Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Fire Country Season 4, Episode 2.Is it just us, or is Fire Country Season 4 going out of its way to make Jake Crawford (Jordan Calloway) unlikable? It feels like the show is doing its best to alienate Jake from the audience. Ultimately, the early episodes of Season 4 prove that Jake is not cut out to be the battalion chief, and the late Vince Leone (Billy Burke) was correct to balk at Jake’s promotion hopes last season. It’s time to showcase how Fire Country is making Jake Crawford into the show’s biggest detriment.
Jake’s general decline and his character showing a more petulant side began in the Season 3 episode, “Keys to the Kingdom,” as he started complaining to Gabriela about things that Vince never said. After Bode Leone (Max Thieriot) joins Station 42, Jake believes that Vince plans on handing down his position as battalion chief to his own son, neglecting Jake as the fire captain. In a weirdly childish moment, Jake airs his grievances to Gabriela, starting, “There is no room for you to grow here,” words that Vince never uttered.
Later in the episode, Jake sits down with Vince and reveals his desire to ascend to Battalion Chief, eventually taking Vince’s job. Vince simply states, “Okay, Jake, listen, I appreciate your ambition, but I’m not dead yet.” Sadly, Vince’s words proved to be tragically prophetic, as he perished off-screen in the fire at the Buena Vista care facility in the early moments of the Season 4 premiere, “Goodbye for Now.” Jake took Vince’s earlier rebuttal as a cue that it was time to leave Edgewater and find work elsewhere. Before the Zabel Ridge fire that closed out Season 3, Jake accepted a battalion chief job waiting for him in Butte.
Jake’s desire to ascend the ranks is understandable, but why should Vince step aside for his benefit? Vince clearly wasn’t ready to retire at that point, and it’s not Vince’s job to nurture Jake’s career and make sure Jake gets promoted or hand over his own job when he’s not ready to retire. Season 3 made Jake out to be annoyingly, frustratingly immature, but he took things beyond the pale in Season 4.
Jake Constantly Wilts Under Pressure in ‘Fire Country’
If anything, Vince was overly kind in his assessment of Jake in Season 3, proving he was right to rebuke Jake and not consider him for a promotion. During Seasons 3 and 4, Jake frequently wilts under pressure or acts rebelliously toward his commanding officers. In Season 3, Episode 17, “Fire and Ice,” Jake disobeys direct orders from Sharon and instead opts for Bode’s plan, a frequent occurrence. Later, when Sharon rightfully suspends Jake for disobeying her orders, Jake points out how it was Bode’s idea when he was the one responsible for Bode. If Jake wants to be a battalion chief, he cannot constantly pass off the responsibility to others.
In Season 4, Episode 2, “Not a Stray,” it happens again when Station 42 finds a group of civilians squatting in a forest after losing their homes in the Zabel Ridge Fire. Jake wilts under pressure from Bode, who usurps his authority, and they disobey orders from the new battalion chief, Brett Richards (Shawn Hatosy). True, the civilians were in a difficult situation, but they were already illegally occupying that land and stealing power from the city. Not to mention, they were surrounded by a dangerous wildfire. It’s understandable why the kind and compassionate Bode would want to help the civilians salvage their vehicles, but time was of the essence. Jake knew his orders, but he continually let Bode assert his dominance in a crisis and failed to follow the basic protocols. The incident reinforces Jake as a weak-willed, unassertive leader, and not cut out for the role of battalion chief. Something tells us that Vince had the same premonition about Jake back in Season 3.
Jake Chooses to Stay in Edgewater
In the season premiere, during Vince’s funeral, Jake reveals that he’s reconsidering taking the job he accepted in Butte. He even starts talking business at the funeral service, after telling everyone they had all agreed not to discuss business there! Jake clearly saw himself as the next candidate for Vince’s job following his death. When Bode catches wind of this, he rightfully gets upset. Yes, Bode was acting entitled about obtaining the battalion chief position, but he had just buried his father. Jake’s talking shop at the funeral was disrespectful and bad etiquette, especially for a man he viewed as his father figure.
At the end of “Not a Stray,” Jake informs his girlfriend, Violet (Nesta Cooper), that he plans to stay in Edgewater, underscoring the character’s indecisiveness. Jake became threatened by Bode becoming a firefighter, fearing that Vince was grooming his son to take the lead at Station 42, and Jake hit a professional ceiling. However, when Jake is offered his dream role, he turns it down, feeling inspired by the civilians who set up a commune in the forest.
Ultimately, Jake has proven to be a great firefighter but an utter failure as a leader. He fails to take command of dangerous situations and frequently allows Bode to act like a cowboy, failing to corral his subordinate’s rebellious behavior. Additionally, when Jake gets angry at his superior officers, he disobeys orders. The battalion chief has to be willing to take responsibility for their decisions, a lesson Sharon and Vince tried to teach Jake on multiple occasions, but he failed every time. Unfortunately, Jake has now become one of the show’s most unlikable characters, replacing a role previously held by Luke Leone (Michael Trucco).
Although Season 4 looks to position new battalion chief Richards as the main antagonist, the character acts from a logical and rational perspective. If Jake is serious about leading Battalion 1508, he needs to start acting like it and turn over a new leaf for the rest of Season 4.
New episodes of Fire Country air Fridays on CBS in the U.S.
- Release Date
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October 7, 2022
- Showrunner
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Tia Napolitano
- Directors
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Bill Purple, Dermott Downs, Eagle Egilsson, Gonzalo Amat, Kevin Alejandro, Max Thieriot, Sarah Wayne Callies, Marie Jamora, Kantu Lentz, Antonio Negret, Laura Nisbet Peters, Lisa Demaine, Nicole Rubio, James Strong, Anton Cropper, Erica A. Watson, Joy T. Lane, Jacquie Gould, Chi-Yoon Chung
- Writers
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Tia Napolitano, David Gould, Natalia Fernandez, Barbara Kaye Friend, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater, Dwain Worrell, Julia Fontana, Sara Casey, Manuel Herrera, Jen Klein, Anupam Nigam, Tonya Kong
