I’ve been traveling nonstop for the past month, flying across the country and back for both family visits and Supernatural conventions – but no matter where I was, I made sure to take the time to grab an hour to watch Fire Country when it aired. The last two episodes both featured Jared Padalecki as Camden Casey, so I wasn’t about to miss it!
I love the show even without one of my favorite actors guest starring, but – as I told Jared at the Nashville con – I’m now completely fascinated by Camden and REALLY want to know more. There’s been some buzz about a possible spinoff, and now that I’ve had three episodes to get know him a little, I would definitely watch that. If you would too, let the network know!
The sixth episode of season 3 was called (oddly) ‘Not Without My Birds’, which turned out to be literally what it was about. I kinda liked the way a fandom developed around the hatching of a baby eagle, with all the obsession and fanfare of any fandom. Also like any fandom, the shared passion draws the community together, everyone sitting together to watch and wait with anticipation. Except Camden, who instead points out that eaglets are ugly when they hatch – and gets even more on the wrong side of Sharon by eating her yogurt from the station fridge. Oops. She’s convinced he’s a sociopath.
Camden: Edgewater loves the eagles, got it…
Half our own fandom heard “Sam and Dean Park” in the next moment – it was really San Medina Park, I think, but honestly I did a double take too.
Casey is a hardass, but damned if he doesn’t look GOOD being a hardass. It’s so nice to see Jared’s hair no longer gelled down, which drove me nuts in Walker. Camden is hot hot hot, and I don’t mean because he’s a firefighter.
As someone who would 100% have been rooting for saving the eagles, I can’t say that Camden is at all sympathetic in this episode, but Padalecki does a great job showing us his stubborn and unflinching conviction (even when I don’t agree with it).
Another bonus in this episode is getting to have Katie Findlay on my screen again too – I loved her in Walker Independence and she plays a great character in this episode too, Eve’s ex-girlfriend who is determined to protect the eagle’s nest no matter what. She even gets to tease Camden about his “floppy hair”.
Apparently Camden wants to save animals too, or so he says, but he has a hard time listening to anyone else’s input. He’s stubborn, and closed off, and in this episode, we don’t know why. Yet.
Casey puts Bode in a tough position, having to choose between following his captain’s orders or his dad’s – and his sense of morality in saving the eagles despite those orders. Padalecki and Thieriot did a great job with those complicated interactions, drawing on their considerable acting skills, and on their real life friendship no doubt too.
Camden does seem to care about his crew, but Bode can’t stop himself from caring about the so-called distractions that Casey keeps advising him to ignore. When Francine climbs the tree to save the eaglets, Bode chooses to go against his captain’s orders.
There’s a great scene near the end of the episode when Bode’s dad figures out that Casey is struggling with some demons of his own – his little brother, Patrick, was one of those nine firefighters that he feels he got killed. We see Camden show emotion for the first time as Padalecki’s eyes glisten just a little, even as he insists he’s not there for therapy. It’s intriguing, that little glimpse of vulnerability and emotion – and it left me wanting MORE!
The episode ends with a heartbroken Gabriela drinking at a bar – across from Camden Casey. WHAT?? (Side note: Casey looks even hotter out of uniform, in a plaid flannel channeling a bit of Sam Winchester).
What an ending! I truly thought maybe the two were gonna drown their sorrows together – and couldn’t wait for the next week’s episode. Can you blame me for assuming that? I mean, look at them!
Alas (or maybe thankfully, at least for the characters) that didn’t happen.
The next episode was titled “False Alarm” – again, pretty descriptive of what happened. Casey does not endear himself to anyone, giving Gabriela’s left-behind-because-drinking ID to her bosses and refusing to graduate Bode because he picked his dad to follow instead of his captain. Technically within his rights, but Fire Country fans weren’t going to be happy to see Bode (the most unlucky guy ever) passed over. The guy truly cannot get a break!
It’s a dark episode all around. Bode breaks up with Gabriela after she can’t commit to him and he’s tired of living in limbo.
James’ boyfriend breaks up with her too, and Jake gets the bad news that Gen isn’t coming back to live with him. (Though that never made a whole lot of sense to me – he only lived with her and her mom for a relatively short time, and she has siblings living with her bio dad). For Jake, though, it’s his only remaining link to the fiancé he lost. That of course means hook ups that we all probably saw coming by the end of the episode – Jake and Gabriela, and Bode and Audrey.
Manny and Gabriela are still at odds, and Manny’s struggling to hold onto his temper and put his life back together. I feel for him, always – one of my favorite characters. But there’s a lot of struggle going on!
Not the least of which is Casey refusing to pass Bode in spite of how well he’s done on most of the tests – basically because he didn’t follow Casey’s orders about the eagles. Camden insists it breaks his heart to fail him.
Ouch.
The title of the episode refers to the firefighters answering a call about a fire at a weed dispensary, only to be told it’s a false alarm. Which is actually a hostage situation that eventually turns into an actual fire. Because that’s how things go on Fire Country, the unluckiest town and fire department in the history of ever. It’s half adventure and half soap opera, but it works somehow.
Bode is carrying out his job in spite of the whole not passing thing.
Bode and Casey are at odds, obviously, so there’s some great tension between the two for the entire episode, but they also are cut from the same cloth, as much as Camden doesn’t want to admit it – or value it in Bode. He’s a rebel too, and both of them end up doing the kind of risk taking that Bode’s known for. After lots of hushed negotiations, in which Bode holds his own and doesn’t back down and Casey manages to listen for a change.
The two being heroic means we get to see Padalecki in some more great action scenes, this time some hand to hand close combat and tossing crates around like they weigh nothing (okay, in real life they probably do, but still…). In the end, he manages to wrest the gun from the bad guy, but also shows some true heroism by understanding the guy’s desperation and making sure he doesn’t die in the fire.
One of the most interesting moments was when Casey was rattled enough to get protective of Bode – and call him by his little brother’s name. Ouch. But it just made me want more Camden Casey! Give me more of that tragic backstory and brotherly angst please!!
We also got to see the heroic side of Camden Casey, and that he does have integrity – and that he does care. His shout out to Three Rock was touching, and heartfelt. And mmmm that uniform.
Come on CBS, more of Camden Casey!!!
Grateful to Fire Country for putting Jared Padalecki back on my screen as 2024 draws to a close – fingers crossed that’s not the last we’ve seen of Camden Casey!
Happy holidays, everyone!
If you’re still looking for holiday gifts for a Supernatural-loving friend (or an inspiring book for yourself to kick off the new year), check out our books written by the actors and fans of the show (Family Don’t End With Blood and There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done), all about their experience creating the characters and telling the stories we love and how the show has changed all our lives, actors and fans alike. The books benefit Random Acts, Attitudes in Reverse and SPN Survivors, who are all out there doing crucial charitable work and need support more than ever. Available on amazon, barnes & noble or bookstores – more info at the website below.
If you’re a fan of The Boys, also check out our deep dive into that show and its complex characters (Supes Ain’t Always Heroes), with insights from Jensen Ackles and the show’s talented cast as well as psychologists and media experts (and Kripke of course). That one benefits the Venice Family Clinic – details on the home page here!
Gifs abordelimpala, jaredwalkersam
–Lynn
