The Fresh Prince of Edgewater

**The Fresh Prince of Edgewater** is the second episode of the first season of the CBS original drama, *Fire Country* and the second episode of the series overall. It aired on October 14, 2022.

## Synopsis

After Bode requests to be transferred to a different city, his future in Edgewater hangs in the balance. Meanwhile, the crew joins forces to protect the town from a treacherous storm, on *FIRE COUNTRY*, Friday, Oct. 14 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+\*.

## Plot

While waiting outside the hospital, Bode recalls the night of Riley's birthday party at Smokey's Tavern with their parents, as well as Eve and Jake, who were Riley's and Bode's best friends, respectively. Riley remembered the day she and Eve first met; they were nine years old and Eve's family had just moved to Edgewater. Riley marched across the street, introduced herself, and asked Eve to be her best friend. After expressing her gratitude to Jake for him being such a good friend to her as well as her brother, Riley looked over to Bode, who'd had a rough year with his baseball injury, drug addiction, and rehab, but he fought his demons and won. Later that night, Bode discovered that Jake and Riley were together until Jake broke up with her. She didn't want to tell anyone until it became more serious, but Jake wasn't serious about them at all. This enraged Bode, but she pleaded with him not to tell anyone.

Sharon and Vince discuss the best course of action regarding Bode, though it is evident that Vince would be perfectly fine with his son being sent back to jail due to his rogue behavior and inability to follow simple commands, to which Bode retorts that he followed one of his father's orders pretty well. Before Sharon can probe further, Manny interrupts to inform them that Bode's fate is ultimately in his hands. He intends to collect the incident reports from the Buckeye fire and make his decision. Bode requests to be sent to another camp, but Manny informs him that there's a process. Sharon simply wants her son around, but Vince warns Manny that Bode is a liability, to which Bode agrees. As much as he would like to work the Cal Fire program, he can't do it in Edgewater due to his baggage.

Sharon questions Vince about the order of his that Bode followed, but he is reluctant to tell her, in fear of raising Sharon's stress levels. So she leaves irritated, telling him to give her a call when he's ready to talk, all the while Bode watches from above.

Eve and Jake approach Vince, both wondering where Bode has been all this time; the last time they saw him was when Riley died. After explaining that he's been in prison, Vince reveals that Manny is going to want an incident report from the two of them and instructs them not to hold back. When Gabriela arrives, Jake assures her that he's fine, telling her how Eve saved him at the Buckeye.

The news of Bode's return spreads like wildfire; at Smokey's, Sharon overhears Bridget gossiping about his return. Aydan then introduces herself, but it would seem as no introduction is needed, as Sharon is very much aware of who she is and where she's from, San Francisco to be specific. They've all been wondering what brings a big time chef who worked at Chez Panisse to their small town. Vince joins them, and Sharon reveals that Bode legally changed his last name to hide from them. Before they further discuss Bode's return, they receive a call of vegetation fire caused by incoming dry lightning storms from Willow Creek and Blue Lake, with Sharon explaining to Aydan that dry storms rain lightning, meaning little fire will be popping up everywhere through town.

In route to the rec center, Manny explains to the crew that they're dealing with a dry lightning storm and that their job is to clear the center of any flammable debris and watching for lightning. Lastly, he warns bode against any freelancing. Certain that Manny is going to send Bode away, Cory wonders what Manny is waiting for. Manny replies that the incident reports aren't in yet and that he needs the man power.

The inmates begin cutting lines and clearing debris from around the rec center, during which point, Freddy advises Bode to start sucking up to Manny given his actions during the Buckeye, but it doesn't matter what he does as he is as good as gone, as far as Bode is concerned. Freddy still doesn't quite understand why Bode wants to leave until another inmate named Charlie interjects and refers to Bode as Cal Fire royalty given that his mother is division chief and his father runs station 42, leading Freddy to refer to Bode as "the Fresh Prince of Edgewater."

While patrolling the streets, Eve questions why Jake never told her about his relationship with Riley. Jake admits that they got together a couple of months before she died, but Eve is more curious about how it ended, recalling how Bode claimed Jake broke her heart, but he simply replies that it was complicated. She then asks if Jake is going to document Bode punching him on the incident report, but he's unsure. Suddenly, lightning strikes just east of the canyon. Eve calls it in as she and Jake spring into action.

Gabriela takes notice of the storm moving closer into town, causing her to end her diving lesson abruptly and instruct the kids to get inside.

With lightning striking above them, Manny instructs the crew to drop their power tools before calling in to the station. Sharon asks for status just as lightning hits a nearby tree, forcing the crew to drop to the ground while Manny calls in this latest fire.

With lightning fires all over the county, Sharon's resources are stretched. Until they can send backup, she instructs Manny to shelter the civilians and keep her posted. Now that there's fire, they'll be posted at the center until the civilians are evacuated, or an engine arrives with water.

Eve and Jake's personal turmoil over Riley begins to effect their working ability as well, causing Jake to fumble the mobile attack, which doesn't go unnoticed by Vince.

Manny guides the kids and counselors into the rec center until a transport vehicle arrives. He then spots Gabriela, who reveals that she got a job as a diving instructor, as she intends to stay in Edgewater. Bode brings her a hard hat, under the impression that she's come to help, but Manny instructs her to get inside instead.

Vince confronts Eve and Jake about their mishap with the hose, reminding them that he already has one renegade kid and that he needs the two of them to be the ones he can rely on, especially with the staffing shortage and long hours from the dry storms, advising them to fix whatever it is they're dealing with. Jake apologizes, but Eve simply wants to work.

While cutting lines, Bode notices that the fire has jumped to the awning. If it moves up to the roof, the entire structure is compromised. To make matters worse, the kids and counselors are inside, forcing Manny to reevaluate their evacuation plan. He decides to load the civilians in the bus and get them away, but Cory informs him that he can't put the kids on the bus with the inmates, as it is against policy. Bode suggests that Manny simply give his seat to the kids. Freddy and the other inmates follow Bode's lead and give up their seats as well.

About 15 minutes out from the rec center with Eve and Jake, Vince gets a call from Sharon, who encourages him to hurry to the fire and help Manny's crew, but to their surprise, Manny's crew is seemingly headed towards them until they come to an abrupt stop after a lightning strike hits the road, catapulting a slab of asphalt through the windshield and rendering the driver unconscious. Eve, Jake, and Vince exit the vehicle and upon further examination determine that the bus is actually filled with kids from the rec center.

While Vince calls in the incident, Eve and Jake check on the driver, who is not only injured from the collision with the asphalt, but also burning from the heat conducted by the lightning strike. Meanwhile, Vince escorts the civilians out the back, but when one kid is too afraid to get up on his own, Vince carries the child to safety. With the rec center still needing water, Vince goes on ahead, leaving incident command to Jake.

Bode and Manny cut down the awning to prevent the fire from jumping to the roof of the rec center. Once it's down, they smother the fire with dirt until Gabriela arrives with a hose attached to live water. Manny is frustrated that she didn't leave with the other civilians, but she insists on helping. Bode joins her and the two of them extinguish the flames.

While pouring saline on the wounds, Eve and Jake debate whether they should remove the asphalt or wait for the paramedics to arrive. Eve is hesitant, but Jake fears that if they wait, he'll die before they can arrive. Eve concedes, but warns Jake that they have to avoid peeling his skin while removing the burning hot asphalt.

Bode and Gabriela continue to extinguish the flames, with Bode extending his gratitude, because without her, they wouldn't have water. Gabriela wishes her father understood this, but Bode explains that he's simply worried about her and that she's lucky to have a father who cares. It's then that they discover the fire has jumped onto the roof.

With the driver's life on the line as he begins to crash, Eve and Jake carefully remove the asphalt just before the paramedics arrive.

Vince arrives with the engine and instructs Manny's crew to fall back, but Bode continues to douse the flames until Vince instructs him and Gabriela directly to get out of the way.

Jake is headed to the rec center and Eve to the hospital, but before parting ways, he reveals that he cheated on Riley. She died before she and Jake could resolve their issues, and he doesn't want to make the same mistake with Eve.

Jake arrives at the rec center and joins Gabriela and Bode. While she goes to get checked for smoke inhalation, Jake notices that the smoke is green, meaning that the fire has already begun to burn through the building and is mixing with chemicals inside. If they come into contact, the building will surely explode. So Vince orders the crew to hold the water while Jake grabs the CO2 extinguisher and extinguishes the flames inside the building, restoring the smoke to gray. Sharon then calls to ensure that Vince made it to the rec and inform him that the storm has moved on.

If they'd shown up any later, they would've lost the center, Vince admits, though Manny couldn't have done it without his crew, especially Bode. Vince claims that today Manny got "Good Bode," who will only lure him in and break his heart, something that Sharon has a hard time accepting. He then asks if Manny had made his decision yet, but he hasn't given that he's been preoccupied with the fire.

The crew celebrates a job well done at Smokey's. There, Eve makes a move on Aydan, who refers to her as the "thumbs-up girl." Eve wanted to ask her out, but lost her nerve and went with a thumbs up instead previously. However, today at work, she saved a man's life, and it's given her the confidence to officially ask Aydan out to dinner. However, Aydan turns her down, the reason being that Eve made it about her near-death life-saving experience. She advises Eve to try again when someone didn't almost die on her. Aydan then hands Eve her beer, and as she walks off, Eve jokingly gives Aydan a thumbs up.

Jake and Gabriela celebrate her having done his job for the day and worked the nozzle. The overwhelming joy she felt fighting fire was a feeling she never experienced before. And so, Jake informs her that there's a Cal Fire recruitment event next weekend that she should check out. While Gabriela grabs them some drinks, Jake approaches Eve, who asks if Gabriela knows about Riley, which she does. Jake admittedly tells her everything. What bothers Eve the most is that she always shows Jake her ugly and her mistakes, but he keeps his to himself, which makes her feel as if she doesn't know him. Anything that doesn't fit his Superman persona, he hides. Meanwhile, Bode with his orange jumpsuit — people see his mistakes before they see him. Speaking of whom, Jake reveals that he's going to tell Manny the truth, as he's been lying for too long, but Bode will be sent back to prison if he does. Eve reminds him that Bode was once their best friend, not to mention he saved Jake's life. And if he ever wanted to get the family back together, this is how he's to do it.

Vince joins Sharon in her booth, ready to tell her the truth. He reveals that the order Bode followed was that of Vince telling him to leave and never come back after Riley died. Vince claims their marriage would not have survived if he stayed. Because of Vince, they lost two kids in one night. And now Bode's back, and Sharon refuses to let him be taken away again. Vince also reveals that Bode punched Jake at Buckeye, and that if Jake tells Manny, Bode will be sent away. Before leaving, Sharon assures Vince that while she loves him and will be home tonight, someday, she'll find some way to forgive him for this.

Sharon finds Manny and asks if he's made a decision about Bode. Reading the incident reports, Manny discovered that he saved Jake's life and that Jake's not only grateful, but has no complaints. However, Manny intends to transfer him to another camp, as Bode has been adamant about leaving. Hoping to reason with Manny, Sharon reveals that she's sick, diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. Vince is the only other person who knows. Being sick didn't bother her a couple of days ago, given that she'd lost both her kids. She figured she'd live out the rest of her days with a job and husband she loved until her time came, but now that Bode's back, all she's asking is that he allow her son to stay.

Manny finds Bode in his cabin packing his bags. While he may have disobeyed Manny's command, the incident reports says that he saved Jake's life, the good outweighing the bad. Manny understands that Bode wants to be as far away from his dad as possible, but what he really wants is an escape from Vince's voice, telling Bode that he's not good enough, but that voice is inside of Bode and will follow him wherever he goes. He can only face it, a sentiment that Manny can relate with. He's been in a similar position, as he was once an inmate at the camp before he was captain. Manny stole cars and was good at it until he wrapped one around a tree on a bender. And despite that, Sharon promoted him to captain because she believed in second chances, as does Manny. Bode's fearlessness, intuition, and leadership can't be taught. This program will work so long as Bode is willing to work it. And with that, Manny has made his decision: Bode is staying. But it's up to him to decide it he's going to be the deadbeat his dad thinks he is, or if he's going to be the man both Sharon and Manny knows he can be.

## Cast

* Kevin Alejandro as Manny Perez
* Jordan Calloway as Jake Crawford
* Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela Perez
* Jules Latimer as Eve Edwards
* Diane Farr as Sharon Leone
* Billy Burke as Vince Leone
* Jade Pettyjohn as Riley Leone
* Ty Olsson as Cory Walters

Co-starring* Kaylah Zander as Aydan Sato
* Tom Pickett as Charlie
* June B. Wilde as Bridget
* Maya Kooner as Madison
* Noah Park as Kid #1
* Aqqalu Meekis as N/D Firefighter (Assist)

## Trivia

* The episode title is a reference to Bode being "Cal Fire royalty" and is directly quoted by Freddy.

## Gallery

### Videos

Fire Country 1x02 Promo "The Fresh Prince of Edgewater" (HD) Max Thieriot firefighter seriesFire Country - The Fresh Prince of Edgewater (Sneak Peek)Fire Country - Why Are They Headed To Us?Fire Country - Not Here. OK!

## References

1. ↑ Fire Country: Season One Ratings - TV Series Finale
2. ↑ THE CREW JOINS FORCES TO PROTECT EDGEWATER FROM A TREACHEROUS STORM, WHILE BODE’S FUTURE WITH THE SQUAD HANGS IN THE BALANCE, ON “FIRE COUNTRY,” FRIDAY, OCT. 14 - Paramount Press Express