryought to involve the corporation in the resurrection of Three Rock. Perhaps they donate a substantial amount of money to see the fire camp rebuilt and restaffed, only for their hold on our heroes to grow stronger. That would certainly make Oxalta a real force to be reckoned with.
While the possibilities are endless,my only hope is that whenFire Countrystarts new plotlines, it learns to see them through. We’ve come a long way with these characters, and we want to see them thrive. Even if things don’t always go the way we want them (but seriously,don’t killBilly Burke, please), sudden changes in the narrative need to still feel natural. Character exits should be earned, and the same is true of major plotlines. From what I can tell, Oxalta may just be getting started in Edgewater. Considering how engaging that whole plot was, I hope I’m not wrong.
Fire Country
A young convict joins a firefighting program looking for redemption and a shortened prison sentence. He and other inmates work alongside elite firefighters to extinguish massive blazes across the region.
