Megan Vick is a pop-culture journalist and freelance writer whose coverage spans TV, film, celebrities, seasonal events, and online culture. Her bylines include Collider, Entertainment Weekly, TV Guide

, Parade Magazine, Variety, Reality Blurred, and others. Known for her list-driven stories, recaps, reviews, and exclusive takes, she also reports on TV stars, teen romances, K-pop, and “mom shows.” She’s been writing professionally since 2008 and often mixes trending pieces with evergreen features that engage devoted pop culture audiences. 

As someone who lives in California, I did not love this slap of reality thrown in my weekly dose of soapy enjoyment. I wasn’t the only one who didn’t take kindly to Manny’s extreme messaging. Eve (

Jules Latimer) takes Manny’s message to heart and basically torpedoes her entire personal life for the sake of fighting fires. Meanwhile, Bode (Max Thieriot) is trading being a vigilante

for being a mentor to troubled youth. He does need something to do with his free time that isn’t counting pills he shouldn’t be in possession of, but I have a lot of questions about Bode’s influence on developing young minds. So let’s get into it.

Grandma Ruby Is Sticking Around With the Leone Family

We’ll start with Ruby (Christine Lahti), who showed up unannounced at the end of the last episode. She parades through the Leone house profusely apologizing for how she’s treated Sharon in the past, but she can’t be blamed for taking money that Vince (

Billy Burke) freely offered to her. Who is she to turn down a free vacation? Not a crazy woman! Sharon isn’t in the mood for the apologies and she’s been burned too many times to let her mother back into her life so easily. However, Ruby’s check for everything that Vince ever gave her goes a long way to repairing the bridge between mother and daughter.

For now, Ruby seems like a genuinely nice older woman trying to reconnect with her family. I’m hoping she can keep up the good behavior at least for a little bit because she seems like a lot of fun.

Jake Is Also Looking for Family With His Half-Brother

Apparently Jake has a half brother. Don’t worry if you forgot that he mentioned that back in Season 1, because you are absolutely not alone. Jake’s dad had a baby with another woman right before he died. That kid has now grown up to also be a firefighter, and after Jake had

a blast from the past at his childhood favorite barbecue place, he’s interested in reaching out. Bode, Eve, and Jake’s girlfriend press him to just swallow his pride and make the call.

Honestly, leaving the voicemail should have been damage enough. But it wasn’t! It turns out that Malcolm had no idea he and Jake shared a dad, or that the dad in question was different from his sister’s dad. Jake’s insane voicemail is how he found out about this crucial secret that’s been kept from him his entire life, and Malcolm’s family is

not stoked at how all of this came out. Malcolm isn’t talking to any of them, and the enraged sister in question has told Jake to stay the hell away.

Reaching out to secret half siblings is tough business, and Jake definitely did not go about this the right way. However, the toothpaste is out of the tube now. Jake better not hide from the mess he has created, but man up and see trying to establish a relationship with Malcolm through. If he bails now, he’s fractured this family for absolutely no reason, and that’s far more unforgivable.

Eve Is Somehow Worse Than Bode in This Episode

A few weeks ago, Eve committed to supporting her girlfriend, Francine (Katie Findlay), in fostering a kid. It’s finally time for the social worker interview in this week’s episode, and all Eve has to do is say she and Francine aren’t going to jostle the kid between apartments or ditch them to make out with each other. It’s so easy. Again, she isn’t signing up to be a co-parent, just a consistent adult in Francine’s life. The questioning falls apart when the social worker asks if Eve would be willing to step in if Francine gets sick and needs some help. It’s actually a way easier question than the, “Can you promise you’ll only have sleepovers at Francine’s?” quandary, but it totally throws Eve for a loop.

Francine goes back to the interview alone and they rehash the fight back at the station, and it’s obvious from the start of the scene this is heading towards a breakup. Episode director

Alexis Ostrander tries to do something really cool and emotional by doing close-ups on Latimer and Findlay as they reckon with the disintegration of their relationship, but the effect is ruined by this entire situation being so stupid.

Yes, California is going to be on fire. It is always on fire! Manny said don’t be distracted because he has men on his crew that like to stalk fireworks enthusiasts for nefarious reasons. He did not mean forsake your entire personal life to be at the station because if you dare take any time off the fire will consume us all! Francine is being as understanding as she can be in the situation. She’s asking Eve to help with pick ups and drop offs sometimes. She’s asking for a partner to be in her corner and Eve is

deciding that she can’t do it, but acting like it’s an obstacle there is no way for them to overcome.We lost Vince and Gabriela (Stephanie Arcila) at the beginning of the season.

Audrey was bounced shortly after. Now Francine is getting kicked to the curb, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Violet (Nesta Cooper) is the next to disappear. Auxiliary characters are necessary to give the firefighters of Station 42 dimension outside of fire incidents, but

Fire Country doesn’t seem interested in actually honing the important development these characters provide, and it’s such a gut punch to see another great player hit the road.

Bode Is Going To Be a Mentor, but Is That a Good Idea?

The case of the week sends Bode and Jake to clear out a condemned house in the woods that miraculously survived the Zabel Ridge fire. They find a truant teen, Tyler (

Conor Sherry) hiding out in the dilapidated building, clinging to the floorboards of a desecrated floor. Bode and Jake help fish him out, but he’s not interested in being questioned or potentially turned over to authorities for squatting in the house. He runs away and inadvertently starts a fire in an already falling down building.

Tyler’s stepdad agrees on the nightmare front when Bode meets him at the hospital as Tyler is being examined for smoke inhalation and other potential fire side effects. Landon (

Suits LA alum Josh McDermitt) is at his wit’s end with Tyler, who has been acting out constantly since they lost their house in the Zabel Ridge fire. His attitude is out of control, and Bode informing Landon that Tyler was trying to run away is the icing on the cake. Landon says he doesn’t know what to do with the kid anymore, but Bode has an idea.

He’s going to take Tyler under his wing. They’re going to hang out and do some Big Brother-type activities. Tyler is apparently on the baseball team, so maybe Bode will help him up his game on the field. Maybe he’ll get him into junior firefighting.

The kid does need an intervention, and Bode does need a positive place to focus his energy. There are a lot worse things Bode could be doing in his free time, as we’ve already seen, so I am not

mad at this new development. I am just concerned that if Bode can’t handle having a girlfriend at the moment, is he able to actually mentor a troubled kid?Bode doesn’t make the best decisions most of the time, but I have to be optimistic that maybe Tyler’s stubborn streak will help Bode mature himself. This could work out for the best, but I am nervous to hope. I would have liked this a lot more if Tyler was the kid Francine was fostering, and Bode and Eve teamed up to help him rather than what we have going on here.